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INSTITUTE for MEDIA, POLICY and CIVIL SOCIETY

PLAN THE WORK:


A Handbook for
Strategic Communications Planning
for Not-for-Profit Organizations
How to contact IMPACS

207 West Hastings Street, Suite 910


Vancouver, BC V6B 1H7

Phone: 604.682.1953
Toll-free: 877.232.0122
Fax: 604.682.4353

Email: media@impacs.org
Web: www.impacs.org

IMPACS gratefully acknowledges the financial support of BC Hydro in developing


the workshop that accompanies this handbook. Thanks also to Volunteer BC and
its member volunteer centres for the inspiration to create this handbook. Core
support for IMPACS training initiatives has been provided by the Vancouver
Foundation, the Endswell Foundation and VanCity Credit Union.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
The value of developing a strategic communication plan............................................ 3
How was this model created and how does it work? ................................................... 4

FACILITATOR’S GUIDE
HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR OWN STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLAN ................................ 9
Organizational Goals and Communication Objectives: Defining Success................ 11
Situation Analysis: Organizational Background........................................................ 21
Situation Analysis: External or Public Environment ................................................. 27
Audiences and Messages............................................................................................ 31
Strategies and Tactics ................................................................................................ 39
Evaluation of Ideas for Strategies and Tactics .......................................................... 45
Implementation Budget .............................................................................................. 49
Timing......................................................................................................................... 51
Timeline...................................................................................................................... 55
Implement the Plan! ................................................................................................... 59
Evaluate the Plan ....................................................................................................... 61

SUPPORT MATERIALS
HOW TO PLAN AND FACILITATE MEETINGS .................................................................... 65
Preparation ................................................................................................................ 65
Meeting Facilitation................................................................................................... 67
Follow-Up .................................................................................................................. 71
Meeting Checklist....................................................................................................... 72
HOW TO FACILITATE A CREATIVE BRAINSTORM ............................................................ 73
HOW TO FACILITATE A FOCUS GROUP ............................................................................ 75
SAMPLE COMMUNICATION PLANS — FOUR APPROACHES .............................................. 77
Eye Disease Education Program for People With Disabilities……………………. 77
Wisconsin Environmental Education Board……………………………………….. 89
Heart Health Partnership…………………………………………………………... 99
National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign……………………………………… 105
INTRODUCTION
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The value of developing a strategic communication plan

Your organization’s most valuable asset is an excellent overall reputation. A strategic


communication plan formulates the strategy, tactics and procedures for developing,
sustaining and publicizing your not-for-profit organization and your organization’s
reputation. A strategic communication plan is a written statement of actions and
activities. It explains in detail the timeframe for carrying out the plan of these actions,
what resources and support will be necessary to achieve your goals, how much each
activity will cost, what would constitute a successful plan and how results will be
measured.
A strategic communication plan:
1. identifies and endorses a particular, desired future.
2. evaluates that future against other possible futures.
3. researches which desired futures would be possible.
4. evaluates the available resources.
5. outlines what needs to be done.
6. evaluates the consequence of actions and possible actions.
7. decides on a particular course.
8. evaluates the effectiveness of that course.
9. communicates that action plan.
10. evaluates the impact of your actions.

Strategic communication planning evaluates an organization’s goals, objectives,


strategies and tactics. The plan provides criteria for making day-to-day organiza-
tional decisions and a template against which all such decisions can be evaluated.
Developing a communication plan is much more than creating a media relations plan
or increasing the number of press clippings you can accumulate. Strategic
communication planning considers both the short-term and long-term effects of all of
your public communications efforts.
Some of the common objectives and benefits of developing a strategic
communication plan include developing and/or improving your:
1. ability to create a strong and positive reputation for your not-for-profit
organization — public relations;
2. profile in the community and your ability to attract the best staff, supporters
and volunteers — community relations;
3. relationship and reputation with the media — media relations;
4. relationship with employees and volunteers — internal communications;
5. ability to attract and maintain strong donor support — donor relations;
6. reputation with government at all levels — government relations;
7. sponsorship and funding opportunities with business — corporate relations;
8. not-for-profit organization’s policies and organizational direction — board-
staff relations
9. outreach about programs and services you offer — constituency and client
relations.

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If you are still unconvinced that the time you will spend developing a communication
plan will be a good investment, consider the following reasons to invest in the process:
1. to proactively focus the activities of your not-for-profit organization where there
is the greatest potential for success;
2. to ensure your limited resources (time and financial) are most effectively applied;
3. to impose discipline and clear thinking about why it is in the best interest for your
not-for-profit organization to pursue certain communications initiatives;
4. to integrate all of your public relations efforts: media, government, donor,
corporate, etc.;
5. to ensure that everyone in your not-for-profit organization (staff, board,
volunteers) is “on the same page” and telling the same stories about your
organization; and
6. to achieve results that move you towards realizing your not-for-profit
organization’s goals; and
7. to encourage creative thinking about new ways to address old challenges.

How was this model created and how does it work?


Through our research with not-for-profit organizations in BC over the past three years,
we identified several common themes:
most not-for-profit organizations believe that communication planning is a critical
area for them to develop and they are eager to do the work; but,
communication planning is rarely ever written into any staff person’s job description;
and,
most not-for-profit staff people have little to no experience doing communication
planning; in addition,
funding to hire outside consultants to undertake communication planning is extremely
hard to raise; and,
for organizations that do attract funding to hire a communication planning consultant,
finding consultants who are knowledgeable about the special financial and time
restrictions of the not-for-profit sector is a great challenge.

With these common challenges faced by most not-for-profits, we set a goal to develop a
strategic communication planning model that could harness the enthusiasm of a few key
staff or volunteers in an organization and that would recognize and work around each of
the challenges noted above.
In our experience, not-for-profits have identified lack of time as the most common
impediment to their organization’s ability to develop a strategic communication plan.
Since communication planning is rarely written into anyone’s job description, it is an
easy target for never becoming an organizational priority. In many not-for-profit
organizations, communication planning is handed over to a volunteer board committee,
where the process often loses momentum.

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One of our objectives in developing this communication planning handbook was to create
a model that accommodates the very real time restrictions most not-for-profit
organizations have to do this planning.
The second impediment most not-for-profit organizations face when they consider
developing a communication plan is lack of experience in this specific area. Thus, our
second objective was to create a tool unlike any that we have seen: a communication
planning handbook that not only explains what areas of information need to be gathered
and evaluated, but one that also provides concrete suggestions for how to gather that
information.
The approach we have developed will require one person, either staff or volunteer, to
assume the role of the “Communication Plan Facilitator” or “Communication Plan
Manager.” The structure outlined in the following pages has been developed to move you
step-by-step through the whole process, with a time commitment of about four hours a
week, which, according to our research, is the average amount of time most people said
they could dedicate to this work. That said, a good part of the facilitator’s or manager’s
four hours a week will be spent getting others engaged in the process.
This serves our third objective: to engage as many people as possible in the process.
Why? Because staff, board and supporter buy-in is critical to the success of your plan —
especially if your planning process identifies success as being dependent on changes to
the status quo. Without full support from the people who will implement the strategies
and tactics that your communication plan identifies will lead you to success, the plan may
never be implemented. Without full support from the people who set your not-for-profit
organization’s policies and organizational direction, the plan may never be implemented.
Without full support from the people who financially support your not-for-profit
organization’s activities, the plan may never be implemented.
And so, rather than handing you a “cookie cutter” communication plan template that one
person from your not-for-profit organization could take away and stamp into a limited
variety of situations, we have provided you with a complete communication planning
cookbook.
The document has been divided into two distinct sections:
1. Facilitator’s Guide
2. Support Materials

Facilitator’s Guide
The Facilitator’s Guide in this handbook will provide you with all of the tools you
should need, to create a communication plan that is truly tailored to your not-for-profit
organization’s unique strengths, needs and challenges.

Support Materials
This handbook includes a variety of materials that will support you in the development
and implementation of your communication plan. This is a section that we hope you will
continue to add to, by sharing new information and resources with other not-for-profit
organizations.

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FACILITATOR’S GUIDE

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As the person managing the development of your not-for-profit organization’s


communication plan, your role is critical. Not only will you be responsible for keeping
the process moving along, you will likely also be the one person within your organization
who has participated in every aspect of information gathering for the plan.
One of your key roles in your capacity as the plan manager will be to facilitate group
meetings, where staff, board and other stakeholders will come together to share
information about different aspects of both your organization and the plan you are
developing. As such, we thought it was important to provide some support on how to
effectively facilitate these meetings. In the second section of this handbook, the “Support
Materials” section, we have included details about how to plan and facilitate meetings,
how to facilitate a creative brainstorm and how to facilitate a focus group: three tools that
will be valuable to your planning process. We have also included four sample
communication plans to inspire you — and to provide you with ideas about how you
could adapt our model to best suit your organization’s specific needs.
If, when reading through this section, you begin to feel overwhelmed by the number of
meetings we have planned to support you — stop reading! Sit back and consider that the
creation of your communication plan is a process as much as it is a project. The process
may take as long as six months to get through. That is fine. Approach the process as a
series of very easy to achieve benchmarks: the first meeting, short report for the plan; the
second meeting, short report for the plan; and so on. (Remember the old saying: you can’t
eat an elephant in one bite!)
Creating these short reports on each section of your plan will serve another purpose. As
your planning document increases in scope (and size), you should feel a sense of
accumulated accomplishment, a feeling that you are really moving your organization
forward. This feeling of accomplishment can play a significant role in encouraging you to
continue your work to complete your not-for-profit organization’s strategic
communication plan.

How to Develop Your Own Strategic Communication Plan


The following section details each of the different areas that you will be developing
within your communication plan. Although the model we created relies on the
participation of your staff, board and other allies and volunteers, any of these sections
could be completed by one individual. We do not recommend this approach, however,
since the ultimate success of your plan — that is, how effectively you can implement and
then evaluate it — will largely be determined by the level of buy-in that key staff and
board have for the plan. Buy-in is easiest to achieve when people have had a role in
developing the plan and feel some level of ownership of the ideas contained within it.
All of the pieces of a communication plan are represented in the following pages. They
have been laid out in a logical order: by moving from Organizational Goals to Situation
Analysis to Audience and Messages, you will be building naturally from the most general
to the most specific areas of concern. We recommend that you try to fully complete each
stage of information gathering before moving to the next one.

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Stage One — complete all of these pieces before moving to Stage Two
Organizational Goals (Defining Success) (this should be the very first area you
address)
Communication Objectives (Defining Success)
Situation Analysis: Organizational Background
Situation Analysis: External Environment

Stage Two — complete both of these pieces before moving to Stage Three
Audiences (must be determined before you move to messages)
Messages

Stage Three — complete both of these pieces before moving to Stage Four
Strategies (must be determined before you move to tactics)
Tactics

Stage Four — complete all of these pieces before moving to Stage Five
Evaluation of Ideas for Strategies and Tactics
Implementation Budget (helpful to do before you invest time in developing the
timing and timeline sections, in case you identify certain strategies and tactics
require resources you don’t have access to)
Timing
Timeline

Stage Five
Implement the Plan
Evaluate the results

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Organizational Goals and Communication Objectives: Defining Success


Your first challenge as the facilitator will be to develop a very clear understanding of
the differences between goals, objectives, strategies and tactics. In our experience,
dictionary definitions offer very little help clarifying these terms. “Goal” and
“objective” are words that are used interchangeably, as are “strategies” and “tactics.”
To make matters even more confusing, many people hold up their organizational
“strategies” as “goals,” perhaps because strategies are easier to measure than goals.
Then again, perhaps the confusion lies simply in the fact that very few people, in
either the not-for-profit or the business sector, have ever taken the time to distinguish
the roles of each of these tools in strategic planning.
A visual distinction of how these four tools work together may be the best place to
start:

Goal(s)
We have just
a few of these

Objectives
We have objectives to
support each of our goals

Strategies
Our strategies are developed to
ensure we achieve our objectives

Tactics
We have lots, perhaps dozens, of tactics. Each tactic
has been developed based on its ability to meet our
strategies, fulfill our objectives and ultimately
influence our ability to achieve our goal(s).

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Another way to visualize the relationship between goals, objectives, strategies and
tactics is like this: keep in mind that your objectives support your goals, your
strategies support your objectives and your tactics support your strategies.

GOAL(S)
Goal
What are your long-term achievements? What do you want to achieve to move
your not-for-profit organization closer to fulfilling its mission?

OBJECTIVE 1 OBJECTIVE 2
What concrete, measurable, specific and What concrete, measurable, specific and
achievable (within a certain timeframe) achievable (within a certain timeframe)
“targets” are you aiming at? These are “targets” are you aiming at? These are
shorter-term than your goals. shorter-term than your goals.

STRATEGY 1A STRATEGY 1B STRATEGY 2A STRATEGY 2B


What is one What is another What is one What is another
general approach general approach general approach general approach
to achieving to achieving to achieving to achieving
Objective 1? Objective 1? Objective 2? Objective 2?

Tactic 1A-1 Tactic 1A-3 Tactic 1B-2 Tactic 2A-1 Tactic 2B-1
What What What What What
specific tools specific tools specific tools specific tools specific tools
will we use? will we use? will we use? will we use? will we use?

Tactic 1A-2 Tactic 1B-1 Tactic 1B-3 Tactic 2A-2 Tactic 2B-2
What What What What What
specific tools specific tools specific tools specific tools specific tools
will we use? will we use? will we use? will we use? will we use?

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For Example…

GOAL
To provide a free and nutritious hot lunch program
at the elementary school.

OBJECTIVE 1 OBJECTIVE 2
To enlist support of the school To develop relationships with possible
administration and the current cafeteria in-kind and cash supporters by
staff by Christmas break. Christmas break and secure adequate
support to begin new program for the
next school year.

STRATEGY STRATEGY STRATEGY STRATEGY


2A 2B 2C 2D
Convince Demonstrate to Convince other Provide other
grocery store potential funders NGOs that our NGOs the
managers of the that their mission program will opportunity to
value-added in and goals will be support their own participate in the
providing in-kind served by and not compete development of
support. supporting this for funding. the program.

Tactic 2A- Tactic 2A- Tactic 2A- Tactic 2A- Tactic 2A-
1 2 3 4 5
Undertake a Determine Figure out Get Create a 4-
shopper amount of how many testimonials page info
survey to weekly kids the from sheet about
determine “waste.” “waste” nutritionists. benefits of
support. could feed. participating.

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It is important to discuss and set success benchmarks for both your organizational
goals and your communication objectives. Unless organizations consider them both,
and develop distinct goals and concrete objectives, the two will likely remain
confused, making it difficult to establish accurate success measures. For instance,
confusing goals with objectives can lead an organization to conclude that one of their
goals is to have three stories about them appear in the local newspaper. Although
generating media coverage is not a goal, it can be a fine objective — as long as it is
understood that having a story appear in the paper serves to achieve some real change
in your organization, such as recruiting new volunteers, attracting new donors, or
attracting clients to a program.
Distinguishing between goals and objectives can be challenging because the terms are
often used interchangeably. However, they are not the same. Goals are
accomplishments that will make or leave some change in the world. One way to
define goals is to answer the question, “once we have achieved our goal(s), how will
the world look different?” Objectives are the smaller action items that naturally
develop from your goal-setting process. Well-defined objectives are ideally specific,
measurable, concrete and achievable within a specified time-frame.
So, if organizational goals and communication objectives are so different, why
address them at the same time? Simply, because most people don’t make the
distinction clearly in their own minds, they move quite fluidly from one to the other.
This is not a problem, as long as the facilitator has a clear sense of the difference
between the big-picture organizational goals and the communication objectives that
could ultimately assist your not-for-profit organization in achieving those goals.
Your organizations goals and objectives are also the two areas of a communication
plan that should include the entire board of directors and as many staff as possible in
their development. The decisions made while discussing goals and objectives could
have an impact at both an organizational policy level (typically a board responsibility)
and on project implementation (typically a staff responsibility).
This piece of work may require two or three meetings of a couple of hours each. The
agenda that follows is for a three-hour session — the maximum length of time we
believe you can spend working effectively on these two topics at one sitting. If you
feel at the end of the three hours that there is still more discussion to be had, schedule
a second meeting. You could either ask the same group of people to come back to
continue the discussion (and perhaps invite others if you believe they could help
address questions the first group had difficulties coming to agreement on), or you
could break the group into two and ask one group to reconvene to discuss only
organizational goals and the other to discuss communication objectives. If you choose
the latter approach, then it is critical that the group meeting to discuss organizational
goals have their meeting prior to the group discussing communication objectives. As
noted earlier, communication objectives must be developed to support organizational
goals.

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If you expect to meet with some resistance from your board and staff to doing this
piece of work here are a few compelling reasons to bring them on-side. By working
together and defining what success looks like you can expect to:
build morale within the team.
When you establish goals that your staff and volunteers can meet,
everyone is energized and ready to take on more ambitious goals.
establish evaluation criteria.
More and more funders and supporters want to know whether not-for-
profits have been successful in their work. Defining what success will
look like is one of the only ways to provide them with that
information.
set priorities, so that when you are faced with multiple communication
opportunities, it will be easier to make hard choices about where to allocate
limited resources.
For example, if someone proposes organizing a conference, your plan
will allow you to determine if this activity will support your stated
goals and whether other planned activities will have to be cancelled
or postponed.
have good cause for celebration when you achieve your stated goals.
If you don’t set goals at the beginning of your planning process, you
won’t know when to celebrate. Many not-for-profits are unhappy at
the end of their communications initiatives, feeling they could have
done a better job. Rarely have those organizations defined, at the
outset, what their goals were. Without an end-mark against which to
evaluate your work, it is impossible to ever feel the thrill of success.
identify the goals that are likely unachievable, before you invest resources in
pursuing them.
Seeing what success will look like, on paper, and discussing this with
others, will help you keep unrealistic expectations in check, identify
where human or financial resources may be lacking and identify other
obstacles that may impede your success.

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Facilitator’s Briefing Guide


Organizational Goals and Communication Objectives: Defining Success

Objectives:
To develop a shared vision for the role of the organization within the
community.
To identify realistic and achievable short-term (one to three years)
organizational goals.
To identify realistic and achievable communication objectives to help meet
the goals identified.
To enlist board and staff support to engage in the required activities to achieve
these goals and objectives.

