Steve Hannagan
Steve Hannagan - Prince of Press Agents
Dickson Hartwell in an article devoted to Steve Hannagan that was published in 1947 in Colliers Magazine described Steve Hannagan as a “Prince of Press Agents"[1] According to Hartwell Hannagan was a rare combination of a hard-driving, trusted, and highly-successful pioneer of public relations.[2] He is celebrated for his ground-breaking publicity campaigns for the Indianapolis 500, Miami Beach, Sun Valley, Las Vegas, and Coca Cola. He developed, tested, and refined many of the press and publicity principles that are commonly used in publicity and marketing campaigns today.
Along the way, Steve Hannagan knew or worked with nearly every major figure and celebrity of his era. His colleagues and friends spanned business, Hollywood, Broadway, New York’s Café Society, the news media, politics, and sports. Hannagan was a garrulous, charming, whip-smart press agent who never pulled a phony deal.[3] His honesty and charm opened doors to the powerful. His press campaigns could be sensational or subtle and always caught the eye of the intended audience.[4]
Steve Hannagan - Indianapolis 50, Miami Beach, Sun Valley, Coca-Cola, and Other Major Promotional Campaigns
Early in Hannagan’s career , he was hired by Carl Fisher, President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as the Publicity Director for the Speedway where he turned the Indianapolis 500 into a national event during the month of May.[5] Hannagan remained the publicity director for the Speedway from the early 1920s until1945.[6] . Later in the 1920s, Carl Fisher brought Hannagan to promote Miami Beach, where his publicity campaigns turned the Beach into a hot property for home buyers and investors and a destination for winter vacationers. In 1936, Life Magazine ran a multi-page profile on his Hannagan's publicity operations in Miami Beach and his famous Miami Beach "Bathing Beauty icons..[7] Hannagan remained head of publicity for the Beach until 1945, by then Hannagan was heavily involved promoting Coca-Cola.[8]
In the mid-1930s, Averell Harriman sought a location in the Western mountains for a ski resort to draw passenger traffic to his railroad, the Union Pacific. Harriman turned to Steve Hannagan to answer the question – was the location marketable. In 1984, the Smithsonian Magazine ran an article by Peter Oglibene's about Hannagan’s contribution to Sun Valley. Hannagan had recommended naming the resort - Sun Valley, adding ski lifts to the resort, and building the resort as a luxurious venue for the rich and famous.[9]
Major League Baseball[10] Kennesaw Mountain Landis, Baseball Commissioner, hired Hannagan in 1939 to promote the 75th anniversary of baseball. Hannagan successfully publicized the event and reignited attendance for the coming years. As his last step in the campaign, he surprised Landis by returning $30,000 ($507,000 in current dollars) of the original fee.
John Hay Whitney and Technicolor[11]Jay Whitney owned the rights to Technicolor for movies and sought Steve Hannagan’s advice on promoting the Technicolor process. Hannagan suggested that Whitney stop making demonstration movies using Technicolor and begin working directly with producers to employ Technicolor in their movies.
Puerto Rico[12] In 1937, General Winship Blanton, Territorial Governor of Puerto Rico had thoughtlessly provoked a riot in the capitol city that resulted in several deaths and tarnished the image of Puerto Rico. He needed help to revitalize the Island's image and contracted with Steve Hannagan. Hannagan responded to Blanton’s call with a press campaign using: sporting events, a massive press release program, and a catchy new slogan – ‘San Juan is the Honolulu of the East.’ One news editor said the success of the island campaign was due to ‘Steve the Stupendous [Press Agent].”
Coca-Cola[13] According to Frederick Allen, Steve Hannagan had two responsibilities at Coca-Cola to act as a buffer between the press and its President, Robert Woodruff and to assist in marketing Coca-Cola. Hannagan played a significant role for Coca-Cola in overcoming an attempt by the French government to ban the soft drink. His most significant contribution to Coca-Cola was a product placement campaign that prominently displayed the Coca-Cola conspicuously in movies, national radio broadcasts, and television programs.
Ford Motor Company[14] Scott Cutlip in his history of public relations, The Unseen Power, reported on the masterful work by Hannagan that reversed Ford Motor Company’s bad press at the start of World War II when Ford initially claimed an unachievable goal to produce a B-24 liberator bomber every hour. (By the end of the War, Ford did achieve the bomber an hour goal.)
