Communications & Marketing
Strategies
Communications & Marketing Strategies
• Peggy Hubble, Director
Communications & Marketing, Equal Justice Works
My background:
– Writer & Researcher - U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights
– PBS & NBC News - Director of National Media
– PR Firm Partner & Director
• Texas Council on Family Violence
• Texas Health Institute
Presenters
• John Stauffer
 Vice President and Senior Digital Strategist
Social@Ogilvy
• Camille Pannu
– 2011 Equal Justice Works Fellow
• Lan Diep
– 2010 Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellow
Purpose of Session
• To provide Fellows with information on how to
communicate information successfully about their
fellowship work, Equal Justice Works, and related
topics.
• To help Fellows become more effective advocates
for their program and Equal Justice Works.
• To educate and equip Fellows with the tools to
achieve the goals above.
Communications
• Connections
• Interactions
• Relationships
• Exchanges
• Contacts
• Network
Marketing
• Promotion
• Endorsement
• Encouragement
• Support
Public Relations
• Image management
• Self promotion
•Publicity
• Public image
Communications – Marketing – Public Relations
Raise – elevate – advance the profile
of your fellowship, your host organization,
and Equal Justice Works.
Media
• Traditional media
– Broadcast – TV and radio
– Print – newspapers, magazines, newsletters
• Social media
– Other panelists will discuss this following me.
Most of the rules still apply with regard to research,
outreach, developing relationships.
Other Audiences
• Community Leaders
• Educational Institutions
• Chambers of Commerce
• Churches – Religious Leaders
Communications & Marketing Strategies
How to communicate with your
audiences…
Develop Your Message (Elevator Speech)
Newsworthy and Noteworthy
• What is the issue?
• Why is it important?
• What are you doing about it?
• How will this help?
• Personal stories?
• Success stories?
Discuss/practice/ receive feedback from your colleagues and others
whose opinion you trust or who have knowledge of the issue.
Create Compelling Materials
• Basic fact sheet(s)
• Press Advisory or Press Release
upon a noteworthy development
Do Your Research
• On the media who cover your issue or similar issues.
• On community organizations that could endorse or
otherwise play a role in your project.
• On a specific community leader who has a connection to
your issue (e.g., who has a family member or loved one
who is facing an issue that relates to your work).
Media Opportunities - Targets
• Local newspaper, local TV newscasts, public radio
station (local and national), CNN
• Pitch story ideas for special features of specific news
programs (Out on the Porch, Consumers’ Rights, Person
of the Week)
• Letter to the Editor
• Op-Ed
• Editorial Board Meeting
Community Opportunities - Targets
Get someone popular in the community to help tell
your story:
• Popular, well-liked figure in sports, music, TV
newscaster, government
•
•
•
•
Nolan Ryan – famous baseball pitcher, Texan
Hispanic musician for Spanish language media
Mayor
Governor or Governor’s wife
Make Contact
• Media outreach – E-mail followed by call
• With other identified constituents/community leaders
• Timely communications
• Follow up
Ongoing Relationships
• Acknowledge the media person or community group that
met with you.
• Send a complimentary note or e-mail after a story runs.
• Always follow up with updated or new information.
• Send them information that you think may interest them,
even if it is not directly about your project/fellowship.
• Offer to bring coffee by their office, meet for lunch.
General Guidelines for Media Interviews
• Always tell the truth.
• Never talk off the record. If you don’t want it in the story,
don’t say it.
• Focus on the points you want to make and then make
them. You can answer an unrelated question very briefly,
but “bridge” back to your key points.
• Never lose your cool – even in the face of hostile
questions.
General Guidelines for Media Interviews
• State the most important fact(s) first. Then explain, give
context.
• When appropriate, talk in personal terms – “I” – “we.”
• If you don’t know the answer to a question, it’s ok to say
so. “I don’t have that information, but I can find out and
get back to you.” Then be sure you do.
• If you are asked about an irrelevant topic, you may say,
“I’m not prepared to discuss that, what I can talk about is
xxx.”
• Don’t repeat negative words, even to deny them.
General Guidelines for Media Interviews
• Never say “No comment.” If you can’t talk about
something, say why not, if possible.
• Never speculate. Never speak for anyone else – that
includes explaining why they said what they did.
• Make your responses relevant to the audience.
• Answer in complete sentences.
• Think in terms of 8-15 second sound bite (ink bites).
Communications & Marketing Strategies
• Make the time!
• Make a plan!
• Make a difference!
Social Media
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Blogs
• You Tube
John Stauffer
• Vice President at Social@Ogilvy based in Washington D.C.
• Previously served as the Regional Director of Strategy for Ogilvy in
Asia Pacific.
• Guest lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University
and the University of Maryland speaking about the role of social
media in marketing and communications programs.
• Contributes to the Social@Ogilvy Blog as well as the Asia Digital
Map, and serves as a regular host of a “Social Media for Executives”
training series sponsored by The Wall Street Journal Asia.
• On the editorial board of the Journal of Digital & Social Media
Marketing.
Digital Media Research
Finding and engaging with your audiences online
• Use Twitter’s search tools to spot events, trends and
influencers in your area.
• Keep a database of journalists covering public interest
law in your area.
• Join Meetup.com, build a profile, and connect with others
in the communtiy online and off.
Building a Profile
Creating awareness online
• Use professional networks like LinkedIn to showcase
your portfolio.
• Respond to journalists through social media – Twitter,
Facebook, in comments on news content.
• Join and participate in online groups devoted to your
subject matter expertise.
Building a Profile
Creating Content
Thinking Like a Journalist
• Videos and photos help to tell your story online.
