PRNewser Interview: Henry L. Miller, COO of Goodman Media International

The Olympics are sprinting to a close, which means the Democratic and Republican conventions in Denver and Minneapolis / St. Paul are upon us–the big media events closing out the summer.

PRNewser is intensely curious about the image and positioning aspects of the race for the White House, and how the game is played.

The conventions, compared to other PR work, are monster projects in of themselves. To learn more and find out what they mean to the candidates and the host cities, we turned to Henry L. Miller, COO of Goodman Media International to learn more. Miller was CEO of New York City’s hosting of the Democratic National Convention in 1992.

Goodman Media, founded by Tom Goodman, the former head of
communications for CBS, Inc. and, before that, CBS News, handles media properties such as The Wall Street Journal and Telemundo, and non-profits such as The Museum at Bethel Woods, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

The convention in 1992 was not only a watershed event for the Democrats and for the city, but also for major PR players like Miller, as well as Ken Sunshine. The creative promotions from ’92 are still with us today including Broadway on Broadway, Fashion Week, and Restaurant Week. Sa’lute!

Interview begins after the jump:

PRNewser: Given the compressed and quickened news cycles compared to 1992, how can these cities prepare to get the most from these conventions?

Henry L. Miller: The compressed news cycles mean that there will be many more stories coming from the conventions than in the past, and that’s good for the host cities which benefit from the local byline. The challenge for the host cities is to get as many of those stories as possible to focus on the positive attributes of the cities. That’s where it’s crucial that they design hosting events and activities that will generate media coverage of the host cities and not just of the politics of the occasion.

PRN: What else should Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul be doing to harness the potential offered by the enormous growth in media just since the last presidential election?

Miller: They should be developing events and activities that are so compelling that they virtually require the media to experience the host cities when the conventions are not in session. The key is to attract the delegates, because the media will tend to go where the delegates go. The enormous growth in media since 2004 means that there will be more media that is less formal, less traditional, and more portable. That should increase the opportunities to promote the host cities.

PRN: Conventions are very expensive for cities to host. Why are they worth the cost?

Miller: They’re worth it for three reasons: two short-term and one long. The short-term benefits are the boost to the local economy that comes from having the convention-goers in town for nearly a week and the promotional value of the national and international media coverage. Both typically far exceed what the host cities spend. The long-term benefit is more elusive but can be even greater if it’s achieved. For the 1992 Democratic National Convention, New York created three promotional events that continue to promote the city to this day: Restaurant Week (which began by offering a $19.92 prix fixe lunch), Broadway on Broadway, a free public concert in Times Square produced by the Broadway theaters, and Fashion Week (now an international phenomenon, which began in 1992 as an event for delegates called “New York is Fashion”). All three continue to generate significant economic and promotional benefits for New York 16 years later.

PRN: New York City had a bit of trouble last time. In your opinion were the protests handled well?

Miller: New York City’s hosting of the 2004 Republican National Convention took place in the wake of 9/11 and soon after the Iraq War had begun. New York had pursued both conventions for 2004 to underscore the fact that the City was back in business and thriving, and it was very much focused on ensuring the safety of the Convention and the City. New York may have been somewhat overzealous in its handling of the protests, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a longstanding record of support for civil liberties, and any Mayor, given 9/11, would want to err on the side of ensuring the safety of the City. I, therefore, give him the benefit of the doubt in that situation.

PRN: With the cities chosen–at least with the RNC–opposite of their political leanings, will protests be a major detractor from the PR upside?

Miller: The potential for protests is certainly heightened in an unpopular war, particularly where the incumbent party is concerned. In this case, however, there is no incumbent president or vice president running, which may reduce that potential. There’s only so much time that the media can devote to activities outside the convention hall. To the extent that protests attract that attention, it will reduce the opportunity for other coverage of the host cities. But Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul all have great stories to tell and should be able to maximize the opportunity.

PRN: Obama’s ability to draw crowds and generate excitement is unprecedented. Does this pose an opportunity to Denver? Will the location and resulting media coverage and the PR strategy prove valuable to try to tip the state to Obama in November?

Miller: The real question is how much media coverage will be devoted to things that are inherent to the host cities–not the speeches at the convention or the concert performances by stars from elsewhere but the intrinsic values and assets of the host communities. Senator Barack Obama’s outdoor acceptance speech will certainly be a high point of the convention season, and, to the extent that it’s historic, it will benefit Denver as the site.

PRN: Any other insights on this topic that might be of interest to our media and PR readers?

Miller: The conventions have evolved, along with the growth in media, to play a hugely important role, despite the fact that the national candidates are known in advance. One only needs to look at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, where Barack Obama gave the keynote address as a promising candidate for the U.S. Senate. That speech began his meteoric rise. If he had not given that address in Boston, he would not be the presumptive Democratic nominee today.

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