PNC Legacy Trail Ride Media Relations

Need/Opportunity
The PNC Legacy Trail Ride was a series of events celebrating the Great Allegheny Passage, a non-motorized trail connecting Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh by linking with the C&O Canal Towpath, stretching 335 miles.

The Legacy Trail Ride was conceived as a response to the 2006 Perception Survey of the Region conducted by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development (which coordinated Pittsburgh 250 through the Event Committee Pittsburgh). The survey, and related research by the Conference, identified these issues for a Pittsburgh 250 celebration to address:

• Perceptions within the region that the quality of life, economic opportunity and environmental quality didn't match reality;
• Perceptions outside the region that didn't even consider Pittsburgh on these measures;
• The geographic proximity of Washington, D.C., and its large population of Pittsburgh natives, and Washington's historic connection to Pittsburgh (George Washington's path as an explorer roughly follows the Great Allegheny Passage).

Intended Audiences
The primary Trail Ride audiences were:

• National Media – As a signature 250 event, linking the nation's capital to Pittsburgh, the Trail Ride and related events provided opportunities to engage national media;
• Regional Media – The trail created regional media opportunities in communities along the trail, especially in the six Trail Town communities selected for public art installations (Confluence, Connellsville, Meyersdale, Ohiopyle, Rockwood and West Newton).
• Local Audiences — Boosting participation in PNC Legacy Trail Ride events required engagement of nearby residents to turn out in Trail Town communities, along the route, and especially in Pittsburgh, for October 4 events.
• Regional and National Audiences — Seeking to change impressions about the Pittsburgh region as a great place to live, work and play through national media coverage.

Objectives
This research, and the development of the PNC Legacy Trail Ride itself, identified several opportunities for the Pittsburgh 250 public relations team, including a focus on media markets at each end of the trail and along the trail; a focus on stories about the accessibility of the trail aimed at residents whose perceptions may not match reality; a focus on the economic stimulus created by the trail; and a focus on the participants in the biking events, whose personal stories brought to life aspects of the ride that reinforced research findings.

Planning for the PNC Legacy Trail Ride was led by Pamela Golden, Senior Vice President for Regional Marketing of the Allegheny Conference and Pittsburgh 250, in cooperation with the agency of record for Pittsburgh 250, WordWrite Communications. The in-house communications team at PNC Financial Corp., major sponsor for the Ride, also contributed heavily to public relations strategy and tactical execution.

Three goals guided the Pittsburgh 250 public relations team for The PNC Legacy Trail Ride:

• Boosting participation in the several trail rides and events, and particularly in the six Pennsylvania Trail Towns that hosted Celebration Saturday events on September 27;
• Linking the event to Pittsburgh 250 through a focus on the history of the route, its natural beauty, the amenities of the Trail Towns and the importance of Pittsburgh to the nation — past, present and future;
• Improving ratings of Pittsburgh in public opinion polls compared to the 2006 perception study, in part by leveraging the media attention and community participation in The PNC Legacy Trail Ride events and Celebration Saturday opportunities, including public art dedications and tricycle donations.

Strategies for media relations were aligned by audience and were pegged to a series of key event dates beginning in July, but concentrated primarily in the last week of September, leading to the conclusion of all Legacy Trail Ride cycling events on Saturday, Oct. 4 in downtown Pittsburgh. National media pitching focused on longer-lead stories related to the trail itself, using the celebration as a news hook, while pitching to regional and local media focused on the people and places involved in the trail celebration, to drive participation.

A series of media materials, including news releases, backgrounders and fact sheets, were created, updated and used in media kits at events and also in pitching throughout the build-up to actual cycling rides that comprised the overall Legacy Trail Ride (included in this binder).

Project Description
PNC Legacy Trail Ride media relations were led by Pam Golden. WordWrite, agency of record for Pittsburgh 250, coordinated the events, media advisories, media pitching and news release distribution. WordWrite also prepared event materials for internal use, including agendas and talking points. The PNC Financial Corp. communications team provided significant strategic and tactical support for key Trail Ride public relations efforts.

The greatest challenge for our effort was connecting the many events that comprised the Trail Ride to tell a comprehensive, overall story. Having one team coordinate this effort and take responsibility for messaging and story development enabled us to achieve this objective.

Results
Media relations for the PNC Legacy Trail Ride earned national media coverage from the Associated Press, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, as well as more than two dozen stories tied to key events and personalities involved in the events, from a photo and stories of Washington, D.C. archbishop Donald Wuerl (a former Pittsburgher) blessing trail riders to stories in the Cumberland News-Times and other outlets highlighting the stories of riders.

In part thanks to media relations efforts, more than 100 riders participated in a 24-hour "speed" relay along the trail Oct. 3-4, another 87 participated in a week-long "sojourn" of the trail, and more than 1,000 participated in a community ride on Oct. 4. By day's end on Oct. 4, more than 200,000 people had participated in events related to the completion of the trail ride and beginning of the next phase of Pittsburgh 250, including a record-setting fireworks show.

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