• Capture content at events, during your fellowship, and
with colleagues to build a narrative to attract media and
community leaders.
• Tie your work into a broader consumer or business
trend.
Communications & Marketing Strategies
Equal Justice Works Fellow Alumni
Camille Pannu
• Law clerk, U.S. District Court in Connecticut
• 2011 Equal Justice Works Fellow
Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment and the
Sustainable Economies Law Center
• Passion – Addressing issues of poverty and social inequality
that intersect with environmental justice and community
development.
• JD, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
Camille Pannu
Objectives for this Presentation
• Messaging 101
• Establishing Authenticity & Authority
• Understanding Your Audience
(and knowing how to tweak your message)
• Developing & Managing Relationships
Messaging 101: Speak Like a “Real Person”
• The Grandma Test
• Avoid Common Lawyer Pitfalls
• Identify the Barrier You’re Going to Storm
• Focus on Outcomes and Opportunities
Messaging 101: Real Person, cont’d.
A Lawyerly Project Description:
“Strengthen grassroots efforts to establish green jobs,
foster economic empowerment, and build democracy
in rural San Joaquin Valley communities of color
through comprehensive legal services.”
Messaging 101: Real Person, cont’d.
Same Project, in Human:
“I believe that everyone deserves to live in a
community where the air they breathe and water they
drink will not kill them. [so…]
…I partner with low-income, rural residents to build
communities where everyone can thrive.”
Messaging 101: Framing the Problem
Lawyer Edition:
• “Over 200,000 Californians lack access to clean,
safe drinking water.”
• “Rural communities lack basic infrastructure, like
sewers and roads.”
Messaging 101: Framing, cont’d.
Human Edition:
Each year, hundreds of
children in the U.S. die from
blue baby syndrome, a
form of nitrate poisoning
that suffocates a child from
the inside out.
Messaging 101: Framing, cont’d.
Human Edition:
With no roads,
sidewalks, or
sewers, residents
must walk two hours
on a state highway to
reach the nearest
store that sells food.
Messaging 101: Outcomes
A lawyerly description of outcomes:
• I run three monthly clinics across the City.
• I provide direct legal representation.
• I conduct know-your-rights presentations.
• I fundraised a bunch.
• I engage in legislative advocacy.
• I write reports/policy briefs, etc.
Messaging 101: Outcomes
Outcomes, in Human:
• 300 homeless youth will have a clean, safe place to
sleep tonight.
• 400 trafficked women will be able to access lawful
[immigration] status without fear of retaliation.
• LGBT students will be able to attend school without
fearing for their lives.
• 100,000 children living in poverty will receive
essential medical care.
Know Your Audience
• Identify areas of common concern or alignment.
• Be flexible on how the issue is framed.
• Understand when and how to deploy emotion.
• Know when to speak like a lawyer.
• Know when to speak like a “real person.”
• Know when to refer out.
Build & Cultivate Relationships
• With sponsors
• With “specialty” and “ethnic” press
• With “traditional” press
• With everyone you meet
Camille, out!
Contact Information:
camille.pannu@gmail.com
Lan Diep
• Shartsis Friese LLP Public Interest Fellow at the Legal Aid
Society - Employment Law Center in San Francisco.
• 2010 Equal Justice Works Fellow.
Mississippi Center for Justice serving Vietnamese American
fishermen impacted by the BP oil spill.
• White House “Champion of Change” Award (2011) and
the Daily Point Light Award (2012)
• JD, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law,
Sacramento, CA
Lan Diep
Perspectives from a Former Fellow
Applying what’s been discussed so far
to your day-to-day reality…
48 Laws of Power—Law 6:
COURT ATTENTION AT ALL COST
Everything is judged by its appearance;
what is unseen counts for nothing.
Never let yourself get lost in the crowd then, or
buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at
all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by
appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious
than the bland and timid masses.
–Robert Greene
Means to Garner Attention
• Media
– New Media – Social Media
•
•
•
•
Facebook
Twitter
Avvo
LinkedIn
– Traditional Media
• Radio
• Newspapers
• Person-to-Person Relationships
Know Your Environment from the Inside Out –
Connection
Most people think first of what they want to express or
make, then find the audience for their idea. You must work
the opposite angle, thinking first of the public. You need to
keep your focus on their changing needs, the trends that
are washing through them. Beginning with their demand,
you create the appropriate supply. Do not be afraid of
people’s criticisms—without such feedback your work will
be too personal and delusional. You must maintain as close
a relationship to your environment as possible, getting an
inside “feel” for what is happening around you. Never lose
touch with your base.
– 50 Cent & Robert Greene, The 50th Law
The Human Element:
Creating Public Narratives
Public narrative is a leadership art composed of
three elements:
1. a story of self, (my values, my experience);
2. a story of us, (our shared values, our shared
experience); and
3. a story of now (articulating the present as a
moment of challenge, choice and hope).
- as developed by Marshall Ganz PhD
Contact Me!
Text
Shazam
to 50500 for my contact info.
Communications & Marketing Strategies
Questions?
Communications & Marketing Strategies
Communications Worksheet
Develop Your Message (Elevator Speech)
Newsworthy and Noteworthy
• What is the issue?
• Why is it important?
• What are you doing about it?
• How will this help?
• Personal stories?
• Success stories?
Discuss/practice/ receive feedback from your colleagues and others
whose opinion you trust or who have knowledge of the issue.
Communications & Marketing Strategies
Tell us your story…
Volunteers?
Communications & Marketing Strategies
Questions?
Peggy Hubble
Director, Communications & Marketing
phubble@equaljusticeworks.org
www.equaljusticeworks.org