Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
Strategy – the art of getting someone to do something
When organizations are discussing their communication needs, someone will usually
propose: a press release, issuing a report, calling a reporter, writing an Op-Ed, developing a
video, adding a Facebook presence, or the like. Sound familiar? But media choices are
merely tactical choices – how the message will be conveyed. If you’re discussing media
before determining the other aspects of strategy, you are failing to be strategic.


Strategy is a plan to get someone to do something.
Tactics are the methods used to achieve the plan, such as various forms of media.
Strategy must be intentional, flexible and responsive. It requires a clear and intentional goal
with tactics derived to achieve the goal. Strategy always informs tactics, including media.

Strategic communications means using media tactics with the purpose of getting
something to happen.
Tactics and media are most effective when they are in service of the strategy. When
tactics and media are not purposefully conceived with the goal in mind, the result ends up
a function of how it was done rather than what the goal was. It’s only by defining what
you want to occur that the right tactics can be devised to accomplish that end.
Some will argue that they are using media strategically to “create awareness” or “build
public education.” But even awareness and education are only tactics. They may be part
of how you get to the goal. But the goal is always action of some kind: something changes
and new opportunity is created.
Always start by identifying what is supposed to happen; what action your target audience
will take. Thinking this through will direct what you need to write or say.
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the core concepts of strategic communications.
For those who’ve already received some training and assistance on these topics, it will
serve as reinforcement and source for review. Keep in mind that most groups struggle to
apply these teachings in their own organizing efforts. In most cases, mastery may require
coaching beyond the basics. Nonetheless, by carefully understanding each of the steps,
you will become much better at thinking strategically about your group’s communication
and mobilizing efforts.
1
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
A template for strategic communications
Communication strategy is active and dynamic, yet follows a simple structure. There are
five simple steps: five questions that must be answered to make all your communications
strategic:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
GOAL: What do you want to have happen?
TARGET/AUDIENCE: Who has the power to make it happen?
STORY/MESSAGE: What story do they need to hear to take the action you want?
MESSENGER: Who should they hear the story from?
MEDIA: How do we get the story to them?
Evaluation is a continual part of the progression. It’s critical to keep asking, how are
steps 1-5 are working? Is the goal really right? Are there additional targets? If
circumstances change or problems arise, go back to step one and work through the
template as necessary to adjust, refine, or redirect strategy. Once the concept of a strategy
is established, it’s usually easy to make adjustments.
This paper is merely organizing what you already know about communication and
strategy. After all you’ve been a communicator all your life. For example, at the dinner
table if you want some of the fresh peas located at the far end of the table, you'll get the
attention of someone near the peas, and ask that they “pass the peas, please.” You get the
peas.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Putting peas on your plate is the goal.
Someone near the peas is the target.
Polite social etiquette is the message.
You are the messenger.
Your own voice is the media.
Communications to get a public policy passed should be similar to getting the peas passed.
However, something seems to happen when stepping away from the table and becoming
advocates for policy or change. Advocacy groups issue talking points, news releases and
other material loaded with facts, but lacking strategy. They may move information, but
they often fail to move people.
Imagine using the advocate model at the table:
“We have a mounting dietary crisis. Let me share this excerpt from a brilliantly
researched article on the subject, ‘A balanced diet is vital to human health, and
peas are a nutritious source of vitamin K, C, B-1, fiber, and protein.’
Furthermore, only a privileged few have peas on their plate, while some suffer
with none. I hope you will stand with me against this injustice, and demand that
everyone has their fair share of peas.
Silly as that example of advocate speech is, that is how advocates often talk (and think).
2
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
The messenger gives plenty of facts --facts that align with their own point of view rather
than the people who they want to move. There is no strategy, no specific target, nor any
clear message to elicit action.
A common example of non-strategic communications used by organizations is their
periodic newsletter. Most newsletters seem to go out because it’s time to send out the
newsletter, again. There is no strategy, no conscious definition of results for any given
issue. The result is a function of how it was done. Editors use whatever happens to be
available as the deadline approaches, rather than selecting content for its ability to forward
a goal. This is why so many newsletters end up with mundane or even outdated
information that most subscribers toss aside. To make it more strategic, the schedule could
be moved to “as needed” rather than tied to the calendar. Content could be carefully
focused to make something happen with every newsletter.
When form (media) follows function (goal), and function dictates content (story and
messengers), are you engaging in strategic communications.
