NACS reFresh Initiative Provides C-store Retailers With PR Toolkit

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing, published the "Public Relations Toolkit," intended to help convenience store retailers boost publicity efforts in their communities.

The 24-page publication, part of the NACS reFresh initiative, includes information about a variety of topics including how to write press releases, how to pitch an interview and how to elicit great media coverage.

“These days, media relations goes far beyond the traditional press. Today, everyone is reporting ‘news’ on some level, especially on social media. By using basic public relations strategies and gaining some additional exposure for your efforts, you will be able to more successfully attract consumers to your stores and improve the reputation of your brand,” said NACS Vice President of Strategic Industry Initiatives Jeff Lenard.

This primer is the fourth deliverable from the NACS reFresh initiative. NACS released two other resources earlier this month: “How Convenience Stores Work and Their Contributions to Communities,” a primer defining 10 key areas of the convenience store business, and “Building the Business Case for Produce Sales at Convenience Stores,” the first primer co-published by NACS and United Fresh to help grow produce sales in c-stores.

In late 2014, NACS posted more than 100 Ideas 2 Go video segments that showcase exceptional convenience retailing as its first deliverable. 

“Today, media relations is about more than just press coverage. It’s about projecting the message you want to convey about your business. Stories will be written about your business — and our industry. This suite of tools that we developed for members will make sure these stories can be framed in a positive light,” Lenard added.

NACS expects to publish additional toolkits in the coming weeks.

Alexandria-based NACS has 2,100 retail and 1,600 supplier member companies, which do business in nearly 50 countries.