When the K-12 Twin Cities German Immersion School (TCGIS) in St. Paul wanted to tear down an old church that they owned and used as temporary classroom space, most of the neighborhood rose up against them in fiercely effective ways.

They appeared and spoke at numerous city council meetings where the matter would ultimately be decided; they protested often in front of parents and students at regular neighborhood meetings and in front of the school; and they trotted out architectural experts praising the church’s historic design and touting its legendary architect (always failing to mention that other examples of his work – and similar churches -- were visible and viable nearby).

Frustrated that the school was losing the public relations battle, the TCGIS board turned to Media Savant for guidance. And not a minute too soon.  The school was already deep in crisis communications mode.

Don’t Wait Until the Second Act in a Communications Crisis Drama to Act
Most organizations –- even businesses – often wait too long to hatch an effective strategy in advance of divisive public battles they must face. Think of these types of struggles as a three-act play. TCGIS was clearly well into the second act when the PR hire and strategy was put into motion to change the dramatic narrative. 

This wasn’t Media Savant’s first Land Use rodeo, however.

A few years earlier, it helped three private investors build mixed-use multifamily housing on the site of a crumbling, abandoned bank structure in south Minneapolis that sat on an empty lot. It was a real eyesore. The project would have to be approved by the city’s zoning commission and full council. Nonetheless the neighborhood – allegedly riled up primarily by a savvy state legislative lobbyist whose family owned an adjacent liquor store – wreaked havoc with the project.

There was one particularly contentious neighborhood meeting with the local city council member attending. There it seemed an entire south Minneapolis neighborhood --  juiced with a myopic kind of unfounded NIMBYISM --  came to an ugly boil. When it was over, the council member met privately in a back room with the project’s principals. 

“What we have here is a PR disaster,” the councilman said without sugar coating it. Not to worry.

Arrows in the PR Crisis Quiver Hit Their Targets
Media Savant went to work, using all the arrows in its PR crisis quiver. It got the facts established in the media with the creation of FAQ sheets and well-placed Op Eds written by supporters. Some additional balanced reporting by broadcast media also helped. But the editorial boards of the local community paper and the daily paper of record in the state also were primed to come out in favor of the housing project and said so without mincing any words. The zoning commission and full council eventually approved the project. It got built and filled almost immediately. Today -- eyesore gone, neighborhood thriving.

The German immersion school eventually triumphed, too, using many of the same methods. After months of acrimonious feelings on both sides, the chronic tension was palpable and tearing an otherwise tranquil community apart.  Today there’s a newly expanded school, and the mutual hard feelings have mostly subsided.

In both dramatic cases, Act Three ended with well-deserved client victories and ovations.