RESOURCES – BLLUP MESSAGING
Ragan, L. (2006) How to reach for the perfect speech. Speechwriter’s
Newsletter, Lawrence Ragan Communications, Inc. Grapevine: February 2006.
Carole Weinberg, executive speechwriter, Girl Scouts of the USA. “Speeches are a lot
like story telling for me”…”You’ve got to do the research and figure out the message,
then it’s up to you to figure out how to get the audience to hear this message. You’ve
got to shape the message and the story to the audience.” (quoted in Ragan, 2006.)
“You may be telling the same story over and over again, but you can look at that
story from many different perspectives, such as the personal side when speaking to
councils or the business side when talking with sponsors.”
Doyle, J. 2005. PR News 4.13.05 Tip Sheet, CommCore Consulting Group.
What is the audience’s WHAM? (What Here Applies to Me?) Coaching a CEO or VIP
before a media interview. “As communications specialists, we must always make
the connection between the [speaker’s] talking points and the audiences with whom
he is speaking. Often, what the [speaker] finds most compelling does not answer the
audience’s “WHAM”, or What Here Applies to Me?”
Sightline Institute (2011). How To Talk About Polluted Stormwater, Sightline
Messaging Memorandum, March 2011. www.sightline.org.
“Research shows that some words and messages are more effective than others
when it comes to defining the problem of polluted storm water runoff and building
support for policy solutions.”
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Tackle diverse community priorities all at once. Local jurisdictions juggle
lots of competing priorities and are faced with increasingly tight budgets.
Effective messages point to ways that cleaning up polluted runoff allow
communities to address multiple pressing priorities at once, such as flood
control – which impacts public safety, property damage and fish stocks;
sewage containment; and permit compliance.
Local success stories should be central to our toxic runoff messages….
Descriptions and photos of successful implementation in another community
make policy proposals come alive.
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Name names – keep it local and concrete
Talk win-win solutions. Share the good news about solutions, rather than
debating the problem. There are plenty of inexpensive ways for communities
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to stem polluted runoff – fixes that also address other community priorities
at the same time, like reducing flooding, making neighborhoods more
attractive, and creating local jobs.
Make the human connection. It’s not just about fish and ecosystems!
Polluted runoff contaminates the water our families use and the food we eat.
Clean water is matter of health, safety, and economic vitality for our
communities.
Avoid insider jargon and acronyms. LID – and even “low impact
development” – means little to the non-expert. Try saying: “development
done right” – most people understand the idea of building it right the first
time so we don’t have the expensive problem of redoing it later.
Schwartz, N.E. (2011.) Guide to Nonprofit Marketing Wisdom: 127 Nonprofit
Marketers Share Lessons Learned. www.GettingAttention.org.
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Know Your Audience.
Meet Your Audiences where they already are
It’s never about you
It’s all about relationships
Know Your Audiences’ Wants and Habits
Ask the right questions, and keep asking
Everyone is a market researcher
Kick-Start a Feedback stream
Message Development
It’s still not about you
Think conversation, not megaphone
More stories, fewer stats
Repetition, repetition, repetition
Consistency connects
Personality Is powerful
The power of Thank You
Ensure your message platform is ready and waiting
Develop a tagline that engages while conveying your organization’s focus and
impact.
Watch out for empty acronyms
Strategy
Relationships are the heart of good marketing: knock on doors and pick up
the phone
Back to basics wins big: phone, snail mail, networking
Holistic marketing: farm more than the sum of its parts
Diversity
Focus your advertising dollars, then diversify for impact
A rifle is better than a shotgun
Emails:
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Spend time getting the subject line and the first line of the e-mail exactly
right, and test them.
Know what’s important to recipients and clearly connect your call to action
to those priorities.
Use a reliable e-mail service provider to reach out to your database, but
support the mass outreach with a personal e-mail to selected key contacts.
Learn where else your target audiences are online and try to get your
message shared out there as well.
Tailor your e-mails to each segment
Subject lines and testing are equally important
Stay succinct and relevant
Social Media
In-depth content drives engagement
More than just chatter –you can tweet about things that matter
Timeliness is everything
Move traffic to your home base – your web site
Web sites
Keep it simple
Realism rules: design web site to fit your capacity
Eckl, E. (2010) Environment vs. Economy: What does the public really
believe? Water Words That Work, 04/05/2010.
CNN/Opinion Research: environmental issue survey: “a majority of Americans
believe that the economy should take precedence over the environment.” 51%
“economy”; 45% “environment”. Margin of error 3%. Question: With which one of
these statements about the environment do you most agree… protection of the
environment should be given priority, even at the risk of curbing economic growth,
or economic growth should be given priority, even if the environment suffers to
some extent?
2005 study, Yale University, more than ¾ of those who responded agreed with this
statement: “you don’t have to sacrifice environmental protection to get economic
growth. The choice between jobs and environment is a false one: we can have both.”
Eckl, E. (2013) Water words that work: The method.
http://waterwordsthatwork.com/ Retrieved
The method:
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Step one: Begin with behavior. What action do you want your audience to
take? Envision what they will do the day after they hear your message.
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Step Two: Find Foolproof Photos.
