PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL ASSOCIATION



Communications and Public Relations Committee

Conference Call

January 20, 2012

Present Staff Present

Dr. Joseph Ross, Chair (9) Rob Pugliese

Dr. Constance Wilson, Vice Chair (6) Director of Communications

Dr. Tamara Brady (2) Camille Kostelac-Cherry

Dr. Steven Parrett (5) Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Bruce Terry (2), Editor Natalie Kinsinger

Dr. Dave Larson (5), Trustee-Liaison Web Content & Graphic Design Manager

Dr. John Nase (2), ADA Consultant Amber Wickard

Communications Coordinator Absent Jennifer Diamond

Dr. Randy Nolf (3) Communications Coordinator

Dr. John Reitz (4)

Dr. Brian Mark Schwab (4), Associate Editor

Call to Order

Dr. Joseph Ross, chair, called the meeting to order at 2:22 p.m.

Approval of Minutes

The council unanimously approved the September 16, 2011, meeting minutes on the Social Network in October.

Election of 2012-2013 Committee Chair and Vice Chair

The committee unanimously elected Dr. Tamara Brady as chair and Dr. Constance Wilson as vice chair for 2012-2013.

Old Business

Social Network

Dr. Ross encouraged members to utilize the Social Network more often, and if a poll is posted, to use it rather than voting via email.

Website

Staff encouraged members to visit the new Making a Difference section of the website that features members' volunteer efforts, and explained the online form that members can submit to inform PDA of their volunteerism for inclusion in the section. Since its launch, this section has been promoted in several PDA publications and on Twitter.

Committee members suggested adding links to the section throughout the site, specifically on the Legislators and Get Involved page, to drive more traffic. (Secretary's note: These links have been added to the website.)

Patient Relations

Ms. Camille Kostelac-Cherry explained the new Patient Relations procedure wherein PDA will refer callers with dental complaints to the PDA website which will list, by county, any patient relations committees and local mediation centers available. PDA has partnered with the Pennsylvania Council of Mediators (PCM), and all counties will have PCM listed as an option for mediation. The section will explain mediation and direct patients to first contact their local patient relations committee (if available), second, contact a local mediation center (if available), and third, contact PCM. If a caller does not have internet access, PDA staff will look up his or her county and provide the information to the caller. The section will launch March 1, and an article will run in the January/February Journal.

Pennsylvania Dental Journal

Mr. Robert Pugliese and Dr. Bruce Terry reported on upcoming Journal articles, including: full-time educators' experiences at dental schools; dental spouses' experiences; younger dentists blending work life with personal life; volunteering on ADA committees; special needs offices; practice transitions and sleep apnea.

Starting with the March/April issue and continuing through 2012, a quarter-page ad promoting PDA's endorsed vendors is scheduled to run. Several endorsed vendors are running ads in 2012: Prosites purchased a full color ad in every issue; DemandForce purchased the inside front cover of every issue and D-MMEX and TekCollect also are running ads.

Staff bid out the Journal to three print shops in December, and after reviewing the bids, selected a new printer offering substantially lower costs. The January/February issue will be the first printed by the new print shop, and will now be printed in full color. To lower costs further, some issues of the Journal may have a smaller page count than others.

Mr. Pugliese plans to conduct a readership survey in early 2012 via Informz. He will work with

Dr. Terry to formulate questions to find out what content is popular and what topics members would like to read more about.

Transitions

Staff reported that starting with the February issue, Transitions will be an electronic publication. The committee discussed the format in which it will be sent - either as an e-newsletter through Informz, or attached to an Informz email as a PDF. Because currently there is no funding in the 2012 budget to have an Informz template designed to make Transitions look different from eNews Update, the committee decided Transitions should be sent as a PDF and directed staff to continue with the current Transitions layout.

Electronic Advertising

Beginning in 2012, electronic advertising opportunities were offered in the monthly eNews Update and on the Social Network homepage. PDAIS was contacted first, as they had held a complimentary spot on the Social Network. PDAIS chose to advertise in six issues of eNews Update, including the January issue. The other six issues and ad space on the Social Network will be offered to PDA's premium advertisers and endorsed vendors.

Once staff is able to gather click rate statistics on Transitions, the committee will discuss offering ad space in it as well.

NCDHM

Ms. Amber Wickard reported that she secured 30,000 Applebee's coupons, available to members living in Seventh and Tenth Districts. An eBlast advertising the coupons was sent and order forms will be included in the membership card mailing. To date, 6,500 coupons were requested.

Ms. Linda Platzer has been fulfilling NCDHM and library orders, and Ms. Wickard is helping write a radio ad script for Sixth District. Dr. Ross suggested if the radio ad is successful, the script be offered to other districts for NCDHM 2013.

News Releases

Ms. Jennifer Diamond reported on recent news releases - "Halloween Buyback Program" in October, "Importance of the ADA Seal of Acceptance" in November and "Don't Skip Dental Checkups Due to the Economy" in December. Dr. Tamara Brady gave an interview to RadioPA regarding the December news release topic. The January news release focused on dental emergencies. The committee provided suggestions for future topics, including: antibiotics before a dental exam; patients on chemo or radiation; blood thinning medications and dental care during pregnancy.

Members' Library Catalog

Ms. Diamond reported that 11 full page ads, six half page ads and one quarter-page ad were purchased in this year's catalog, resulting in $10,755 revenue. After printing and mailing, the profit was $4,611. The catalog was mailed in early January, and the entire catalog is posted online.

Budget

Several cuts were made to CPRC-related budget items, including:

• NCDHM prize budget reduced and instead of savings bonds, cash is now awarded to the poster contest winners.

• eNews Update template redesign funding was cut.

• Social Network redesign funding was cut.

• eMagCreator (page flip) software funding was cut.

• Return on Investment Calculator funding was cut.

• Transitions has moved from a printed publication to electronic.

If the committee felt one or more of these items should be added back into the budget, they were encouraged to submit a request to restore funding. The committee decided the items did not warrant being added back into the budget.

New Business

The ADA reinstated the money for the State Public Affairs program, and Sean Connolly with Bravo Group will begin training our incoming president, Dr. Bernie Dishler, and arranging his appearance on Comcast Newsmakers. Dr. John Nase is currently a member of the ADA’s Council on Communication's SPA committee.

Upcoming Meeting

The next CPRC meetings are:

• June 8, 2012 - 9:30 a.m. conference call

• September 28, 2012 - 9:30 at the PDA Central Office

• January 11, 2013 - 9:30 conference call

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:09 p.m.

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