The Challenge
As a relatively unknown national trade association for managers and trustees of public sector employee pension funds, the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS), recognized the need to enhance its visibility and reputation as “The Voice of Public Pensions” at a time when the public sector and its Defined Benefit pension plans were under increasing political attack from cash-strapped state legislatures seeking to roll back employee benefits as a means to balance budgets.
The Strategy
CommCore and NCPERS collaborated on an extensive Message Development program with NCPERS members and allied organizations, followed by Spokesperson Training, Website and Content Development, Media and Stakeholder Relations, and Social Media Engagement. We created a memorable campaign theme: “Retirement Security for All” to present the public sector pension plan model as a solution to the growing national private sector retirement crisis.
The Results
NCPERS and CommCore have re-cast the debate in opinion columns, letters to the editor, statements and blogs about public sector pensions. NCPERS’ Executive Director Hank Kim and Board Chair Mel Aaronson became go-to “Thought Leader” resources for media and allied organizations that now reach out to NCPERS on issues related to public pensions. NCPERS’ “Secure Choice Pension” White Paper became a principal model for several current state and federal bills and legislative initiatives aimed at addressing the nation’s looming retirement crisis.
CommCore provided:
- Message Development
- Spokesperson Training
- Website and Content Development
- Media and Stakeholder Relations
- Social Media Engagement