Government speeches don’t make good TV. They are usually long on words and short on ratings. Even though important ideas are presented, nobody tunes in to watch.

So to communicate his local entrepreneurship plan, the Governor of Puerto Rico decided to transform his traditional New Year’s speech. Instead, he delivered his message using a Hollywood film.

The Government of Puerto Rico acquired the rights to Chasing 3,000, an unreleased Hollywood film about Roberto Clemente, a baseball Hall-of-Famer, and the most influential Latin American athlete of all time. His biggest milestone was to reach 3,00 hits.

On January 1, 2014, the anniversary of Clemente’s death, the Governor used the movie to challenge the country to strive for a different kind of hit.

We convinced Telemundo, one of the world’s top Hispanic networks, to donate a 2-hour primetime slot and air it in place of the speech, entirely without commercials. Instead, the audience saw business pitches of young Puerto Rican entrepreneurs. Pitches that viewers could turn into hits.

At the end of the movie, the Governor and Roberto Clemente’s son asked the audience to vote via web or SMS for the idea that could turn into the country’s next hit.

Then we shifted our public relations efforts to the service of the entrepreneurs. The finalists were taken on a media tour and their companies received national press coverage. The winning company received guidance from the Government, making it a model case study for the country’s emerging entrepreneurial class.

On January 1, 2014, the anniversary of Clemente’s death, the Governor used the movie to challenge the country to strive for a different kind of hit.

We convinced Telemundo, one of the world’s top Hispanic networks, to donate a 2-hour primetime slot and air it in place of the speech, entirely without commercials. Instead, the audience saw business pitches of young Puerto Rican entrepreneurs. Pitches that viewers could turn into hits.

At the end of the movie, the Governor and Roberto Clemente’s son asked the audience to vote via web or SMS for the idea that could turn into the country’s next hit.

The entrepreneurs were taken on a media tour and their companies received national press coverage. The winning company received guidance from the Government, making it a model case study for the country’s emerging entrepreneurial class.

Over 1 million viewers tuned in to watch the movie between the original airtime and a rerun a week later. The movie was the top-rated program of its time slot.

More than 50,000 voted to select the next hit. Even though a single winner was selected, all four of the participating entrepreneurs received media coverage and reported dramatic increases in their sales, leads, and social media activity.

The country’s LinkedIn page, the government’s communication hub for the entrepreneurial class, acquired over 2,000 new connections after the effort launched.

Overall, the campaign generated over $2 million in earned media.