N ATIONAL C OUNCIL ON F OLIC A CID
Marketing Plan: Increasing Your Organization’s Outreach to the Hispanic1 Community
Goals To increase your organization’s outreach to the Hispanic community. To increase your number of partnerships with local Latino community-based organizations. To increase your contacts with Hispanic women.
* Actual percent increases for each goal should be determined by your organization.
Plan Outreach to the Hispanic Community Radio public service advertisement spots and radio-novelas placement o Write a letter to the public service directors of local Spanish-language radio stations and include the public service announcements (PSA) developed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/materials.htm. Encourage them to play the PSAs more frequently and at strategic times of the year (e.g., Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Hispanic Heritage Month). o Reach out to local Spanish-language radio stations and make yourself available as a resource on maternal and child health issues. Encourage them to dedicate a regularly scheduled show to Spina Bifida and related issues. Volunteer to serve as a guest on the show. Television PSAs o In conjunction with a local university or Latino student group/fraternity/sorority, develop short Spanish and English PSAs for television, promoting the importance of taking folic acid. Send a letter and the PSA to television stations and encourage them to air the PSA during strategic times of the year. If the university has a station, encourage it to air the PSA there as well. There are video PSAs and
1
The terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" are used interchangeably by the U.S. Census Bureau and throughout this document to refer to persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, Dominican, Spanish, and other Hispanic descent; they may be of any race.
The National Council on Folic Acid is managed by the Spina Bifida Association, 4590 MacArthur Blvd., NW, Suite 250 Washington, DC 20007-4226, 800-621-3141x13, www.folicacidinfo.org.
materials that can be tailored to television and your audience available on the CDC web site. o Develop a relationship with your local Spanish-language station so you can serve as a resource for them on the issue of Spina Bifida. o Volunteer to serve as a guest on a regularly-scheduled public affairs or news show. Newspaper advertisements/PSAs and op-eds o Send print ads and PSAs available through CDC and other organizations with a letter to local newspapers and regularly printed local magazines, asking them to run the PSAs during certain strategic dates of the year, or more consistently, if possible and depending on the content of the PSA. o For key strategic dates (such as Mother’s Day), tailor the op-eds available in your media toolkit with your organization’s information and submit them to local newspapers and printed media. Use the relationships you have built to distribute the PSAs for support. o Make yourself available to reporters for stories having to do with Spina Bifida and/or folic acid and develop a relationship with them for any future stories or events. Internet email blasts o Build an electronic address book by collecting email addresses from clients, friends, and other organizations at events and with other collaborators to send electronic messages, including electronic versions of PSAs, electronic newsletters, electronic press releases or op-eds, and electronic greeting cards. Include emails for local newspapers whose “contact us” information is usually published online or in their publications, or make contacts at the publication and get their email information. Internet greeting cards o Create simple electronic greeting cards targeted for certain dates (e.g., Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day) and advertise using the electronic address book for people to send to their friends and family. o Send these out to the Latino organizations at local colleges and universities for students to send to their friends and family. Cards should be created in English and Spanish.
Partnerships Get involved in and attend community activities. Especially helpful activities might include health fairs, expositions, trade shows, and activities sponsored by organizations targeting Latinas of child-bearing age. Become a resource for local agencies reaching out to Latinos. o Research and attend community activities being held, such as health fairs, in order to disseminate verbal messages, printed materials, fact sheets, and informational brochures that have been created by your organization or by CDC, the March of Dimes, the National Council on Folic Acid, and the Spina Bifida Association. Most of these are available for free on their web sites. o Investigate opportunities with national organizations that might want to add a Latino component to their efforts by partnering with a Latino-serving communitybased organization. o Establish relationships with national and local organizations and volunteer to serve as a resource for them on the issue of Spina Bifida by providing materials or serving as a guest speaker.