Becoming strategic in communications is easiest when the organizational leaders have a
shared understanding of the value to the organization in doing so. Sometimes
organizations will have well-informed, well-intentioned board members, volunteers, or
major donors with strong ideas about what communications should be used. Because they
may not have day-to-day contact with staff and the issues, they will often propose ideas
out of context to what you want to have happen. Working through the template questions
with such people is a productive way to get them to cooperate in strategy. A lot of turf
disputes and hurt feelings can be headed off by walking others through the strategy
questions. If they can come up with better answers that strengthen your effort, great. If
not, they will at least understand what it is you are trying to do.
The remainder of this paper details each of the five steps of the communications strategy
template.
Building a strategy
1. What do you want to have happen?
When you ask someone to pass a dish at the dinner table, you want the food to end up on
your plate. But in organizational communication, defining what you want to have happen
is easy to skip in favor of getting down to how to do it. Figuring out how is more fun than
defining what, but leaping into how is always a mistake – one that most groups make
repeatedly.
It’s a struggle for creative people to define what they want to have happen. By definition,
advocates working for change are problem solvers – seeing a problem they will come up
with a dozen ideas for fixing it. Problem solving is energizing; it’s fun figuring out how to
do something. Everyone is in a hurry to get to the cool and exciting work. No one wants
to deal with the fuzzy frustration of trying to define what is supposed to happen. Even
worse, individuals within groups tend to assume, “you’re just like me,” and “what matters
3
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
to me, matters to you,” which leads to assumptions about what we are here to do. When
leaders of an organization are pressed to define what they want to have happen, it’s not
uncommon for them to struggle and bicker for hours, as they work it through. The what
question challenges individuals, because it forces them to re-examine tough issues they
have yet to define.
As an individual, defining what is particularly difficult. Skepticism, open-mindedness,
probing and questioning is required to get to the right answer to Question 1. It’s just too
hard to challenge your own answers and assumptions deeply enough. Even in a group,
outside perspectives are often necessary to surface hidden assumptions.
When asked to answer Question 1 most people gloss over it and quickly move to tactics.
When pressed they will say, “Everybody knows what it is, let's just get going.” Or, “Didn't
you get the minutes from the last meeting when we talked about this?” Or, “Is there an
agenda for this meeting, I'm interested in results.” If you get in the annoying habit of
making sure Question 1 has a good answer, don't be surprised if you get invited to fewer
meetings. However, if you have the courage to persevere and consistently push for an
answer to, “What is supposed to happen?” then every meeting will lead to better results.
Answering Question 1 is a struggle toward the obvious. After completing this process,
groups often say, “Of course! Why didn't we just start there?” For example, a group
wanting river and shoreline protections started out certain that what they needed a publicawareness campaign. When asked what they wanted to have happen, they said they
wanted people to know more about their group and issue. Exhaustive discussion and
probing finally revealed what they really wanted: shoreline property owners to follow
existing laws regarding setbacks, planting of natural filters, septic tank maintenance, etc.
That was a huge change. They moved from broad awareness of an issue to getting specific
people to do something. Making people aware of the issue was part of how to achieve their
goal.
By understanding that the goal was not getting lots of people to know about their efforts,
but rather to get specific property owners to take required actions, meant that the focus for
communication was much smaller. Property owners could be easily identified through tax
rolls with addresses and contact information. From that point forward, communicating
with the right people became much easier.
Being strategic requires pushing through difficult conversations to overcome hidden
assumptions. Otherwise, tactics and media will not align to achieve the goal, and the
results will tend to be more a function of how it was done rather than the goal.
2. Who has the power to make it happen?
People make things happen. Governments, companies, boards of directors, agencies, don't
make anything happen – only people do. Sometimes it’s an individual, sometimes it’s a
few people working together, who can make things happen. But it’s always only people –
specific people.
When Question 1 is answered with a clear goal, it becomes much easier to identify who
4
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
these key targets are. For example, in land conservation work, knowing who owns certain
parcels of land is critical information.
Strategy avoids wasting time and resources on ill-defined communications aimed at the
so-called, “general public.” In terms of strategy, there is no “general public.” There are
only specific people needed to take some desired action. It is never everyone. Usually it’s
just a handful of people. An entire legislative campaign comes down to a few key
individuals, a committee chair, and a few swing votes. It is never “the legislature.”
