Objective:

• Obtain national and regional media attention for the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a non-profit that litigates nationwide in defense of individual rights and limited government
• Increase PLF’s visibility and credibility among existing/potential donors and public policy makers
• Raise the visibility of a PLF case surrounding a state imposed ban on fireworks in the coastal town of Gualala

Method:

• Use the ban to position PLF as the defender of individual rights
• Leading up to the 4^th of July, used the court hearings as news hooks to get the media to do stories
• Served legal papers to the CA Coastal Commission’s San Francisco office, held a press conference across the street, and included Gualala residents clothed in Colonial-era garb waving flags to emphasize the “un-American” theme of the state’s actions

Results:

Secured PLF coverage in dozens of major media outlets, including:

• Fox Business Network
• The Los Angeles Times
• San Francisco Chronicle – Large front page spread
• The New York Times
• The Associated Press – (multiple stories in dozens of outlets nationwide)
• KGO-TV 7 (San Francisco)
• KGO-AM 810 (San Francisco)
• KCBS-AM 740 (San Francisco)
• Santa Rosa Press Democrat
• Ukiah Daily Journal
• Independent Coast Observer
• The Flash Report
• Eureka Reporter
• San Diego Union-Tribune