NGO Marketing

Chapter One

Strategic Communications: How to create a Successful Public Relations & Marketing Plan

What is Public Relations?

Edward Bernays, one of the early pioneers of Public Relations defined it as the art and science of managing communication between an organization and its key public constituents to build, manage, and sustain its positive image . Companies and organizations across the globe employ Public Relations campaigns and strategies to help improve their image, sell their products, encourage people to empathize with their cause and create relationships with the general public at large. In short, Public Relations is about building public relationships and managing reputation.

What is marketing?

Traditional marketing as defined by the American Marketing Association is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing and promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy the individual and organizational objectives.

Together, Public Relations and Marketing can be the key to an organizations success. A successful Public Relations and Marketing Plan (or a Communications plan which consists of both Public Relations and Marketing) is key to ensuring that your NGO succeeds in promoting itself as well as establishing its campaigns and achieving its missions and goals. Communication is often omitted from business plans as it is seen as secondary to the core strategy of an organization This is because many business people do not understand what communications is and see it as a ‘tag on’ or an afterthought. It is rare to find a Public Relations Director on the board of large businesses.. It is crucial that a communications strategy is written into the business plan. It is a key part of any business, whether a profit making multinational or an NGO working at the grassroots level.

Developing a Communications Plan

A successful communications plan should cover the following points:

What is the objective of the plan? What do you want to achieve?

Do you want to raise awareness of a particular issue (e.g. human rights abuses in Sudan, child labor in India, poverty in Africa, HIV awareness in S Africa), do you want to raise money to help finance your operation or do you want to establish yourselves as experts in your field? This will determine your overall strategy. You must ensure that your objectives are achievable, measurable and that you have developed a realistic timeline.

Who is your audience?

Who are you communicating with? Do you want to communicate with the general public, key age groups, stakeholders who have an interest in what your organization is doing? (Government, key partners, other NGOs). This will determine how you get your messages across because different methods work for different audiences.

What are your key messages? What do you want to get across to your audiences?

It is important to decide what these are before implementing a communications plan.

Plan of attack – how will you put your strategy into practice?

Will you be developing printed materials such as posters and leaflets? Do you want to distribute a press release to the media? If so, which media (newspapers, broadcast media e.g radio shows or news programmes or web-based news sites like bbc.co.uk or ananova.co.uk.

Set a realistic budget. Broadcast and print media coverage is free but other communications tools like websites, advertisements and printed materials can be costly. Decide the best means of communicating your message and budget for this. Many NGOs and nonprofits have limited budgets and rely heavily on print and broadcast coverage because it is free. Remember there is a lot of competition out there. If you are going to rely on media coverage to get your message out there then ensure that you have something newsworthy to say.

Identify spokespeople who can talk to the media about your organization and campaigns.

Often this person is the most senior member of staff on your team. Make sure that this person is fully briefed and is comfortable and confident when speaking to the media. Give them a list of questions that may be asked and rehearse answers with them.

Crisis management – it is vital that you plan for a crisis.

What happens if your campaign runs into difficulty? Or a member of your staff is accused of wrongdoing? It is vital that you have a crisis management plan in place. What will you say if you are faced with a crisis situation? It is a good idea to have some statements ready so that they can be distributed immediately.

Evaluate

Once your plan has been put into action, start evaluating. See where your strengths are, where you could improve. You will also need to evaluate the campaign itself to see how much impact it has made on the target audience.

Chapter Two

Marketing Technologies & Strategies – describe online and media strategies to market an NGOs programs, activities and campaigns

There is a plethora of online and media strategies to help you achieve your goals. Many are free (print and broadcast coverage such as the BBC or newspapers like The Times in London, The Washington Post in the US and The Age in Australia) but many more can be costly. Print and broadcast advertising is expensive and unless you have a large budget it might be wise to think of alternative means of communicating: online and interactive media

Online and media strategies to market your programs, activities and campaigns.