o Reach out to the Spanish/Latino ministries of local churches. Agree to write a piece for their website or newsletter. Volunteer to provide a workshop on the importance of folic acid. Connect and volunteer with them around holidays and busier times of the year for them. Increase Contacts Give community talks o Using organization staff or promotores (lay health educators), hold informational talks and sessions for community members to educate them on the importance of taking folic acid. Talks can be held in a variety of places, including community centers, churches, homes, schools, clinics, health fairs, and local supermarkets and stores. Fact sheets and other educational materials, including real-life stories to be used as tools, are available from CDC. Advertisements in local supermarkets and stores o Develop relationships with local grocers and help them design displays featuring foods Latinos eat that are high in folic acid (e.g., avocados, orange juice, green peas, fortified cereals, beets, meat, lentils, beans). o Hang up the CDC-designed fliers promoting folic acid in the supermarket. o Set up an informational booth and give out information about the importance of taking folic acid. Educate customers about products they can find right there in the store that contain folic acid. Give out a small list of products on a wallet-sized piece of paper for them to refer to while shopping. Attend local sporting teams events o Attend local children’s sporting games, especially soccer and baseball. These are usually free and open to the public and are good places to make contact with Hispanic men to create awareness about the importance of folic acid for their mothers, wives, girlfriends, and daughters. o Many times these local leagues partner with or are sponsored by organizations or stores, etc.. If your organization has the resources, this would be a good opportunity to reach out and make contacts. If your organization does not have the resources, it is still possible to get involved and disseminate information at games and events. For all outreach activities, partnerships, collaborations, and contacts, it is important to keep in mind the following: Whenever possible, involve community members and partners with whom the community is familiar to disseminate products and messages, including promotores and members of churches, schools, social clubs, community social service centers, and clinics. When creating partnerships, keep in mind that the other organization must also benefit from the partnership. Benefits can be monetary but can also include serving as a resource for materials, information, and programs. Oftentimes, Latino-focused agencies help their communities by working on several issues that may be of a larger concern to the community at that moment. Do not become discouraged if your offer of partnership is not reciprocated when you first reach out. Since the groups work on multiple issues, you may need to change your approach. Rather than offering to serve as a resource on Spina Bifida or folic acid, present yourself as a resource on prenatal care or maternal and child health. Highlight the connections you might have to other agencies that may be of interest to the organization you are reaching out to.
Should your organization decide not to use the materials developed by CDC, the following should be considered when creating materials and messages directed to the Latino community: Materials should be developed in Spanish and English, as there are significant numbers of Hispanics who do not speak Spanish or prefer English. Messages should be written in short, clear language and convey one message at a time. Written messages and information should be no higher than at an 8th grade reading level. Written materials should include visuals to compliment the written messages. Messages should include and be targeted to not only the perceptions of women but also to those of men. They should be framed with the interest of the entire family in mind. Materials should provide telephone numbers and contact information for further information. Timeline There are four months that provide great opportunities to market and disseminate information to the Hispanic community (January, May, September, and October). The time approaching these months should be used to develop messages for monthly awareness activities, make contacts to disseminate messages, plan for events, and research outside events and activities. The periods after these months are opportunities to assess the effectiveness of the messages and dissemination efforts and continue to build collaborative relationships for the future. November and December These months will be used for planning outreach and forming partnerships. Message development, collaborative partnerships, and event opportunity research will be conducted during these months in preparation for January. Collect materials and PSAs from CDC, March of Dimes, and the Spina Bifida Association; tailor them to your target community as needed, using the subject of National Birth Defects Prevention Month and Folic Acid Awareness Week as their basis. Start sending messages and PSAs to and making contact with local radio and television stations and newspapers, encouraging them to distribute the messages. Start collecting email addresses for electronic PSAs, written messages, and greeting cards distribution. Start finding venues for giving in-person talks and informational sessions during the month of January and establish community partners for collaboration. Make contacts with local grocery stores to distribute information and hold a small booth during the month of January. Investigate other national or local events being held in association with National Birth Defects Prevention Month and Folic Acid Awareness Week in January and make contact for collaboration. Connect with local churches to collaborate and disseminate messages around the holidays (e.g., Christmas).
