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Connecting with your Community and

Target AudiencesCenovus Energy Environmental Leadership Clinic

November 17, 2015

Kim Rowe and Jennifer Stark

Community Development Unit

AB Culture & Tourism

•Community

•Levels of Engagement

•Branding

•Communication

•Social Marketing

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Community

Common and Unity

Common = Belonging to or shared

Unity = something whole, combining into one

Common oneness with other people

Examples of Community

1. Community of Zuni Pueblo (New Mexico)

2. Black community

3. Jewish community

4. Gay community

5. Inner city community

6. Scientific community

7. Community of Cochrane, AB

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Connecting with Your Community and Target Audiences

Levels of Engagement

Empower

Collaborate

Involve

Consult

Inform

Increasing…

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LEVELS OF WORKING TOGETHER

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Engaging Individual CitizensLevels of engagement (IAP2)

Inform Consult Involve Collaborate Empower

Provide information to assist in understanding

Obtain feedback on analysis /alternatives

Work with them so they understand

Work with others that have common goals

Place final decision- making in their hands

• Web sites • Information

workshops • Brochures or

direct mail • Using the

media • Advertising • Briefings

• Telephone & personal interviews

• Surveying • Focus groups • Brochures or

direct mail • Interactive

web sites

• Volunteering as expert advisor

• Voluntary feedback

• Hands on work on a project

• Providing resources

• Donating

• Co-facilitatingor co-teaching

• Partnerships• Shared

planning and risk

• Directed funding or resources

• Have them implement orlead theproject

Engaging Groups / Communities

Inform Consult Involve Collaborate Empower

• Web sites • Information

workshops • Brochures /

mail • Using the

media • Advertising • Group

presentations• Community

fair • Information

workshops

• Polling • Surveys • Focus groups • Brochures or

mail • Citizen panels • Interactive

web sites • Community

meetings • Written

submissions

• Voting systems

• Steering or advisory committee

• Community exhibitions or use of arts and theatre

• Collaborative projects with other groups that have common goals

• Pooled resources including $ and accountability

• Shareddecision making with a group

• Collective actions & projects to solve common problems

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Connecting with Your Community and Target Audiences

Branding

Brand is the proprietary visual, emotional, rational, and cultural image that is associated with an organization, product, service or program, setting them apart from

the competition.

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What do you stand for that people care about, recognize and believe in?

How are you meaningful and relevant?

What differentiates you and makes you unique?

Do you clearly communicate who you are, what you do, and why you do it?

How do you stand out?

Do you inspire a growing body of supporters?

Branding is not just communication and

marketing, but also action and interaction.

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A brand is what people say, think, and feel about you.

• What groups do you connect with?

– What do you think they say, think and feel about you?

– What would you like them to say, think and feel about you?

• What other groups should you connect with?

– What do you think they say, think and feel about you?

– What would you like them to say, think and feel about you?

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•Identity

•Reputation

•Goodwill

Meet people ‘where they are’ with respect and without

judgment or expectations that they should be in the same

place as you.

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Connecting with Your Community and Target Audiences

Communication

COMMUNICATION PLANNING- STEPS -

1. Purpose

2. Situation Analysis

3. Communication Problem or Need

4. Communication Goal

5. Challenges and Opportunities

6. Communication Objectives

7. Target Audiences

8. Key Messages

9. Information / Content needed

10.Strategies

11.Evaluation

12.Action Plan / Work Plan

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PURPOSE

What is necessary

in terms of communication

to assist you

in achieving your goals?

SITUATION ANALYSIS

1. How do you currently communicate with internal audiences?

2. How do you currently communicate with external audiences?

3. What do you know about the effectiveness of your current communication efforts?

4. What communication strengths, resources and capacities do you have?

5. What are your major communication barriers, weaknesses or limitations?

6. What current or emerging communication trends should you pay attention to in your communication planning?

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COMMUNICATION PROBLEM OR NEED

What is the current communication need or problem

that you want to address?

COMMUNICATION GOAL

1. What impact do you wish to make through your communication goal?

2. What is the desired result or outcome you want to achieve through communication?

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CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

1. What obstacles or barriers do you need to address in order to reach your communication goal?

2. What opportunities are currently available that could help you reach your communication goal?

S.M.A.R.T. COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES

• What specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-limited things do you need to accomplish in order to overcome your challenges and measure progress toward reaching your goal?

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TARGET AUDIENCES

• Who do you need to influence? Who are the individuals or groups, both inside and outside your organization, who can either help or hinder you in achieving your goals?

• Which target audiences are the highest priority? (Consider potential to either help or hinder you;

vulnerability to your influence; ease in accessing

them; and resources needed)

• How many and which of the potential audiences will you target in this plan?