Above the line advertising

Above the line (ATL) is an advertising technique which utilizes mass media as the principle medium for promotion. Major above-the-line techniques include TV and radio advertising, print advertising, billboard advertising and internet banner ads. This type of communication is conventional in nature and is considered impersonal to customers. ATL uses specific channels to promote products and services. Compared to BTL (Below the line), the ATL strategy makes use of current traditional media: newspapers, magazines, radio and television.

Below the line advertising

Below the line (BTL) is uses less conventional methods than the usual specific channels of advertising to promote products, services, etc. than ATL (Above the line) strategy. These may include activities such as direct mail, text messaging, public relations and sales promotion for which a fee is agreed upon and charged up front.

Below the line advertising typically focuses on direct means of communication, most commonly direct mail and e-mail, often using highly targeted lists of names to maximize response rates.

How effective is BTL compared to ATL? The term "Below the Line" is rapidly going out of fashion in advertising circles as agencies and clients switch to an 'Integrated Communication Approach.'

Print and broadcast media

Using the mass media (print and broadcast) to publicize campaigns can be a cheap and effective way of targeting the masses. The most common way of encouraging the media to write about your organization or campaign is to send them a press release (see chapter five) informing them of your activity. Remember that while there are many media outlets out there, there are also many organizations trying to get media coverage. Make sure that what you have to say is interesting and newsworthy. Make the media WANT to write about your work.

UK-based charity Oxfam launched the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign in 2005. The campaign, which was part of a worldwide push to end poverty in Africa, was a phenomenal success and received worldwide press coverage as well as massive celebrity endorsement.

Similarly, the NSPCC, a children’s charity based in the UK, currently runs a campaign to end child abuse, the FULL STOP campaign . This is seen by many as the benchmark for successful campaigning and is one of the most recognized campaigns in the UK.

Celebrity endorsement

This is a fantastic way to maximize publicity for your work. Everyone knows about the RED campaign because of its links with musician Bono and companies including GAP, Apple and American Express.

Contact celebrities through agents and managers. This can be difficult as celebrities can be inundated with requests for their time.

Online media

Websites Develop your own website, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, just make sure that it contains relevant and concise information about your organization’s activities, mission/objectives and contact details (including at least two functioning email addresses)

Google-ability Make sure that your organization is Google-able. Make sure that it features prominently on Internet search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo and AlltheWeb) as this will help drive traffic and attract publicity to your website.

Internet forums Use Internet forums to spark debate and help drive traffic to your website. There are many examples, including Google Community and CNET forums .

Reciprocal links Ask partner organizations and community websites to include a link from their website to yours and offer to do the same for them. A very good example of this can be found in the UK. The Drinkaware Trust , a responsible drinking non profit, operates a website which gives consumers advice on responsible drinking. This website is featured on many other organizations websites, including the Department of Health, local health services and alcohol producers.

Events

Speakers Offer to provide speakers for events, conferences and seminars which cover topics relevant to your organization. For example, the Carnegie Council hosts monthly roundtables and events with world and business leaders. Publications Ask to include your publications in delegate’s packs and on stands.

Partnerships and sponsorships

Partnerships Partner with organizations that work in similar areas to you. For example, if you are working in a health related field then look into partnering with local health authorities and hospitals. The Red campaign is a great example with well-known brands partnering to eliminate AIDS in Africa. Other examples include: the Pink Ribbon campaign, which raises awareness of breast cancer. This campaign is worldwide and has successfully partnered with organizations and businesses including Avon and Estee Lauder. The ‘Stop it Now’ campaign has a range of partners, from charities working in a similar field (NSPCC and Childline), as well as, Government departments. This can be very beneficial to both parties and can also ease the financial burden as the costs can be shared.

Sponsorships

Sponsorships can be expensive but if you think more laterally then they can work. You could sponsor community and grassroots events in your area and ensure that your marketing material (posters, publications etc) are available to the event attendees.