 Faces. Show people like your audience. “Humans automatically behave in
more socially conscious ways when they detect a visual pattern resembling a
gaze.” (Washington Post, Journal of Human Nature, article, effective
advertising and communication.)
 Fixes. “Show people solving the problem, not causing it.”
 Families: “Pictures of families relaxing and having a good time together
outside appeal to Americans from all walks of life – they can see themselves
in the picture.”
 Foes. “The work of the conservation community arouses suspiciaion from
some qurters, particularly people involved in certain industries or
recreational pursuits. You can help those people feel welcome and included
in your effort by showing pictures of them – acting responsibly – in your
materials.”
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Step Three: Swap Shoptalk. “Trying to use environmental advertisements
and outreach materials to teach new vocabulary is generally a bad idea….many will
perceive that as a situaiont that makes them feel stupid and that they want to
avoid….swap out your shop talk and replace it with plain English.”
Words with documented shortcomings, and their replacements:
 Biodiversity – extinction, wildlife
 Climate change – global warming
 Conservation easement – voluntary land preservation agreement
 Infrastructure – clean water investments
 Landscape – natural areas
 Land Use Planning – planning ahead, balancing development and
conservation
 Nonpoint source pollution – polluted runoff
 Open space – natural area
 Recreation – family activities
 Run out of water – chronic shortage
 Sprawl – overdevelopment, runaway development
 Stormwater – polluted runoff
 Sustainable – responsible, planning ahead, environmentally friendly
 Tourism – family vacations
 Undeveloped land – natural areas
 Water conservation – waste prevention, efficiency measures
 Watershed – land and water conservation, upstream, downstream
 Flow, instream flow – water level, volume of water, amount of water
 Nutrients – polluted runoff
 Parks – natural area
 Riparian – along the river, on the shore, the riverbank, stream
 Water quality – clean water, polluted water
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Step Four: Words that Work. Here is a list of two dozen “words that work”.
…Everyday Americans understand these terms, respond well to them…and feel
comfortable using the among their friends and family.
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Nature protection
Pollution control
Enough clean water
Wildlife conservation
Future generations
Healthy
Family and children
Safe
Trends
Make a difference
Doing My/Your/Their Part
It affects you
What you can do
Working together
Save Money
Accountability
Corporations
Choice
Fair
Balance
Planning Ahead
Responsible
Freedom
Investment
Law
Eckl, E. Five Environmental Message Mistakes – and How to Avoid them.
Water Words that Work, 2013.
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“If only they knew”. [Environmental organizations] produce materials that
are long on science education and sort on action messages….these materials
produce little action.
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Weak photography. Environmental photography often has pretty pictures or
nature, or pipes and oil slicks. “Test subjects often ask for photographs that
demonstrate what action they can take.”
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Professional jargon. “Scientists, engineers, and lawyers tend to use
professional lingo that sends the message to the public that your message isn’t
meant for them.”
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Too depressing. Sure, you have to convince people there’s a problem before
they will do something to help solve it. But if you go too far, you will demoralize
your audience.”
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It’s all up to you. “most of the things that everyday citizens can do to protect
nature or control pollution make a pretty small difference – and they know it. But
when we all do our part, it adds up to something big. So it’s very important to
include in your message some words and pictures about the other people who are
doing their part…”
Bidwell, D. and Barron, S. 1996. Roadblocks to Understanding Biodiversity.
Chicago Wilderness report. Incorporates a summary report by The
Biodiversity Project.
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“The environment is still a secondary issue, but many environmental
problems are perceived as serious….Americans place environmental issues in
the middle of concerns for the nation: crime and education are placed higher
on the agenda…The environmental problems ranked most serious were:
toxic waste, loss of rain forests, and the rate at which land is being developed
and places in nature are being lost.”
“There is broad public support for government protection of the
environment…Throughout the past ten years, the public has consistently
supported government action to protect the environment, such as clear
support for the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. There is,
however, a limit to the public acceptance of government action. Public
support for the environmental position is not as strong on complex issues,
such as individual private property rights versus the common god, that place
values in conflict.”
“Responsibility to family and stewardship to save the earth for future
generations are the most widely held values in relation to attitudes toward
the environment, followed by religious, aesthetic, personal use, patriotic
values, and a belief in nature’s rights.
When Americans are forced to choose one of six values related to the
environment, about half the public falls into two categories: responsibility to
future generations (27%), and nature is God’s work (23%).
48% believe protecting jobs is more important than saving habitat for plants
and animals.
More than 75% of Americans polled support general, no-tax specific
initiatives by the federal government to save habitat and species in the U.S.
This support is reduced to about half when asked to pay more in taxes so the
government can buy more land…the public is increasingly reluctant to spend
money on the environment.”
Tips from pollsters:
 Messages need to be aimed at what people can do, rather than simply raising
awareness about loss.
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The direct threat to human health is the key to the most effective arguments
for conserving biodiversity. The educational messages that will register the
most are those that related to threatened ecosystem services (such as fresh
air and clean water) and direct dangers to human health.
Human health consequences of toxic pollution and the destruction of habitat
that cleans air and water is of great concern among all eight target groups.
