Communications Outreach Program

"Coatings: Sustaining the Future"

The Communications Outreach Program program was designed to introduce and promote the positive contributions of the paint and coatings industry, including our products and the industry’s vital role in the American economy. It imparts to others what we in the industry know well: that our industry’s products play a vital role in the everyday lives of Americans (e.g., coatings on soda cans, cars, computers and furniture) and the industry’s economic footprint is a significant contributor to the American economy. Did you know that the paint industry employs 320,000 people across the United States and that our industry exports $3.286 billion in products annually? Our outreach program will ensure that our members, the media and the decision makers in state and local governments know this, as well as a host of other facts about the industry. Our theme is "Coatings: Sustaining the Future" since our products protect, preserve and beautify.

Why is this necessary?

For many people, the question, "What are coatings?" is common. The term "coatings" is not part of the common vernacular. NPCA’s new Communications Outreach Program will change that. Buoyed by fact sheets and resources for our members, the media, and policymakers, the program offers a broad view of the world of paints and coatings and their role in end-use markets, the economy, and our daily existence.

 

Communications Outreach Program Materials

  • "Paint & Coatings More than You Know" is a speech and PowerPoint presentation, providing a general overview of the industry, its economic contributions and its environmental successes. It’s a prototype speech for use by NPCA members when talking to legislators, business groups, or other pertinent audiences about the industry, designed to be used as a template that may be easily customized by adding specific information.

  • State Metrics provide data on employment numbers, establishments, payroll and wage for each of the 50 states.

 

Here are some hypothetical situations that demonstrate possible use of the materials.

The Communications Outreach Program in Action  

Scenario #1:
Meeting with a Legislator

A state legislature has debated the benefits of a mandated post-consumer paint management program during the last several legislative sessions. These bills are designed to require paint manufacturers and retailers to participate in post-consumer take-back programs or to impose a fee on paint products in order to fund a post-consumer paint program.   
An industry representative has been working on this issue, and there is a need to establish relationships with legislators in that state. Consequently, a group of paint manufacturers invites a state legislator and staff person to lunch, while the Legislature is not in session. There is time set aside for discussion. 

A facility manager from a paint plant opens the program with an introductory presentation about the paint industry, our products, our industry’s economic contribution to society and our environmental successes over time, using the "Paint and Coatings — More than You Know" speech.

He goes on to speak more specifically about industry’s economic contributions within the state by utilizing the program’s database of specific state information:

"Did you know that the paint and coatings industry counts some 17,000 persons in the state as employees, and that our state pays the highest paint and coatings industry wages, where the annual average wage was $49,700 in 2006, up by nine percent since 1997?"

If possible, the "Paint and Coatings — More than You Know" PowerPoint slides are used to illustrate the oral remarks. 
After this presentation, it is likely that there will be some additional discussion about the industry. The industry representative provides the Industry Information Kit, a Post-Consumer Paint Issue Backgrounder, and protocol document to the legislator and staff, so that they can walk away with these positive messages about the industry. 

Scenario #2:
Business Roundtable Discussion at the local Chamber of Commerce

Several representatives of paint companies were invited to participate in a discussion of corporate citizenship at a local Chamber of Commerce. The local chamber and the city council are working together to design a pilot program to benefit children identified as "at-risk" of dropping out of school.  

Attendees at the meeting include representatives from local businesses and several city council members. At the initial meeting, each company representative is asked to identify and describe their company and their industry. The facility manager for a medium-sized OEM custom paint manufacturer makes a presentation about the paint and coatings industry, using the "Paint and Coatings  —  More than you Know" speech along with the accompanying PowerPoint slides to illustrate the type of products manufactured, the economic contribution of the industry to our society and the environmental successes of the last several decades.  While the industry speech is the basis for his comments, he is able to modify it in order to discuss more specifically the type of paint products that his company produces. 

At the end of his presentation, he is able to distribute the Industry Information Kit that contains Fact Sheets and Wallet Cards to fellow business partners and city council members.

 

The Information Is Yours to Use

Whomever your audience, and whatever your purpose in seeking that audience — whether it’s to be persuasive and advocate the industry’s point of view, or to introduce the industry to your community — this concrete, factual information about the positive contributions of the paint and coatings industry is especially important to relate.

That’s why we’re asking for your help. We’d like you, our members, to distribute these pieces within your company, where appropriate, and integrate facts from the materials into your communications with outside audiences.

Likewise, NPCA is integrating the pieces into its Grassroots Issue Advocacy efforts, by including them in every communication with a lawmaker or regulator. The same is true for integration with our PaintPAC efforts. Since PaintPAC’s mission is to reach out directly to elected officials with support for their campaigns, providing them with basic information about the paint industry is natural complement. But, these are only a few examples of how these materials may be used.
Paints and coatings are so numerous, and their applications so diverse that they do everything from protect our iPods, to keep our canned foods safe from metal leaching, to make our military vessels safer from corrosion and wear. It’s all important and true, and it’s crucial that people know it, and that we do our part to educate various publics — consumers, policymakers, media — about us.

 

Contact

For questions about the program, materials, or how you might utilize these important resources, please contact NPCA’s Lisa Román, Danielle Chalom, or Heidi McAuliffe.