Transcript Document 7152820

Strategic Communications:
From the Plan to the Public
September 27, 2006
Atlanta, GA
Today’s Agenda

Welcome

HealthTecdl Goals

Session Objectives

Introduction of Speaker

Session Presentation….Melissa Taylor

Question & Answer - Open Discussion

Upcoming HealthTecdl Events & Resources
Goals of HealthTecdl
 Build Organizational Capacity
 Promote Organizational
Effectiveness
 Support Nonprofit Collaboration
Session Objectives
 Increased understanding of critical elements
of a communications plan
 Increased ability to identify effective
communications strategies about your
organization, programs and issues
Melissa Taylor
Senior Vice President,
Strategic Planning and Research
Course Outline
 Communications Planning
 Media
 Partnerships
 Evaluation
Planning for
Communications
What is “communications”?
 Marketing
 Public Relations
 Branding
 Social Marketing
“Every minute you spend planning
saves 10 minutes in execution; this
gives you a 1,000 percent return on
energy!”
-- Brian Tracy, consultant
Why Is Planning Important?
Planning is starting with the end:
determining where you want to go and
then laying out the steps to get there
Identify challenges and opportunities
Provides a common framework for all
activities
Step 1: Assess your
organization
 Set the organizational mission
 Establish long-term goals
 Establish short-term objectives
Step 2: Assess the Current
Market
 Define the problem
 Identify others in the marketplace with
similar goals
 Assess recent media coverage
Step 3: Identify target
audience(s)
 Whom you are trying to reach?
 Where do they go for information?
 Who influences them?
 Where do they live, shop and play?
Step 4: Conduct a SWOT
analysis
Strengths – What
Weaknesses –
do you have that will help
you?
What is holding you
back?
Opportunities –
Threats – What
What is going on in the
market that will help you?
could prevent your
success?
Sample SWOT
Strengths
Weaknesses
Staff skilled in media
Board is supportive
New data
Limited resources
Not known in the market
Opportunities
Threats
 Community/media interest
 # of people affected is
increasing
 New treatments offer better
outcomes
 Competition from other
NFPs
 Leg. defeated supportive
bill in committee
 Parents afraid of diagnosis
From SWOT to Insights
 Have new data, media interest, new
treatments
 Parents afraid of diagnosis
 Insight: media outreach to promote
message of hope of new treatments
Bringing It Together in A Plan
 Key Plan Components
– Goals
– Objectives
– Target audience(s)
– Channels to reach your audience
– Strategies
– Tactics
– Tools
– Evaluation
What Approaches Will We
Take?
 Strategy: general communication
approach
– Media outreach
– Health care professional outreach
From Strategies to Tactics
 Tactic: specific activities to help you
execute your strategy
– Media release
– Attending health care professional
conferences
Tools of Trade
 Determine what you want to say: key
messages
– About your organization
– About your issue
– About your program
Maximizing the Media
What are the Media?
Media Outlet
Overview
Television
Watched by ALL audiences
Highest impact; Visual stories
Radio
News with a community focus
Good for targeting very specific audiences
Daily/Weekly
Newspapers
Reaches opinion leaders
Appropriate for in-depth stories, promoting
community events & highlighting community
stories
Local angles, pre-prepared materials good for
smaller newspapers
What are the Media?
Media Outlet
Overview
Magazines
Specifics vary by type
Opportunity to run “softer,” humaninterest stories
Less time sensitive; 3 - 6 month lead time
Online/Internet
Popular for reaching “captive” audiences
May accept prepared materials
Newsletters
Good for reaching very targeted
audiences through a medium they trust
Concise and brief
What Makes a Story News?
 Is it new?
 Is it “hard” or breaking news?
 Is it local?
 Is it a famous – or prominent – person?
 Is it a common problem?
 Is it visual?
 Is it personal?
 The wildcard factor.
Media Tools
 Media release
 Matte release
 Media advisory
 Media kit
Writing a Media Release
The Inverted Pyramid
The most
newsworthy
information
The least
newsworthy
information
Is It News?
 No
– It’s National
Arthritis Month
– We have programs
for people with
arthritis
 Yes
– Age of arthritis
diagnosis is
decreasing
– Certain physical
activities can delay
onset
– Our new classes
provide instruction
Building Media Relationships
 Do your research!
 Respect their deadlines.
 Be prepared.
 Time is of the essence
Preparing for the Interview
 Watch, read or listen in advance
 Think about likely questions
 Tailor information
 Review key messages
Engaging Others to
Your Cause
Steps to a Successful
Partnership
 Define your need
 Identify potential partners
 Make your case
– Sell your value
– Identify mutual benefit
Types of Partners
 Not-for-profits reaching your target
audience
 Public officials
 Corporate
 Health care professionals
Partnership Example
 Arthritis organization hosts a walk
– Physical activity group promotes walk
– Local shoe shop offers walker discounts
– Arthritis organization
 promotes shop to walkers
 distributes physical activity materials
 mentions both sponsors in media outreach
Measuring Your
Success
Why is evaluation important?
 Ensures messages are appropriate,
effective
 Allows for mid-course corrections
 Assess short-term outcomes and longterm impact
Research for Planning
 Assess baseline behaviors, attitude or
knowledge
 Types of research:
– Surveys
– Focus groups
– Literature reviews
Evaluation of Effectiveness
 Process evaluation
– People trained
– Calls to organization
– Media hits
 Outcome evaluation
– Change in behavior, attitude or
knowledge
Questions & Answers
Resources

www.healthtecdl.org

Strategic Communications: From the Plan to the Public
What’s Next at HealthTecdl?
 Grantwriting for Success—TBA