.LEEGORMAN

BRAND STRATEGIST • CREATIVE DIRECTOR

CEO Publicity:  Richard M. Oster

Often, a company is best represented by the media through its CEO, especially when that individual is both dynamic and articulate.

Recognizing the dynamic and articulate qualities of Richard Oster, we took a proactive approach in developing a publicity strategy for him. This strategy included actively pursuing editorial interest from both local and national business publications, demonstrating our dedication to promoting his achievements.

Research indicated that Oster had not yet been introduced to a very wide audience despite his service in very visible civic and business capacities.  A placement strategy was developed which focused on his responsibilities as CEO of a $3 billion multi-national conglomerate; at the heart of that relationship was the fact that he was an American coming to the rescue of a floundering 300-year-old British-based industrial enterprise in the grip of excessive 1980s debt.

We were confident that Richard Oster’s enormous energies, business and financial savvy, devotion to work and community, as well as his personal drive, would resonate with reporters.  Following this instinct, we sourced a variety of publications in search of likely fits for the Oster/Cookson story. Letters of interest, along with applicable background information, were forwarded to a number of editors.  Phone contacts followed to determine interest and provide follow-up.  To those editors who expressed a level of interest in an eventual story, we made a patient but persistent effort to stay in touch, to update, and to suggest interview possibilities, anticipating the impact of Richard Oster's story.

Several important placements have been achieved to date:  an in-depth examination of the man in Rhode Island Monthly, Rhode Island’s glossy monthly magazine; a “Faces Behind the Figures” profile in Forbes, the prestigious national biweekly; a business leader interview in Providence Business News; a profile piece in Britain’s Financial Times newspaper and, along with strong coverage of Cookson developments regularly in Rhode Island’s daily newspaper, a most favorable end-of-year column by the Providence Journal Bulletin’s financial editor.