January January is an entire month of opportunity for conducting outreach and making contacts, using the backdrop of National Birth Defects Prevention Month and Folic Acid Awareness Week (January 24-30) to disseminate messages and information. Since these occasions for awareness span an
entire month and focus on a particular week, more than just advertisements will be used. The whole month will be used for community activities, informational sessions, and dissemination as well as radio/television spots and printed advertisement. Collaborate with local radio and television to air your PSAs. Collaborate with local newspapers to print PSAs and other written materials. Give talks and distribute information on the importance of birth defects prevention and taking folic acid. This can take place at your own organization and other places you’ve created contacts at in the prior months (churches, schools, stores, etc), including if you were successful in connecting with a store in which to hold an informational booth. Participate in any outside events connected to Prevention Month and offer your organization’s resources and point of view. Begin to tailor messages for Valentine’s Day (e.g., “I love you, let’s celebrate our love by taking folic acid to have a healthy family”). Use materials to create a “Give Folic Acid for Valentine’s Day” electronic greeting card that people can send to their loved ones. Continue to build an electronic address book for dissemination. Investigate continuing and new partnerships; start to connect with local college and university student groups coming back from winter break and looking to establish their spring activities.
February This month uses Valentine’s Day as a backdrop to send a message about the importance of taking folic acid. Most efforts are advertisements (radio/television, print, and electronic) that air just a few days before the holiday on February 14. Disseminate “Valentine’s Day Folic Acid” messages through established radio, television, newspaper, and community partners on or before Valentine’s Day. Make electronic greeting cards available and send out requests on Valentine’s Day. Send to local colleges and universities as well as those in your electronic address book.
March This month will be used primarily to evaluate the effectiveness of the heavy efforts made in January and at the beginning of February in order to make any necessary adjustments for the coming months. Evaluate effectiveness of previous dissemination tactics by looking at responses to messages and attendance at events. Adjust messages and channels of communication as needed. Continue to hold partnerships and look for new ones. Prepare messages for National Public Health Week in April. Investigate any activities for National Public Health Week for potential collaboration. o Contact the local health department, local government, and even the fire department to ask if they are having any events you could participate in. Offer to serve as a resource for Spina Bifida and folic acid information targeting the Latino community. o Contact local clinics and ask about any events they might be having and opportunities for collaboration. Offer to make your materials available.
April National Public Health Week (April 7-13) provides an opportunity to continue relaying message about the importance of folic acid for healthy mothers, babies, and families. The messages can be based on prevention and the health of families, children, and communities. El Día de los Niños is on April 30 and focuses on the importance and benefits of reading for children, possibly providing an opportunity for collaboration. Ask partners at local radio, television, and newspapers to disseminate folic acid awareness messages during National Public Health Week. Participate in any public health fairs, events, or activities you’ve made contacts with surrounding National Public Health Week in order to disseminate informational materials. Contact a local pharmacy, drug store, or market (bodega) to see if they’d be willing to let you set up an informational booth at some point during the week to hand out information. Contact local libraries and schools and ask to be involved in any events they’re having for El Día de los Niños. Offer to bring educational materials and help out. Prepare and tailor messages, advertisements, e-cards, etc. for targeted dates in May and research any possible activities surrounding Mother’s Day, National Women’s Check-up Day, and National Women’s Health Week. April generally begins the spring sports season and little league season that lasts through the summer. Look for local little league teams to partner and fundraise with or attend games in order to target more men for Spina Bifida and folic acid awareness. o Attend games at local parks and disseminate information. Talk to parents at the games. o Offer to partner with their fundraising events, depending on organizational resources. This provides an opportunity to increase exposure and awareness as well as make contacts.
May The month of May provides several opportunities to target messages to mothers, young women, and others about the importance of taking folic acid for themselves and their families. Significant occasions include Mother’s Day (the second Sunday in May), National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, National Women’s Health Week (May 11-17), and National Women’s Check-up Day (May 12). Ask local radio and television partners to air PSAs on and around key dates of the month. Many of the dates target the health of mothers or women in general and the PSAs could be complimentary to any special stories they might be airing about mothers. Ask local newspaper partners to print PSAs and advertisements. Make an electronic greeting card for Mother’s Day available for sending. Send out to those in your electronic address book. Offer local college and university students the opportunity to send them to their mothers. Link the message of prevention with National Women’s Check-up Day, emphasizing the importance of taking folic acid in advertisements and messages sent for this day. Partner with a local clinic offering check-ups for women and ask to distribute folic acid informational messages at the clinic. Offer to serve as an informational resource for their clients.