Activities:
Visioning exercise
Brainstorms
Group discussions

Props/ Materials:
Flip chart, markers and tape
A summary of your organizational history and external environment can be
helpful to put the discussion of goals in perspective. However, it may also act
to limit people’s ability to truly create a vision for the future. The challenge is
that some participants may get “stuck” on what has been done and find
themselves unable to focus on what could be achieved. Carefully judge
whether the individuals within your group need this information. If you
determine that they do, complete the sections on organizational history and
external environment before discussing goals and objectives.

Who to invite:
Members of your board of directors
Staff members
Long-time and committed volunteers and advisors
People who will bring a positive excitement to this stage of the planning
Optimal number of participants: up to 12

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Sample agenda for a three-hour visioning exercise


Organizational Goals and Communication Objectives: Defining Success

Timing Activity Facilitator's Tip


(minutes)
10-20 Self-introductions of Ask each participant to:
(depending all participants state their name,
on group how long they have been involved with your
size) organization,
in what capacity, and
to complete the phrase, “I am committed to
<the name of your organization> because…”
Allow for 2-3 minutes per person.
Record the answers to “I am committed to <the
name of your organization> because….” You may
find them useful in your planning process when
you reach the Audiences and Messages section.
They also may provide a spring-board for
newsletter stories.
10 Overview of the Tell the participants what you hope to achieve
meeting’s goals and during the meeting (such as the objectives noted
agenda review on the previous page) and how you plan to use the
information that is shared.
Review the agenda and ask if anyone has
comments.
5 (if set in Setting meeting rules Either develop these in advance, have them posted
advance) where everyone can see them and read them to the
group with a brief explanation about each; or, ask
15 (if set
the group to develop its own ground rules and post
by the
those. (See page 64 for common meeting rules).
group)
5 Positive visioning Ask participants to close their eyes and visualize
how your community would look different were
your not-for-profit organization able to achieve its
goals. What impact will an effective and strong
not-for-profit organization have in the community?
Ask them to be concrete and specific. Would there
be a new skateboard park for youth, concerts for
seniors, a gathering place for moms and young
children?
15-30 Group vision sharing Ask each individual to share their vision of a
positive future. Do not allow any negative

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commentary about anyone’s vision. Record the


main ideas of each person’s vision on flip chart
paper and post these on the wall. Title the flip
charts “What success looks like.”
30-40 Discussion: Lead a discussion about your organization’s
organizational goals current goals and how those goals fit with the
visions just created. Again, do not allow negative
thinking. Identify the goals that have the greatest
support (see page 73, Facilitating a Creative
Brainstorm, Step Two) and list them together on a
separate flip chart.
30-40 Discussion/ Referring to the flip chart you have just created
brainstorm: with the organizational goals that received the
communication most votes, brainstorm communication objectives
objectives that could serve to help you achieve those goals.
15-20 Final discussion Allow individuals in the group who have concerns
about the visions of success, goals and objectives
to share them at this point. As much as possible,
let the others in the group respond to the concerns,
since it was they who proposed those ideas
originally. Ensure people speak respectfully to
each other and challenge ideas, not the people who
proposed them.
15 Follow-up Ask participants what they can commit to doing to
support the continued forward movement of this
process. Write these commitments down on flip
chart paper so the whole room can see.
2 Wrap-up Tell participants that you will take this information
away and put it into a form that can be shared,
considered and further discussed.
3 Thank-you’s Thank each person for participating in the meeting.
Tell them that their input was very valuable and
that you will stay in touch with them as the
development of the communication plan
progresses.

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Sample questions to ask the group

Note that you do not need to ask every question listed here at your meeting. In fact, if
your visioning brainstorm elicits strong answers, you may not need to ask any of
these questions. (And many of them are simply a rephrasing of other questions.) The
intent is to provide you with adequate ways to get at the information you are seeking
from your meeting participants. It may be helpful to provide this list of questions to
individuals in advance to help them prepare for the meeting.
1. Organizational goals
a. Why does your not-for-profit organization exist?
b. What are your not-for-profit organization’s ultimate goals?
c. How will the world be a better place once you achieve your goals?
d. Or, how would the world suffer were your not-for-profit organization to
cease to exist?
e. Can you draw a picture of how this community will look different in one,
three, five and/or ten years, after you have accomplished your goals? Be
very specific and concrete.
f. What is the projected timeline for achieving the goals that have been
stated?
g. For each goal you have defined, can you identify specific, concrete,
measurable and achievable objectives, the smaller wins or “mini-goals”?
2. Public perception
a. How do you want your not-for-profit organization to be perceived?
b. How do you want your issues and/or programs to be perceived?
c. How do you want your community to be perceived by those who live
outside the community?
3. Communication objectives
a. What is your ultimate communication objective?
b. Which of your organizational goals(s) will you move closer to achieving
as a result of implementing your communication efforts?
c. How will each communication objective move you closer to achieving
your organizational goal(s)?
d. What do you want your target audience to do, exactly?
e. In other words, what is the “call to action”?
f. How will you measure success?
g. What will your benchmarks be? (For example: we will drive 1,000 people
to our website and generate 100 faxed letters to a specific decision-maker;
or we will add 20 new, active volunteers to a local stream recovery
initiative; or we will help ensure that at least 50 of our group’s members
attend a fundraising brunch.)

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Situation Analysis: Organizational Background

Taking the time to draw a comprehensive picture about how and why your not-for-
profit organization was created will help you better understand why things have been
done the way they have been, and alert you to potential obstacles you may have to
face as you create your organization’s communication plan.
For this area of your communication plan, it is important to work with the “old-
timers” from within your organization, those staff and volunteers who have been
around for the longest amount of time. You may consider asking a former board
member, one of the organization’s founders perhaps, to participate in this piece of
work. Depending on how engaged the group is, how well they know your not-for-
profit organization, and how old the organization is, this process could require two
three-hour gatherings.
Have one person facilitate the meeting — but don’t call it a meeting! Refer to it as a
story collecting exercise. Have a recorder (either human or a tape recorder) available
to collect all the stories. You will likely gather information that will be very useful in
your current communication efforts (stories for your newsletter, copy for your
organizational brochures or a column in your local paper).

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Facilitator’s Briefing Guide

Situation Analysis: Organizational Background

Objectives:
To develop a shared organizational history.
To shed light on how the organization got to the place it is today.
To come to consensus on why things are done as they are and where there
may be room to change the “status quo.”
To collect the information that will allow you to realistically assess your
historic limitations and strengths which could have a major impact on your
organizational goals, communication objectives, strategies and tactics.

Activities:
Guided conversation

Props/ Materials:
Flip chart, markers and tape
Lap-top computer if you are using a typist to take notes
Tape recorder if you are taking notes by hand

Who to invite:
Individuals who have been involved with the organization for a significant
amount of time
Individuals who have a good sense of your organizational history
Optimal number of participants: 6 to 8

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Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 23

Sample agenda for a three-hour meeting


Situation Analysis: Organizational Background

Timing Activity Facilitator's Tip


(minutes)
20 Self-introductions Ask each participant to:
of all participants state their name,
how long they have been involved with your
organization,
in what capacity, and
to complete the phrase, “I am committed to <the
name of your organization> because…”
Allow for 2-3 minutes per person.
Record the answers to “I am committed to <the name
of your organization> because….” You may find them
useful in your planning process when you reach the
Audiences and Messages section. They also may
provide a spring-board for newsletter stories.
10 Overview of the Tell the participants what you hope to achieve during
meeting’s goals and the meeting (such as the objectives noted on the
agenda review previous page) and how you plan to use the
information that is shared.
Review the agenda and ask if anyone has comments.
5 (if set in Setting meeting Either develop these in advance, have them posted
advance) rules where everyone can see them and read them to the
group with a brief explanation about each; or, ask the
15 (if set by
group to develop its own ground rules and post those.
the group)
(See page 69 for common meeting rules).
30-45 Acknowledgement This process may seem intimidating to some of the
of the value of participants, especially if your not-for-profit
every person’s organization has changed over its lifetime. Individuals
contribution to the who may have been part of creating your organization
growth of your not- could feel either sad or frustrated at changes in
for-profit direction they have seen, or may feel unappreciated
organization now for the work they did in establishing your
organization. It is critical that you create a space in
which everyone, no matter how “historic” their
contribution is, feels that what they gave to the life of
your not-for-profit organization was of critical
importance and is still valued. All decisions that were
made in earlier times should be respected and
acknowledged.

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24 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

Ask each participant to think of a time in the not-for-


profit organization’s history that made them feel proud
to have been a part of the organization.
Ask them to share their story (if appropriate, ask
participants to respect the time for the meeting by
keeping their story to about 5 minutes).
60-90 Open discussion Guide participants through the questions that follow in
the section titled, Sample Questions to ask the Group.
Focus on the questions that are most relevant to your
not-for-profit organization’s current situation. Ensure
that every person is given space to talk. If one person
dominates, take a 5-minute break and ask that person to
help others share their stories. (Or use tactics described
on page 70, Respect Everyone’s Rights.)
15-20 Final discussion Allow individuals in the group to each provide a
closing comment that addresses the one piece of your
not-for-profit organization’s history that they feel is
most important to keep sight of, or the one value that
they would like your organization to always hold close.
Record these comments, with the name of the person
who raised them, on a flip chart for everyone to see.
Add these comments to your communication plan.
They may provide an excellent evaluation benchmark
and rationale for new activities your organization may
decide to undertake.
15-25 Follow-up Ask participants to commit to what they can do to
support the continued forward movement of this
process. Write these commitments down on flip chart
paper so the whole room can see. For example, if
someone told a particularly powerful story, they may
offer to write that story down so that it can be
remembered by the organization and perhaps used to
build your organization’s profile in a media story or
newsletter article.
3 Wrap-up Tell participants that you will take this information
away and put it into a form that will allow the
organizational history to be protected and shared with
new staff and board members, and with the
community.
2 Thank-you’s Thank each person for participating in the meeting.
Tell them that their input was very valuable and that
you will stay in touch with them as the development of
the communication plan progresses.

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Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 25

Sample questions to ask the group

The following questions are meant to guide your conversation with stakeholders. Use
questions that seem appropriate to discuss and develop others if needed. Note that
this is just a guide, not a comprehensive list.

1. History of your organization


a. How old is BC Not-for-profit organization? Does it have a good profile in
your community? If so, what has contributed to the positive profile? If not,
why don’t you have a good profile?
b. Is your funding secure? Increasing, decreasing or staying stable?
c. Why was your not-for-profit organization created?
d. Who, what group of individuals or organization, created your not-for-
profit organization?
e. How have your human resources helped/hindered the growth and stability
of your not-for-profit organization?
2. The services your organization provides
a. What services does your not-for-profit organization currently provide in
your community? Why do you provide these services?
b. What services has your not-for-profit organization provided to the
community in the past, that it no longer provides? Why did you stop
providing these services?
c. Are there other services you, or others in the community, think your not-
for-profit organization should provide? Services that people have
requested?
d. What research do you need to undertake to determine whether your not-
for-profit organization should be evaluating the types of services you
provide?
3. The people who benefit from your services (think broadly—not just direct
clients but whole communities)
a. What are the individual groups of people who benefit from your services
(such as volunteers, non-profits, small business, etc)?
b. How many of each type of beneficiary do you serve or support?
c. Are you serving each of these groups in the way that they most need to be
served? How do you know?
4. The function your not-for-profit organization serves (this is another way to
think about the questions posed in question 3)
a. What function do you perform?
b. For whom?
c. Why do you do this?
d. How do you do this?
5. Your not-for-profit organization’s role in your service area — competition
analysis
a. Where do you fit compared to other similar organizations in your market?

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26 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

b. Where does your market fit within the larger community?


c. Who delivers similar services?
d. How does your organization differ?
e. How is your organization better?
f. What could your organization learn from other similar service providers to
improve your own service delivery?
6. History/facts about your issue area
a. Why is your issue important in your community?
b. Are there statistics that support your position?
7. Research available on your issue
a. Have any special studies or surveys been carried out that relate to your
issue area?
b. Is more research required to understand attitudes and public opinion
towards your issue?
c. Is there anything available now, for free, that will help you?
8. Communications Infrastructure
a. Do you have a database of supporters, clients, partners, etc. that includes
contact names, addresses, phone and fax numbers and email addresses?
b. Do you have staff who understand communications and have time to
dedicate to communication-related activities?
c. Past media efforts: what’s worked? What hasn’t worked? How do you
know?
d. Past communication materials (newsletters, flyers, posters, brochures):
what’s worked? What hasn’t worked? How did you know?
e. Do you know how people found out about your not-for-profit
organization? By word of mouth? Your local paper? An event poster?
Your newsletter? Another organization directed them to you?
f. Do you have a website? How many visitors does it receive monthly? How
often is it updated? Have you evaluated the relative value of the resources
put into your website against the return? Do you have clear objectives that
you hope your website will meet? What are they? Are you meeting them?

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Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 27

Situation Analysis: External or Public Environment

It is important to be aware of the external threats and opportunities that potentially


affect your organization, those groups or individuals who may be opposed to, or
supportive of, either the work you do or to the way in which you do it. It is also
important to be aware of the communications environment in which you will be
delivering your messages. Undertaking the work required to understand your not-for-
profit organization’s external environment will provide you with a snapshot of your
current positioning within the local and broad communications environment. This
information will help you identify threats and opportunities that may impact the
growth or stability of your not-for-profit organization.
This particular section of your communication plan will require input from a group of
individuals that is different from the group who guided you in your evaluation of your
organization’s internal environment (although there may be some overlap). Try to
gather the people who are currently engaged in your organization and who have a
good sense of the external landscape in which you do your work.
For this gathering you may also consider inviting some allies who may not be active
with your not-for-profit organization, but who can speak candidly about how your
organization is perceived in the community in which you work. You might consider
inviting a local reporter, your local “King of Kensington” (the person who seems to
know everyone and everything about your community), someone from the Chamber
of Commerce, a youth, a senior, your MLA, or the waitress at the local watering hole
who hears all the community’s gossip on a Friday night. This gathering should be
conducted as a focus group.

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28 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

Facilitator’s Briefing Guide:


Situation Analysis: External or Public Environment

Objectives:
To collect the information that will allow you to realistically assess the
external opportunities and threats that may or will impact your not-for-profit
organization’s ability to achieve your organizational goals.

Activities:
Focus group (see page 75, How to Facilitate a Focus Group).

Props/ Materials:
Flip chart, markers and tape
Video recorder or tape recorder
Laptop computer for note-taker
Lunch or refreshments (as appropriate)

Who to invite:
Individuals who have a good sense of local priorities and interests
Individuals who understand the provincial policies that may impact legislation
on your issue
People who have some power or authority in your community and who you
hope to engage in your work
At least two board members who have good community connections
Optimal number of participants: 6 to 8

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Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 29

Sample agenda for a one-and-a-half hour focus group


Situation Analysis: External or Public Environment

Timing Activity Facilitator's Tip


(minutes)
5 Welcome Introduce yourself and your meeting note-taker if you
have one. If you plan to tape or video record the
session, ask the participants’ permission.
10-15 Introductions Ask each participant to state their name and what their
role in the community is. Allow 1-2 minutes per person.
5 Overview of the Tell the participants what you hope to achieve during the
meeting’s goals meeting and how you plan to use the information that is
and agenda shared. Review the agenda and ask for comments.
2 Review of ground This simple list should suffice:
rules 1. Keep focused
2. Maintain momentum
3. Get closure on questions
60 Questions and Ask the group a question (see page 30 for suggested
answers – the questions). Allow a few minutes for each person to
focus group time consider and write down their answers. Then, facilitate a
discussion around the answers to the question.
After each question is answered, carefully reflect back a
summary of what you heard (you may ask that the note-
taker do this).
Ask the next question and follow the same process.
Ensure equal participation. If one or two people are
dominating the meeting, then call on others. Consider
using a round-table approach: going in one direction
around the table and giving each person a minute to
answer the question. If the domination persists, note it to
the group and ask for ideas about how the participation
can be increased.
2 Wrap-up Tell participants that you will take away this
information, put it into a form that can be shared,
considered and further discussed.
3 Thank-you’s Thank each person for participating in the meeting. Tell
them that their input was very valuable and that you will
stay in touch with them as the development of the
communication plan progresses. If they are interested in
receiving a written report of the meeting, provide this
option to them.

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30 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

Sample questions to ask the group

1. Current local/national perception of your organization, your program and/or


the issues your not-for-profit organization addresses
a. How does your community see your not-for-profit organization?
Are you widely seen as a “grassroots” organization or as a well-
funded advocacy group?
As a statesmanlike or “think-tank” organization?
As credible or questionable?
As radical or mainstream?
As left-wing, right-wing or not political at all?
2. History of media stories on your organization or your work
a. How well-exposed is your not-for-profit organization?
b. How has it been positioned within the media to date?
3. Penetration of your issue
a. Is your issue on the public’s “radar screen” or would most people
consider it to be a “new” topic of discussion?
b. Has your issue generated local debate or questions from media?
4. Allies
a. Who publicly supports your organization’s position?
b. What are they saying about your not-for-profit organization?
5. Opponents
a. Does any individual or organization oppose your work?
b. What are their messages? What are they saying?
c. What effect are they having on your ability to thrive?
d. What are their strengths and weaknesses?
e. Is it possible to build a positive relationship with your opponents?

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Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 31

Audiences and Messages

The group of individuals interested in tackling your organization’s most appropriate


audiences and messages will likely be quite small. But don’t worry, as long as one
person from your organization is engaged in the development of your communication
plan, and clearly understands the need to be very specific with these two sections of
your plan, you will be fine! Your process may be as simple as looking at your
organizational goals and communication objectives and matching them with
audiences and messages that your organization is already working with. We do
recommend that you take time to consider new audiences and the roles that they may
be able to play in helping you achieve your goals and objectives.
It is also very important to be as specific as possible when developing your list of
target audiences. There is no such thing as a “general” public in communications
initiatives. Even if you decide that you need to reach a majority of the people who
live in your community with messages about your work, you will not be speaking to a
general public, but to many specific publics.
Each public, or audience, can be distinguished by the values that the majority of its
members share. Just consider how challenging it would be to develop one
communication vehicle that would equally engage a group of teenage boys just as
well as it would the mayor of your town. The teens would respond to a formal letter
written in bureaucrat-speak about as well as the mayor would respond to a message
delivered rap-style by a young man in too-big trousers. Likely, not well at all!
The time required for these activities can vary from a couple of hours to several days,
depending on the complexity of the goals and objectives you have set.
We have not provided a meeting agenda for this aspect of your planning process. You
could equally effectively pull together a focus group, host a stakeholder meeting or do
informal water-cooler research. Try to include people who have a good understanding
of and appreciation for the variety of audiences your organization serves and relies
on.

