Case study: San Diego Rescue Mission

Mission Accomplished

Following Cook & Schmid’s strategic pubic and media relations program, donations to the San Diego Rescue Mission for December more than doubled the nine-year average for that month, totaling $1.3 million, compared to an average of $625,000.

Working with a limited budget and a time frame of only four months, Cook & Schmid
built alliances with local businesses and secured more than 25 sponsorships for events during the PR/media blitz. In addition, media coverage expanded into the higher income region of north San Diego County.

In the 12 months preceding the pubic relations and media relations program, the Rescue Mission only achieved 10 media mentions. In contrast, the agency secured 49 media hits for the Mission, with an overall audience impression of nearly 5 million, during the short-term program. More important, the news coverage positioned the Rescue Mission in the desired manner, leading to the largest monthly total for donations in the Mission’s 50-year history. This result garnered the agency a Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil Award, the industry's highest national honor.