PCC Strategic
Communications
Workshop
5 June 2013
Overview
 Workshop outcomes
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Challenge common comms misconceptions
Using comms as a strategic tool for change
Recap PCC leadership brand and impact on comms
Plot overarching comms strategy for full PCC term
Identify hot stakeholders, issues and tactics
Direct the priority comms activity for 2013-14
 Golden rules for a successful session!
 Trust the process and don’t jump to outcomes/actions
 Everyone to interact, question and share their views
 Frank and open approach, confidentiality assurance
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Strategic Communications doesn’t
‘Tell people things’
It identifies
‘What do you want people to think,
feel and do differently?’
and helps make this happen
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Myth-busting: Five common comms mistakes
 Spreading effort too thinly across multiple issues
 Better to tackle single priority issues sequentially
 Presuming message sent = message understood
 Seek feedback and monitor behavioural changes
 Hearing those who speak loudest
 Significant groups may be smaller and harder to hear
 Need means of access and encouragement to do so
 Over-emphasis on media relations and coverage
 Media reach and public trust continues to erode
 More people self-source (local TV is an exception)
 Thinking ‘no comment’ is still the cardinal sin
 Sometimes a carefully-worded ‘nothing’ is best!
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Myth-busting: Five things strategic comms can’t do!
 Achieve change or have long-term impact alone
 Needs to be supported by wider organisational actions
 Deliver ‘something for nothing’…
…although it can deliver ‘a lot for relatively little’!
 With investment of time, access and resources
 Achieve change or a lasting impact overnight
 Most effective strategic comms is planned, long-term
 Reactive responses important, but aligned to strategy
 Create entirely favourable media or public views
 Media continues to have a legitimate role to scrutinise
 Different stakeholders will view actions differently
 Defend the indefensible
 Organisations and people inevitably make mistakes
 Build public trust by putting hands up, not covering up
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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The more you want comms to achieve, the greater the difficulty…
…but significant and real change is possible with a clear
strategy, time, consistency and layering effective tactics
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Strategic Comms as a tool for change
 Tackling Domestic Abuse
under-reporting
 Changing internal attitudes,
building advocacy and
increasing victim confidence
 Now a valued tool for
major crime investigations
 Building internal trust and
access leads to innovation
and operational impact
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
7
Brand, sphere and communications impact
 Personal brand operates across three spheres
 Internal values and motivators (some private)
 Visible personal leadership brand and styles
 As the personification of the Office (and vice-versa)
 Consistency across the three spheres
 Inconsistencies can be exposed (e.g. social media)
 Reputation of the Office is greater and longer-term
than any individual, although it can evolve with them
 Points of distinction or alignment to the Force
 Both its senior individuals and its corporate brand
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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PCC leadership brand
 At the end of year one what does PCC Katy Bourne
want to be known for: making a difference – and
specifically to victims of Domestic Abuse
 For whom: Women, families, victims
 To what: Under-reporting – the process and treatment of victims
 What is Katy Bourne’s personal style:
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Upfront
In the fray – leading
Determined
Innovative
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
 Physically engaging
 Focussed, seen to be
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focussed and delivering
Committed
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PCC leadership narrative
 What is the story Katy Bourne wants to tell?
 Katy Bourne really understands what it’s like for
victims (particularly of DA & ASB)
 Focus on Victims – what’s the distinctive angle?
 The treatment of victims in the CJS
 Focus on Domestic Abuse – what’s the
distinctive angle?
 Something that happens behind closed doors
 Affects all involved: especially families and children
 Ideal to lead nationally
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Why Communications Strategy matters
Building this long-term strategy and
identifying priority tactics for the PCC
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Stakeholder identification
 Pre-populated with common stakeholder groups
and some identified PCC priorities
 Granulation is essential
 Don’t be scared to break-down wider groups
 If they have different triggers/concerns, split them
 Prioritisation and mapping
 Many models - important thing is to use one!
 Our suggested method merges two – measuring
influence/engagement and positivity
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Stakeholder prioritisation
With colour-coded labels of
likely view on the issue:
• Positive (a potential advocate)
• Neutral or unknown
• Negative (a likely opponent)
Engagement
(how engaged they
already are with you)
 Use the model to expand,
Influence
(how much they can affect or
are affected by an issue)
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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segment and prioritise the
pre-populated groups
Who are the top 3-5 over
the full PCC term of office?
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Outcome mapping
 At end of the current PCC term identify what you
want your stakeholders to:
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Think
Feel
Do
 Specify ‘Ideal’ and ‘Acceptable’ outcomes
 Work back to identify definable and achievable
milestones on a journey to these outcomes
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Strategy into tactics and predicting pitfalls
 Tactics must be aligned to deliver your strategy
and designed to reach different stakeholders
 Identify triggers, opportunities and challenges
 Need to invest more time and effort to achieve
more ambitious outcomes (Think -> Feel -> Do)
 Four to six tactics using different channels over
time is ten times more likely to have lasting
behavioural impact than repeating the same tactics
or deploying multiple tactics for a short time
 Spot the pits, so you don’t fall into them!
 Identify ‘big turn offs’ for each stakeholder to avoid
 Or tactics that could undermine your style and values
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Triggers, opportunities and challenges
 Triggers for effective tactics can be
 Time-based (e.g. existing campaigns or seasonal)
 Values-based (e.g. family or financial motivations)
 Issues-based (things that matter most to that group)
 Be clear which triggers are:
 Opportunities (either existing or generated by you)
 Challenges – but identified early and proactively dealt
with, they can turn into opportunities
 Apply this to your priority stakeholders and
outcomes to identify potential triggers and tactics
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Suggested way forwards
 Following this, the PCC Comms Team should
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‘Fill in the blanks’ for other priority stakeholders
Produce a ‘term of office’ Comms Strategy
Finalise a 2013-14 Comms Delivery Plan
Draw on CCPED to help design, deliver and review
 The Plan will set themes and phases, achieving
milestones and outcomes set by the PCC
 Continually review milestones and outcomes in-year
 Re-run this session to review long-term priorities
and set Comms Delivery Plan for 2014/15
Sussex Police | Serving Sussex
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Any questions?