Leveraging Marketing Strategies for Social Good

LEVERAGING MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR SOCIAL

GOOD

Mental Health Council of ArkansasDecember 13, 2012

Angie Albright

Independent Consultant in Nonprofit Marketing, Fundraising, and Strategic Planning

Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.

Benjamin Lee Whorf

If we use words, there is a very grave danger they will be misinterpreted.

H. R. Halderman

Communication in the 21st Century

Hurricane Sandy

Fiscal Cliff

Syria

What is marketing? The American Marketing Association Board

of Directors approved this definition in 2007:“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and

processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”

○ www.MarketingPower.com

Why engage in marketing strategies?

Effective “messaging” strategies are highly researched and tested

Audiences are sophisticated and savvy Legislative sessions are “noisy”

Developing a Message

Analyze the Audience Who are the stakeholders?

Mental health care program administratorsMental health care patients or clients, current

and futureCitizens of the stateHospitalsState governmentJustice systemLaw enforcementFamilies

Analyze the Audience Who are the decision makers?

Legislators○ Analyze the legislative audience:

Who are they? What is their education level? What is the political environment for this issue?

Analyze the Challenges What are the challenges?

Lack of education on issuesPrejudices and misconceptions about people

with mental health disabilitiesCurrent economic situationCurrent attitudes about government in generalHigh turnover in the legislature because of term

limitsCompeting issues

Determine the Purpose Develop certainty and consensus within the

group about the final goalImmediate goal Long-term goal

If more than one outcome is desired, prioritize the goals (so that you are prepared for a Plan B)

State the immediate goal clearly and simply – one sentence if possible

List the long-term outcomes if goal is achieved

Develop a Case – Hard Facts

Use numbers and statistics – no jargon! Keep them simple and targetedMake sure they are easily repeatable

Create a paragraph or two about the history of the problem and previously tried solutions

Develop a Case – Emotional Appeal

What kind of specific story can you tell, while preserving confidentiality?

Do you have a trusted spokesperson who can tell his or her own story? Find these stories regionallyPrepare the spokespersons in advance

Storytelling is the most powerful strategy.

Develop a Case – Practical Appeal

What is the economic impact? What is the community impact? How does it affect the average person? What are the consequences for not acting? What are the benefits of acting now?

Anticipate the Opposition

Outline the known or potential objections Practice responding to the opposition Incorporate responses to the opposition

into message

Creating “Talking Points” 30-second elevator speech 5-minute speech Identified and clearly outlined key words

and phrases Develop a one-page white paper Unified message ALWAYS

The One-Page Case Statement One or two sentences that state the immediate

goal Short paragraph of history of the issue Talking points (in bullet form) from the case that’s

been developedHard factsEmotional appealPractical appealResponse to opposition

Description of long-term outcomes of proposed legislation

Call to Action What do you want stakeholders to do? What do you want legislators to do?

Be prepared to say it over and over and over and over and over . . .

General Advice Talk only about what you DO, not what you

don’t do - use affirmative language Use plain language, not technical or medical

language Be prepared to say the same thing over and

over 9,000 times and stick to the script Know what your funding allows you to do

Developing a Strategy

Analyze the Opportunities New health care legislation Key committee members and committees Identify advocates for the issue, the

stakeholders, and the legislation

Analyze the Obstacles

Competing issues Advocate conflicts Public perceptions

Identifying the Market Where do you find the legislators and the

key markets? Which media channels work best for this

message? TelevisionNewspaperSocial MediaPress conferences? Professional publications, like an agency’s or

organization’s newsletter

Events Create events or opportunities for news

coverage Press releases for those events should

outline the key points

Some Legislative Realities Hundreds of pieces of legislation flying by Legislators with no staff to help them sift

through bills Emails from constituents make a difference! Lots of junk legislation

Angie Albright

www.AGrowingSeason.cowww.AngieMalloyAlbright.com

angiealbright@gmail.com