On 3 Public Relations represented a pro-business coalition called ‘Florida Businesses for a Competitive Workforce (FBCW)’ for their earned media campaign in 2015 and 2016. FBCW is a coalition of Fortune 500 companies and major Florida employers that On3PR helped to organize a year-long earned media campaign from 2015-2016 with the goal of securing the first-ever state legislative committee hearing of the Florida Competitive Workforce Act (FCWA). The FCWA legislation would make it illegal to discriminate in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

During this campaign, On3PR garnered unprecedented publicity for the FBCW coalition and maintained a steady drumbeat of coverage so the issue remained relevant throughout the year, leading into the 2016 Florida Legislative Session. On3PR drafted and published news releases statewide to announce every major Florida employer that joined the coalition, including studies, polling, recent counties and municipalities passing local Human Rights Ordinances (HROs) and providing timely information on this national issue. Additionally, On3PR created and managed a website for the FBCW coalition, provided the coalition with corporate and legislative packets, and provided content for the coalition’s internal communications.

Once the Legislature assigned the FCWA to legislative committees, On3PR strategically targeted media markets based on committee chairs and legislators who would be reluctant to pass the bill. Based on target markets, On3PR scheduled editorial board meetings and placed guest editorials and one-on-one interviews with reporters. On3PR also held a press conference ahead of the first scheduled legislative committee hearing of the FCWA to show the immense amount of business support for the bill. The momentum from On3PR’s continuous public relations efforts resulted in the first-ever hearing of the FCWA and helped lay the groundwork for future legislation.