A New Communications Strategy for the Naval Service Captain Mike Beardall Royal Navy

Navy Command Headquarters

“If the character of the last military era was defined by the West’s ability to conduct precision strikes on enemy platforms and command nodes, the conflicts of the future are likely to be defined more by the centrality of influence…This battle of the narratives… will take place in a decentralised, networked free-market of ideas, opinions and even raw data, which will weaken the immediacy and influence of mainstream news providers.”

DCDC ‘Future Character of Conflict’ 2010

“Overall, there is a new capacity for scrutiny and accountability way beyond the assumed power and influence of the traditional media… hundreds of millions of ‘information do-ers’… shed light where it is often assumed there will be darkness.”

Nik Gowing ‘Skyful of Lies and Black Swans’, RISJ, 2009

Navy Command Headquarters

The next 30 minutes in brief… • Legacy communications structures • Obstacles to progress • A new strategic approach • Key messages: Key publics • Measurement and evaluation • Future plans

Navy Command Headquarters

Legacy issues…

The Regional News Department Who:

‘FOSNNI Media & Communications

What:

Responsible for regional news activities in the UK

Where:

Naval Base, Clyde

Which 2*:

Flag Officer, Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland (Rear Admiral, Based in Scotland)

The Non-News Department Who:

‘Assistant Head, Directorate Media & Communications, PR (Navy)’ (DMC Op Comms)

What:

Responsible for Branding, Events, Licensing, TV documentaries, magazine spreads etc

Where:

MOD Main Building, London

Which 2*:

Director MOD Media & Communication (Civil Servant based in London)

The News Department Who:

‘Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff (Media)’ (NCHQ Media)

What:

Responsible for news operations, mobile teams, internal communications

Where:

Command HQ, Portsmouth

Which 2*:

Command Secretary (Civil Servant based in Portsmouth)

The Marketing Department Who:

‘Captain Naval Recruiting’ (CNR)

What:

Responsible for Above-the Line recruitment marketing, TV advertising, recruitment ads etc

Where:

Naval Base, Portsmouth

Which 2*:

Flag Officer, Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland (Rear Admiral, Based in Scotland)

Obstacles to progress Structures

• Functional geographical and hierarchical separation • Limited resources spread too thinly

Messaging

• Messages over complicated and inconsistently delivered • No resonance with publics’ concerns and priorities

Understanding

• Despite consistently high favorability towards and familiarity with the RN, it remains poorly understood.

MoE Familiarity

• A capacity to measure the penetration of our messaging and its effect on understanding is not employed • Many of our own people cannot instinctively ariculare our core messages

Navy Command Headquarters

Reform in progress… Structures

• Moves to end functional geographical and hierarchical separation, and to co-locate resources and personnel

Messaging

• Development, approval and sole-use of the Navy Strategic Message House, Advocate Ambassadors and Spokespeople

Understanding

• All ‘Levers of Influence’ to use the SMH as a baseline • Requirement for training organisations to use SMH product

MoE

• The development of an integrated output-outtake-outcome monitoring and analysis unit to drive future strategy

Navy Command Headquarters

Getting ahead of the curve

Communications Strategy •Based on Scenario Planning News Operations •Event horizon 0-1 month Monitoring •Media Mapping •Media Analysis •Quotes of Note 7

Navy Command Headquarters

Planning •Event horizon 1-12 months

A new strategic approach

Identify key audiences • Those with the greatest potential to affect future strategic success Establish core messages • The ‘big six’ that define the raison d’etre of the service Gauge publics’ understanding • Gain an empirical uptake ‘fix’ Apply communications ‘in grid’ • Message house messages become the basis for all comms Re-measure and re-evaluate • Monitor, analyse an evaluate to determine future policy

Navy Command Headquarters

Key messages: Key publics

1. Decision Makers 1. Preventing Conflict 2. Opinion Leaders 3. Service Personnel 4. Service Diaspora 5. Media Advocates 6. Youth

Those groups that have the greatest potential to influence our future strategic success

2. Providing Security at Sea 3. Promoting Partnerships 4. Providing Humanitarian Asst.

5. Protecting our Economy 6. Ready to fight

The six key messages that we want our publics to remember when they think ‘Why Navy?’

Navy Command Headquarters

Operating ‘In Grid’

Whenever conducting influence activity, instructing outstations to focus effort on delivering key all messages to all key publics, in priority order.

