Case Study #1

Recently, The Leytham Group consulted on a $160 million government procurement contract. Staff recommended our client, but the selection was seriously threatened by politicization by the second ranked bidder. We were brought in by a respected law firm to set a media and public information strategy including overall positioning and key messages. The goal was to navigate a contentious political landscape, achieve validation of the procurement process and subsequent award, and provide public cover to protect "undecided" decision makers. With the strategy, we garnered supportive news coverage and not one, but two, opinion pieces.

Case Study #2

During 2004 – 2009, The Leytham Group consulted on a $300 million sole source government procurement for expansion of a waste-to-energy plant -- the largest in Hillsborough County's history. This sole source was threatened by a high profile, ongoing lawsuit involving a completely separate division of the corporation. We were brought in to create a media strategy in tandem with the political strategy that would improve public perception about the corporation prior to embarking fully on the waste conversion matter.

We took a proactive approach to managing the negative issue, and garnered editorial support and credibility. This positioned the corporation well moving into the sole source procurement, enabling a "pushback" strategy -- keeping the corporation OUT of the paper -- notwithstanding one policymaker’s insistent effort to gain political attention by bringing up the old, negative matters. (That board member has since been unelected.) Ultimately, in this case, the chair of the deciding board agreed to edit and byline an Opinion Editorial, and we pursued and were given an award as a "Healthy Hero" of Hillsborough County. Further, both papers wrote and opined in favor of the project, and the expanded facility passed with decision makers and opened in late 2009.

Case Study #3

In April 2004, the Expressway Authority was constructing the reverse elevated express lanes (REL) of the Crosstown Expressway when one of the piers collapsed. By June 2004, a second pier had sunk. While immediate engineering, remedial and investigative steps were taken, the Expressway faced crisis level declines in public confidence and support not only in the integrity of the system but in the executive management of the Authority itself. In fact, questions were raised about disbanding the organization. By September, 2004, The Leytham Group was asked to join a multi-disciplinary team designed to set overarching strategies for the recovery as well as to manage all manner of communications through the opening of the REL in August 2006.

Strategies used in rebuilding public trust were complex and layered, requiring focused, rapid response communications policies and nearly 24/7 availability from Leytham, who was designated as the first round “triage” point on all communications inquiries, including media, community and governmental at all levels.

Beyond engineering our message positioning was built around transparency, and we often announced what may have been perceived as negative in deference to the need to be open and create trust. Our key messages focused on the depth, breadth and reliability of the “fix”, and the unique ability of the new executive director to execute. Additionally, it was determined that litigation would be unavoidable, and we proactively pursued positioning in the court of public opinion. Lastly, we strategically built momentum toward the opening in August 2006, with active media relations, photo opportunities and promotional video, culminating in a 5k run across the bridge with over 1000 citizens participating.

Extensive community relations (speaking engagements/updates, citizen outreach and opinion leader meetings) were aggressively pursued. Media relations strategies were employed, including nearly weekly press briefings with print and broadcast reporters, editorial writers, proactive announcements on major and mid level construction or litigation events. There was extensive coordination with the core team to vet all information to be disseminated for accuracy and ability to deliver as promised. Newsletters were also used to reach existing users of the system. Further, during construction, specific efforts were made to be accommodating to users of the existing lower level system to build goodwill and confidence. These efforts were conducted essentially on a limited budget of professional fees, design and printing costs. No budget was exceeded – in no small part due to old fashioned hard work, smart messaging and media relations.

Ultimately, during this period of September 2005 to August 2006, the media coverage was intense – much of that by design -- with an average of nearly two clips weekly. An analysis of that period confirms a steady change from mistrust to skepticism to hopefulness to confidence. The REL opened exceeding projected ridership by nearly 20%, and continues on that path today.