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32 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

Questions to consider about your audiences


1. Who are your key audiences — those groups of people who have the power to
help you achieve your organizational goals and communication objectives? It is
likely that different goals and objectives will require different audiences to help
you achieve them. Some examples of typical not-for-profit audiences:
a. Clients, one time
b. Clients, ongoing
c. Community leaders, business (such as bank manager, Chamber of
Commerce president)
d. Community leaders, religious
e. Donors, major (over a set amount, such as $1,000)
f. Donors, monthly
g. Donors, multiple gifts
h. Donors, one time gift
i. Federal government bureaucrats (staff)
j. Federal government elected officials (Members of Parliament)
k. Media (local, regional, provincial)
l. Media (television, radio, print)
m. Municipal government bureaucrats (staff)
n. Municipal government elected officials (Mayor, Councilors and Trustees)
o. Other not-for-profit organizations
p. Potential donors, business
q. Potential donors, individuals
r. Potential donors, organizations and foundations
s. Project and program partners
t. Provincial government bureaucrats (staff)
u. Provincial government elected officials (Members of the Legislative
Assembly)
2. Can you identify at least one individual person who fits into each of the audience
categories you have identified as being important to your success? List as many
specific people as you can for each audience.
3. Define some of the values that you believe motivate them to act. For example,
current opinion research suggests that a key value most youth share is based on
developing job skills. An audience of mothers shares values about the health and
safety of their children. Business people tend to value economic factors over
emotion-based ones.
4. At what stage of engagement are each of the individuals you have identified?
a. No engagement: doesn’t even know the name of your not-for-profit
organization
b. Low engagement: knows who you are but has never interacted with your
organization
c. Moderate engagement: may have come to an event, donated to, sponsored
or volunteered with your organization in the past, but is not currently
involved in any active way

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Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 33

d. High engagement: is actively engaged as a volunteer, donor or other


supporter
5. How can you engage each of the individuals you have named? What specific
action can you ask each person to do, based on their current level of engagement,
to help you achieve your goal? For instance, you would not ask an individual with
no engagement to donate $1,000, nor would you invite an individual with high
engagement to an information session about your not-for-profit organization.

Things to consider when developing messages


There are a few essential qualities of an effective message. Generally speaking,
effective messages are:
Clear and simple
Brief
Believable
Compelling
Delivered by the right messenger

Clear and Simple


This is easier than it sounds. Many of us working in the not-for-profit sector (or in
policy and academia, for that matter) use acronyms, phrases or even specific words
that may serve as a form of verbal shorthand to refer to complex processes or issues.
Such “jargon” may be second-nature to those who are intimately familiar with a
particular issue or area of study, but may as well be a foreign language to people on
the outside.
Avoiding Jargon
Generally, this means speaking in plain language. For example, in the United
States (and to a lesser extent, Canada), the term “sustainability” is avoided by
most major newspaper outlets because the general public does not know what it
means. In the advertising and media relations work we do at IMPACS, we have
also learned to avoid other words such as “watershed,” “overcut” and
“biodiversity” for the same reason: most people don’t know what those terms
mean. For example, in a U.S. opinion research project conducted recently, one
middle-aged American man summed his views on the term “biodiversity” this
way: “It sounds like a government program – and I don’t want any part of it!”

Pushing the Envelope: the “Two-Year Rule”


While messages are most effective when they are based on language that is
familiar to the target audience, some groups will deliberately, but judiciously,
introduce new terms as part of a longer-term communication strategy. The
public’s understanding of various phrases and concepts evolves over time, and it
is perfectly legitimate to “push the envelope” with language. But when we do, a
bit of an explanation or translation into plain English will almost always be

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34 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

necessary — usually for several years. As a general rule, it usually takes a


minimum of two years of consistent communication around a new concept before
that concept will be widely recognized and understood.
To illustrate: fifteen years ago, when environmentalists in Canada began using the
terms “old-growth” and “clearcutting” in connection with heated debates around
forestry, the public was absolutely unfamiliar with both terms. It took years of
continual communication, through speeches, media stories, posters, direct mail,
advertising and face-to-face conversations before these terms were easily
recognized and understood by the general public. Today, the terms “old growth”
and “clearcutting” have come to reflect core public values. For most British
Columbians and many Canadians, “old growth” is viewed as a precious resource
to be protected; “clearcutting” is viewed as a largely negative form of forest
harvesting.

Brief
With messages, as with so many other aspects of effective communications, the rule
is: less is more. A message is generally not a paragraph; it may not even be a whole
sentence. The shorter a message is, the easier it is for both the speaker and audience
to remember. Notice that with large corporations, such as Coke, Nike, and others, the
messages conveyed through their ad campaigns are increasingly brief. In Nike ads,
for example, there are often no words at all – just a simple photograph, and the Nike
logo at the bottom. The message is communicated through visuals that reflect the
values of their target audience.

Believable
This point may seem obvious, but it is worth emphasizing. Messages are not
effective if they are not believable. For example, if a corporation known for working
in countries with abysmal human rights records starts conveying messages about
being a good corporate citizen, concerned with human rights and social justice issues,
their communication efforts are likely to backfire. Instead, an effective message
might initially be: “we recognize our mistakes, and we’re changing.” Of course, such
a message would have to be backed up with substantive initiatives in order to be
believed. Then, over time, the corporation may be able to effectively deliver
messages about being a good corporate citizen – and be believable.
It is also important that the speaker herself believes the messages she is delivering.
When we believe in our messages, we convey them with conviction and passion to
which our target audiences are more likely to respond. Which brings us to the next
point:

Compelling
Effective messages usually make use of symbols that speak to the core values of the
target audience. This is an aspect of messages we often struggle with. We are used to
avoiding emotional language or concepts and of qualifying everything we say with
words like “may” and “sometimes.” A good message is emphatic. It speaks to core

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values such as “fairness,” “individual freedom” (in some countries), “collective


responsibility” (in others), “corporate accountability” or “safeguarding our children’s
future.”
A good message also evokes an emotional response. When we consider the great
speech-makers of our time – Mahatma Ghandi, Noam Chomsky, Mary Robinson,
David Suzuki, Nelson Mandela, Helen Caldicott – we note a similarity in their
delivery: they are not afraid to evoke the passions of their audiences. They
understand the core values of their audiences, even as they speak from their own
hearts – and we remember what they say.

Delivered by the Right Messenger


This final point is a critical one. The fact is, who delivers an effective message is as
important as the message itself. In other words, messengers are as important as
messages. This is a key challenge for many not-for-profit organizations: the person
with the greatest prestige or seniority is routinely assigned the role of spokesperson
for the group, regardless of their skill, aptitude or training. On-camera media training
will immensely improve the abilities of any spokesperson. It also provides the
opportunity to take a hard look at who is really the most effective public
representative for your group and its issues.
When selecting key spokespeople, consider who can best reflect the kind of tone and
positioning your group seeks with the broader community, or with specific target
audiences. For example, women tend to respond better to messages on health care
when they are delivered by mature female messengers. Men – and usually women –
respond best to authoritative male messengers when they are delivering messages
about the economy. When “cool” products are being promoted through corporate
advertising, research on the “Nexus Generation” (youth from the ages of 10-21)
shows that youth tend to respond to other youth messengers who are just a bit older
than themselves.

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36 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

Audiences and Messages: Example of Process

Organizational goal (what we hope to achieve with support from these audiences):
Renovate our organization’s community gathering space so that it is more inviting to all of our clients, from youth to seniors, from
other not-for-profits to single parents looking for a comfortable place to have a cup of coffee.

Communication objectives (what we hope our communication work will achieve):


1. To create a compelling fundraising campaign that will double our current support from individual donors in the next six
months, from $250 a month to $500 a month;
2. To create a compelling sponsorship package that will generate $100,000 in new money from local businesses, foundations and
the municipal government in the next twelve months.

Key Audiences Individual we will His/her level What we’d like him/her to Why this person will want to help
approach of do (objective served) (values we will appeal to with our
engagement messages)
One-time client Jane Boxer, single Low We’d like Jane to participate We will make her feel valued and
mom in a focus group with other give her a sense of ownership in
clients to tell us what would this process by asking her opinion
make the space comfortable about what she and other women
enough for her to want to like her need in the space we are
come on a regular basis. Then developing.
to write a letter of support.
(Objectives 1 & 2)
Ongoing client Joe Smiley, High We’d like Joe to tell us what We will recognize his role as a
President of the would make the space more community leader and speak to his
Kiwanas Club effective for the small clear commitment to supporting
meetings he holds there. Then community initiatives.
to write a letter of support.
(Objectives 1 & 2)

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Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 37

We’d also like Joe to make a


commitment that the Kiwanas
Club will make the gathering
space one of their own
fundraising priorities over the
next six months. (Objective 2)
Monthly donor Ima Friendly High We’d like Ima to increase her We will appeal to her love of
monthly gift from $10 to $25. children by asking her to make an
(Objective 1) ongoing contribution to purchasing
children’s books, games and toys
for the organization.
Corporate Steve Smart, BC Moderate We’d like Steve to provide We will appeal to his desire to
sponsor Utilities Corp. capital support of $10,000 to create and maintain a positive
support the renovation. image for his utility as a part of the
(Objective 2) community, not just a place to
which people pay bills.
Corporate Julie Waterhouse, Low We’d like Julie to become an We will appeal to her ego, asking
sponsor owner of a home ally and provide professional first for her advice, which will cost
decorating business advice on how to make the her nothing but a little time.
space more welcoming. Once she is engaged with the
(Objective 1) project, we will appeal to her level
Once her engagement has of commitment and ask for in-kind
increased, we’d like to ask her donations.
for in-kind donations of paint,
throw cushions, area rugs, etc.
(Objective 2)

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© IMPACS 2002
Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 39

Strategies and Tactics

This is the section of the communication plan that most people love to get involved
in! Ask people who are interested in brainstorming potential communication
strategies and tactics to read your in-progress communication plan. Then, host a small
“party” at someone’s house and let folks loose!
In a phrase, strategies and tactics are the ways you’re going to reach your target
audiences. This is the fun part of developing your communication plan. This is where
the “rubber hits the road.”
Basically, strategies are the broad ways you are going to achieve an objective, tactics
are the steps that together form your strategy. The easiest way to differentiate
strategies from tactics is through examples:

Objective — to get three stories about our not-for-profit organization into the local
paper in the next six months
Strategy — to develop better writing skills for press releases and opinion articles
Tactics — take a course from the community college; get a communication expert
onto our advisory committee

Same objectives, different strategies:


Objective — to get three stories about our not-for-profit organization into the local
paper in the next six months
Strategy — to develop a strong relationship with the editor of the paper
Tactics — have a face-to-face meeting where we establish our credibility as a
spokesperson for our issue-area; send a media kit that explains the
value of volunteers in our community

In the second example, the tactic, to “send a media kit that explains the value of
volunteers in our community” to the local paper could also be developed as a
strategy...

Objective — to get three stories about our not-for-profit organization into the local
paper in the next six months
Strategy — to develop a media kit that explains the value of volunteering in our
community
Tactics — to work with experts to ensure our media kit is professional; to find
research data to argue our points; to enlist a local designer to produce
the media kit at a reduced cost.

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40 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

This part of your communication plan is inherently creative and can be approached in
a variety of ways. One approach that often works well is to start by identifying one to
five of your target audiences. Look back at what you indicated you want them to do.
Look at their audience profiles – what motivates them to act, their values.
If you have already undertaken the work of identifying your target audiences and the
actions you would like them to undertake, you will also likely have identified several
communication strategies and tactics. For instance, taking the example we created in
the previous section — wanting to renovate our community gathering space — and
all of the communication objectives and audiences we identified, some of the
strategies and tactics that lead from there could be:

Objective — to create a compelling sponsorship package that will generate


$100,000 in new money from local businesses, foundations and the
municipal government in the next six months.
Strategy — to generate clear community support for the project
Tactics — to get ten people from a variety of backgrounds to write letters of
support; to show an increase in our current donors’ financial
commitment to our organization, in support of the project; to develop
allies in the business community who would do a peer-to-peer ask for
support from other corporate sponsors.

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Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 41

Facilitator’s Briefing Guide


Strategies and Tactics

Objectives:
To identify appropriate strategies and tactics to achieve your not-for-profit
organization’s goals and objectives.

Activities:
Creative brainstorm (see page 73, How to Facilitate a Creative Brainstorm)

Props/ Materials:
Flip chart, markers and tape
Handouts that indicate the organizational goal(s) and communication
objective(s)you are trying to develop and strategies and tactics to address
them
A list of the audiences you hope to engage and how you expect individuals
from each of these audiences will support you

Who to invite:
Interested staff members
Interested board members
Creative allies
People who don’t work in the not-for-profit sector who could provide fresh
ideas from the environment they live and work in
Optimal number of participants: 6-8

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42 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

Sample agenda for a three hour creative brainstorm


Strategies and Tactics

Timing Activity Facilitator's Tip


(minutes)
5 Welcome and Introduce yourself and, if not all participants know
introductions each other, ask each person to state their name and
affiliation with your not-for-profit organization.
5 Overview of the Tell the participants what you hope to achieve during
meeting’s goals the meeting and how you plan to use the information
and agenda review that is shared. Review the agenda and ask if anyone
has comments.
2 Review of ground Keep it simple for this group:
rules 1. No analysis or criticism of other’s ideas allowed
(no “black hat” thinking)
2. There are no wrong ideas, anything goes
3. Crazy ideas are okay, even encouraged
60-90 Creative The timing of your brainstorm is quite important. If
brainstorm you are doing this during work hours, ensure it is not
done in the period right after lunch when people are
sleepy. Participants must be alert and energized for the
creative aspect of the brainstorm to work.
Ask a very open-ended question to get people
thinking. See page 43 for some suggestions.
15 Selecting the ideas Use the “dotmocracy” technique described on page 73,
that should be How to Facilitate a Creative Brainstorm
further developed
60 Developing the top Take up to five of the best ideas, those that received
five ideas the most votes, and discuss the specifics of how each
idea could be handled.
2 Wrap-up Tell participants that you will take away this
information, put it into a form that can be shared,
considered and further discussed.
3 Thank-you’s Thank each person for participating in the brainstorm.
Tell them that their input was very valuable and that
you will stay in touch with them as the development of
the communication plan progresses.

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Questions to get the group thinking creatively


As with other lists of questions in this handbook, these are intended to provide you
with an idea of the direction you can take your group in. Adapt these questions to suit
your organization’s specific target audiences, your communication objectives and
your organizational goals. The starting point for developing appropriate
brainstorming questions for your organization must be based on the work you have
completed in your communication plan to date, otherwise, you will come up with lots
of great strategies and tactics that will not move you any closer to achieving your
organizational goals — which is, of course, your goal!

1. Our not-for-profit organization is trying to become the community leader in all


things related to volunteering. How can we achieve this?
2. We need a new way to engage youth in our organization. What will make youth
notice us?
3. We have been in this community for seven years but we are still a “best kept
secret.” What do we need to do to get people talking about us?
4. The government is cutting funding to not-for-profit organization across the
province. How can we show them that we are a valuable investment?
5. Our annual fundraising dinner has become stale. What new community event can
we try out this year?
6. The editor of the local paper is supportive of our organization. What kind of
media coverage can we plan for the next six months to take full advantage of his
support?
7. The editor of the local paper is not supportive of our organization. How can we
get profile in the community without his support?
8. We have seniors banging at our door for programming that will include them.
Any ideas?
9. Last year our fundraising raffle did little to raise our profile outside of the “usual
suspects.” What could we do differently this year with our raffle?
10. Our board and staff have agreed that our five-year goal is to change the world.
How would you go about doing that? Where would you start?

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Evaluation of Ideas for Strategies and Tactics

Evaluation is simply a way for you to measure success. It is a very important aspect
of your communication plan. It occurs at many levels and many times. Evaluating
your plan and the assumptions on which it is based allows you to get outside of the
realm of our own, highly subjective (and sometimes inaccurate) self-assessments as
an organization, and to determine what’s working (or not working) out there in the
wider world.
We have included evaluation here, following the identification of potential strategies
and tactics, as you are now at the point where you will want to proactively evaluate
something your planning process has produced. Of course, we also advise including
evaluation at different stages following the implementation of your plan, to ensure
you are achieving the results you anticipated:
Evaluations of your target audiences will help you determine which groups of
people or individuals you are having the greatest success engaging in your
organization, so that you can refocus energy where it is generating the most
success.
Evaluations of your messages to specific audiences will allow you to judge
whether the words and images you are using to communicate with different
groups of people are having the desired effect.
Evaluations of your strategies and tactics will likewise provide you with
feedback on how well the activities and projects you have undertaken are
working.
This is another task for the communication plan facilitator. Take a few days to
consider the ideas you came up with during your creative brainstorm of strategies and
tactics. It’s funny how a profile-raising event that includes jailing a city counselor can
seem like a great idea on a festive Saturday night, but doesn’t have the same appeal in
the light of a Monday morning at the office… “what were we thinking?!”
As with the creative brainstorm that spawned your strategies and tactics, evaluating
your ideas can be done in a variety of ways. For many people, this task will be
handled in large part subconsciously! We offer one simple suggestion: shortly
following your brainstorm, take a couple of hours to contact people who weren’t part
of the party and pitch your best ideas to them. If you have come up with ideas that
will be targeted to specific audiences (which we hope will be the case!), then call
people who fit the demographics of the group you hope to reach with each strategy
and tactic. There’s little point in asking a 65 year-old homemaker her opinion about
how well an interactive classroom play will engage 10-year olds, and even less point
in asking a group of 10-year olds if a regular Wednesday tea social would appeal to
them.
When doing these interviews, your role is to be as open-minded as possible, to ask
how each idea sounds and what challenges you might expect to face if you pursue it.
You may find that certain ideas are easier for you to explain than others either

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46 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

because you like them better or because you have a better understanding of how they
could be implemented. As best as you can, don’t bias your interviewees by telling
them which ideas you think are best. Your goal is to get outside advice that is as free
from your influence as possible.
Once you’ve completed the survey and recorded the respondent’s answers, thank the
person. Remember that this is just one person’s opinion. Call a few more people who
you suspect would share a similar audience profile and look at all of their comments
together. If you feel confident that you have a strong idea, and your survey
respondents generally agree, go with it. If your respondents are unsure, but you still
feel the idea has merit, consider calling together a focus group, or creative brainstorm
with only members of the specific audience you are trying to engage.