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Publics Messages

Decision Makers Opinion Leaders Service Personnel Service Diaspora Media Advocates Youth

Preventing Conflict Global deployment, Endurance, Provision of political choice Essential background to free trade & prosperity Global deployment, Endurance, Flexibility, Secure future Global deployment is not all about numbers, Capable new eqpt A flexible and deployable force in a globalised world Jobs, skills, training, fortitude, future prosperity Providing Security at Sea Promoting Partnerships RFTG ‘readiness’ brand Maintenance of stability, furtherance of trade opportunity ‘Britain’s uniformed diplomat s’ ‘Britain’s uniformed diplomats, ‘Britain’s uniformed diplomats, Being part of the global village Promotion and protection of import & export Energy security, promotion & protection of trade, Defence diplomacy Their key role in the growth of the UK The breadth of roles the RN continues to occupy in society Flying the flag - The direct link between maritime activity and national success The U K’s reliance on the sea & opportunities available to play a role. Providing humanitarian assistance The cost-effective capacity to fulfil national obligations The most flexible way to deliver humanitarian aid The most flexible way to deliver humanitarian aid The most flexible way to deliver humanitarian aid The cost-effective capacity to fulfil national obligations Charitable work on a global scale Protecting our economy Massive economic contributor, regular & reserve skills in society More than just an insurance policy - a net contributor of capability to society A part of the ‘Big Societ y’ in every sense Always have been part of the ‘Big Society ’ Always have been part of the ‘Big Societ y’ Want respect? Give something back. Ready to fight

The

contingent capability at the heart of the U K’s contingent capability Cost-effective intervention without entanglement The unique nature of their role Still capable Always ready If needed Mechanisms through which messages could be transmitted · Key leader engagement · Lobbying · Targeted briefings via specific media Invitations to accompany senior personnel

Likely communications channels

· Integrated influence campaign · Integrated internal and external communication · Clear ‘6 point’ messaging · Visits to units · Via specific media · Co-ordinated use of Social Media · Training to use key messages · Integrated website/freesheet/ ’navy news’ content · Via social media platforms · Targeted media operations · Targeted influence programme · Personal education of nodal personalities · Above-the-line recruitment marketing coupled to and integrated with Below-the-line activities · Conversational, centralised use of social media platforms

Figure 3: New communications strategy - an example of how messages can be tailored to appeal to various key publics whilst always reinforcing the ‘big

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si x’ - likely communication channels are included.

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What do we want?

When our communications output reaches our target publics, what outcome do we want it to have?

Differentiate Reinforce Inform Persuade

We want our messages to be recognisably different Our messages can reinforce existing beliefs Where no previous knowledge exists, we can help Our messages are a call to action!

Fill (2002, 2011) Essentials of Marketing Communications

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Navy Command Headquarters

What do we want?

We want our publics to move through a journey from awareness to action…

Awareness Comprehension Conviction Action

What do we expect of publics at this stage?

How might we measure this?

Audience are aware of the brand and some ‘boilerplate details’ Audience develop greater understanding of the ‘big six’ messages Would need to recall (prompted or unprompted) basic details Unprompted recall of central tenets of the six messages Audience begin to advocate Naval messaging – naval messages incorporated into own Evidence of personal adherence to Naval aims (membership, votes, lobbying as appropriate) Audience take positive personal steps to further Naval aims Post-conviction behaviour. Regular re broadcast of Naval messages. Advocacy.

Adapted from: The ‘Hierarchy of Communications’, after Colley (1961)

Navy Command Headquarters

Why? - A quicker route to market…

Communication Elements Uploaded to Personal Social Networks Spread organically and via OLs Centralised Information Controller

Navy Command Headquarters

Released to the Media (output) Uploaded to Corporate Social Networks/Sites Published by the Media (outtake) Spread organically and via OLs Consumed by publics Acted upon/ opinion change (outcome)

Return path

for forum commentary, outtake and outcome analysis. Return path drives future communication

Based on Schramm (1955), Hall (1974) and Jenkins (2007)

Why? - The Zone of Effective Communication

Traditionally Channelled

News (TV, Online et al) NME Channelled News (Self Publishing, alumni IM)

Specific User Discourse

(Twitter, IM, Facebook)

General User Discourse

(Blogs et al) Non-News (Documentaries, books, magazine articles) Branding & Merchandising

Increasing Situational Complexity Over-use of these channels could confuse/alienate Two-way comms build trust Routine ‘brand awareness’ builds advocacy in the long term Richer two-way communication when situations are fast-moving or complex Zone of Effective Communication Two-way comms build trust Too little information and/or sensitivity causes distrust and commitment loss

Adapted from Lengel and Daft (1988, 227) and Balogun and Hope-Hailey (2008,195)

Navy Command Headquarters

Organic Monitoring

• MINI is a Royal Navy initiative to keep Ships and Units better informed of RN coverage in the worldwide media • Distributed daily and compiled from several open-source outlets • It also forms the Press Office’s historical archive and weekly briefs • Statistical analysis allows ‘ at a glance ’ evaluation of news stories

0 -2

Organic Monitoring Consistent outtake monitoring and analysis requires a baseline… Outlets range in significance Articles range in tone

100 +2

Groups of articles on the same subject make a story

Tone x Significance = Impact

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Long-term trends tell their own story

– just some to

knowledge

of the information we can deduce … Percentage of toned articles with a positive tone 17

Navy Command Headquarters

What do we want to achieve?

• A system in which limited resources are used to maximum capacity • A system in which all the ‘levers of influence’ are centrally guided and where the most effective is used when required • A system in which departmental output is linked to audience outcome through evidence-based monitoring and analysis

By understanding where deficiencies of knowledge exist amongst our key publics, the strategic application of communications will allow us to improve understanding of our key messages amongst those that have the greatest potential to influence the future strategic success of the Naval Service.

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Navy Command Headquarters