Chapter Three

Campaigning Techniques

The way you communicate your campaign will depend largely on your target audience. For example, if you are targeting a younger age group, then new technologies like text messaging and online message boards and lifestyle websites lsuch as myspace.com , facebook.com, mtv.com will be appropriate.

The techniques you use will also depend on the type of campaign you are developing. A campaign aimed at younger audiences might be more controversial and edgy than one aimed at mature audiences.

Below is a list of campaigning techniques which could be adopted.

1. Above and below the line advertising
2. Media relations – informing your audience through the mass media (newspapers, magazines, TV, Internet and radio.)
3. Online campaigns – ‘Round Robin’ emails which people can forward to others in their address books. This has been used to great effect in the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign . ‘Round Robins’ ensure that your emails are seen by a huge number of people. Sent to a database of email addresses they rely on people to pass the email on. This can be a very useful campaigning tool but remember your email MUST be interesting so that people pass it on. You can encourage people to sign up to your campaigns or send petitions to Governments using this method.
4. Publications – using publications to get your message across. These could be booklets, posters, leaflets etc.
5. Hold protests, rallies and similar events. Be aware that such events can be deemed controversial.
6. Create campaign websites (joinred.com, talktofrank.com, knowyourlimits.gov.uk)

Chapter Four

What is social marketing? And how to start a social marketing campaign

What is social marketing?

Social marketing is an adaptable approach to marketing concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioral goals; to achieve a social or public good. Social or Public good is defined as changing behavior and attitudes for the better. For example, there are many campaigns which encourage people to take better care of their health, thus lowering obesity levels, There are also anti-violence campaigns which encourage people not to use guns and knives.

While definitions can vary, there are three key elements to social marketing:

1. A systematic process phased to address short, medium and long-term issues. It is very important to differentiate between short, medium and long-term as this will determine how you run your campaign. For example, in the short-term you might just want to raise awareness of your issue while in the long-term you will want to see actual behavioural changes, e.g. people drinking alcohol in moderation or eating healthily.
2. Utilizing a range of marketing techniques and approaches (a marketing mix).
3. Achieving a particular ‘social good’ (rather than commercial benefit) with specific behavioral goals clearly identified and targeted.

In other words social marketing is about influencing behavior. Examples of this can be found in countries across the globe, from encouraging people to have safe sex (South Africa) to promoting drinking alcohol in moderation (Canada, UK, USA, Eire) and encouraging young people not to use drugs (UK, USA).

Outlined below are two case studies of social marketing campaigns which were conducted in the USA. Case Study I The VERB™ campaign was a multiethnic campaign with a goal to increase and maintain physical activity among children aged nine to 12 years. It used sophisticated commercial marketing techniques to address the public health problem of sedentary lifestyles of American children.

The campaign used a range of techniques to target audiences, including television, radio and print advertising, and all campaign messages were tested with focus groups to ensure they were motivating, clearly understood and resonated positively. Community based events and grassroots marketing were also used as well as partnerships with the Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and public relations. Evaluation results show that after 1 year of the campaign, 74% of children surveyed were aware of the VERB campaign and levels of reported sessions of free-time physical activity increased for subgroups of children 9 to 13 years of age.

Case Study II Stop It Now! Philadelphia was a public health approach to prevent child sexual abuse. The approach focused on increasing public awareness of child sexual abuse by using social marketing elements to challenge adults to be responsible for preventing the perpetration of sexual abuse against children.

Beginning with a mass media campaign, Stop It Now! Philadelphia generated visibility throughout Philadelphia using posters, billboards and media events to reach out to abusers, people at risk for abusing, and their friends and families. The media campaign was linked to a toll-free helpline and community-base programs that helped adults understand what options and resources were available to them. This campaign is ongoing and no evaluations have been completed. However, similar campaigns have been adopted in UK and Ireland which shows that the campaign message resonates around the world.