INTERNAL TARGET AUDIENCES (examples)members, board members, management, staff, funders

EXTERNAL TARGET AUDIENCES (examples)Sports organizationsCivic / community leadersParentsGovernment officials and elected representativesBusiness and industryPublic sector agencies and organizationsNon-profit voluntary sector organizationsProfessionalsMedia

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KEY MESSAGES

• What message(s) do you want each target audience to receive and understand?

• Now I know….

INFORMATION / CONTENT NEEDED

1. What information do you need to give each audience in order for them to receive the key messages?

2. What information do you need to gather or prepare in order to convey the key messages?

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STRATEGIES

• What types of strategies will you use to get your messages across, keeping in mind your strengths and limitations identified earlier?

What formats and distribution channels will you use?

1. What is available to you?

2. What is most effective and efficient? Consider the type of information, audience, cost,

reach, time requirements, resources, and

potential for overuse.

3. What are the preferred methods for each audience?

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postersadvertisementsnews releasespresentationsnewsletterspromotional itemsreportsbrochurescoursesone on one contactinterviewkits or packageslettersworkshopsvideospamphlets

conversationsdiscussionsdisplaysmemosminutespublic service announcementsarticlesstoriescolumnsphotographsflyersinsertsblogselectronic messaging

FORMAT or MEDIUM (what)

WebsitesEmailTwitterText messagingYou TubeFace BookKijijiDVDsNewspapersConferencesMeetingsCommunity eventsDirect MailTelephoneFocus groupsWebinars

Word of mouthFaxBulletin boardsBillboardsWorkplacesBusinessesParadesPaycheque envelopesNews conferencesRadioTelevisionRetreatsRoadwaysHomesSchoolsMeetings

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS (how/where)

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Formats and distribution channels cont’d

1. How and where will you provide the information?

2. When will you implement each strategy?

3. What materials need to be developed or prepared?

4. What resources are required to implement each strategy?

5. What resources do you already have?

6. What additional resources do you need?

EVALUATION

1. How will you measure your progress to see if you have achieved your goal?

2. How will you carry out the evaluation process to determine if your communication plan was effective and how it will be sustained if necessary?

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ACTION PLAN / WORK PLAN

• What tasks or activities must be completed in order to carry out and evaluate the plan?

• In what order do these tasks need to be completed?

• Who will have primary responsibility for making sure each task is completed?

• What is the target date for completing each task?

Cochrane High School Case Study

• In June 2000, two Cochrane High School science teachers decided to create a real-life example of sustainable development as a learning tool for their students.

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Phase VII – Recycling, Outreach Program & Wind Turbine

• Phase VII involved researching and pursuing the installation of one 5 kW Evance R9000 turbine on a 60’ (18 m) monopole at the north end of the football field.

• Started in 2011

• Community Presentation #1 April 24, 2012 – met with disapproval by 3 out of 8 neighbours that attended

• ‘No Turbine In Town’ group

• March 2015: Town says ‘no’ to 20-metre wind turbine at Cochrane High

• School would be able to erect 12-metre turbine if guidelines were met

Power struggle in Cochrane

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TARGET AUDIENCES

• Who do you need to influence? Who are the individuals or groups, both inside and outside your organization, who can either help or hinder you in achieving your goals?

• Which target audiences are the highest priority? (Consider potential to either help or hinder you;

vulnerability to your influence; ease in accessing

them; and resources needed)

• How many and which of the potential audiences will you target in this plan?

KEY MESSAGES

• What message(s) do you want each target audience to receive and understand?

• Now I know….

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Get a mammogram. Reduce waste.

Floss your teeth. Eat more fruit. Recycle.Play. Don’t smoke. Wear a helmet to ski.

Buy local. Neuter your pet. Volunteer.Get a flu shot. Breast feed your baby. Get active.

Carpool to work. Don’t drink and drive.

Wear your seatbelt. Read to your preschooler.

Never text and drive. Stop bullying. Join our effort. Support our cause.

Continuum of Interventions

Unaware and not changing behaviour

Unaware or aware but

notchanging

Aware but entrenched with no desire or intention

to change

Education / Information Social Marketing Law

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Connecting with Your Community and Target Audiences

SocialMarketing

Don’t confuse

‘social marketing’ with

‘social networking’.

‘social media’, or

‘social media marketing’.

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Social marketing is

not just about getting

information and messages

out…

…it’s not just about educating people…

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…it’s definitely not

about coercing

behaviours through

punishment...

…and it’s much more than just public education, communication, or mass media advertising campaigns….

•

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• ‘Social marketing’ is the use of marketing principles and techniques to influence a target audience to voluntarily accept, reject, modify, or abandon a behaviour for the benefit of individuals, groups, or society as a whole (Kotler,

Roberto, and Lee).

It is based on :

- offering benefits people want

- reducing barriers people face

- using persuasion, not just information

- carefully targeting your effort

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LANDMARK CASE STUDY: A SOCIAL MARKETING SUCCESS STORY

U-PASS - The University of Washington’s Transportation Management Program

BACKGROUND

• 1983 – 7800 trips to campus in a.m. peak hours and 9400 trips from campus in p.m. peak hours.