June This month will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the heavy efforts made in May and parts of April in order to make any necessary adjustments for the coming months and opportunities. Evaluate the effectiveness of previous dissemination tactics by looking at responses to messages and attendance at events. Adjust messages and channels of communication as needed. Continue to hold partnerships and look for new ones. Prepare specific messages for upcoming key dates, months, and events (e.g., the NCLR Annual Conference in July and Hispanic Heritage Month in September/October). Investigate local and national activities and opportunities for collaboration during Hispanic Heritage Month.
July The NCLR Annual Conference provides an opportunity to showcase important messages to the Hispanic community in a forum that is dedicated to the advancement of Hispanics in the United States. The Conference is held in a different city each year and it would be beneficial for your organization to investigate if the Conference is local this particular year. Someone from your organization could attend to disseminate the message of folic acid/Spina Bifida in a workshop or exhibitor booth or just to network and gain exposure. Finalize any contacts or plans to advertise at or attend the NCLR Annual Conference. Begin to prepare messages, research opportunities, and create partnerships for Hispanic Heritage Month. Offer to be a resource for Spina Bifida and folic acid information targeting the Hispanic community for organizations holding events.
August As Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15) provides a variety of opportunities to reach the Hispanic population, August will be used to prepare for this time of heavy activity. Collect and use materials available from CDC, March of Dimes, and the Spina Bifida Association, adapting them to focus on Hispanic Heritage Month and as needed for your organization. Begin to send them for airing and distribution to your contacts at local radio and television stations and newspapers. Offer to serve as a resource and partner for Hispanic Heritage Month. Investigate and make connections for collaboration on events and opportunities during Hispanic Heritage Month. Local churches, community centers, clinics, stores, schools, and community service organizations whose main patronage comes from the Hispanic community will be holding events and will be excellent collaborative partners. o Offer to serve as an informational resource on the importance of Spina Bifida prevention and healthy babies by distributing your materials. If possible, offer staff resources during events. Toward the end of the month, begin to advertise for any organizational events about a month before they take place, asking contacts and partners at local radio, television, and newspapers to promote them.
Start to plan messages for October’s National Spina Bifida Awareness Month and make contacts with local and national organizations holding events or activities related to this topic to see if they would be interested in partnering. Offer to serve as a resource to promote awareness among Hispanics. August and September generally begin the fall sports season, specifically for soccer, which will last throughout the fall. Look for local soccer teams or leagues to partner and fundraise with or attend games in order to target more men for Spinda Bifida and folic acid awareness. o Attend games at local parks and disseminate information. Talk to parents at the games. o Offer to partner with their fundraising events, depending on organizational resources. This provides an opportunity to increase exposure and awareness as well as make contacts.
September Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15. Finalize all PSAs, advertisements, materials, contacts, and events before September 15. Continue to advertise events, increasing the number of advertisements two weeks before the event and again one week before the event. Ask radio and television contacts to air PSAs and promotions. Send newspaper ads, op-eds, and short articles (paper and electronic) to contacts and ask them to print them in their publications. Disseminate flyers and promotional materials to local stores, churches, schools, and community centers to advertise events. If you have the staff resources, you can conduct on-the-ground dissemination by personally handing out flyers. Participate in any collaborative events that you have committed to and made contacts for. Hold informational talks and educational sessions in churches, schools, community centers, homes, clinics, and stores, emphasizing the importance of caring for the health of the Hispanic family and community and noting that folic acid is one of the most important places to start. Fact sheets, stories, and other educational materials from CDC and other resources should be used.
October The first half of October continues Hispanic Heritage Month, starting to conclude with Día de la Raza on October 13. The whole month is National Spina Bifida Awareness Month. Continue efforts related to Hispanic Heritage Month. Aim to have an event on Día de la Raza to wrap up Hispanic Heritage Month. Continue to connect with radio and television partners to air PSAs and messages related to Spina Bifida Awareness Month, making it clear that taking folic acid prevents Spina Bifida. Ask organizations that are holding Spina Bifida awareness events to partner with you. Offer to help with their outreach to Hispanics and to serve as a resource for targeted materials.
Budget The budget will vary according to each organization and its efforts, abilities, reach, location, and opportunities. Line Item Design Printing Mailing and Postage Rental Budgeted Cost $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Actual Cost