How to start a social marketing campaign

1. First decide whether there is a need to create a campaign. There might be other similar campaigns out there so research, research, research!

1. Decide on the theme and the target audience. For example, you might decide to start an anti-drug campaign or anti gun crime campaign. Who will you be targeting? Some campaign techniques will not work with younger age groups and vice-versa.

1. How will you target your audience? Set a budget and decide how best to use the money. Try to get as much pro-bono work as possible. Ask local design students to come up with logos, poster ideas etc. They will not require payment as their work might be seen in the mass media.

1. Devise a Communications strategy. Decide on key objectives and goals early on. Start telling people about your campaign!

1. Develop an evaluation process – use focus groups see if your message is resonating with your target audience. Evaluate media coverage – how much of it is positive or neutral.

Chapter Five

What are the communications tools and media outlets, both for profit and not for profit NGOs and public agencies use to market their events and activities?

Communications tools

There are many ways to market your events and activities:

• Tell the media
• Use direct marketing material
• Put up posters
• Advertise at similar events
• Write to community leaders and politicians

Media outlets

With the introduction of the Internet more than a decade ago, the number of media outlets has exploded. We live in a 24 hour news society and this can be good news for non-profit organizations. There are now far more media outlets than ever before. Below is a list of media outlets for you to consider contacting. LexisNexis provides a paid for service which will list media outlets in countries around the world. It is costly but can be invaluable. For lists of media in your countries try Wikipedia or a local library reference section for the following:

Print newspapers

World, national, regional, local and online versions

Broadcast media

TV and radio, online news sites which feature both audio and visual (e.g. bbc.co.uk, nytimes.com, ananova.co.uk )

Magazines

Consumer magazines, trade magazines

Community based publications

Newsletters, online community websites (e.g. Idealist.org, OneWorld.Net, Eldis.org,)

Wire services

These can be invaluable as wire services will write a story about your campaign and syndicate it around the world. Newswires include: PA News, Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg.

How to write a press release

Press releases are one of the most common ways of informing the media that you have news to share. Try to keep your press release to one sided, single page and keep it as simple as possible. Journalists often lift paragraphs of press releases straight into the story they are writing so try to write it in a ‘newsy’ style (e.g in a style that is easy to read and understand, take a look at newspaper articles for inspiration). Try not to use long sentences and always proofread and avoid spelling mistakes.

Try to think of a snappy headline (look at the headlines in the media for inspiration) and always include a quote from your organization’s spokesperson.

Use the Five W and One H theory: Who What Why When Where How Use this as a template for writing your press release. If you follow this then all the information the media will be looking for will be included.

Find out which journalist covers stories like yours and give them a call to introduce yourself.

How to contact your local TV or radio station

Some people do not feel comfortable being interviewed on radio or TV so think about this before contacting them.

You can send TV and radio programs the same press release you sent to the print media – they work in exactly the same way.

If they are interested in your story it will be important to find out if the interview is going to be live or pre-recorded. Some people prefer to do live interviews as they are faster paced but remember to properly prepare as you don’t get a second chance to put your message across in a live interview.

Producers are the people to contact on broadcast media.

Don’t forget

• Make sure you are available to speak to journalists – there is nothing worse than sending out a press release and then not being available to talk about it.
• Think about what you are going to say in advance. If a journalist calls and you are not prepared, tell them you will call them back in a few minutes. This is perfectly acceptable and gives you time to collect your thoughts.
• Prepare for difficult questions. Think of two or three questions you would least like to be asked and prepare your answers.
• Always include a contact telephone number – landline and mobile if possible.
• Give the news desk a call to see if they have received your press release

References

www.wikipedia.com The American Marketing Society www.marketingpower.com The Institute of Public Relations www.ipr.org.uk National Social Marketing Centre for Excellence www.nsms.org.uk National Social Norms Research Center www.socialnorm.org The Public Relations Society of America www.prsa.org The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management www.globalpr.org