May '11 PR Rankings Issue - Odwyerpr.com

REPORT
U.S. forces in Afghanistan seeks new PR support
By Greg Hazley
The Army has kicked off an RFP
review of a multimillion-dollar PR
account supporting U.S. forces in
Afghanistan.
The RFP, initially expected to be released
in early March, covers support for public
affairs operations and is open until May 23.
“The information domain is a battlespace,
and it is one in which [U.S. forces in
Afghanistan, or USFOR-A] must take
aggressive actions to win the important
battle of perception,” reads a statement of
work document from the Army contracting
command. “To date, the Insurgents have
undermined the credibility of USFOR-A,
the International Community, and
Government of the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan (GIRoA) through effective
use of the information environment, albeit
without a commensurate increase in their
own credibility.
“This is a critical problem for USFO-
RA but the consequences for GIRoA are
even greater. GIRoA and the IC need to
wrest the information initiative from the
INS. The main effort of all communications
activities is to maintain and
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MAY 2011 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM
strengthen the Afghan population’s
positive perception
of, and support for,
GIRoA institutions and the
constructive supporting
role played by USFOR-A,
and the IC.”
The work is described as
strategic communications
advisement and support
services, as well as foreign
media analysis for U.S.
troops in Afghanistan.
Specifically, the account
involves media monitoring,
strategic communications advisement
and enactment, including social media,
and support for events like press conferences,
all based in Kabul.
The public affairs operation currently
supporting U.S. forces in Afghanistan
announced in Febrary plans to review its
PR support contract with an open competition.
SOS International is the incumbent and
received extensions in October 2010 and
late March 2011 earning in total more
than $70 million for its efforts. It won the
pact in an open competition in 2006. The
Rendon Group and Fulcra Worldwide
A U.S. Army sergeant on watch in Afghanistan's Kandahar
province in February.
Photo: Sadie Bleistein/Army
have also provided military PR support
on Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion in
2001.
SOSi, which is based in Reston, Va.,
and operates out of Kabul in Afghanistan,
won the business in its last open review
in 2006, a pact initially capped at $67
million but extended in October for an
extra six months.
A one-year contract is expected to be
awarded for the upcoming RFP, although
a base contract with up to four year-long
options was outlined in preliminary
descriptions in February. The RFP notes
that the effort is “subject to the availability
of funds,” notable because of the
Obama administration’s timeframe to
begin withdrawing troops this summer.
Army contracting will oversee the RFP
process. The RFP is available from Army
contracting: https://www.fbo.gov
PR news briefs
STUDY: DOCTORS’ PATIENTS
SHUN SOCIAL MEDIA
A majority of adults say they would not use social
media or instant messaging-type services for medical
communication with their doctors, according to a poll
by Raleigh-based Capstrat and Public Policy Polling.
Eighty-four percent — or five of six respondents
— said they would avoid such digital communications.
Only one-fifth (21%) of the coveted millennial
bracket of young adults aged 18-29 said they would
take advantage of an online health option.
The survey did show an opening for doctors to
tape such technology for administrative and nonmedical
communications with patients, however.
Eighty-nine percent said they would take advantage
of email if their doctors offered it — 52% would
confer with a doctor via email — and the same percentage
said they would welcome online appointment
scheduling. More than three-quarters (78%)
said they’d pay their doctors’ bills online.
Only 11% said they would use social media like
Twitter or Facebook to communicate with their doctor
with a slighter larger number — 20% — saying
they’d chat or use an instant-messaging service.
The survey also took a pulse on how patients view
healthcare reform. Asked what they “fear” will be
affected the most by reform, one of the largest percentages
included 23% who said doctor and provider
choice.