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Facilitator’s Briefing Guide


Evaluation of Ideas for Strategies and Tactics

Objectives:
To determine whether specific strategies and tactics will help your
organization achieve the goals and objectives you have set.

Activities:
Use the tool that is most appropriate to reach each of the individuals you decide
to interview. Either:
short telephone interview
short in-person interview
short email survey

Props/ Materials:
Written survey to act as a prompt in telephone interviews
Copies of your survey to distribute by fax and email
Summary of your organizational goals, communication objectives and the
target audiences for each strategy as background information to respondents
who ask for more details

Who to include:
People who did not participate in your creative brainstorm
People who you consider to be representative of the audience each of your
strategies will target
People who don’t work in the not-for-profit sector who could provide fresh
ideas from the environment they live and work in
Optimal number of respondents: 4 to 6 per strategy idea

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Sample survey questions

Either read or include adapted text in a written survey


“Our not-for-profit organization has set a number of goals that we would like to
achieve over the next <add timeframe>. One of those goals is to <add your goal>. A
few days ago we brought together some people to discuss ways we might be able to
achieve this goal. I’d like to ask you for your opinion of the ideas we came up with.
This should take less than ten minutes. I have five questions I’d like to ask you. Have
you got time to right now or can you suggest a time that I can call back?
“One of the audiences we hope we can engage the support of is <general description
of the audience>. Since you are <a member of that audience/know that audience
well>, we are very interested in how you would react to the following idea.
“We’re planning to <broad description of communication objectives>. It has been
suggested that one way to approach this would be to <details of strategy or tactic>.
What do you think?”
Wait for an answer, then draw out more information by asking open-ended questions
such as:
“Why do you think that?”
“Do you think that other <description of the audience> would feel the same way as
you do?”
“Can you think of another way to get <description of the audience> to <description of
goal>?
Example based on the above script:
“Our not-for-profit organization has set a number of goals that we would like to
achieve over the next year. One of those goals is to get more people to participate in
our programs. A few days ago we brought together some people to discuss ways we
might be able to do this. I’d like to ask you for your opinion of the ideas we came up
with. This should take less than ten minutes. I have five questions I’d like to ask you.
Have you got time to right now or can you suggest a time that I can call back?
“One of the audiences we hope we can attract is teenagers. Since you are a teen we
are very interested in how you would react to the following idea.
“We’re planning to do outreach in high schools, to let youth know what we have to
offer them. It has been suggested that one way to approach this would be to get two
16-year-olds to do short skits about our different programs during English class. What
do you think?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Do you think that other teens would feel the same way as you do?”
“Can you think of another way to get teens to participate in our programs?
“Would you be willing to participate in a focus group with other teens if we hold
one?”

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Implementation Budget

Once you have developed a list of strategies and tactics that will serve your
organizational goals and communication objectives, it is helpful to put thought into
how much each activity will cost your organization. This task may be done with
support from your book-keeper or accountant. If you are considering initiatives
you’ve never done before, this step could take several hours or even days.
The time investment will be worth every minute. Once you have collected your
financial data you will have all the details you need to develop a funding proposal to
support the activities you wish to undertake: your goals, objectives, strategies, tactics
and how much it will cost. This may be one of the best fringe benefits of
communication planning: it creates a strong argument for funders to support your
initiatives.
Since funding to support any not-for-profit’s core expenses is becoming very hard to
raise, the budget you create in support of your communication activities should
include an appropriate amount of staff time that will be required to implement each
project. Consider your communications work in the same way you would consider
any other program development. Include your time!
Some advice in developing your communication budgets:
If you think it will take five days to complete a specific activity, budget at least
seven.
Communications work almost always takes more time then we expect or hope
it will.
If you have been told by a designer that she can create a new brochure for you for
$250, budget for $500.
It is very rare that a designer can stay on budget when working with not-for-
profit clients, because, unlike their corporate clients, we like to get consensus,
which takes time and usually results in more changes than the designer may
have expected to have to make.
Don’t forget to include a budget line for meeting expenses.
Space rental, providing refreshments, creating a child-care subsidy pool, and
other meeting requirements are legitimate project expenses.

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Generic Sample Budget Template


If possible, create this budget in a spreadsheet (such as Excel) so that calculations are
done automatically. Create as many “strategy” columns as you have conceived
strategies in your planning. You will be able to compare the relative cost of
implementing different strategies and make informed decisions about which strategies
are going to be worth the staff and financial investment to undertake.

EXPENDITURES Strategy A Strategy B


Staff or Contract Positions
(add as many lines as necessary: include benefits and taxes.
Include volunteer time as an expenditure line then balance it
as a revenue against your in-kind donations line)
Facility (rent, utilities, maintenance)
(base on a percentage of time for project within overall time)
Supplies, Materials, Printing, Photocopying
(include letterhead, printer cartridges and other daily use
costs)
Postage/Courier/Telephone/Fax
(these may be significant enough to warrant their own lines)
Publicity/advertising
(design, printing, postage, staff time could all have lines)
Meeting expenses
(include participant travel, childcare expenses, facility rental,
food, flip chart paper, markers, etc.)
Staff travel
(mileage payouts, hotels, food per diems, babysitting costs)
Honoraria
(if this is appropriate, plan for the expense in advance)
Other
(list by item)
TOTAL estimated project expenditures $ $

REVENUES Strategy A Strategy B


Organization (including in-kind and volunteer time)
Project partners (including in-kind contributions)
Government (list by grant)
Municipal
Provincial
Federal
Other
Foundation
Private donations
Corporate support
TOTAL anticipated project revenues $ $

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Timing

Once you have all of your audiences, messages, strategies and tactics figured out,
somebody has to develop a calendar to determine how realistic your plans really are. In
the Timing section of your plan, write down all of the potentially relevant provincial
dates and community events that you may want to consider either hooking onto or
avoiding conflict with. For instance, every year there are at least a dozen walks or runs to
support various causes, teddy bear and book drives, golf tournaments and evening
fundraising events. In some cases you may be able to promote your organization in
partnership with a pre-established event. In other cases you may not want to hold your
event in the same week or month as another group, especially if you will be targeting the
same participants.

Talk to people who know what’s going on in town. Get hold of community calendars.
Visit your local library and check for resources they have available. Write every date
down on a master calendar.

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Example of an Annual Master Calendar

Date Event Connect With


OR AVOID
January 1 Statutory Holiday, New Year’s Day
February 14 Valentine’s Day
February 28 Ash Wednesday
March 17 St. Patrick’s Day
April 8 Palm Sunday, Passover
April 13 Statutory Holiday, Good Friday
April 15 Easter Sunday
April 16 Statutory Holiday, Easter Monday
May 21 Statutory Holiday, Victoria Day
June 17 Father’s Day
July 1 Statutory Holiday, Canada Day
August 6 Statutory Holiday, BC Day
September 3 Statutory Holiday, Labour Day
September Terry Fox Run
September Breast Cancer Walk for a Cure
October 8 Statutory Holiday, Thanksgiving Day
November 11 Statutory Holiday, Remembrance Day
December 10 Hanukkah
December 24 Statutory Holiday, Christmas Eve
December 25 Statutory Holiday, Christmas Day
December 26 Boxing Day

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Example of an Monthly Master Calendar

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
STAT HOLIDAY THEATRE —
OPENING
NIGHT

8 9 10 11 12 13 14
LITERARY LITERARY LITERARY LITERARY LITERARY LITERARY
WEEK AT THE WEEK AT THE WEEK AT THE WEEK AT THE WEEK AT THE WEEK AT THE
LIBRARY LIBRARY LIBRARY LIBRARY LIBRARY LIBRARY

15 16 17 18 19 20 21
COUNCIL EVENING CREEK
MEETING, CITY FUNDRAISER RESTORATION
HALL AT HIGH BY ENGO
SCHOOL
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
WALK FOR A
CURE

29 30 31
NOT-FOR-
PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
AGM

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Timeline

The Timeline is simply another big planning calendar that includes the dates you’ve
decided to perform each of your communications activities, and all of the steps that
will lead to the success of your initiatives. You can develop a timeline for each of the
specific areas of your communication plan. This is especially helpful if you expect to
be undertaking part of different areas of your plan concurrently, or if different people
will be responsible for different pieces. We have created a sample timeline for the
development of your communication plan as an outline. We recommend that you, too,
start by creating a timeline for the process you will be leading. Once you have
completed all of the steps that have led you to this place, it will be time to develop
your second timeline: the timeline for all of the activities that your communication
plan has identified.
If the process of developing a communication plan is new to you, we recommend that
you develop a timeline for what you hope to accomplish in the first three or four
weeks. You may find that organizing a meeting in your community takes only the
time to draft a short invitation and email it. Or you may find that it takes much longer,
having to make each invitation one-to-one with a half-hour conversation with each
invitee. Experience will be the best teacher in developing your timeline. We have
provided you with a sample timeline for activities you could undertake (with just a
few hours commitment per week), for the first eight weeks of your plan development
on pages 57 and 58.

Things to consider when developing your timeline


If you are asking a staff person (yourself included) to undertake certain new tasks,
(for instance, activities that have been created as per the strategies and tactics section
of your communication plan), consider the following:
How long will it really take for that person to get up to speed on the new task?
If it is something that he or she has never done before, such as writing press
releases, it will likely take several hours to write each one.
What are you going to take off that that person’s list of responsibilities? If you
don’t actually remove a task that the person currently does, then the
communication work will have to be done “off the side of his or her desk,” or
as overtime. This is a surefire way to guarantee failure of your new plan.
Don’t forget to include the time required by the person who will be managing
the person who will be managing the communication initiatives!
If you are asking for support from volunteers, consider the following:
Have you already identified willing volunteers to handle some of the new
work? If not, give yourself several weeks to find the appropriate individuals. It
is better to start a project a week or two behind schedule with the right person
doing the work, than on-time with the wrong person. It’s best, of course, to
start on time with the right person — so give yourself that time.

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What our shorthand codes mean


Week: Refers to the Monday to Sunday period in which you plan to undertake an
activity, or set of activities. In our model, we have used a numeric system, to give a
sense of how long we expect different activities will take. In your own Timeline, you
should put in actual dates, such as Nov. 5 to11.
Objective: Refers to the general area of communications work that is being
undertaken, that you plan to complete.
Activities: These are the things you are going to do in each week. Be as specific as
possible. In our model you’ll see that we don’t “Coordinate a Focus Group,” rather,
we detail each of the pieces of planning that need to be done.
Time Req’d: This is the time that will be required to do each activity. This is a very
important column to include. It will allow you to judge how feasible your activities
are in each week period. Once you record the number of hours it will take you to
complete a given activity, you may realize that to succeed you will have to delay
some other expectation you have on your workload, or you may bump the completion
date back a week. Always overestimate the amount of time an activity will take,
especially if you are undertaking an activity for the first time.
Who Resp: If you are going to use the model of having one person responsible for
the development of your whole communication plan, then you could consider
replacing the last column, “Person Responsible,” with “People Involved” to help you
track the time commitment you expect either individuals or groups of people (such as
the Board of Directors) to make to the process.

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Sample Timeline to Develop a Strategic Communication Plan

Week Objective Activities Time Who


Req’d Resp

1 Build broad Prepare a detailed agenda for our 3


consensus for creative brainstorm meeting to hours
our identify goals and objectives.
Organizational Determine the specific questions I
Goals and would like the participants to
Communication consider.
Objectives
2 Motivate members of the Board, staff 1—4
and long-time supporters to attend a hours
3-hour meeting to brainstorm our (phone
organizational goals and calls)
communication objectives.
Determine an appropriate date when
most people can attend.
3 Call/email all participants 2 to 3 days 1 hour
before our meeting and remind them
of the time and place. If they are
expected to bring anything with them,
remind them of that too.
Prepare the meeting room; make a 1 hour
copy of the agenda for each
participant; ensure snacks are
available; flip chart paper, markers
and tape are in room; tape recorder
has batteries, etc.
Host the meeting as per our agenda. 3
hours
4 Take notes gathered at the meeting 6
and compile into a brief summary to hours
share with participants and to include
in our communication plan.

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Week Objective Activities Time Who


Req’d Resp

5 To determine Prepare detailed agenda for the 3


the strengths meeting. Determine the specific hours
and weaknesses questions participants will be asked
we are facing in to consider.
our
6 Call the individuals who will provide 1—4
organization:
us with the most valuable hours
Situation
information about our history. (phone
Analysis:
Determine an appropriate date when calls)
Organizational
most people can attend.
Background
7 Call/email all participants 2 to 3 days 1 hour
before our meeting and remind them
of the time and place. If they are
expected to bring anything with
them, remind them of that too.
Prepare the meeting room; make a 1 hour
copy of the agenda for each
participant; ensure snacks are
available; flip chart paper, markers
and tape are in room; tape recorder
has batteries, etc.
Host the meeting as per our agenda. 3
hours
8 Take notes gathered at the meeting 6
and compile into a brief summary to hours
share with participants and to include
in our communication plan.

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Implement the Plan!

Ensure that somebody, one person, maintains responsibility for ensuring that your
strategic communication plan is implemented. By now you have invested many hours
of volunteer and/or staff time in the development of your plan. You have developed
some great ideas that should help you achieve your organizational goals. You have
included the appropriate people in the process and established staff and board support
for the new plan. Don’t put the plan on the shelf and go back to business as usual!
Use it. Update it. Pull it out when you are writing new funding proposals.

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Evaluate the Plan

Although you can call your communication plan “complete,” please remember that a
working communication plan is a living document. It should be used as a guide to
help you achieve your organizational goals and objectives in the most strategic way.
Your plan should be referred to and used as a tool to keep new ideas on target, always
pointing your not-for-profit organization in the direction you set at the beginning of
the whole process.
As a living document, your plan should be evaluated on a regular basis to ensure it is
providing you with the guidance you require. On the very first page of this document,
we noted that evaluation takes place at every stage of the development and
implementation of your communication plan. Recall that a strategic communication
plan:
1. identifies and endorses a particular, desired future (your goals).
2. evaluates that future against other possible futures.
3. researches which desired futures would be possible (your internal and
external environments).
4. evaluates the available resources.
5. outlines what needs to be done (your objectives).
6. evaluates the consequence of actions and possible actions.
7. decides on a particular course (your strategies).
8. evaluates the effectiveness of that course.
9. communicates that action plan (your tactics).
10. evaluates the impact of your actions.

Before you engage in each of the strategies and tactics in your communication plan,
ask yourself and others within your not-for-profit organization to define exactly what
success will look like once that activity has been completed. If you don’t meet your
success target, evaluate why.

Were your success measures set too high?


Did you misjudge a particular audience’s expected response to your activity?
Was it simply that the timing was bad?
Did you achieve a success that is different from the one you defined, but equally
valuable to achieving your organizational goals?

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SUPPORT MATERIALS

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How to Plan and Facilitate Meetings

Adapted from Organizing for Social Change, Second Edition, published by Seven Locks
Press, California, 1996. We have not yet received permission to copy this information, so
ask that you do not further distribute this section.

Meetings can make or break your communication planning process. If your meetings are
well-prepared, focused on planning for action, and facilitated in an efficient, yet
involving and upbeat manner, you will accomplish a great deal. On the other hand, if
your meetings are poorly planned, poorly run, and don’t focus on planning for action, it
will be difficult, if not impossible, to build your communication plan.

Every meeting is important and must be planned with great attention. With solid
planning, good facilitation, and strong follow-up, an organization can move forward in
ways that win real victories. Meetings play a significant role in achieving your goals and
deserve your utmost attention. Make your organization the one with fun, productive
meetings.

Preparation
Well run, effective meetings require solid preparation. The hardest part, and certainly the
most time-consuming aspect of a meeting, is the planning. Consider the following:

Goals
It is critical that the organizer and key leaders have clear meeting goals in mind.
Without them, it is difficult to figure out an agenda and hard to know who should
attend. Every meeting should have concrete, realistic and measurable goals of the
things you want to accomplish, such as:
To identify the historical challenges our organization has overcome and
successes we have celebrated
To develop a strategy and timeline for a specific project or tactic
To identify potential new partners, funders and allies
To decide where our organization’s limited resources would best be focused

Site
The choice of a meeting site will affect who comes to the meeting. Criteria for
choosing a site include:
Familiarity — is it a place with which people are comfortable?
Accessibility — is the site accessible to those you are trying to engage (the
disabled, the elderly, people who rely on public transit)?
Adequate facilities — small meetings need a cozy room while larger meetings
need more elaborate facilities.
Timing — set the meeting at a time that is most convenient for those you want
to attend. You may need to call several people and suggest possible options.
Chairperson — every meeting should have a Chairperson whose main job is to
facilitate the meeting (in our model that person would be you!).

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Agenda
As the communication plan coordinator/facilitator, it will likely be your responsibility
to develop agendas for the meetings you convene. Some tips:
Assure that participants receive a printed agenda in advance of the meeting
List topics to be covered and objectives you hope to accomplish
supply any background documents that would be helpful
Apply time limits for each discussion item
Ensure there is time during the meeting to get participants to commit to
follow-up work

Meeting Roles
Assign all meeting roles before the actual meeting. There are at least five reasons for
people having particular leadership roles in a meeting:
1. The first is that someone is good at something — leading a song, facilitating
discussion, welcoming people, etc.
2. The second is that the responsibility is part of someone’s role — in a board
meeting context, for instance, it is the Treasurer’s job to give the financial
report.
3. The third reason for assigning a particular role is political — providing a
leadership role to a key community leader would be good for your
organization.
4. The fourth reason is to develop leaders — to give people who need experience
making presentations or leading discussion an opportunity to develop their
skills.
5. The fifth reason is to get people to attend — people are more likely to attend if
they have an explicit role to play in the meeting.