Who has the power to do what you want? What is his or her name? Where do they work?
What school did they attend? Where do they go to church, and what organizations do they
belong to? Where do they get their power, and how do they maintain it? What are they
most proud of? What are they afraid of? Strategy is opportunistic; knowing and
understanding the target will help recognize new chances to respond with diverse
messengers and stories directed to the right people.
Getting decision-makers to re-calculate their own interest is the
essence of strategy.
Asking these questions helps ensure you won't overlook anyone. No matter how unlikely
it may seem that someone would ever do what you want, still list them as a possible
target. Don’t make assumptions about who.
For example, when a company proposes a development, it is easy to assume the company
only has one position. But, the company leadership has ultimate power and responsibility
to re-evaluate plans as situations change. It is totally within their power to abandon a
project, if the cost-benefit no longer makes sense. Communication can be used to trigger
evaluation of risks and rewards. Getting a company owner or board members to change
plans may be a lot easier than moving government or bureaucracy.
Finding detailed information is vital not only to identifying who your target is, it is also
essential to understanding what story your target(s) need to hear in order to engage their
interest. There are no short cuts; the power lies with certain individuals and they have to
see why taking the action you want will be in their interest.
Knowing who your target is, and their interests is imperative to understanding what story
will show them they want the same results you want. There are no short cuts. The power to
act almost always lies with individuals who need to understand that what you want is in
their interest also.
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you
want done because he wants to do it.” - General Dwight Eisenhower
5
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
3. What story do they need to hear?
People are meaning-making machines, constantly organizing information into existing
belief-systems that make sense to them. Stories have the power to grab their attention and
inspire them into action. The story might portray the target as a hero for taking action.
Conversely, it may make them appear the villain if they fail to take the action you want.
The story has to help the target calculate why doing what you want will be in their interest.
A story that is personal and compelling (to them, not you) is the surest way to gain their
cooperation.
It’s Not About YOU
If you want to get someone's attention, call their name, not your own. People are
interested in their own lives, their neighborhood, family, friends, and work. Using their
name, the name of their business, the street where they live, their school or other reference
personalizes the story. Everyone is a hero of their own story, so play to their story. This
may NOT be the story you would like to tell them.
It's natural to be wedded to deeply-held ideas and assume that others share them.
However, the ideas that will motivate someone else to take action most likely differ from
what gets you up and going. After all, if the target already agreed with how you see
things, they would probably be on board by now. They will always be more interested in
their own story than yours.
People act in alignment with their own values and beliefs. They resist doing something
they believe will harm them. Each calculates self-interest from their unique perspective.
When someone does (or doesn't do) something, they have their own reasons, shaped by
their experience and values. When they do X, it doesn't necessarily imply the same thing it
would if you did X. Try to see the world through their eyes. Think about how they see
things, and craft communications that address their perspective.
Use Their Already-Familiar World
The story needs to begin where the target is already at. They will automatically judge any
information you provide through the lens of what they already know and believe,
including what they believe about you. Everyone subconsciously categorizes ideas in
relation to their existing worldview, if it doesn't compare favorably, then the new
information is ignored, misapplied or rejected.
In 2011, the climate change debate is an example of people having a model in their head
that trumps facts and new information.
Many of the ideas and beliefs that cause people to reject facts and science have been
intentionally reinforced by those that do not want any limits placed on fossil fuel
consumption. Elaborate strategic campaigns are mounted to tell people what they already
6
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
know; that the earth goes through cycles, ice ages, etc., that scientists sometimes make
mistakes and draw erroneous conclusions, that some scientists in fact disagree on the
meaning of climate observations Then they remind people that environmentalists have
sometimes overstated their case, and that human beings are, after all, puny and powerless
compared to the mighty universe (or mother nature or God).
Once people are reinforced and directed with these factual understandings, it is easy to
suggest conclusions that fit their beliefs, such as: global warming is nothing more than an
un-proven theory promoted by special interests and fear-mongers, or that humans have
little or anything to do with creating global warming, or that it is presumptuous to think
we could effectively do anything about it.
The way to deal with such tactics is not with more research and information showing how
right you facts and conclusions really are. It will be necessary to go back to what people
already know and believe. Weather is getting weird. Animals are migrating further north
than ever before. Global temperatures are going up and may disrupt dependable
agricultural patterns. No matter what the cause of these changes one thing must be certain;
all the pollution we are pumping into the air everyday can’t be helping the situation. And,
just maybe, some of the worst case predictions could be true.
