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CASH AMERICA INTERNATIONAL / L.E.A.D.S.ONLINE

Challenge:
Cash America International, the world's largest operator of pawn stores, needed help promoting l.e.a.d.s.online, a proprietary software application used to upload pawn-transaction data directly to participating law enforcement agencies. Witherspoon orchestrated the announcement of l.e.a.d.s.online's selection by several law enforcement organizations, including the Fort Worth Police Department, as its technology standard for electronic data transfer in property-crime investigations.

Strategy:
• Witherspoon developed a public relations plan designed to: Position the Fort Worth Police Departmentís adoption of l.e.a.d.s.online as a major new initiative in the fight against property crime.
• Position l.e.a.d.s.online as a lead participant in an innovative public/private partnership.
• Solidify Cash Americaís reputation for going above and beyond the call of duty in the fight
against crime.
• Develop a public relations "template" suitable for use whenever l.e.a.d.s.online is implemented by a law-enforcement agency.
• Execute that template in other markets.

Solution:
Announcement of the joint crime-fighting initiative was made at a high-profile news conference, with Cash America executives and high-ranking police and city officials serving as spokespersons. Media kits were developed and press releases distributed to news outlets. After the news conference, a local pawn store was made available to TV crews that needed to capture videotape of l.e.a.d.s.online in actual use.

Results:
Every TV network affiliate in Dallas/Fort Worth aired excerpts of the news conference, and stories also appeared in local newspapers and on radio, with all coverage on-message. Nationally, coverage of l.e.a.d.s.online was featured in several law-enforcement trade publications, generating several promising new customer leads for the software.