Typical roles in meetings include:


Facilitator/Chairperson — this person sees that the meeting moves forward
and follows the agenda, unless the agenda is changed by a vote of the group.
Notetaker — this person takes notes about the meeting, either on flip chart
paper for the whole group to see, on a computer so that distribution to the
group following the meeting is simplified, or on regular foolscap paper.
Timekeeper — this person reminds the facilitator about time constraints and
has the authority to interrupt participants who dominate the meeting with their
opinions or input.
Presenters — a variety of people can present various ideas, as are appropriate
to the objectives of the meeting.
Tone-setter — this person can open and close the meeting with a centering
exercise.
Greeter — it is nice to have one person dedicated to welcoming people to the
meeting. If people attending won’t all know each other, this person would also
provide name tags.

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Room Arrangements/Logistics
Before the meeting, assess the actual room you will use in order to plan the room
arrangements and logistical details. Possible items to consider include:
Chair arrangements — chairs in a circle or around a table encourage
discussion. Set up fewer chairs than the number expected, It’s better to add
chairs than have chairs sitting empty. Have additional chairs readily
accessible, perhaps stacked to the side of the room.
Places to hang flip charts — will tape damage walls? Is an easel available?
Outlets for audio-visual equipment — will you need an overhead projector?
Will you need extension cords?
Refreshments — do you plan to have refreshments? If so, who will bring
them? Can someone else bring cups and plates? Do you need outlets for a
coffee pot and kettle? Who will handle clean-up?

Asking people to bring items or to help arrange things for the meeting helps assure
their attendance. Assign people to bring coffee, cups, cookies, tablecloths, flowers,
etc. Ask another person, or people, to set-up the chairs. Delegating tasks ahead of
time may seem like more trouble than it’s worth, but it gets people involved in the
meeting and your organization. It also helps the meeting run more smoothly, which
people appreciate.

Turnout
If you want your meetings to be well-attended, have one person call all the
participants one to three days before the meeting to remind them. These calls have an
organizing function as well as aiding turnout. Explain the issues that will be discussed
at the meeting, why they are important and identify points of controversy.

Meeting Facilitation
Every meeting should be enjoyable, run efficiently, and build organizational morale.
Although these characteristics may be difficult to measure, they are terribly important.
No one wants to attend meetings that are boring or poorly run. Efficient meetings respect
people’s time as their most valuable resource. They also build organizational morale by
generating a sense of unity and helping people respect and support one another.

Every meeting needs a facilitator, a person who helps the meeting accomplish its goals.
In order to be adequately prepared, the Chairperson must know ahead of time that he or
she will facilitate the meeting. There’s nothing worse than arriving and asking, “Okay,
who’s chairing this meeting?” If no one has prepared to facilitate, the meeting will
probably be poorly run.

Being a good facilitator is both a skill and an art. It is a skill in that people can learn
certain techniques and improve their ability with practice. It is an art in that some people
have more of a knack for it than others. Facilitating a meeting requires someone to:
understand the goals of the meeting and the organization;
keep the group on the agenda and moving forward;

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involve everyone in the meeting, both controlling the domineering people and
drawing out the shy ones; and
make sure that decisions are made democratically.

The Chair must assure that decisions are made, plans are developed, and commitments
made, but in a manner that is enjoyable for all concerned. A good Chair is concerned
about both the meeting’s content and style. By having the other roles suggested, such as
notetakers and timekeepers, the Chair has some assistance in moving the agenda along.
Here are some guides for meeting facilitation:

Start the Meeting Promptly


Few meetings actually begin on time these days, but you do not want to penalize
those who did come on time. For large group meetings, plan to start within ten to
fifteen minutes of the official beginning time. For smaller meetings, start exactly on
time.

Welcome Everyone
Make a point to welcome everyone who comes to the meeting. Do not, under any
circumstances, bemoan the size of the group. Once you are at a meeting, the people
there are the people there. Go with what you have.

Introduce People
If just a few people are new, ask them to introduce themselves. If the group as a
whole does not know each other well, ask people to answer a question or tell
something about themselves that provides useful information for the group or the
Chairperson. The kinds of questions you should ask depend upon the kind of meeting
it is, the number of people participating, and the overall goals of the meeting. Sample
introductory questions include:
How did you first get involved with our organization?
What is/has been your role with our organization?
What attracted you to get involved with our organization?

It is important to make everyone feel welcome and listened to at the beginning of a


meeting. Otherwise, participants may feel uncomfortable and unappreciated and
won’t participate well in later parts of the meeting. The Chair of the meeting may
need to introduce him or herself and tell why he or she is speaking or facilitating the
meeting. This is especially true when people are unfamiliar with the Chairperson. It
never hurts for the Chairperson to explain how long they have been a part of the
organization, how important the organization is to them, and what outcomes they
hope for from the meeting.

Review the Agenda


Go over what’s going to happen in the meeting. Ask the group if the agenda is
adequate. While it will be fine 90 percent of the time, someone will suggest an
additional item in the other 10 percent. Either the item can be addressed directly in
the meeting, or you can explain how and when the issue can be addressed.

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Explain the Meeting Rules


Most groups need some basic rules of order for meetings. You can post these on a flip
chart so everyone sees them throughout the meeting. Some common rules of order
are:
Do
Personally welcome newcomers
Actively listen to others
Support the facilitator in moving the agenda ahead
Recommend ways to resolve differences
Participate in discussions
Encourage new people to speak and volunteer
Be positive and upbeat throughout the meeting
Don’t
⌧ Dominate the discussion
⌧ Bring up tangents
⌧ Dwell on past problems
⌧ Insist that people support your ideas

Encourage Participation
Every meeting should involve the people who come. Encourage leaders and
organizers to listen to people. Seek feedback and advice from people and thank them
for their input. Don’t argue with participants’ points of view. Draw out those who
seem withdrawn from discussions.

Stick to the Agenda


Groups have a tendency to wander far from the original agenda. When you hear the
discussion wandering off, bring it to the group’s attention. You can say, “That’s an
interesting issue, but perhaps we should get back to the original matter of discussion.”

Avoid Detailed Decision-Making


Unless it is the goal of the meeting, help the group not to get immersed in details,
suggesting instead, “Perhaps a smaller committee could resolve this matter. You
don’t really want to be involved in this level of detail, do you?”

Move to Action
Meetings should not only provide an opportunity for people to talk, but should also
challenge them to plan ways to confront and change the issue on the table. Avoid
holding meetings just to “discuss” things or “educate” people. Meetings should plan
effective actions to build the organization.

Seek Commitments
Getting commitments for future involvement is usually a goal of most meetings. You
want leaders to commit to certain tasks, people to volunteer to help on a campaign, or
organizations to commit to support your group. Make sure that adequate time is
allocated to seeking commitment. For small meetings, write people’s names on a

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sheet of flip chart paper next to the tasks they agree to undertake. The Chairperson
may want to ask each individual directly how they want to help. One golden rule,
especially for meetings of less than ten people, is that everyone should leave the
meeting with something to do. Don’t ever close a meeting by saying that you will get
back to people to confirm how they might be involved. Seize the moment. Confirm
how people want to get involved at the meeting.

Bring Closure to Discussion


Most groups will discuss items ten times longer than needed, unless the facilitator
helps them recognize that they are basically in agreement. Formulate a consensus
position, or ask someone in the group to formulate a position that reflects the group’s
general position, then move forward.

Respect Everyone’s Rights


The facilitator is the protector of the weak in meetings. He or she encourages quiet
and shy people to speak, and does not allow domineering people to ridicule others’
ideas or to embarrass them in any fashion. Try one of these phrases for dealing with
domineering people: “We’ve heard a lot from the men this evening, are there women
who have additional comments?” (assuming the domineering person was a man). Or,
“We’ve heard a lot from this side of the room. Are there people with thoughts on the
other side of the room?” Or, “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t spoken yet.”

Sometimes people dominate a discussion because they are really interested in an issue
and have lots of ideas. There may be ways to capture their interest without having
them continue to dominate the meeting. For example, ask then to serve on a taskforce
or committee on that matter.

In other situations, people just talk to hear themselves. If a person regularly


participates in your organization's meetings and regularly creates a problem, a key
leader should talk with him or her about helping involve new people and drawing
others out at meetings.

Be Flexible
Occasionally, issues and concerns arise that are so important, you must alter the
agenda to discuss them before returning to the prepared agenda. If necessary, ask for
a five-minute break in the meeting to discuss with key leaders how to handle the issue
and how to restructure the agenda. Be prepared to recommend an alternate agenda,
dropping items if necessary.

Summarize the Meeting Results and Follow-Up


Before closing a meeting, summarize what happened and what follow-up will occur.
Review the commitments people made to reinforce them, as well as to remind them
how effective the meeting was.

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Thank People
Take a moment to thank people who prepared things for the meeting, set up the room,
brought refreshments, or typed up the agenda. Also, thank everyone for making the
meeting a success.

Close the Meeting on or Before the Ending Time


Unless a meeting is really exciting, people want it to end on time. And remember, no
one minds getting out of a meeting early.

Follow-Up
There are two main principles for meeting follow-up: do it, and do it promptly. If
meetings are not followed up promptly, much of the work accomplished at the time will
be lost. Don’t waste people’s time by not following up the meeting. There’s nothing
worse than holding a good planning meeting, but then allowing decisions and plans to fall
through the cracks because follow-up was neglected.

Make sure that your notetaker prepares the meeting notes soon after the meeting.
Otherwise, he or she will forget what the comments mean, and they will be useless later.
Organizers should work with notetakers to assure that these notes are clear and produced
in a timely fashion.

Call active members who missed the meeting. Tell them you missed them and update
them on the meeting’s outcomes. If you are actively seeking new members, call anyone
who indicated that he or she would come, and not just active members.

Thank the people who helped make the meeting successful. Send a brief card or note.

Call new people who came to the meeting. Thank them for coming and see about setting
up one-on-one meetings with people who look like potential leaders. Be sure to follow-up
with people while their interest is still fresh.

Once the minutes are prepared, write relevant reminder notes in your calendar. For
example, if someone agreed to research something by March 15, jot down a call to that
person on March 7 and inquire about how the research is progressing.

Place a copy of the meeting notes in an organizational notebook or file so that everyone
knows where the “institutional memory” is kept.

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Meeting Checklist
Have you set concrete, realistic goals?
Is the site familiar, accessible, representative and adequate?
Are the date and time good for those you want to attend?
Do you have a Chairperson for the meting? Has the Chairperson been involved in
preparing the agenda or been fully briefed?
Does the agenda:
Accomplish the goals
Encourage commitment and involvement
Provide visible leadership roles
Do you need:
Printed agenda
Background materials
Have you asked people to serve as the:
Chairperson/facilitator — who?
Notetaker — who?
Timekeeper — who?
Presenters — who?
Tone-setter (open and close meeting) — who?
Greeter (welcome people) — who?
Refreshments, serve/prepare — who?
Have you considered the following logistical matters:
Chair arrangements
Flip chart paper, markers and tape
Audio visual support, extension cords and power outlets
Refreshments
Do you have a turnout plan and enough people working on turnout calls? Do you
have a system for comparing those who said they’d come to those who actually
came?
Have you arranged for childcare for participants who need that support?
Do you have transportation for those who need it?

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How to Facilitate a Creative Brainstorm

Facilitating an effective creative brainstorm may not be soothing you have ever done
before. The description of the process that follows may feel very loose or out-of-control.
The process does allow for out-of-control, or, out-of-the-box thinking which is very
important when you are trying to come up with new strategies and tactics to achieve your
goals and objectives. Try it!

Step One
Put a specific question to the group. Ensure participants stick to the question.
Record ideas on a flip chart and post these pages on the wall around the room so
that all participants can clearly see them.
Encourage participants to be succinct. Ask people to keep their ideas to about ten
words — headlines, not full paragraphs.
As the facilitator, you must avoid commenting on ideas. Do not allow others to
comment on ideas. Ask everyone to suspend judgement about ideas — analysis
will come later, in the “do something” step.
As the facilitator, your role will be to keep the ideas flowing. Keep ideas broad
and general. The specifics can be developed in Step Three.
When recording ideas ensure you use the speakers’ words.
Wild and crazy is okay. Repetition is okay. Piggybacking on each other’s ideas is
great.

Step Two
Do something with the ideas you have generated. Either:
Prioritize the ideas with the group and discuss the most promising
One effective way to prioritize ideas is to provide each participant with five to
ten stickers and have them put their stickers beside the idea or ideas that they
believe to be most promising. This process is often called “dotmocracy.” You
can allow people to distribute their stickers in any way they want: one sticker
on each of three ideas, two stickers on one idea and another on a second idea,
or all three stickers on one idea. (If you don’t have stickers, give each person a
marker and ask them to put a mark beside their favorite ideas).
Cluster the ideas for more discussion
If there are a few broad areas of interest, you can put those together and break
the full group into smaller groups to discuss the merits of the ideas in their
cluster, rank their ideas from most promising to least. Then the group can
rejoin as a full group and discuss the most promising ideas together.
Scan the material and check whether all participants agree with the list
In this case, you may eliminate some ideas that the group does not feel are
appropriate and take the list away to work on at a staff level. In the case of
ideas that require research to determine how feasible they would be to
implement, this is an appropriate way to deal with the ideas.

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Step Three
Engage in a discussion about the pros and cons of the top ideas. Continue to think
creatively. Ask, “how can we do this in a way that nobody has ever done before?”
Or, “what advantage will our group have in undertaking this idea that no other group
has?”

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How to Facilitate a Focus Group


Focus groups are a powerful means to evaluate your not-for-profit organization’s
services or test new ideas, such as new programming. Basically, focus groups are
interviews, but of 6-10 people at the same time in the same group. One can get a great
deal of information during a focus group session.
Preparing for a focus group is not dissimilar to preparing to preparing for any other
meeting, as we have described in the previous section of this handbook.
1. Meeting objective — Identify the major objective of the meeting. In this case, it
will be to identify how well your not-for-profit organization is positioned in your
community, or some similar communication-related objective.
2. Focus Group questions — Carefully develop your focus group questions. Always
first ask yourself what problem or need will be addressed by the information
gathered during the session. This will vary for each not-for-profit organization,
but in the context of developing your communication plan, the list of questions
that follow will provide you with a good guide to get started. Given that your
focus group should last about an-hour-and-a-half, the most you can expect to
cover is five or six questions.
3. Inviting participants — First, call potential participants to invite them to the
meeting. Send those interested in participating a follow-up invitation with a
proposed agenda, session time and place and list of questions the group will
discuss. About three days before the session, call each participant to remind them
to attend.
4. Scheduling — Plan the focus group to last one-and-a-half hours. Over lunch
seems to be a very good time for working people to attend.
5. Setting and Refreshments — Hold sessions in a room with adequate air flow and
lighting. Configure chairs so that all participants can see each other. Provide name
tags for participants, as well. Provide refreshments, especially if the session is
held over lunch.
6. Ground Rules — It's critical that all participants participate as much as possible,
yet the session move along while generating useful information. Because the
session is often a one-time occurrence, it's useful to have a few, short ground rules
that sustain participation, yet do so with focus. Consider the following three
ground rules: a) keep focused, b) maintain momentum and c) get closure on
questions.
7. Membership - Focus groups are usually conducted with 6-10 members who have
some similar nature, e.g., similar age group, status in a program, etc. Select
members who are likely to be participative and reflective. Attempt to select
members who don't know each other.
8. Plan to record the session with either an audio or audio-video recorder. Don't
count on your memory. If this isn't practical, involve a note-taker.

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Sample Communication Plans — Four Approaches

Eye Disease Education Program For People with Diabetes


Communication Plan: April 1991

I. Introduction
II. Background
III. Overview Of Communication Plan--A Diabetic Eye Disease Education
Program For People With Diabetes
IV. Messages, Channels, and Materials
V. Evaluation
Sources

I. Introduction
Diabetes affects approximately 14 million Americans, and about 40 percent of all
people with diabetes have at least mild signs of diabetic retinopathy, the most
common ocular complication of diabetes.1,2 Other ocular complications include
cataract and glaucoma. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in
adults 25 to 74 years of age.3 People with diabetes are at significantly higher risk
of blindness than the general population.2
Therefore, one priority of the National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) is
to increase awareness and knowledge of diabetic eye disease and to encourage
actions to prevent loss of vision.4 The NEHEP is being coordinated by the
National Eye Institute (NEI), one of the National Institutes of Health, in
partnership with other public and private organizations concerned with eye
health.
This document outlines the communication plan for the diabetic eye disease
education program, formulated as a result of recommendations presented at a
NEHEP Planning Conference in March 1989, planning documents produced by
the NEHEP staff since that time, and deliberations of the NEHEP Planning
Committee. The plan describes an education program for people with diabetes.
In developing the plan further, the NEHEP staff will identify current education
efforts and the most critical gaps in public knowledge, attitudes, and practices.
The staff will also actively seek opportunities to work in partnership with other
interested organizations. Therefore, the tasks outlined here for the diabetic eye
disease communication program will be prioritized according to need,
opportunities for collaboration, and potential impact in order to use the NEHEP's
resources most effectively.

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The first section of this communication plan for educating people with diabetes
about diabetic eye disease presents the need for the Program, Program
objectives, target audiences, and target audience research. The subsequent
section covers messages, channels, and materials.