Reinforcing these facts now makes it easy to suggest some alternative conclusions,
namely, that efforts to reduce the man-made contributions to global warming are prudent,
that developing less polluting forms of energy and ways to use energy more efficiently
will save money and create new economic opportunities, suggesting the time to start is
now, not only in case the worst predictions are true, but also because we’re in a global
economic race to create those new green-energy technologies.
In this global warming example there are two strategies. The first is to use what people see
around them to reinforce uncertainty and sharpen interest in possible theories, including
global warming. The second is to suggest that taking some prudent action reducing global
warming pollution could be of benefit regardless of any impact on climate. People who
are the least bit persuadable on the issue will be open to either approach. The problem is
that neither strategy is used much by environmental advocates , who prefer instead to
argue the facts. Their insistence on producing a bigger arsenal of facts is one reason they
aren’t making a lot of progress.
Facts Are Meaningless
Facts contain no meaning on their own. Their meaning is always derived from the story or
context in which the facts are presented. Facts are important when used to illustrate the
story, but facts alone won't change what someone knows or believes. Their existing belief
system interprets facts, compares new information to ideas they've gained from a lifetime
of experience, education and socialization.
The story, and attendant facts, must make sense to the receiver, not the sender. Public
policy discourse, especially in mass media, revolves around competing facts and
interpretations. The result is disagreement, division and inaction. Political rhetoric
7
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
commonly distorts facts to support a story. The story has the power to move people, even
if the facts are wrong. This is not to recommend making up or distorting facts. Get them
right, but use them sparingly.
A few facts go a long way, because every fact invites a counter fact or interpretation. Use
just enough facts to provoke thought or create understanding. If asked for more facts, be
ready to give them, but only to the extent your audience is now engaged. Give them
additional information to deepen their interest. Remember to always keep the story in
focus, using the occasional fact to add detail to the broad strokes of the story.
Tap into Shared Values
The hardest person for someone to contradict is always himself. A person's values are
deeply set, resistant to anything that conflicts. For this reason, you want to begin your
story with broad strokes rooted in shared values. Some examples include: opportunity,
hard work, fairness, democracy, efficiency, competence, legacy, health, etc. They are
debate stoppers because most people in our society would never dream of saying they are
not in favor of any of these values. If the story includes the target by resonating with
his/her shared values, you are succeeding.
By embedding the story’s course of action with shared values, you can walk the audience
from the general to the specific, and let them conclude that solutions you propose are the
ones they want to support.
By contrast, when a communication begins with “the problem/solution,” it is presenting a
conclusion. If the audience doesn't already accept the conclusion (i.e. global warming is a
human-created threat) they won't support the proposed solution. Losing the audience at
the beginning is failure. Instead, lead the audience to your conclusion; don’t start with a
conclusion they’ve not yet bought into and then be forced and come from behind to justify
it.
When you build your story around shared values, you set the terms of debate in your
favor. For example, if your story is infused with the shared value of public participation
(democracy), and its byproducts of fairness and getting all the options on the table, and letting
everyone be heard, you’ve made it difficult for anyone to publicly refute your position. Who
would say in public discourse that participation and fairness don't matter? Few would dare to
say, “we don’t need to be fair.” They may think that way, but they will be loath to say it in
public. If someone does make such an attack, be prepared to quote them widely, often and
publicly, in presentations, newsletters, letters to the editor, and to reporters, etc. Getting others
to betray a shared value publicly gives you the opportunity to make them stand down and
remain silent. As such, building your story on shared values keeps the debate on your terms,
not theirs.
8
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
Keep it Simple
A good storyteller knows you can’t keep the audience’s interest with too many
digressions, twists and turns. Likewise, don't try to do too much with any single
communication strategy. Each communication must be directed to a specific audience,
focusing on what you want to have happen. Thus, telling stories that try to move more
than one message will be confusing and lose impact. For example, if you decide you need
to generate praise and publicity for your organization, then make a communication goal
about that. But, do not try to achieve multiple goals. Neither effort will be as effective
when combined.
Other tips for keeping your message simple and effective are: say what you mean, and
don’t worry about changing anyone’s mind. Don’t use jargon or euphemisms. Use plain
language so your key targets can easily understand how their interests intersect with yours.
