NLC Institute 2010 – Messaging and Communications

It's an old saw in politics and beyond – just being right is never enough. If you can't connect your message to its intended audience and be influential, you're just not going to get very far. Our March 27th session focused on media and communications – how to get the most out of your message.

We opened the morning with a presentation by UCSD Political Science Ph.D. candidate Matt Chidlers on Attitudes, Framing, Messages, and Campaigns. It was an insightful look at what makes people tick and how they process information that carried important lessons. Most important – and the easiest to forget – is that just because people often don't have the energy or interest for details, it doesn't mean they're stupid or easily duped. It's a mistake to confuse low-information with low-intelligence.

Childers also discussed how the context of new information is often far more important than the content. We're far more likely to remember our impressions of what we learn than be able to give a detailed recap. This is what makes framing so important – it presents new information in ways that make sense to how we already understand the world.

Childers closed with a discussion of the tactics and strategy of framing – how to reinforce your own position and respond to your opponents without accepting their premise or frame and without giving them free advertising.

Training segued into our second session of the day about, appropriately, paid advertising. Bob Nelson, principle at BNA Associates, shared decades of experience in the world of mail, print, radio and television.

He discussed the relative uses and merits of different media, and the complexities of maximizing your impact across all available outlets. It's particularly difficult to effectively target your media message in recent years thanks to new technologies – everything from TiVo to Facebook. It makes finding your audience more challenging, but also increasingly important.

Beyond the nuts and bolts of producing and buying media was a discussion of how to maximize the impact of your advertising. Nelson gave a great rundown of the maxims that guide effective ads for TV, radio, print and direct mail, with an eye towards ensuring the message is able to fight through all the competing noise.

During lunch, Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party Jess Durfee discussed his experiences with the party. It was a good break from the details of media and communications, and a great reminder of why everyone is involved in the first place. He spoke of his personal winding path to arrive as chair of the local party, and delivered important advice: anyone can get engaged.

In explaining his challenges and achievements with the party, that central message was inescapable and compelling. The party is at its strongest when it encompasses a wide range of people with diverse backgrounds and interests brought together by a shared passion for their community. Being an effective community leader is for anyone who's committed to it, no matter how they arrive at that point.

The afternoon presentation on press and crisis communication was given by Jamie Ortiz, Communications Director at San Diego Coastkeeper. Ortiz is a long-time Public Relations professional, who cut her teeth in the private sector, and is now using her skills to advocate for the environment.

Ortiz discussed the tools of the trade for pitching stories and getting press coverage. She discussed how to tailor pitches to specific outlets, and how to develop relationships with reporters before those relationships need to be tapped. She also outlined the fundamentals of developing a press kit, so your events, organizations or candidates are covered how you want them to be.

Ortiz finished the day by walking the Fellows through the process of building a crisis communications plan.

Planning can be the key to weathering a crisis. Ortiz cited a telling statistic that while 85% of communications managers for Fortune 100 companies have crisis communications plans, only a third have tested how their plans function.

Developing a crisis plan for an organization requires identification of stakeholders, determining who will speak for the organization, and articulating how the organization will solve whatever crisis develops. Ortiz circulated some useful worksheets and checklists for the Fellows to use in their own organizations to develop their own crisis communications plan.