II. Background
National Eye Institute
Eye disease, visual impairment and disability, and blindness are major public
health problems. In the United States alone, more than 11 million people have
some degree of visual impairment uncorrectable by glasses.5 Of this visually
impaired population, approximately 890,000 people are legally blind.6 In addition
to the physical and emotional stresses associated with eye disease and
blindness, there are significant economic burdens. Eye disorders and blindness
are estimated to cost the nation more than $16 billion annually.7
Convinced that visual disorders constituted a national problem that could only be
solved by greater emphasis on vision research, Congress authorized the
establishment of the National Eye Institute (NEI) in 1968 as part of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The
Institute's mission is to conduct research in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment
and rehabilitation of diseases of the eye and visual system.
National Eye Health Education Program
Since its inception, the NEI has conducted a public information program,
responding to inquiries and disseminating authoritative information on eye
disease and the progress of vision research. Educational materials for the public
have described the causes, if known, of common eye diseases; their signs and
symptoms; methods of prevention and treatment; referrals to sources of help;
and current, relevant research. Blindness prevention education has become
more feasible during the last decade when the results of several clinical trials
provided dramatic evidence that laser treatment could reduce the risk of vision
loss from diabetic retinopathy and macular edema.
Although the NEI has long been committed to communicating research results to
appropriate audiences, a sustained, large-scale health education program has,
until recently, been precluded by a lack of funding and personnel. However,
beginning in fiscal year 1988, Congress appropriated funds that have enabled
the NEI to increase its commitment to the prevention of blindness through public
and professional education programs and the encouragement of regular eye
examinations. This was the first distinct NEI Congressional appropriation
designated for eye health promotion and education.
In response, the NEI has established the National Eye Health Education Program
(NEHEP) to implement large-scale information, education, and applied research

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programs. The initial emphasis of the NEHEP is on public, patient, and


professional education concerning the importance of early detection and
treatment of diabetic eye disease and glaucoma. These blinding eye diseases
have been selected as the Program's initial focus for three reasons:
• The high prevalence of these diseases;
• The scientific evidence demonstrating that blindness caused by these
diseases can frequently be prevented by early detection and treatment;
• The existence of important health messages that need to be conveyed to
a variety of target audiences.
In the future, other topics, such as coping with low vision, may be addressed.
The goals of the NEHEP are:
• To increase awareness of glaucoma and diabetic eye disease in selected
high-risk target audiences in the United States.
• To increase awareness of the importance of early detection of glaucoma
and diabetic eye disease in preventing visual loss, with the ultimate goal of
appropriate behavior change.
• To increase health care providers' awareness of the need for regular,
comprehensive eye examinations with dilated pupils for those at risk for
glaucoma and diabetic eye disease, with the ultimate goal of appropriate
behavior change.
• To encourage these groups to take appropriate action based on their
increased awareness.
Additional background information on the NEHEP, including its operating
principles, is contained in From Vision Research to Eye Health Education:
Planning the Partnership.4
The NEHEP Partnership consists of organizations interested in eye health
education and capable of furthering the achievement of the goals of the NEHEP.
This group includes professional, voluntary, and civic organizations; federal, state
and local agencies; and private industry. Invitations to join the NEHEP
Partnership were extended to the 35 organizations represented at the 1989
Planning Conference.

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III. Overview Of Communication Plan—A Diabetic Eye Disease


Education Program For People With Diabetes
This section of the plan for educating people with diabetes about diabetic eye
disease presents the need for the Program and describes Program objectives,
target audiences, and target audience research.
The Program Need
As already stated, there are 14 million people with diabetes in the United States,
about half of whom do not know they have this disorder.1 Each year, 700,000
new cases of diabetes are diagnosed.1 Overall, people with diabetes are
estimated to be 25 times more likely to develop blindness than people without
diabetes of similar age and sex.2 People with diabetes are at increased risk for
glaucoma, cataract, and diabetic retinopathy.2 Diabetic retinopathy, the most
important of the ocular complications, is often asymptomatic until its later stages,
after the optimal time for treatment. Thus, recognition of diabetic retinopathy in its
earlier, asymptomatic stages is important.
Review of existing data regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to
diabetic eye disease reveals that:
• Two recent studies showed that 32 to 50 percent of the people with
diabetes had minimal or no ophthalmologic eye examinations and
subsequently were at high risk for unrecognized diabetic eye disease.8,9
• A regional study of people with diabetes who had not had an eye
examination in the last year found that virtually all respondents believed
that diabetes had made them vulnerable to losing their eyesight. However,
respondents said that they had not had their eyes checked because of
cost or lack of symptoms.10
• Most people in a focus group setting seemed to view the health of their
eyes in the abstract rather than the concrete. Asymptomatic problems did
not seem real, even though respondents stated how important their eyes
were to them.11
Clearly, more people with diabetes need to seek regular, comprehensive eye
examinations to safeguard their vision. This Program initiative will seek to
increase awareness and knowledge and to motivate people with diabetes to seek
eye care. Although the primary focus will be on diabetic retinopathy, information
on the other eye complications of diabetes, such as glaucoma and cataract, will
be included.
Program Objectives
Five Program objectives have been established:
• To increase awareness of diabetic eye disease.

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• To increase knowledge that the risk of blindness from diabetic eye disease
can be reduced with early detection and treatment.
• To encourage people with diabetes to seek annual comprehensive eye
examinations with dilated pupils by trained health care professionals.
• To encourage people with diabetic eye disease to comply with appropriate
treatment regimens.
• To encourage inquiries for more information.
Target Audiences
Participants in the 1989 NEHEP Planning conference recommended two target
audiences for this Program: people with diabetes and health care professionals.4
They also recommended that messages be directed to family members and other
groups, including educators and clergy.
Primary Target Audience: People with Diabetes. The primary target audience
selected for this Program will be people with diabetes. Factors that increase the
risk of diabetic eye disease will be emphasized, such as duration of diabetes,
degree of blood sugar elevation, pregnancy, and elevated blood pressure.
In subsequent phases of the Program, strategies will be developed to reach and
influence certain groups—Native Americans, Hispanics, African Americans—in
which diabetes is more prevalent than in the general population.
Secondary Target Audiences: Important secondary audiences are those who can
influence or support the health practices of individuals at risk. These audiences
include:
• Family members of at-risk individuals
• Health care professionals (e.g., physicians, diabetes educators, nurses,
and pharmacists)
• Other intermediaries (e.g., clergy).
Family members of people with diabetes can be key in providing information and
motivating others at risk to seek eye examinations.
Health care professionals are a very credible source of information for their
patients, and provide direct access to people with diabetes who are in the
medical care system. Physicians who care for people with diabetes are in the
best position to counsel these patients about the need for eye examinations and
to refer them for eye care. These physicians are also perceived by their patients
as very credible information and referral sources. People with diabetes who
participated in NEHEP focus groups expressed the belief that their physicians
would "take care of them."11

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Other health care professionals (diabetes educators, pharmacists, nutrition


educators, nurses, social workers) also are in an excellent position to provide
diabetes management advice. Pharmacists offer a logical access point,
especially for insulin-taking diabetic patients, who are at higher risk for diabetic
eye disease. They are in a position to suggest that all people with diabetes
should have their eyes examined with dilated pupils.
During the first phase of the Program, the emphasis will be placed on identifying
strategies for involving primary care physicians and pharmacists in reaching
people with diabetes. In addition, materials will be developed for use by
organizations, which may include other health care professionals, such as
diabetes educators, nurses, and social workers.
Target Audience Research
Planning for the diabetic eye disease program is based on existing information
related to target audience knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) identified
through a literature review. In addition, a series of focus group discussions have
been conducted in varied geographic locations with people with diabetes and
with their family members.11 The findings from these discussions have been
incorporated into this plan and into the design of a national survey of public
knowledge, attitudes, and practices about eye health and disease. This survey
will be commissioned to gather baseline data and to refine communication
strategies. Survey results will be available in 1991. Public release of survey
results is planned, and diabetic eye disease education messages and strategies
will be modified as necessary based upon survey findings. In addition, the NEI
hopes to conduct an extensive analysis of data gathered in the 1989 diabetes
supplement of the National Health Interview Survey.

IV. Messages, Channels, and Materials


This section of the communication plan covers messages, channels, and
materials. Included under messages are discussions of information gaps, barriers
to acceptance, and appeals. Community channels and interpersonal channels
are described. Formats, the need for cultural sensitivity and pretesting are
covered under materials.
Messages
Most Americans are bombarded with hundreds of messages daily. In addition to
this general "message clutter," diabetic eye disease messages must compete
with the many other health-related issues discussed daily in the news, in
advertisements, and in individual conversations. For people with diabetes, the
problem is compounded by the significant amount of information required to
manage diabetes and its complications. Also, in comparison with other
complications of diabetes that present symptoms and discomfort, such ocular

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complications as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma often remain asymptomatic


until well past the optimal time for treatment. Therefore, the need for both
information and attention may be less obvious than for other diabetic
complications.
Information Gaps. People with diabetes and their health care providers need to
know that:
• About two out of five people with diabetes have diabetic retinopathy (a
common complication of diabetes).
• In initial stages, there are no symptoms of diabetic eye disease or
glaucoma, another potential threat to the vision of people with diabetes.
• Diabetic eye disease may remain mild, but it can result in visual
impairment or blindness.
• Diabetic eye disease can develop even if diabetes is under control.
• Early detection and timely treatment can improve chances of saving
vision.
• Laser treatment can prevent vision loss in many patients with diabetic
retinopathy.
• People with diabetes should have annual comprehensive eye
examinations with dilated pupils.
• Some people with diabetes are at even higher risk than other people with
diabetes.
• If detected early, diabetic eye disease may be managed appropriately and
vision preserved in most patients.
Barriers to Acceptance: People with Diabetes. Message development should
consider these barriers to message acceptance and action:
• Denial of diabetes
• Limited awareness of diabetic eye disease
• Misconceptions such as "if you can see right, there's nothing wrong with
your eyes" (cited by 30 percent of respondents—projectable to 55 million
adults—in a recent survey) 12
• Misconceptions that eye examinations are needed only if there are
symptoms present and that controlling blood sugar levels eliminates the
risk of visual loss
• Fear of blindness

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• Perceived discomfort of diagnostic tests


• Lack of familiarity with sources of eye care
• Lack of access to services
• Time and cost of comprehensive eye examinations
• Lack of health insurance coverage for preventive or routine eye
examinations
• Concern for "more important" chronic disease management or diabetic
complications
• Lack of reinforcement from health care professionals.
Barriers to Acceptance: Health Care Professionals. Messages should consider
these barriers to information acceptance and action:
• An escalating amount of health information that must be incorporated into
practices
• Conflicting priorities and time constraints
• Limited continuing professional education on diabetic eye disease
• Limited access to or awareness of specialized referral contacts in some
areas
• Limited knowledge of community resources available to support the
medical, emotional and financial needs of people with diabetes.
Appeals. The message appeals used to attract attention must be relevant to
people with diabetes and be credible. For example, testimonials might be used to
illustrate the information. Identified appeals include:
• Remember to take care of your eyes as you take care of other
health/lifestyle needs.
• Vision is important to maintaining your personal independence.
• Yearly eye examinations provide peace of mind about diabetic eye
disease.
• Early diagnosis and prompt treatment can protect against vision loss.
One study identified predictors of compliance with screening recommendations,
including a history of ophthalmologic care, experience in coping with diabetes
and more severe symptoms of the disease, and urban rather than rural
residence.13 A consideration of these factors might result in other relevant
appeals.

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Spokespersons. Generally, the preferences for health information spokespersons


most often cited by people with diabetes are "people like me" and physicians.
Celebrities are less frequently cited as health spokespersons and may not be
credible unless they have a direct relationship with the health topic.
Channels
A combination of channels will be used:
• Community channels especially relevant to the person with diabetes
• Interpersonal channels to provide credibility and stimulate action.
Using as many channels as possible will provide repetition of messages, an
important factor in raising awareness and knowledge and in motivating to action.
Community. Organizations within the community can offer direct access to
people with diabetes, can distribute information, and help provide referral to
services. Together with interpersonal delivery, community channels can form a
strong support network, with each channel reinforcing the message, encouraging
those at risk to seek more information and eye examinations.
Community outlets for information about diabetic eye disease include community
health centers, health maintenance organizations, hospital outpatient clinics and
emergency rooms, churches, supermarkets, and eye care chains, among others.
Interpersonal. Interpersonal channels communicate on an individual level, which
permits answering questions and in other ways making information more relevant
to individual needs. The primary interpersonal channels for the first phase of this
Program will be pharmacists and physicians. Additional channels may include
diabetes educators and other health care professionals. The strategy for
promoting interpersonal communications will be to coordinate activities with
national membership organizations as NEHEP resources permit.
Materials
The first step will be to locate existing educational materials and resources on
diabetic eye disease. This task is being carried out through interviews with
NEHEP Partnership members and the establishment of an eye health education
subfile of the Combined Health Information Database (CHID). CHID is a
computerized bibliographic database, developed and managed by agencies of
the U.S. Public Health Service.
Formats. Once gaps in available materials have been identified, the first priority
will be to develop a "core" set of diabetic eye disease education materials.
Specific materials will include:
• An attractive, short diabetic eye disease fact sheet, simple but complete;
inexpensive to print; and reproducible by NEHEP Partnership members;

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• A community "planner's kit" of supporting materials for use by


organizations and health care professionals (e.g., fact sheets, resource
list, program guide with publicity tips and program ideas, speaker's
materials—including presentation points, visuals, and questions and
answers—poster, print ads/articles, kit folder, logo sheet, and evaluation
card);
• A kit for pharmacists, including samples of patient education materials for
display racks, direct mail or bag inserts, print ads/short articles for
magazine or newsletter placement, poster, program guide, and evaluation
card; and
• An exhibit for meetings of NEHEP Partners, medical and health-related
organizations, and other interested groups.
The materials production strategy will be to:
• Produce a few simple, inexpensive materials designed to increase
awareness and knowledge and to motivate people with diabetes to take
action.
• Print large quantities of reproducible materials to be used by NEHEP
Partnership organizations.
The need for cultural sensitivity. People with diabetes can be found in many
ethnic groups; incidence is high in the Black, Native American, and Hispanic
communities. Therefore, all messages and materials will be carefully tested for
multicultural appropriateness.
Pretesting. All messages and materials will be tested with the target audience
prior to final production to assure understanding, appeal, and personal and
cultural relevancy. Materials will be revised as necessary.
Role of the NEHEP Partnership
The strategy for promoting messages and materials about diabetic eye disease
will be to identify and work with the NEHEP Partnership. The first priority will be
collaboration with intermediaries who are already interested and/or involved in
similar activities. Such collaboration will strengthen existing efforts while
identifying the NEI as an additional resource.
A range of collaborative activities between the NEI and Partnership members is
underway, including:
• Help in developing, reviewing, and field testing materials
• Promoting and distributing materials
• Conducting presentations to patients and health care professionals

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• Promoting messages through publications and newsletters


• Implementing educational programs for high-risk groups.
A parallel strategy will be to recruit additional NEHEP Partners from
organizations with a special reach to or credibility with the target audiences. The
criteria for assigning priority to collaboration will include:
• Access to the target audiences
• Credibility with the target audiences
• Interest in collaboration
• Potential effect of the proposed activity.
NEHEP staff also will seek cooperative opportunities with the business sector
through trade associations, appropriate retailers, and manufacturers.
Response to Public Interest
The NEI is expanding its inquiry capability in expectation of the increased
demand for information as a result of NEHEP activities. This expansion includes
the establishment of an easy-to-recall address to invite inquiries for more
information: National Eye Health Education Program, Box 20/20, Bethesda, MD
20892. Supporting materials such as fact sheets and standard paragraphs are
being developed to facilitate inquiry response.
The NEI's public inquiry response program will provide easy access to up-to-date
information as well as the benefits of individually tailored communication. This
will provide an important service to the public and strengthen the NEHEP as a
central resource for those seeking information. In addition, a means for
evaluating NEHEP activities will be possible through the collection and analysis
of inquiry data. Future plans for inquiry response include the establishment of a
national toll-free telephone information service, based on an assessment of the
interests and needs of the target audiences. When this service is established, the
toll-free telephone number will be used on all materials developed for the
NEHEP.

V. Evaluation
Evaluation measures will be woven into diabetic eye disease education program
as they are developed to track progress, justify expenditures, and make any
necessary revisions in the communication plan and activities. Examples include:
• Formative measures such as pretesting of messages and materials

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• Process/outcome measures including materials distribution and use, and


analysis of public inquiries
• Outcome measures such as a comparison of baseline data gathered
through the national 1991 KAP survey, with follow-up to assess changes
in several years.
The NEI will also develop an applied research program on diabetic eye disease
that will complement this plan.

Sources (Cited in order of appearance in text)


(1) Centers for Disease Control. Prevalence and incidence of diabetes mellitus—
United States, 1980-1987. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 39:809-812,
1990.
(2) Klein R, Klein BEK, Moss SE. Visual Impairment in Diabetes. Ophthalmology
91:1-9, 1984.
(3) Diabetes in America. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public
Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Arthritis,
Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Chapter XIII, August 1985.
(4) National Eye Institute. From Vision Research to Eye Health Education:
Planning the Partnership. Bethesda, MD, NEI, March 1990.
(5) National Society to Prevent Blindness. Vision Problems in the U.S. Data
Analysis: Definitions, Data Sources, Detailed Data Tables, Analysis,
Integration. New York. National Society to Prevent Blindness, 1980, pp1-46.
(6) Tielsch JM, Sommer A, Witt K, Katz J, Royall RM. Blindness and Visual
Impairment in an American Urban Population. Archives of Ophthalmology
108:286, February 1990.
(7) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Summary and Critique of
Available Data on the Prevalence and Economic and Social Costs of Visual
Disorders and Disabilities. Report prepared for the National Eye Institute.
Bethesda, MD, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, US
DHHS, 1976.
(8) Sprafka JM, Fritsche TL, Baker R, Kurth D, Whipple D. Prevalence of
Undiagnosed Eye Diseases in High-risk Individuals. Archives of Internal
Medicine 150:857-861, 1990.
(9) Witkin SR, Klein R. Ophthalmologic Care for People with Diabetes. JAMA
251:2534-2537, 1984.