Remember that being strategic is about crafting a message that works in your favor
without having to change the hearts and minds of your opposition. Following the template
will help you do exactly that.
4. Who do they need to hear the story from?
The best messenger will be someone who the target perceives to share their values,
perspective and concerns. In other words, it must be someone like them, someone they
trust, and who shares their challenges or responsibilities. No matter how expert you may
be, you may not be the best messenger. This is not a reflection on you, or your
organization. It is a decision that should be based completely on who the target will see as
most credible.
“It's amazing what you can accomplish if you don't care who gets the
credit for it.”
- Harry S Truman
Peers are valuable messengers. For example imagine that a group’s goal is to convince
farmers to adopt a new agricultural practice; and that their story is that the farmers will
make a better profit, saving both money and time by adopting the new agricultural
practice. In such a situation, it is easy to imagine that the local banker is concerned about
farm prosperity, thus making her a good messenger on financial issues. If the banker also
had a farm client who had adopted the practices at a profit, this would further help the
banker’s credibility to be the messenger here. But, the farmer who has already profited
from such changes would be an even stronger choice. Both the banker and the farmer are
qualified and knowledgeable to tell the same story about better farm profits. Yet, in this
case the farmer will be the most powerful messenger, since his is “one of them.” Of
course, either the local banker or the successful farmer will likely be stronger than an
9
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
expert from a farm advocacy group.
Unexpected messengers add surprise and perspective, carrying the story from a new angle.
For example, a physician will be persuasive as a messenger when telling the local paper
the story of how, when the new farm techniques began in his area there was a substantial
reduction in child asthma. Or, think about a science teacher saying his class had tracked
significant improvements in water quality after local farms made changes. Perhaps a
grocer might talk about new niche market opportunities for farm products grown under the
new practices.
These unexpected messengers aren't speaking directly to farmers, but they are invoking
values of community health, safety and prosperity to set the terms of debate about
changing or diversifying agricultural practices. At the same time each messenger is
crediting and honoring farmers who helped improve the health and vitality of their
community. Messengers and stories like these will lead to other non-farm community
members expressing support for local changes in farming practices. This makes it a
community issue rather than just a farm issue. More people are in the story than just
farmers.
Recruiting Messengers
Recruiting messengers does not mean you must convince others to speak on your behalf; nobody
has to agree to have their face on a billboard to be a good messenger. Just repeating what others
have told you can work too. Of course this means you must actually talk to people of different
perspectives – and listen to what they say. Try to identify someone who has unique experience that
would be meaningful to your target. Talk to that person. Call them up. Ask to talk about what they
are doing and what they think, people like talking about what they do. Just make sure you llisten
and accurately capture what they tell you.
Don't try to convince potential messengers of anything; just find out how they think about
things. You can approach them like a reporter, especially if you gathering information,
perhaps looking to write a newsletter article, or commentary. Ask about their experiences
and ideas. Write down what they tell you. If it is something you think would be useful,
ask if you can use what they've said. Can you use their name and position? If they say no,
ask if it's okay to repeat what they told you, without identifying them personally, except as
a science teacher in another town, or as a farmer that has adopted new practices.
It will always be easier to turn out the next newsletter, design a new logo, or create a
website than to find better messengers. But, the point of strategic communication is to get
something to happen. Finding the right messenger makes the communication far more
effective and creates new relationships which become more valuable and useful over time.
10
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
Use strategy to build a wave of action.
Don’t settle for a splash. You can leverage one messenger to build momentum and find
new messengers. Repeat what people say. If talking to someone new, say, “A science
teacher told me...,” or, “A farmer over in the next county told me....” Be accurate and take
notes. You have enlisted the power of a unique messenger simply by repeating their ideas.
In some cases you might learn someone’s story and suggest writing up what they've said.
Be sure to use their ideas in their own words. If they like what you’ve written, ask them
to consider using your notes to submit a letter to the editor or a commentary. If you offer
to do the writing, most people will be open to the idea. You could go a step further and
suggest they attend a meeting to talk over their ideas with others. Contacts like this can be
turned into effective storytellers, authentic illustrators of the points you want to make.
5. Which media will get the story where it needs to be?
Media is always the last part to figure out. If steps 1-4 are thought through, the
appropriate media is often apparent. Remember strategy usually requires narrow
targeting. Mass media may be useful, but so might a conversation over coffee, an award
presentation, a note from a neighbor, a photocopy of a news article with an attached note,
handwritten by a selected messenger.