• 1989 – new U of W development plan would increase students, staff and faculty but reduce parking spaces; campus hospital projected increase of patient vehicles.

• 33,000 students, 17,000 faculty and staff

• Task Force of students, faculty and staff developed a new Transportation Management Program to cap traffic at 1983 levels.

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THE SOCIAL MARKETING STRATEGY

• Goal – to reduce single occupancy trips signfiicantly in all three campus groups and to have a measurable reduction in neighbourhood traffic.

• Checked out what other universities had done.

• Commuter research – commuter phone survey, student survey.

• September 1991 – launched optional U-PASS program.

U-PASS PROGRAM

• Metro and Community Transit

• Express Bus and Commuter Train Services

• Carpooling

• Vanpooling

• Ridematch Database

• Night ride shuttle

• Reimbursed Ride Home

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PROMOTION

• Nine Commuter Information Centres

• Promotional Packages

• Transportation Fair

• University Publications

• U-Pass User Guide and Sticker Mailout

…and more

• Bicycles

• Merchant Discounts

• Daily Flex Permits

• Parking rates

• Affordable U-PASS

• Complimentary U-PASS

• Parking Space Hold

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If your work involves convincing people to adopt or change

personal behaviours…then you should learn the principles of

social marketing!

A CUSTOMER FOCUSED MODEL

Social marketing starts and ends with your target audience.

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What behaviours are you trying to get people to

adopt or change?

Who is the target audience for each of the

behaviours you have identified?

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Can you segment your target audiences further?

TARGET AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION

On what basis are you going to select specific groups on which you will concentrate your efforts?

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SEGMENTATION VARIABLES

• Demographic

• Geographic

• Psychographic

• Buyer behaviour

We need to really understand the target audience and their reasons in order to help them make better choices.

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MARKET RESEARCH

• What are current audience behaviours?

• What are the perceived and real barriers to the adoption of your behaviour? What makes it difficult to adopt your behaviour or give up another?

• What are potential benefits of adopting your behaviour?

• Is your audience aware of those benefits?

• What benefits would they be giving up?

• Is your message competing with other ideas/products/messages?

• Are they aware of who you are? How much do they care about your opinion? Are you perceived as credible?

• Who else’s opinions do they listen to and care about? Who are their formal and informal influencers?

• What are their media preferences?

• Where and how can the audience best be reached?

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BARRIERS

Often discussed in the context of price, barriers are hindrances to the desired behaviour change as perceived by the audience.

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BENEFITS

Benefits are advantages that

may not be directly associated with a behaviour, and can be framed as the positive results that the audience will gain by adopting the new behaviour.

EXCHANGE

The problem is not what to ‘tell’ people, but what to offer them in order for them to want to change.

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INCENTIVES AND DISINCENTIVES

A distinguishing feature of the social marketing approach is its use of incentives and disincentives to encourage the exchange.

COMPETITION

Target audience can go somewhere else to do something else, or maintain current behaviour.

Modify program, delivery, service provider, or product to make the competing behaviour less attractive, less available, or more costly.

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PERSUASION

Persuasion ties into the heart as well as the head. It amuses and entertains as well as educates and informs. It is memorable.

FUN!

EASY!

POPULAR!

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STEPS TO DEVELOPING A SOCIAL MARKETING STRATEGY

• Identify the social problem, issue or concern.

• Consider and explore potential partners and establish partnerships as appropriate.

• Analyze the situation (SWOT, environmental scan, data, best or promising practices)

• Segment , research, analyze and target your audience.

• Identify the desired behaviour change(s).

• Set goals and objectives.

• Identify and analyze the ‘competition’.

• Identify and offer desirable benefits and motivating incentives and disincentives.

• Identify and reduce barriers.

• Develop effective product, price, place, promotion, and policy strategies.

• Design and test to identify effective messages and materials.

• Have a clear call to action – what do you want the target audience to do?

• Lay out the social marketing strategy or program plan.

• Test the strategy / program.

• Implement, monitor, adjust, and evaluate the strategy / program.

A FEW KEY RESOURCES: ONLINE

• Social Marketing Quarterly: www.socialmarketingquarterly.com

• Turning Point Social Marketing National Excellence Collaborative: www.turningpointprogram.org

• Tools of Change: www.toolsofchange.com

• Health Canada’s Social Marketing E-LearningTutorial: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/activit/marketsoc/tools-outils/index-eng.php

• Georgetown Social Marketing Institute Listserv: listproc@listproc.georgetown.edu

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Who are the target audiences for your

project?

What could you do to find out more about them?

What could you do to connect with them in a positive way?

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For more information:

Kim.Rowe@gov.ab.ca

Jennifer.Stark@gov.ab.ca

Alberta Culture & Tourism