A New Communications
Strategy for the Naval Service
Captain Mike Beardall Royal Navy
Navy Command Headquarters
“If the character of the last military era was defined by the West’s ability
to conduct precision strikes on enemy platforms and command nodes,
the conflicts of the future are likely to be defined more by the centrality
of influence…This battle of the narratives… will take place in a
decentralised, networked free-market of ideas, opinions and even raw
data, which will weaken the immediacy and influence of
mainstream news providers.”
DCDC ‘Future Character of Conflict’ 2010
“Overall, there is a new capacity for scrutiny and accountability way
beyond the assumed power and influence of the traditional media…
hundreds of millions of ‘information do-ers’… shed light where it is often
assumed there will be darkness.”
Nik Gowing ‘Skyful of Lies and Black Swans’, RISJ, 2009
Navy Command Headquarters
The next 30 minutes in brief…
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Legacy communications structures
Obstacles to progress
A new strategic approach
Key messages: Key publics
Measurement and evaluation
Future plans
Navy Command Headquarters
Legacy issues…
The Regional News Department
Who: ‘FOSNNI Media &
Communications
What: Responsible for regional news
activities in the UK
Where: Naval Base, Clyde
Which 2*: Flag Officer, Scotland,
Northern England and Northern
Ireland (Rear Admiral, Based in
Scotland)
The Non-News Department
Who: ‘Assistant Head, Directorate
Media & Communications, PR (Navy)’
(DMC Op Comms)
What: Responsible for Branding,
Events, Licensing, TV documentaries,
magazine spreads etc
Where: MOD Main Building, London
Which 2*: Director MOD Media &
Communication (Civil Servant based in
London)
The News Department
The Marketing Department
Who: ‘Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff
(Media)’ (NCHQ Media)
Who: ‘Captain Naval Recruiting’ (CNR)
What: Responsible for news
operations, mobile teams, internal
communications
What: Responsible for Above-the Line
recruitment marketing, TV advertising,
recruitment ads etc
Where: Command HQ, Portsmouth
Where: Naval Base, Portsmouth
Which 2*: Command Secretary (Civil
Servant based in Portsmouth)
Which 2*: Flag Officer, Scotland,
Northern England and Northern Ireland
(Rear Admiral, Based in Scotland)
Obstacles to progress
Structures
• Functional geographical and hierarchical separation
• Limited resources spread too thinly
Messaging
• Messages over complicated and inconsistently delivered
• No resonance with publics’ concerns and priorities
Understanding
• Despite consistently high favorability towards and
familiarity with the RN, it remains poorly understood.
MoE
• A capacity to measure the penetration of our messaging
and its effect on understanding is not employed
Familiarity
• Many of our own people cannot instinctively ariculare our
core messages
Navy Command Headquarters
Reform in progress…
Structures
• Moves to end functional geographical and hierarchical
separation, and to co-locate resources and personnel
Messaging
• Development, approval and sole-use of the Navy Strategic
Message House, Advocate Ambassadors and
Spokespeople
Understanding
• All ‘Levers of Influence’ to use the SMH as a baseline
• Requirement for training organisations to use SMH product
MoE
• The development of an integrated output-outtake-outcome
monitoring and analysis unit to drive future strategy
Navy Command Headquarters
Getting ahead of the curve
Communications
Strategy
•Based on Scenario
Planning
News Operations
Monitoring
•Event horizon 0-1
month
•Media Mapping
•Media Analysis
•Quotes of Note
Planning
•Event horizon 1-12
months
7
Navy Command Headquarters
A new strategic approach
Identify key
audiences
Establish core
messages
Gauge publics’
understanding
• Those with the
greatest potential to
affect future
strategic success
• The ‘big six’ that
define the raison
d’etre of the service
• Gain an empirical
uptake ‘fix’
Navy Command Headquarters
Apply
communications
‘in grid’
• Message house
messages become
the basis for all
comms
Re-measure and
re-evaluate
• Monitor, analyse an
evaluate to
determine future
policy
Key messages: Key publics
1. Decision Makers
1. Preventing Conflict
2. Opinion Leaders
2. Providing Security at Sea
3. Service Personnel
3. Promoting Partnerships
4. Service Diaspora
4. Providing Humanitarian Asst.
5. Media Advocates
5. Protecting our Economy
6. Youth
6. Ready to fight
Those groups that have the
greatest potential to influence
our future strategic success
The six key messages that we want our
publics to remember when they think
‘Why Navy?’
Navy Command Headquarters
Operating ‘In Grid’
Whenever conducting influence activity, instructing outstations to focus effort on
delivering key all messages to all key publics, in priority order.
!
Publics
Messages
Decision
Makers
Opinion
Leaders
Service
Personnel
Service
Diaspora
Media
Advocates
Youth
Preventing
Conflict
Global deployment,
Endurance,
Provision of political
choice
Essential
background to free
trade & prosperity
Global deployment,
Endurance,
Flexibility, Secure
future
Global deployment
is not all about
numbers, Capable
new eqpt
A flexible and
deployable force in
a globalised world
Jobs, skills, training,
fortitude, future
prosperity
Providing
Security at Sea
RFTG ‘readiness’
brand
Maintenance of
stability, furtherance
of trade opportunity
‘Britain’s uniformed
diplomats’
‘Britain’s uniformed
diplomats,
‘Britain’s uniformed
diplomats,
Being part of the
global village
Promoting
Partnerships
Promotion and
protection of import
& export
Energy security,
promotion &
protection of trade,
Defence diplomacy
Their key role in the
growth of the UK
The breadth of roles
the RN continues to
occupy in society
Flying the flag - The
direct link between
maritime activity and
national success
The UK’s reliance
on the sea &
opportunities
available to play a
role.
