Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

WELCOME

Kristi Remkus, M.P.H.Health Education & Information

AssociateHealth Assistance Partnership

Join the HAP Community - www.hapnetwork.org

Making Your Pitch: Communications Planning for Busy

Leaders

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

What We’ll Accomplish• Learn what you and your SHIP colleagues have

tried…

• What you want to say…– Branding– Messaging

• How you want to spread your message…– Creation of a Communications Plan

1. Goal2. Target Audiences3. Key Messages4. Tactics

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Getting to Know You…

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Importance of Branding

“Customers must recognize that you stand for something.”

Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Branding• What is branding?

-- Unique Look and Feel -- Associate your service as a solution to their

needs-- Consistency of materials and messages

• Why is it important? -- Product Recognition among target audience-- Builds Trust-- Creates Cohesion between local SHIP programs

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Liberty

StrengthFreedom

Immigration

The United States of America

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Breast Cancer Awareness

Name that Logo…

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

“Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.” M&Ms

Name that Tagline…

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

What Does this Say to You?

Local Help for People with Medicare

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

What Else Do You Want it To Say?

Free

Counseling

Medicare

Compassionate

In Your Community

Extra Help

Earned

Personalized

Complete

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Little Tweaks – Big Changes

Helping Medicare beneficiaries access the care they earned.

* Free * Objective * Local * Personalized * Compassionate

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Sampling of SHIP Brands

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Creating Key Messages• Decide on tone -- educate, promote, or advocate

• Collect words that resonate with your audience

• Create messages that are:– Concise: avoid jargon and acronyms – Active: make every sentence active – Positive: talk about what one can do, not what you can't – Short: memorable statement that takes 10-15 seconds– Specific: address a particular challenge and audience

Source: Dr. Judith M. Newman, Key Messages

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Key Message Framework

• Problem

• Impact

• Solution

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Practice Key Messages: Increasing Awareness of SHIP

Program• Problem

– Medicare is becoming increasingly complex.

• Impact – Beneficiaries must navigate more choices and are often

alone in weighing the potential risks and benefits of an increasing number of coverage options.

• Solution– SHIPs, a network of local programs created by Congress

to assist Medicare beneficiaries, are available to help beneficiaries weigh their Medicare coverage options.

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Key Messages: Recruiting SHIP Volunteers

• Problem– SHIP, a network of local programs created by Congress to

assist Medicare beneficiaries, rely heavily on volunteers to help beneficiaries weigh their Medicare coverage options.

• Impact – When SHIP volunteers are scarce, SHIPs are not able to

serve and reach out to as many beneficiaries as have need.

• Solution– You can serve your community as a SHIP volunteer. There

are lots of volunteer roles available, call us and we will find one that is right for you.

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Be Prepared to Be on Message

• What outcome, ideally, do you want from this communication?

• What is the audience’s Call-to-Action?

• What do you want to emphasize? – (Hint: Key Messages)

• What do you not want to say?

Planning is Key!

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Being on MessageWritten Materials

• Lead with the Hook• Write in an Inverted

Pyramid • Highlight Results• Use Design Features

to Emphasize Key Details

• Make Clear the Call-to-Action

Verbal Presentations

• Prepare an Elevator Speech

• Build on the Talking Points

• Create exercises to Engage and Inspire as you Teach

• Use Stories to Illustrate Complex Ideas

• Use Questions to Bridge

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Practice Being On Message:Good Rep., Bad Rep.

Talking Points Results Stories Examples Bridging Call-to-Action

Scenario: A local newspaper reporter calls you for background information about a story because she googled “Medicare Advantage” and your SHIP program came up.

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

How do you get them to listen?

• Hook them using this formula created by Bill Stoller:

• Situation, Surprise, Support

• Highlight the 5 Ws– Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

• Tell a Story– Emphasize your key audience your key message– Think about your story visually

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Communications Planning

“Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

Warren Buffett, American Businessman and Philanthropist

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Why Create a Communications Plan?

• To clarify your goals and objectives.

• To elevate promotional activities as a key part of your program’s strategic success.

• To enable creativity and camaraderie among your team.

• To develop a consistent message.

• To identify a variety of communications activities.

• To agree on the activities you will engage in, so you are

not continuously pulled in different directions.

Source: W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Communications Toolkit

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Components of a Communications Plan

• Create a SMART goal– Specific– Measureable– Attainable– Realistic– Time-bound

• Determine your target audiences• Draft key messages• Establish a defined scope of tactics

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Sample: Strategic Communications Plan

Communications Goal:

Target Audiences: ***

Key Messages: Problem:Impact:Solution:

Tactics:

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Practice Creating a PlanCommunications Goal: By May 2009, recruit one volunteer for each of the 4 regions who can act as the volunteer coordinator.

Target Audiences: * Human Services professionals* Retired managers (e.g. auto workers, nurses, corporate, teachers)

Key Messages: Problem: Due to limited funding, SHIPs rely heavily on

volunteers.Impact: When there aren’t enough volunteers, we are limited

in our ability to reach out and serve Medicare beneficiaries. Solution: We need you to volunteer for SHIP.

Tactics: * Ask to give a short presentation at a professional networking event* Ask your board for referrals* Place an ad on craigslist in your community

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Create a Unique Plan• What SMART goal can you achieve

through communications activities?

• What audiences might you target to reach that goal?

• What tactics could you use to reach those audiences?

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Thank You!

Please do not hesitate contact me:Kristi at shiphelp@hapnetwork.org.

Join the HAP Community - www.hapnetwork.org

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Helping SHIPs Help Medicare Beneficiaries

Sources• Bill Stoller, The Publicity Insider

http://www.publicityinsider.com/

• Business Week, Make Your Brand Pop http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_11/b3924440.htm

• Dr. Judith M. Newman, Key Messages http://www.lupinworks.com/roche/pages/keyMessages.php

• W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Communications Toolkit http://www.wkkf.org/default.aspx?tabid=75&CID=385&NID=61&LanguageID=0