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Wisconsin Environmental Education Board


Communication Plan: 2000-2001

Background
The need in Wisconsin to strengthen efforts to communicate the value of EE and
increase support for EE was identified at the 1995 Wisconsin Environmental
Education Board EE Summit. Both the Wisconsin Association for Environmental
Education (WAEE) and the WEEB discussed strategies for addressing this need.
In 1998 an ad-hoc committee of the WAEE Board, chaired by Paul Wozniak
developed a WAEE Communications Plan addressing this need.
Also during 1998, the staff of the UW-SP based National Environmental
Education Advancement Project (NEEAP) worked with representatives of the
WAEE Communications Committee, WEEB, the Wisconsin Center for
Environmental Education, UW Extension, and the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources to develop the "EE Works for Wisconsin" promotional
materials. In January of 1998 NEEAP and the WAEE Communications
Committee sponsored a media training workshop for Wisconsin EE leaders.
Also during 1998, a Communications Committee of the Wisconsin Environmental
Education Board, chaired by Pat Marinac, developed a plan to build upon
previous efforts to promote EE in Wisconsin. During the summer of 1999 Dr. Rick
Wilke proposed bringing together the WAEE, WEEB and NEEAP efforts for the
purpose of more effectively promoting EE in Wisconsin. He offered the
assistance of graduate students in his EE Research Seminar. The graduate
students with advice from Dr. Wilke and input from key representatives of WAEE,
WEEB and NEEAP designed and assisted in the implementation of a
communication plan to promote EE in Wisconsin. The group used the WAEE
Communication Plan as a starting point in the development of their plan.

VISION
The development and implementation of a Wisconsin EE
Communications/Promotion Plan will result in a demonstrated increase in
recognition, acceptance and support for EE by decision makers on school
boards, parent organizations, school administrative staffs, members of the
legislature, and the news media.

MISSION
To achieve broader public acceptance and support for EE in Wisconsin.

TIMEFRAME: January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2001

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GOALS
1. To communicate the value of EE to Wisconsin school board members and
school administrative staff and to increase their support for EE.
2. To help elected/appointed officials understand the importance of EE and
increase their support of EE programs.
3. To increase recognition and support for EE by members of the news
media in Wisconsin.
4. To increase support from parents and members of parent organizations
for EE within their schools.
5. To improve the implementation of Wisconsin’s existing EE teacher training
requirement at universities and colleges.
A major part of the effort to achieve these goals will be completed by volunteers
across the state, including parents, teachers, administrators, and business
people who support EE in Wisconsin. To help these volunteers become
organized and to give them a head start in their effort, an organizing packet was
developed and will be sent to select individuals across the state (UWSP EE
Summer Master’s program students, EE Liaisons, and EE centers/organizations
in the state). The packet will describe for the volunteers what kind of action is
needed to support EE in their community and how they can take that action. It
will include the following information pertaining to all five goals:
o Information about how to use the packet
o Frequently Asked Questions about EE
o 12 Reasons for EE
o "EE Works for Wisconsin" brochure
o Tips for writing letters and news releases in support of EE
o Questions for parents to ask school boards about EE in their
community
o Example letters and news releases in support of EE including:
o Letter from a parent to parent organization
o Letter from a teacher to parent organization
o Letter to the editor to alert public of the need for EE
o Letter to the editor to encourage school district
support for EE
o Letter to school board member from parent
o Follow up letter to school board member from parent
o News release highlighting key messages of EE and
successful EE programs in the area
Specific examples of documents to assist with all the organization or
implementation steps with an asterisk (*) after them are included in a separate
organizing packet.

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GOAL # 1
To communicate the value of EE to Wisconsin school board members and school
administrative staffs and to increase their support for EE.
Objective 1A – School boards and school administrative staffs will
evaluate their district’s K-12 EE curriculum requirements and
support the development and implementation of curriculum plans
based on the new DPI EE Guidelines.
Objective 1B - School boards and school administrative staffs will
increase their support for EE programs by placing greater emphasis
on funding and staff development.
Strategies for Targeting School Boards and School Administrative Staffs
A) Organizational Steps
o Obtain mailing lists of school administrative staffs, including school
principals, curriculum coordinators and district superintendents.
o Determine the level of implementation and evaluation of the
legislatively required EE Curriculum plans in Wisconsin school
districts through surveys completed with the assistance of the EE
Liaison Teachers and the teachers enrolled in the Summer EE
Master’s program at the UW-SP. (Based on prior research and on
recently completed research it is known that implementation levels
are low).
o Develop a news release highlighting the lack of school district
compliance with state legislation and Department of Public
Instruction rules requiring the development, implementation and
evaluation of K-12 EE Curriculum Plans. The story will also point to
other shortcomings: a) lack of EE assessment, b) unlike
surrounding states, Wisconsin has no DPI EE Specialist position,
etc. Story – Wisconsin schools are not meeting state requirements
to provide an environmental education to our children. Surrounding
states are doing much more. This is in spite of the fact that 96% of
the nation’s parents want EE taught to their children in schools.
o Develop components of the organizing packet including: *
o An explanation of the benefits of EE
o Example letters to school board members and school
administrative staffs
o Specific questions to ask school board members and
school administrative staffs
o Key messages to communicate to school board
members and school administrative staffs

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o Example letters to the editor describing the need for


increased emphasis on EE in the local K—12
curriculum. The packet will also include suggestions
for implementing this effort.
o Identify organizations and individuals who are willing to become
involved in efforts to communicate the need for EE in the K-12
curriculum to school boards and school administrative staffs.
o Develop and disseminate a persuasive article for appropriate
newsletters (WAEE, Wisconservation, etc.) and targeted mailings
(WAEE members, etc.) describing the need to communicate to
school boards and school administrative staffs the importance of
strengthening EE in their districts. The article would also request
people to become involved in this effort and provide information on
how to obtain the organizing packet containing implementation
suggestions and resources.
B) Implementation Steps
o Distribute the organizing packet to select EE supporters across the
state.
o Disseminate the news release to state media markets regarding the
shortcomings in implementation of legislative and DPI EE
requirements and the potential association of these shortcomings
and the lack of environmental literacy in the K-12 students of
Wisconsin. Organize editorial board, radio and television follow-up
stories.
o Request interested parties to write letters of concern to school
boards, individual school board members, school administrative
staffs, and their local newspaper. Parents, teachers, environmental
organizations, environmental education organizations, and
community businesses are all potential interested parties. Letters
should address specific concerns and encourage a review of the
district’s EE curriculum and a discussion of the status of the
curriculum at a school board meeting. *
o Encourage interested parties to attend and participate in the school
board meeting that the EE curriculum and curriculum review is
discussed.
o Encourage interested parties to present their views on the district’s
EE curriculum at multiple school board meetings and at statewide
events, such as the Wisconsin Association of School Boards
annual conference.

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o Encourage your school board members and school administrative


staffs to participate in EE professional development. Alert them of
upcoming events, conferences, and courses. Possibly provide
assistance with registration or otherwise coordinate their
involvement.
o Highlight exemplary EE that is occurring in their district or nearby
districts in the form of a letter, in person at a board meeting, or by
providing them the opportunity to have a hands-on experience
viewing the program in action.
o Coordinate student involvement in as many of the above strategies
as feasible and age appropriate. Provide opportunities for students
to write letters, present at board meetings, and invite school board
members and school administrative staff to their classroom.
o Develop a follow-up plan to encourage continued discussion and
implementation of decisions made at school board meetings.
Future coordination, presentations, or letters will be needed.

GOAL # 2
To help elected/appointed officials understand the importance of EE and
increase their support of EE programs.
Objective 2A – Elected/appointed officials will support the
assessment of environmental literacy in conjunction with the
ongoing statewide student assessment programs administered by
the DPI.
Objective 2B – Elected/appointed officials will support the
reinstatement of the EE Specialist position in the DPI.
Objective 2C – Elected/appointed officials will specifically support
the WEEB and its programs.
Strategies for Targeting Elected/Appointed Officials
A) Organizational Steps
o Request WEEB support for annual environmental literacy
assessment of Wisconsin students. The research project would: a)
identify the existing state assessment questions that address the
Wisconsin EE Standards, b) identify voids where the EE standards
are not being assessed, c) develop valid and reliable questions to
fill the voids, d) provide assistance to DPI in inserting the questions
in appropriate on-going state assessments, and e) provide an
annual environmental literacy assessment of Wisconsin students.

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o Develop a news release highlighting reasons why Wisconsin


schools need an EE Specialist at the DPI. Reasons could include:
since the EE Specialist position was eliminated, there has been no
assessment of the EE curriculum requirement and there has been
no EE outreach program available to schools for staff or curriculum
development.
o Identify interested parties who are willing to become involved in
efforts to communicate the need for an EE Specialist position and
for assessment of environmental literacy among Wisconsin
students.
o Develop an example letter to elected/appointed officials to be
included in the organizing packet, requesting the reinstatement of
the EE Specialist position in the DPI.
o Identify elected/appointed officials who will support the assessment
of environmental literacy in conjunction with the current statewide
student assessment conducted by the DPI.
B) Implementation Steps
o Obtain the financial and political support of the WEEB for the
development of an annual environmental literacy assessment of
Wisconsin students.
o Distribute organizing packet to Summer EE Masters degree
students and EE Liaison Teachers.
o Disseminate the news release regarding the lack of a DPI EE
specialist to state media markets. Organize editorial board, radio,
and television follow-up stories.
o Request EE Liaison Teachers and Summer EE Masters degree
students to write letters of concern to the State Superintendent and
other elected/appointed officials describing the importance of an EE
Specialist at the DPI and the statewide assessment of EE literacy. *
o Request EE Liaison Teachers and Summer EE Masters degree
students to solicit similar letter of support for an EE Specialist at the
DPI from other teachers, school administrators and parents. *

GOAL # 3
To increase recognition and support for EE by members of the news media in
Wisconsin.

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Objective 3A – Wisconsin radio, television and newspapers will


increase the coverage of EE-related news and events.
Objective 3B – A network of key media contacts across Wisconsin
who are supportive of EE will be developed and maintained.
Strategies for Targeting Members of the News Media in Wisconsin
A) Organizational Steps
o Identify the major media markets in Wisconsin. Determine if a
network of media contacts that are supportive of environmental
education exists in these markets. These contacts should be in
varied media outlets (newspaper, radio, TV) across the state. If
such a network does not exist, it should be developed through the
assistance of state EE organizations and/or media consultants with
ties in these major markets.
o Develop components of the organizing packet, including news
releases, tips for writing news releases and advice for doing media
coverage. *
o Collaborate with EE grants programs in the state (such as WEEB).
As a stipulation of the grant award, grantees must send out news
releases on their projects. Grantees should relate the key
messages from the "EE Works for Wisconsin" promotional
materials to their project.
o Leadership should be provided by WEEB in developing a media
workshop for EE organizations/conferences. The workshop will
stress the importance of media relationships, the different types of
media, and how to get your project/event/center into the news.
B) Implementation Steps
o Hold workshops for the staff and volunteers from environmental
education centers and EE organizations at state conferences to
educate EE supporters about gaining media coverage for their
center/project.
o Encourage teachers and organizations to write news releases
about events or projects that are being developed or implemented
in their schools, EE centers or organizations. The news releases
should include information pertaining to the key messages from the
"EE Works for Wisconsin" program. *
o Encourage EE centers, EE organizations, and schools to maintain
contact with media representatives in their major market area. EE
centers, organizations, and schools should make sure that media

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representatives in newspapers, radio and TV know of EE related


events or projects occurring in their area. *
o Request the Summer EE Master’s students, EE Liaisons, parent
organizations and other teachers to write op-ed articles supporting
EE for newspapers in their area. *
o Require WEEB grantees to write and send out news releases
pertaining to their funded project. The news releases should relate
the key EE messages for Wisconsin to the purpose of their project.

GOAL # 4
To increase support from parents and members of parent organizations for EE
within their schools.
Objective 4A- Parent organizations will increase financial support
and volunteer time on behalf of EE programs in their schools.
Objective 4B – The number of parents expressing support for EE
programming to schoolteachers, administrators, and school board
members will increase.
Strategies for Targeting Parents and Members of Parent Organizations
A) Organizational Steps
o Identify the parent organizations for schools or school districts and
the contact people for these organizations.
o Identify the manner that the parent organization can further EE.
Some examples include: using profits raised from parent
organization fundraisers to purchase EE materials or to fund
residential or day visits to local environmental education/nature
centers or providing parent volunteers as chaperones on EE field
trips or assisting teachers in the classroom with EE activities.
o Develop components of the organizing packet including: *
Laws governing EE curriculum implementation
The current level of EE curriculum implementation
Statistics on parental support for EE
o An example letter to request support from parent
organizations for EE. The promotional material "EE
Works for Wisconsin" should be included.

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B) Implementation Steps
o Alert environmental educators, specifically those individuals
receiving the organizing packet, as to the benefits of parental
support.
o Encourage environmental educators, EE centers/organizations,
teachers and parents to write letters and/or give presentations to
parent organizations describing ways parent organizations can be
involved in supporting EE programs at their school. *
o Encourage formal and nonformal environmental educators to
request support from parent organizations for specific upcoming
programs, activities, and events. *
o Encourage organizations to write new releases supporting and
describing the benefits of EE with the target audience of these
releases being parents and parent organizations. *

GOAL # 5
To improve the implementation of Wisconsin’s existing EE teacher training
requirement at universities and colleges.
Objective 5A – The EE Specialist position will be reinstated at the
DPI.
Objective 5B – The DPI will evaluate the implementation of the EE
teacher training requirement at universities and colleges.
Strategies for Targeting Wisconsin’s Universities and Colleges
A) Organizational Steps
o Identify teachers who have graduated from teacher training
programs in Wisconsin and are interested in becoming involved in
efforts to communicate the need to evaluate the EE teacher training
requirement in Wisconsin universities and colleges.
o Develop a news release for appropriate newsletters (WAEE,
PTA/PTO environmental and business newsletters, etc.) and
targeted mailings (WAEE members, etc.) describing the need for
the reinstatement of the EE Specialist position at the DPI and a DPI
evaluation of EE teacher training requirements at universities and
colleges
o Identify interested parties who are willing to become involved in
communicating the need for an EE Specialist at the DPI and DPI

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evaluation of the implementation of the EE teacher training


requirements at universities and colleges.
B) Implementation Steps
o Disseminate the news release described above.
o Request interested parties to write letters of concern to the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction, to key members of the
legislature and to their local newspaper.
o Request teachers to write "testimonials" of using EE in their
classroom, the benefits of having an EE Specialist at the DPI, and
the usefulness of pre-service and in-service training in EE. These
letters can be submitted to local newspaper and environmental
organizations/associations newsletters

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Heart Health Partnership


Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Benefits Campaign
Communication Plan: December 1999

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Heart Health Partnership(1) (HHP) consists of 18 organizations including
non-profit organizations, government agencies, and community groups and is
currently working in the Western Region of the province. The mission of the HHP
is "to work with communities and individuals in discovering and using effective
ways to improve the heart health of Nova Scotians." The Heart Health
Partnership has been working toward enhancing an infrastructure for health
promotion at the community level (through existing structures), which will
ultimately lead to improved cardiovascular health outcomes at the community
level. The Partnership will demonstrate how to work with intersectoral
partnerships to build skills, knowledge, and abilities to mobilize communities to
improve overall health and wellness.
Catalyzed by Heart Health Nova Scotia (HHNS), a cardiovascular disease
prevention program, the HHP will act as model for other organizations,
governments, and policy-makers concerned with improving the health of
populations through preventive strategies. Research has shown that health
promotion and disease prevention initiatives are effective and can help to reduce
factors that lead to ill health (such as smoking, high fat diets, not being physically
active, and high blood pressure). However, in order for these initiatives to be
effective, resources (both human and financial) need to be allocated and policy
decisions that will support these efforts need development.
The Heart Health Partnership is part of an international initiative, which involves
27 countries from Europe and Latin America, whose aim is to reduce risk factors
that lead to chronic diseases. This program has been extremely successful in
countries like Finland, where there is strong political leadership for reformation
and improvements in the health system through promotion and prevention. Since
the inception of this initiative in Finland in 1972, there has been a 72% decline in
cardiovascular disease. This effort has also realized improvements in reduced
cancer rates.
Governments have a large role to play in mobilizing existing community
structures, which enhances a community's capacity to take control of their own
health. Resources and policies need to be in place to sustain this effort in the
long-term. The current Nova Scotia government has made a commitment to
doing this and has launched an ambitious health system restructuring plan. As
health promoters we want to ensure that the government is successful in doing
this and that a balance is struck between acute care, health promotion and
prevention initiatives. Individual and collective concerns need to be expressed so
that the development of the provincial health policy reflects a broad definition of

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health care that includes health promotion and disease prevention as essential
parts of creating a healthier Nova Scotia.
The Heart Health Partnership met to discuss strategies and key concerns facing
the health sector as it relates to health promotion and chronic disease
prevention. The following is a summary of the issues and the strategies the group
feels need to be acted on in the upcoming months.
The time to participate is now. The Government will be making key decisions on
the structure of the Province's health care programs over the next two months.
Stakeholders know that the time is right to become involved so that they can help
communities and the Government develop a plan that will meet the health
concerns of Nova Scotians.

1. These partners include: Adult Education Section, Department of Education and Culture; Annapolis Valley Regional
School Board; Canadian Cancer Society, Nova Scotia Division; Community Links; Family Studies Teachers
Association; Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia; Heart Health Nova Scotia; Nova Scotia Department of
Health; Nova Scotia Dietetics Association; Nova Scotia Federation of Home and School Associations; Nova Scotia
Home Economics Association; Nova Scotia Sport and Recreation Commission; Provincial Library, Nova Scotia
Department of Education and Culture; Public Health Service, Western Regional Health Board; School of Nutrition and
Food Science, Acadia University; Southwest Regional School Board; Western Regional Health Board; Women's
Institute of Nova Scotia.

ORGANIZATIONAL GOAL:
To ensure communities in Nova Scotia and the government succeed in building a
responsive, outcome-based and efficient health care system by investing in
wellness, health promotion and chronic disease prevention initiatives.

COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES:

• To present in clear and simple language the economic and social benefits
of investing in health promotion/wellness/disease prevention programs
• To link the benefits of health promotion initiatives with health partner's
success stories (although this campaign is coordinated by Heart Health,
the testimonials from other health based organizations will lend credibility
and strength to the overall goal)
• To have the Nova Scotia Government take concrete steps to invest in
health promotion and chronic disease prevention including allocating
adequate resources in the February 2000 budget
• To have the Nova Scotia Government create infrastructure and processes
necessary to enable healthy public policy and intersectoral decision
making
• To encourage and support the Heart Health Partnership organizations to
take individual and collective action to support health promotion and
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chronic disease prevention at various levels of government review and


priority setting

TARGET AUDIENCES (Primary):

• Government Staff: Ministers, Department of Health/Economic


Development/Finance, Deputies: i.e., R.L 'Esperance, P. Ripley, Ward
• Community Health Board Members
• Public Health - regional and provincial
• Health Council
• Media
• The Voluntary Planning Fiscal Management Task Force (VPFMTF)
• MLAs
• Supporters: community Heart Health groups and others who deliver health
promotion programs; i.e., Women's Centre
• Provincial Health Council Members and Executive Director - J. Dow

KEY MESSAGES:

• Health promotion and chronic disease prevention initiatives are essential


elements of the health system infrastructure
• Investments in health promotion and chronic disease prevention initiatives
are cost effective
• Health promotion and chronic disease prevention initiatives result in
positive health outcomes and improve overall quality of life
• A modern health care system needs to be balanced with investments in
health as well as illness. Investment in health promotion and chronic
disease prevention will provide this balance
• Health and wellness promotion and chronic disease prevention benefits
society as a whole — long-term and short-term
• Health promotion partners want to be a part of the process that helps the
Government implement the health initiatives outlined in the Blue Book
• Health promotion initiatives support and encourage individuals and
communities to take control of their own health
• Through the development of community health plans and other public
consultations, citizens of Nova Scotia have expressed a need to mobilize
their communities to take charge of their health. Government, policy,

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102 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

intersectoral partnerships, resources, and infrastructure will enable


communities to achieve this need
• Health promotion and chronic disease prevention initiatives will reduce the
demand for costly medical interventions

CAMPAIGN TIME LINES:

Phase 1: November 26 - December 22, 1999


Window of Opportunity:
Much of what will become public policy for health care will be developed in
the next six weeks. The Heart Health Partnership and others see this time
frame as the window of opportunity for the next four years to move the
benefits of health promotion and partnership programs forward.

Phase 2: December 22, 1999 - January 15, 2000


Critical Time Period - Pre-Budget:
This time frame provides additional time to reinforce the key messages
communicated in Phase 1. This is a critical time period as the Government
will be presenting the provincial budget in early February 2000.

Phase 3: January 15, 2000, - March 31, 2001


Keeping Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Benefits Front and
Centre:
Funding for The Heart Health Partnership expires on March 31, 2001. Any
and all opportunities to promote the program, its accomplishments and results
should be maximized.

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Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 103

ACTION LIST:
Action
Deadline
Responsibility

Meet with the Heart Health Partnership to discuss the needs and the goal for a public education
initiative. Address key issues and strategies
November 24
Michelle, Heart Health Partnership

Develop a Communication Plan for the Health Promotion Partnership Campaign


December 2
Michelle, Heart Health Partnership

Distribute Comm. Plan to Health Partners


December 9
Heart Health Nova Scotia

Develop Fact Sheet/Question and Answer: A Pie Chart graph which outlines where the health care
dollars go could be beneficial to the case
December 9
Michelle and Heart Health NS

Develop ways to promote the cause


December 9
Michelle

Develop cover letter for MLAs


December 9
Michelle

Develop media strategy plan


December 13
Michelle and Heart Health NS

Media: Connect with all media contacts that heart health partners have association with
December 7-10
Michelle and Heart Health NS

Inform MLAs of the benefits of health promotion programs: include cover letter, fact sheet - i.e.; Neil
Leblanc, Jamie Muir, Dr. Hamm
December 22 and
beyond
Heart Health Partnership

Encourage supporters/Heart Health staff to submit an editorial on the benefits of health promotion -
reinforce economic indicators and link them to benefits
December 22 and
beyond
Heart Health Partnership

Share listing of MLAs with health partners (website address as well) encourage them to connect
with their representative personally
December 9

© IMPACS 2002
104 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

Heart Health NS

Encourage Heart Health Partners to promote health promotion in all of their internal and external
communication vehicles: Faxes, newsletters, Christmas cards
December 9 and
beyond
Heart Health Partnership

Develop a health promotion stamp and distribute it to health partner organizations


December 9
Heart Health Partnership

Draft a resolution that promotes the aims and goals of health promotion. Declare January Health
Promotion Month - have Premier endorse a proclamation
Phase 11, after
December 22
Heart Health Partnership

Upload all campaign materials to Heart Health website and encourage health partners to link their
sites to it
December 9
Heart Health NS

Develop and distribute evaluation pieces: i.e., a "How did it Go"? form and activity support
summary
Phase 11, after
December 22 and
beyond
Heart Health NS

EVALUATION SUMMARY:
After the campaign has concluded a formal evaluation with the Heart Health
Partnership will be conducted. Data, which should include an evaluation form and
an activity sheet from each of the health partners will assist in assessing the
success of this initiative. Media tracking measurements should be obtained so
that a true and accurate reflection of PSA/Print/Interview/Broadcast coverage is
presented.
The following evaluation indicators have been established which will provide a
benchmark for the success of this Campaign:

Government takes concrete steps to ensure health promotion and chronic


disease prevention remain a priority (including no significant reduction in
funding and support for health promotion programs and infrastructure).

Involvement and support in the Heart Health Partnership's Communication


Plan from the Heart Health Partners.

Gain Media coverage for the this public education initiative.


© IMPACS 2002
Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 105

© IMPACS 2002
106 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)


National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
Communication Strategy Overview: March 17, 1998
Note: this Communication Strategy Overview is a summary of a communication plan that is over
100 pages long. The full plan can be found at the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign
website: http://www.mediacampaign.org/publications/integr_plan/contents.html

Campaign Goal
• To educate and enable America's youth to reject illegal drugs. This
includes preventing the initiation of drug use and encouraging occasional
users to discontinue use.
Target Audiences
1. Youth ages 9 to 18, segmented by:
o School level: Primary focus on middle school age adolescents
(approximately ages 11 to 13).
o School level: Secondary focus on high school age youth
(approximately ages 14 to18) and late elementary school age
adolescents (approximately ages 9 to 11).
o Risk status: Primary focus on at-risk non-users and occasional
users of drugs.
And with consideration, as appropriate, of:
o Gender differences.

o Racial and ethnic differences.


o Differences based on region and population density (i.e., urban,
suburban and rural areas).

2. Parents and other primary caregivers of children ages 9 to 18,


segmented by:

o Age of children: Primary focus on parents/caregivers of middle


school age adolescents.
o Secondary focus on parents/caregivers of high school age youth
(approximately 14-18 years) and late elementary school age
adolescents (approximately 9-11 years).
And with consideration, as appropriate, of:
o Racial and ethnic differences.
o The special concerns of current and former substance users.

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Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 107

3. Other youth-influential adults


o e.g., other adult family members, teachers, principals, coaches,
faith community members, youth group leaders, mentors, health
care providers, celebrities.
Communication Objectives for Youth Audiences
1. Instill the belief that most young people do not use drugs.

2. Enhance perceptions that using (specific) drugs is likely to lead to a


variety of negatively valued consequences:
o Social consequences (e.g., looking "uncool" or having other
negative social qualities, alienating friends, incurring disapproval of
peers, losing trust of parents and siblings, having a negative
influence on younger siblings).
o Psychological consequences (e.g., reduced ability to concentrate,
feeling lazy and unmotivated, "losing control," making bad
decisions).
o Aspirational consequences (e.g., losing driving privileges/license,
losing other privileges granted by parents, failure to get good
grades or to graduate, losing a job or not being hired for a job)
o Physical consequences (e.g., loss of stamina or peak performance
ability, weight gain, addiction, death).

3. Enhance perceptions that a drug-free lifestyle is more likely to lead to a


variety of positively valued consequences:
o Social consequences (e.g., being "cool" and socially attractive,
gaining peer approval and respect, forming deeper friendships,
building trust of parents, being a role model for younger siblings).
o Physical consequences (e.g., enhanced physical performance).
o Aspirational consequences (e.g., gaining increasing control over
one's life, having a positive self-image, achieving excellence,
reaching one's goals).

4. Enhance personal and social skills that promote resistance to drug use
and positive lifestyle choices. These include decision-making skills,
problem-solving skills, adaptive and coping skills, resistance to persuasive
influences (e.g., critical viewing skills/media literacy), and general social
and assertiveness skills.

5. Reinforce positive uses of time (as behavioral alternatives to drug use).

© IMPACS 2002
108 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

Communication Objectives for Parent/Primary Caregiver Audiences

1. Enhance perceptions of harm associated with adolescent use of marijuana


and inhalants.

2. Make parents aware that their children are at risk for using drugs and are
vulnerable to the negative consequences of drug use.

3. Enhance perceptions of personal efficacy to prevent adolescent drug use


(i.e., let parents know that their actions can make a difference).

4. Convey simple, effective parenting skills, including communication and


family management skills, that are known to help prevent adolescent drug
use.
Communication skills include:
o Discuss what the adolescent did each day after school and praise
appropriate activities.
o Establish and clearly communicate drug non-use expectations.
o Use anti-drug media campaign messages (e.g., televised
advertisements) as a catalyst for discussion and message
reinforcement.
o Provide positive reinforcement when the adolescent initiates
communication about drugs.
Family management skills include:
o Establish specific routines focused on the situations most likely to
lead to substance use, particularly after-school hours. Specifically,
ensure that adolescents are usually occupied during after-school
hours by requiring that their homework be done or that they
participate in adult-supervised recreational activities.
o Stay involved in and actively monitor the adolescent's activities
(e.g., know his or her friends and the parents of the friends, and
communicate with those parents to stay better informed of the
adolescent's activities).
o Establish rules that decrease the likelihood of the adolescent being
in situations that are conducive to drug use. Specifically, prohibit
the adolescent from spending time with friends in anyone's home
when there are no adults present, and discourage or prohibit any
unsupervised association with other adolescents who use drugs.
Establish and consistently apply a curfew and have rules regarding
keeping a parent informed of whereabouts at all times.

© IMPACS 2002
Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 109

o Encourage compliance with these rules by consistently applying


mild negative consequences for infractions.

5. Encourage specific community-focused actions:


o Inquire about, and insist, that an effective anti-drug program be
implemented at the adolescent's school.
o Take action to support community anti-drug activities.

6. Encourage parents who use psycho-active substances to consider the


effects of their own substance use on their adolescents and other children.
Communication Objectives for Other Youth-Influential Adults
1. Enhance perceptions of harm associated with use of marijuana and
inhalants.

2. Enhance perceptions of personal efficacy to prevent drug use (i.e., let


youth-influential adults know that their actions can make a difference).

3. Encourage specific individually-focused and community-focused actions to


facilitate adolescent drug use prevention:

o Communicate to youth the harmful (social, physical, and


aspirational) consequences of using specific drugs.
o Communicate to parents the need to take specific actions to
prevent youth drug use. (See parent audience communication
objectives.)
o Advocate for effective anti-drug programs in schools and
communities.
o Take action to support community anti-drug activities.
Proposed Allocation of Campaign Resources
Youth audiences:
Middle school 25%
Late elementary school 12.5%
High school 12.5%
Sub-total 50%

Parent/caregiver audience 40%


Other youth-influential adults 10%
Sub-total 50%

Strategic Campaign Design Principles

© IMPACS 2002
110 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

• Because family-focused prevention efforts have a greater impact than


efforts focused only on youth or parents and primary caregivers, the
campaign should target both audiences. Moreover, the communication
objectives for youth and parent/caregiver audiences should be
complimentary and synergistic.

• The campaign messages must reinforce prevention messages delivered in


other settings including schools, community organizations, and homes,
and be linked to existing prevention resources in communities. This can
be accomplished, in part, by developing a communication strategy based
on approaches that have been proven effective and are accepted in these
settings. It can be further accomplished by encouraging community
organizations, professional groups, and government agencies to
incorporate the communication strategy into their new and on-going
programs.

• To achieve the maximum effect, the campaign should use a full range of
media mechanisms and formats in an integrated fashion and in a manner
consistent with the communication strategy.

• To ensure effectiveness, all message executions should be pre-tested


with diverse members of the target audience before final distribution.
Moreover, where there is cause to think that messages targeted to a
particular audience group can produce unintended negative
consequences among other audiences, messages should also be tested
with non-target audience members.

• The campaign must be sustained for a sufficient period of time in order to


bring about a measurable change in the beliefs and behaviors of the target
audiences.

• The central messages of the campaign should be repeated often and in a


variety of ways. Repetition is important to enhance exposure and
availability; variety is important to capture the range of perspectives
among audience members, and so that the message will not be perceived
as annoying or "stale."

• Messages for both youth and parent/caregiver audiences should focus in


large measure on common transitions (e.g., the transition from elementary
school to middle school) and situations (e.g., when large amounts of time
are spent in settings unsupervised by a responsible adult) that are known
to heighten adolescents' vulnerability to drug use initiation.

• The communication objectives for the campaign should focus on altering


those mediating variables (including knowledge, beliefs and behaviors)
that are known to have a significant impact on adolescent drug use.

© IMPACS 2002
Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 111

• The campaign should feature strong integrating elements to build "brand


identity" in the minds of target audience members. Integrating features
may include a campaign name and a logo or other graphical icon. These
integrating or "branding" features can effectively position campaign
messages as credible and important; in time, the "branding" features
themselves can convey an anti-drug message.

• Message executions should be informed by insights from audience


research, behavioral science, and the expertise of communication
professionals with experience in communicating successfully to the target
audience.

Message Execution Considerations Pertinent to All Audiences


• Messages should be tailored to match the age and the social and
psychographic profile of the target audience. As far as possible, however,
messages should be designed to be sensitive to the sensibilities of
different audience groups so that they have wider appeal and applicability.

• The more audience members can be engaged to actually think about the
message (including imagined or actual rehearsal of the recommended
behavior), the more likely they are to experience appropriate changes in
knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.33 Characteristics of message
executions that encourage active attention include unusual, unfamiliar and
novel presentations of the information, presentations in discrepant or
unexpected contexts, and specific cues requesting audience members to
attend to the information.

• Clearly demonstrating peers modeling performances of the recommended


behaviors and/or experiencing the (negative or positive) consequences of
these actions is one of the most effective means of enhancing viewers'
skills, confidence to use those skills, perceptions of consequences, and
motivations.

• Fear appeals can be effective, but only in combination with messages that
heighten viewers' feeling of vulnerability to the threat and offer them a
solution that is easy and effective.

Message Execution Considerations for Youth Audiences

• Messages produced with high "sensation value" are more effective in


attracting the attention and interest of youth in the target audiences. High
"sensation value" production qualities include novelty, complexity,
intensity, ambiguity, unconventionality, suspense, fast pace, and
emotionality. However, message properties such as ambiguity and rapid
pacing can inhibit comprehension of message content, particularly with
younger children. Thus, the use of these elements should be tempered by
consideration of the age and cognitive capacities of the target audience.

© IMPACS 2002
112 Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook

• The use of peer models, especially socially attractive peer models, is an


excellent means gaining the attention and interest of youth audience
members. The attributes of socially attractive peer models include good
looks, a sense of humor, an outgoing personality, having many friends
(including older friends), and being popular with members of the opposite
sex, getting good grades, liking "cool music," and being good at sports
and video games. However, the peer models used in messages should
not be overly attractive "models" that the average teenager cannot identify
with.

• Young people tend to pattern their expectations and behaviors based on


what they observe among slightly older peers (i.e., students one or several
grades ahead). To take advantage of this "looking up" phenomenon,
messages that use peer modeling should feature young people who are a
few years older that than members of the intended target audience.

• Peer togetherness is highly valued by young people. Conversely,


separateness and being different are perceived as negatives. Themes of
togetherness may be an effective means of communicating the positive
social consequences of drug non-use, and themes of loneliness a means
of communicating the negative consequences of use.

• Although teenagers want to "belong" and "fit in" they don't want to be like
everyone else. Teenagers are striving to carve out a unique identity for
themselves, and like to think that they are independent thinkers who have
reached their own conclusions. Thus, advertisements that place the facts
before them without explicitly exhorting them to subscribe to the message
are likely to be well received. Similarly, advertisements that present and
market a certain image without explicitly stating the desirability or
undesirability of that image are likely to have a better impact than those
that are too obvious.

• Audience research suggests the following "rules" for teen advertising: be


funny; be honest; be clear; be original; use music that audience members
really like; say or show an important benefit of the product; don't talk
down; don't try too hard to be cool; and feature people who are about the
same age as the intended audience.

• Messages should use language that is familiar to adolescents of that age


group. However, there are large variations in slang among subgroups of
teens, so that using anything but the most basic "teenspeak" can backfire
and be perceived as inappropriate. Also, teen slang should only come
from the mouth of teens. Any adult efforts to appropriate teen terminology
may be seen as condescending or ridiculous.

• Given the need for universal messages and the multicultural perspective
of youth culture, where possible, messages should feature youth with
diverse ethnic backgrounds.

© IMPACS 2002
Plan the Work: Strategic Communication Planning Handbook 113

Message Execution Considerations for Adult Audiences

• Although risk analogies can be useful (i.e., explaining a poorly understood


risk by comparing it to another more commonly understood risk), such
comparisons must be done with caution. The two risks compared should
have certain qualities in common, otherwise audience members are likely
to reject both the risk comparison and the message.

• People often have difficulty understanding quantitative expressions of risk


(e.g., "a one in three chance"), yet qualitative expressions of risk (e.g.,
"many") are understood in vastly different ways by different people.
Messages that attempt to convey risk information should, when possible,
use both quantitative and qualitative expressions to increase audience
comprehension.

• People underestimate the cumulative probability that an event will occur


(e.g., the odds of wrecking a car by the time you are 18 if you drive under
the influence several times per year), even if they correctly understand the
odds that the event will occur on any one occasion. Expressing cumulative
probabilities can be an effective means of enhancing the perceived
relevance of a risk.

• People are in varying stages of readiness to adopt the recommended


behaviors. Messages intended for people who are not yet ready to adopt
the behavior should focus mostly on enhancing the perceived relevance of
the recommendations, and enhancing audience member's confidence in
their ability to enact the recommendations. Messages intended for people
who are ready to act should focus more on the skills and other information
necessary to effectively perform the recommended behaviors.

© IMPACS 2002
INSTITUTE for MEDIA, POLICY and CIVIL SOCIETY

207 West Hastings Street, Suite 910


Vancouver, BC V6B 1H7

Phone: 604.682.1953
Toll-free: 877.232.0122
Fax: 604.682.4353

Email: media@impacs.org
Web: www.impacs.org

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