Providing
humanitarian
assistance
The cost-effective
capacity to fulfil
national obligations
The most flexible
way to deliver
humanitarian aid
The most flexible
way to deliver
humanitarian aid
The most flexible
way to deliver
humanitarian aid
The cost-effective
capacity to fulfil
national obligations
Charitable work on
a global scale
Protecting our
economy
Massive economic
contributor, regular
& reserve skills in
society
More than just an
insurance policy - a
net contributor of
capability to society
A part of the ‘Big
Society’ in every
sense
Always have been
part of the ‘Big
Society’
Always have been
part of the ‘Big
Society’
Want respect? Give
something back.
Ready to fight
The contingent
capability at the
heart of the UK’s
contingent capability
Cost-effective
intervention without
entanglement
The unique nature
of their role
Still capable
Always ready
If needed
Likely communications channels
Mechanisms
through which
messages could
be transmitted
· Key leader
engagement
· Lobbying
· Targeted briefings
via specific media
Invitations to
accompany senior
personnel
· Integrated influence
campaign
· Clear ‘6 point’
messaging
· Visits to units
· Via specific media
· Co-ordinated use of
Social Media
· Integrated internal and external
communication
· Training to use key messages
· Integrated website/freesheet/’navy news’
content
· Via social media platforms
· Targeted media
operations
· Targeted influence
programme
· Personal education
of nodal
personalities
· Above-the-line
recruitment
marketing coupled
to and integrated
with Below-the-line
activities
· Conversational,
centralised use of
social media
platforms
What do we want?
When our communications output reaches our target publics, what
outcome do we want it to have?
Differentiate
Reinforce
Inform
Persuade
We want our messages to be recognisably different
Our messages can reinforce existing beliefs
Where no previous knowledge exists, we can help
Our messages are a call to action!
Fill (2002, 2011) Essentials of Marketing Communications
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Navy Command Headquarters
What do we want?
We want our publics to move through a journey from
awareness to action…
Awareness
Comprehension
Conviction
Action
What do we expect of
publics at this stage?
Audience are aware of
the brand and some
‘boilerplate details’
Audience develop
greater understanding
of the ‘big six’
messages
Audience begin to
advocate Naval
messaging – naval
messages
incorporated into own
Audience take positive
personal steps to
further Naval aims
How might we
measure this?
Would need to recall
(prompted or
unprompted) basic
details
Unprompted recall of
central tenets of the
six messages
Evidence of personal
adherence to Naval
aims (membership,
votes, lobbying as
appropriate)
Post-conviction
behaviour. Regular rebroadcast of Naval
messages. Advocacy.
Adapted from: The ‘Hierarchy of Communications’, after Colley (1961)
Navy Command Headquarters
Why? - A quicker route to market…
Uploaded to
Personal Social
Networks
Communication
Elements
Spread
organically and
via OLs
Centralised
Information
Controller
Released to the
Media (output)
Published by
the Media
(outtake)
Consumed by
publics
Acted upon/
opinion change
(outcome)
Return path for forum
commentary, outtake
and outcome analysis.
Return path drives
future communication
Uploaded to
Corporate Social
Networks/Sites
Navy Command Headquarters
Spread
organically and
via OLs
Based on Schramm (1955), Hall (1974) and Jenkins (2007)
Why? - The Zone of Effective
Communication
Decreasing Comms Complexit y
Increasing Situational Complexity
Traditionally Channelled
News (TV, Online et al)
Over-use of these channels
could confuse/alienate
Richer two-way communication
when situations are fast-moving
or complex
NME Channelled News (SelfPublishing, alumni IM)
Specific User Discourse
(Twitter, IM, Facebook)
General User Discourse
(Blogs et al)
Non-News (Documentaries,
books, magazine articles)
Branding & Merchandising
Two-way
comms build
trust
Zone of Effective Communication
Routine ‘brand awareness’
builds advocacy in the long
term
Two-way
comms build
trust
Too little information and/or
sensitivity causes distrust
and commitment loss
Adapted from Lengel and Daft (1988, 227) and Balogun and Hope-Hailey (2008,195)
Navy Command Headquarters
Organic Monitoring
• MINI is a Royal Navy initiative to keep
Ships and Units better informed of RN
coverage in the worldwide media
• Distributed daily and compiled from
several open-source outlets
• It also forms the Press Office’s historical
archive and weekly briefs
• Statistical analysis allows‘at a glance’
evaluation of news stories
Organic Monitoring
Consistent outtake monitoring and analysis
requires a baseline…
0
Outlets range in significance
100
-2
Articles range in tone
+2
Groups of
articles on the
same subject
make a story
16
Tone x Significance
= Impact
60 month total of toned articles
Long-term
trends
tell their own story
Making the transit
from data
to knowledge – just some
of the information we can
deduce…
Percentage of toned articles with a positive tone
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Navy Command Headquarters
What do we want to achieve?
• A system in which limited resources are used to maximum
capacity
• A system in which all the ‘levers of influence’ are centrally guided
and where the most effective is used when required
• A system in which departmental output is linked to audience
outcome through evidence-based monitoring and analysis
By understanding where deficiencies of knowledge exist
amongst our key publics, the strategic application of
communications will allow us to improve understanding of our
key messages amongst those that have the greatest potential
to influence the future strategic success of the Naval Service.
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Navy Command Headquarters