Blowing Your Horn
Can Make Social
Change
2004 SOUND PARTNERS
NATIONAL GRANTEE
CONFERENCE
November 12, 2004
Washington, D.C.
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COMMUNICATIONS
2004
What will happen in
the next 75 minutes?
• You’ll hear tips and strategies
around promotion and reaching
policymakers.
• You’ll develop promotion and
policymaking goals and tactics
for your project.
• You’ll share your goals and
tactics with your colleagues.
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Promotion and
Publicity
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Define Your Message
• Message is the crux of the matter—
the reason why anyone should care
about your project.
• Your message must be clear,
compelling, accurate—and short!
• Try to make your message no longer
than 50 words.
• Message is the first and sometimes
only information people will have
about your organization.
• All spokespeople should deliver the
same key messages.
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WNIN – Evansville, IN
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SOBER UP is a
partnership of WNIN
and Youth First, Inc. to
help the Tri-State
address the problem of
underage drinking.
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Sober Up’s Goals
• To help parents, adults, and
decision-makers name and
claim the problem of
underage drinking.
• To build regional support for
research-proven prevention
programs and policy reforms.
• To provide parents and youth
the best possible prevention,
intervention, and treatment
options.
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Messaging Questions
to Answer
• What do you want reporters and your
community to know about your
project?
• Do you want to call community
members to action?
• When you talk about the project to
friends and colleagues, what part of
the project excites you and them
most?
• How are your project issues playing
out in your community? Is there a
way to connect your work with these
larger community issues?
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Define Your
Audiences and How
to Reach Them
• Who do you want to reach?
• What audiences will be most
receptive?
• Reach out to audiences that
don’t normally hear your signal.
• Augment media promotion with
forums that bring interested
citizens together and in turn
attract interested media.
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Media Strategies for
Partners and Stations
• Determine responsibilities. Have a
clear plan for who will handle
specific parts of the promotion
campaign.
• Share press lists and contacts.
• Draft press releases together.
• Look for common audiences.
• Determine who is best suited to reach
out to specific audiences.
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Launch Your Project
with Fanfare
• Customize the Sound Partners press
release template and fact sheet.
Distribute them as widely as possible
to media, community members, and
other groups.
• Use your airwaves to promote the
launch of the program.
• Think about a creative way to kick-
off your efforts. Consider holding a
press conference, sponsoring a health
fair, or holding a community forum.
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Media Tips
• Develop a short list of people that can
speak on behalf of your project.
• Research reporters or columnists who
cover your issues. Send them your press
kit or release and follow up with a call to
arrange face-to-face meetings.
• Visit editorial boards of local
newspapers and television stations.
Present an overview of your Sound
Partners project and upcoming
programming and events.
• Ask local commercial radio and TV
stations to air public service
announcements about your project.
Encourage their news divisions to cover
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Media Tips
(cont.)
• Find Web sites, E-newsletters and E-
mail listserves that discuss your
project-related issues. Introduce them
to your project and ask them to
feature it.
• Begin developing your own E-
newsletter or Newsletter.
• Think creatively about alternative
outlets for promotion of your
projects. Explore how you can spread
the word through these outlets.
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Reaching
Policymakers
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Why should you reach
out to policymakers?
• To make lasting change
• Raise awareness for your station, your
partner and your issue
• Health of the station and the partner
• Continued support from licensee and
funders
• Continued government funding
• Continued listener support
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What policymakers
should you reach?
• Members of Congress and staff
• State and local legislators, mayors, city
council members and city managers
• State health commissioners and other
state govt. offices that implement
policies
• Community members that impact
policies around your issues
• University officials/Board of Trustees
• National public radio organizations -
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CPB, NPR, NFCB
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How do you reach
policymakers?
• Site visits and events
• Hill and district office visits
• Briefings and luncheons
• Presentations
• Using positive press
• Mobilize your base
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Develop Promotion
and Policy Goals
• Work with your partner.
• Choose one promotion goal and
one policy goal for your project.
• Develop three tactics for each
goal.
• You have 15 minutes to work
on this.
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Promotion and
Policy Goals
Sample Media Promotion
Goal
Place two stories about your
project in your local newspaper.
Sample Policy Goal
Educate local policymakers
about the need for better rural
health care access in your area.
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