Las Vegas[15] The Las Vegas Review Journal named Steve Hannagan as a member of the first 100 who turned Las Vegas into a national mecca for gamblers and tourists.
The ’Hannagan Way’
Steve Hannagan developed a series of public relations principles over his career that are still in use today.
Explain the Story - Describe the story in ten words or less, a publicity campaign is essentially a news story.. Employ a snappy lead to catch the eye of the editor and the reader. Always tell the truth.
Establish a News Bureau - Channel all press relations and communications coming into and leaving the campaign through your own news bureau. The bureau chiefs must become involved in the local power and social networks.
Use Pictures - Tell the story through pictures. Hannagan always hired the best photographers for his campaigns. Averell Harriman said there was one lesson that Hannagan taught him– use pictures, the more the better.
Use Advertising – Support the publicity campaign with a strong advertising program.
Include Campaign Literature – Apply the basic rules of grammar and crisply design the piece.
Inundate the Press – Reach target markets through every form of media. Send both major stories and incidental personal stories.
Work with the Press - Be honest and accurate with the media.
Set Expectations for New Clients - Take only clients who are willing to accept your conditions. Hannagan’s clients had to give him access to the Chief Executive Officer, be honest with the press, and accept Hannagan’s instructions.
Measure the Campaign – Hannagan believed that it was important to know if his campaign produced positive results. On Miami Beach, he used garbage trucks as the index for the success of his publicity campaigns for the resort; the more garbage trucks, the more people were visiting.
Steve Hannagan Passes Leaving a National Legacy in the Field of Press Relations
Time Magazine in their obituary reported that Seve Hannanagan was a 'rare bird' known as an honest press agent.[16] Art Wright in a piece for the New York Times wrote about his friendship and respect for Steve Hannagan, wrote. " I had always hoped the longest day I lived I always would be second to Steve Hannagan. That you’ll never understand until you know someone like Steve Hannagan."[17]
References[edit]
- ↑ Hartwell, Dickson (Volume 120, November 1947); “Prince of Press Agents”; Colliers Magazine; p. 81
- ↑ Hartwell, Dickson (November 22, 1947); “Prince of Press Agents;” Colliers; p.75
- ↑ Ruark, Robert (March 17, 1953); “Steve Hannagan” Pittsburgh Press; http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19530316&id=omMbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nE0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5648,311277; p 28.
- ↑ Phillips, H.I. “The Once Over” (clipping from file box of Helen Hannagan Townsley); Indianapolis Star.
- ↑ Hannagan, Steve (May 27, 1923); “Hard Task Before American Drivers”; Pittsburgh Press; retrieved 8/21/2012; http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19230525&id=iwMbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1UkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6258,3784137.
- ↑ Donald Davidson Interview (December 11, 2015) Historian, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- ↑ November 30, 1936; Volume I, Number 2; “Steve Hannagan’s Girls;” Life Magazine; p. 19
- ↑ Cutlip, Scott M. (1994); The Unseen Power; Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.; Hillsdale, NJ; p. 256.
- ↑ Sauter, Van Gordon and Jennifer Tuohy (Winter 2010/11); “It Happened to Sun Valley”; Sun Valley Guide; http://www.svguide.com/w11/sunvalley.html (retrieved April 1, 2011); p. 15.
- ↑ Hartwell, Dickson (Volume 120, November, 1947); “Prince of Press Agents”; Colliers Magazine.
- ↑ Hannagan, Steve (1937); Letter to John Hay Whitney about Technicolor; Edward Ellis Ross; Hannagan Research Documents (1961); New York University Archives.
- ↑ Jones, Stanley (May, 1938; Vol. 103, No. 5); “Steve Hannagan”; Scribner’s Magazine.
- ↑ Allen Frederick (1994;) Secret Formula; Harper Business: New York.
- ↑ Hopkins, A. D. and K.J. Evans (editors) (1999); “Steve Hannagan” by K.J. Evans in The First 100; Huntington Press: Las Vegas, Nevada.
- ↑ Hartwell, Dickson (Volume 120, November, 1947); “Prince of Press Agents”; Collier’s Magazine.
- ↑ “The Rare Bird” (Retrieved June 28, 2011); Time Magazine (February 16, 1953); http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,817979,00.html
- ↑ Wright, Art (February 16, 1945) ; New York Times
Steve Hannagan Review[edit]
This article "Steve Hannagan" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Steve Hannagan. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