Use all available media. Put an article on your website and have a selected messenger
email the target and say you need to see this. Put a few posters up near a target’s office or
home. All you need is for the target to see it, and think others are seeing it too.
The greatest value in mass media (ie. newspapers, radio and TV) is not its ability to reach
large audiences. Remember, strategically speaking, only a few people are targeted.
Instead, the power of mass media comes from the target’s perception that everyone else is
paying attention. The perception is more important than the reality. Mass media is public,
and that's where the power to move an individual comes from. Speaking in public, through
websites, posters, newsletters or TV broadcasts moves the terms of public debate into the
open so that the targets of any communication are forced to calculate what others are
thinking. However, the fact that the target is somehow alerted to the article, broadcast or
other chosen media outlet doesn't mean that most people paid any attention. People
become alert to what is important to them, and ignore most everything else.
In the 21st century, we are all publishers. Computers and printers, social media, websites,
YouTube, etc. make everyone a publisher. Everyone has a range of media through which
they can speak in public. Mass media is still important, but the media you control,
including your own voice, may be the best choice in many cases.
11
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Comment [HP1]: Your latest suggestion turned
out to be too long/bulky, so I did this instead.
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
Conclusion
In the five-step template for creating strategic communications presented above, you have
all the concepts you need to get started creating more effective, strategic communications
for your organization. One final example will hopefully pull it all together.
Water Control Project – A Real Life Example
A habitat protection group wanted a local farmer to support permanent licensing of an
experimental water control project on his property. The farmer had been skeptical about
the project years previously, but nonetheless had agreed to a 5 year pilot project.
Although it was a completely successful test project, the group wondered if the farmer’s
earlier skepticism might return when the object was now to have a permanent placement
of the water project on the farmer’s land.
In this case, no exploration was needed to tease out the benefits of various alternative what
actions the group might want to have happen. Nor was it necessary to identify the target.
Questions 1 and 2 of the template (what and who) were clear and simple. They needed a
permanent placement of the water project where the pilot had taken place, and the farmer
was the only person who could make that happen.
In determining the story, the messenger and the media (Questions 3,4 and 5 of the
template), the group chose to publicly thanking the farmer for his support. Doing so not
only expressed the group’s sincere gratitude, it also hoped to create an expectation and
incentive for the farmer to continue the support.
A local group member submitted an op-ed about the expiring 5-year test project. The
article touted the benefits to local streams, fish and wildlife and thanked the farmer,
acknowledging his foresight and cooperation. The op-ed projected how permanent
placement would provide an enduring asset to the community.
The op-ed was made public in the local paper. There were many available media that
could have been used, but the paper was easy and effective for their purposes. Local
readers, including the farmer, saw the op-ed. The op-ed, was also photocopied and
mailed to the farmer by a local sports shop owner, along with a note thanking him.
To break it down in terms of template language, the op-ed was more than a mere, “thank
you” message; it contained a whole story invoking the shared values of honoring
community assets and volunteerism. The messengers and media included not just the oped piece and op-ed author, but also the sports shop owner and his thank-you note.
The farmer, being portrayed publicly as a good neighbor and conservation hero, was being
influenced to approve the permanent site. No matter how many people actually saw or
read that op-ed, what mattered was that the target believed many of his friends, neighbors,
and peers had seen it. As a result, his calculation of self-interest in approving the
permanent project shifted, and he agreed to make the site permanent.
12
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com
Strategic Communications-- Ideas and Tips
Try It
The best inroad into using this material is to try using it. It will be uncomfortable at first,
as is learning any new skill. Give yourself and your organization room to be beginners at
this.
Remember how awkward it was to first ride a bike or to first write the alphabet in cursive?
Chances are you didn’t begin either of those endeavors the first time with the expectation
of getting it right the first time. You gave yourself room to fail. And, just like learning to
ride bicycle or write, you don’t have to master the skill to be effective, The only failure
here would be in putting away this material without at least trying to work the five steps of
the template for your particular organization.
Finally, call or e-mail if you want to talk over ideas or get a reaction to your work.
Dick Brooks,
612-850-2248
[email protected]
13
© Ingenna Strategies, Inc. 2011. All Rights Reserved
Dick Brooks 612-850-2248 brooks.actionmedia@gmail,com