+ Unconventional Ways of Communicating Science with the Public — outreach or outrageous? Oana Sandu Lars Lindberg Christensen 13 October 2011, Beijing, China

+

We communicate astronomy!

Panoramic view of the WR 22 and Eta Carinae regions of the Carina Nebula. Credit: ESO

+How well do we know our audience?

Image source: www.arthursclipart.org

Screenshot from the video “We are the future” from the advertising agency PHD, USA, February 2011. Credit: PHD, USA Source: scaryideas.com.

Watch video at: http://scaryideas.com/content/21996/

+Traditional ways of communicating astronomy

PIOs writing press releases

Journalists selecting stories for news

People reading or ignoring the news

Image sources: www.techfilipino.com, www.sciencesurvivalblog.com, www.thelondonrulebok.co.uk

+Today’s communication landscape

Credit: Jess3

+ “China has the most complex, fragmented and developed social media landscape in the world with a unique online culture that requires its own specialised understanding” Sam Flemming*, CIC Chairman and Founder

*The first and foremost provider of social business intelligence in China

+The “public” becomes individuals

  with personal opinions, ideas and preferences

  connected

  opinion leader

  gatekeeper

Image source: www.cutcaster.com

+We have to communicate science

No young people

interested in

astronomy

No adults working in astronomy

No research

No astronomy

results

No funding

+We need a solution!

+Outrageous Outreach.

+What is outrageous outreach?

  the process of communicating science in an environment where individuals are most open to receive information because this medium is frequented by the targeted group by choice and out of pleasure, and not as a result of a call for action from the science communicator.

  information takes familiar forms

  the message is integrated naturally and placed in a context

  communication is done in a language that the target understands.

+ It proactively goes after the target

Image source: www.supercuter.com

+ It is niche-targeted

Image source: www.transnet.co.mgr

+ It is personalised and has a human touch

Robert’s Mug

Image source: www.wikia.com

+ It tells a story and creates a bond

Image source: www.thumnpeople.org

+ It is interactive and engaging

Image source: www.techwarelabs.com

+ It is unexpected and original

Image source: www.bloc.ning.com

+ It adheres to the individuals’ beliefs "

Image source: www.winjitsu.com

+ It generates word of mouth

Image source: www.lsgeekster_blogspot.com

+ It is often controversial

Image source: www.lovetoknow.com

+

Screenshot from the James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, showing ESO’s Residencia in Paranal blown away. Credit: QUANTUM OF SOLACE/© 2008 Danjaq, United Artists, CPII., 007 TM and related James Bond Trademarks, TM Danjaq.

Milky J poses in his homemade spacesuit. Credit: Maggie Masetti. The Racing Green Endurance electric car speeding away after visiting ESO’s Paranal Observatory. Credit: RGE/ESO.

Screenshot from the Angels & Demons website opened by CERN

Article about ESO on the International Watch Company (IWC) website. Credit: ESO/IWC

+How to reach the hard-to-reach?

+Step 1. Know your target group

+Information sources…

  Research studies

  Focus groups

  Public studies from NGO’s, governments, mass media

  Social media

  Profiles of magazines readers

  Latest trends, gadgets, aps etc.

…give you insights!

+Insights…

  Where does your audience spend their free time?

  What are their concerns?

  What makes them laugh?

  Where do they meet their friends?

  What gadgets do they use?

  How often do they travel?

…give you the ideas!

+Step 2. Find the right channel

+ The right channel is the one used by your target group and not the one you use or the one you think they should use.

Your target group

You

+Bigger is not better.

  The Daily Telegraph is Britain's biggest-selling quality daily newspaper, but readers between 15 and 24 are only 5% of total readership*, while most readers are 45+ which makes it an inefficient channel if you target adolescents.

  Top 10 magazines for teenagers include: Cheerleader, Girls’ Life Magazine, Seventeen, TeenVogue etc. (allyoucanread.com)

* www.nmauk.co.uk

How many of your outreach products addressed to young people were featured in these magazines?

+Step 3. Choose the best approach

+Learn a new “language” every time you start an outreach initiative

  Tone: cheeky, bold, ironic, parental, polite, informal, friendly

  Vocabulary: jargon, colloquialism

  Style: neutral, story plot

  Length: tweet, slogan, blog post, script

  Symbols, images and characters: # D @ RT 4u

+Write AIDA messages

 Attention — choose the right language to be understood

 Interest — focus on your audience’s areas of interest

 Desire — offer desirable benefits

 Action — make it easy for your audience to act

+Astronomy news for children

Image source: www.unawe.org

+She’s an Astronomer visuals

Credit: Alex Conu for Baneasa Shopping City

+She’s an Astronomer visuals

  Role mothers for daughters, as chosen by mothers:   Life-saving doctor – 47%   Nobel prize-winning scientist - 20%   Olympic gold medalist – 14%   Best-selling novelist – 9%   5% of respondents chose a celebrity or pop

star as suitable role models for young girls*

  More than half of teenagers do not want a career - they just want to be famous. When asked "What would you like to do for your career?”, 54% answered "Become a celebrity”**

*Study by ICM for the Royal Society

**A survey on 1032 16-years-old done in 2010 in UK

+How to manage outrageous outreach? No bumps, no bruises.

+The public duty to communicate science

+Planning outrageous outreach

  Have SMART objectives   Specific   Measurable   Achievable   Realistic   Time- constrained.

  Design a tool to assess the pros and cons on a case-by-case basis;

  Set up a decision tree;

  Sign an agreement if you are entering a partnership;

  Implement, evaluate and record;

  Don’t forget about traditional methods/channels.

+Assessing outrageous outreach.

  Basic facts: • What? • Why? • When? • How? • Where? • Who?

  The logistics involved;

  The number of people involved from the outside and inside;

  The costs for the organisation;

  A possible programme for the event;

  The timeframe.

+Assessing outrageous outreach

An example workflow for assessing a non-traditional initiative.

+Evaluating outrageous outreach

  website traffic

  social media activity (going viral)

  exposure to new audiences

  trackbacks

  number of downloads in iTunes

  views of videos posted online

  search results in Google and Google News

  number of movie or concert tickets sold/ number of movie DVDs sold etc.

+Let’s recap

+

  We have a communication environment that has placed the individual at its centre, changing our flows of information.

  We have highly demanding and hard to impress audiences.

  We have serious competition from other areas like entertainment

  Yet, we cannot afford to let people lose their fascination for the Universe"

  Know our target group

  Find the right channel

  Choose the best approach

+Go out there

  Gather data and research on your audience

  Present your management and your peers why you need to be unconventional

  Support untraditional initiatives with funding and resources

  Challenge traditional-only approaches

  Encourage your colleagues in the field to up the game

  Create your own innovative outrageous outreach

+

Communicate astronomy outrageously! "

Panoramic view of the WR 22 and Eta Carinae regions of the Carina Nebula. Credit: ESO