For purposes of targeting messages, these messages will have broad impact.
Values are critical in developing biodiversity messages. Caring for one’s
family and the responsibility to leave the environment in good shape for
future generations (stewardship) are the most important values across
groups.
Lead with the tangible – images, real stories, and other techniques that reach
people at an emotional or personal level. Don’t lead with the scientific and
technical.
Back up messages with data because accuracy is important: all data is
contested. ...specifics and facts lend credibility and provide a framework.
Don’t exaggerate.
[Scientists} are not representative of the public at large…we need to change
the language we are using to reach people where they are, finding common
goals and values to show that we want the same things.
Our key strategies should help us humanize and localize issues, and focus on
the positive and proactive – what an individual can do to make a difference.
Values, values, values. Strive to understand the underlying values that drive
the issues and use them…key values motivating Americans on the
environment are: responsibility now to family; and responsibility to future
generations.
Sound practical, not extreme.
Avoid jargon. Use simple, plain language.
Use entry points of health and water to get to other issues.
Be urgent without being hysterical.
Talk about lost potential, not doom.
Personal needs are more compelling than abstract public good.
Use anecdotes.
BioDiversity Project, 2006. Presentation to the Lake Erie Allegheny
Partnership, December 18, 2006, CMNH.
Values-based communication: makes an emotional appeal; answers audience’s
question: “Why should I care?”; activates values, does not change values.
Primary US Values:
 Responsibility to care for one’s family
 Responsibility to care for oneself
 Personal liberty
 Work
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Spirituality
Honesty/integrity
Fairness/equality
Security
Secondary US Values:
 Responsibility to care for others
 Personal fulfillment
 Respect for authority
 Love of country or culture
 Quality of life
Vlues linked to the Great Lakes:
 Responsibility for future generations
 Respect for God’s work
 Value of natural beauty
 Necessity of balance of nature
 Important part of regional identity
Which values:
 Different values communicate on different issues to different people
 Values that you choose to invoke should be based on the audience you want
to reach to achieve your goals
Supporting your message with facts
 Don’t lead with facts, but be able to support with them
 Use straight-forward, specific facts.
 Use facts that relate to our daily lives: the water we drink, the fish we eat, the
beaches we visit
Mainstream Green Coalition, 2007. Mainstream Green, a User’s Manual.
Central Ideas You Can Use:
 We all agree that a clean safe, healthy environment is a basic right of every
Ohioan.
 The common sense approach is to work together to develop practical green
technologies that create jobs, build energy independence, and have other
benefits – including a positive impact on our air, land and water. “Green”
means common sense, cost-effective, efficient and productive. It emphasizes
economic opportunity.
 We respect the responsible corporate citizenship of so many Ohio companies
that have already taken steps to put more “green” policies in place. And we
expect many more will follow this path quickly.
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We need to start now and make steady, consistent progress to ensure that
our children have a safe, clean Ohio in which to bring up their own families.
Let’s invest in developing green businesses, green buildings and green open
spaces in our communities. That will be an investment in a more prosperous
as well as a healthier future for all of us.
Government must be held accountable for enforcing environmental; laws,
and businesses must be accountable for their impact on our air, land and
water.
Words that Work
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Land Use: bio-fuels; smart growth; we can build up, not out
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Air and Water: asthma, clean, climate change, health, recreation
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Energy: alternative energy, efficiency, ethanol, independence, recycling,
reliable energy sources
Words to avoid: Beauty, clean coal, conservation, cutting back, global warming, the
“ists” (environmentalist, conservationist, preservationist), land-use, pristine,
regulate, regulations, renewable, sustainable, restrictions, sprawl, stewardship, “we
have to change”
Ideas for constructing messages:
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Focus on benefits people care about most: jobs, fuels, health, etc.
2.
Don’t explain to people why they should care about the environment.
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Be positive! Acknowledge improvements that have taken place and stress
the role of additional action to achieve goals…
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Talk about community, family and the future
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Talk about opportunities, choices and progress
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Talk about being responsible, using common sense and acting wisely
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Personalize: talk about experiences you have had
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Avoid the passive voice – sentences in which things happen without human
agency
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Keep sentences and paragraphs short
13,. Don’t rely on people reading anything – they skip around.
Belden Russonello and Stewart, 2007. Ohio Environmental Attitudes. Sample
survey results, commissioned by Mainstream Green Coalition.
62% of Ohioans strongly agree or somewhat agree to the statement: “Problems
such as cleaning up rivers, lakes and streams are not as important right now as
getting the economy moving in Ohio and keeping jobs in the state.
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About equal numbers of Ohioans agree/strongly agree, and disagree/strongly
disagree, with the statement: Ohio’s air and water quality may not be perfect but it
is good enough.” (47% and 51% respectively)
73% of Ohioans disagree somewhat or strongly with the statement, “Ohio has so
much open space, it is OK for us to use more farmland to build new houses.” 25%
agree somewhat or strongly.
59% of Ohioans agree strongly or somewhat with the statement, “A cleaner
environment will attract new businesses and mean more jobs in Ohio.”
63% agree strongly or somewhat with the statement, “I would like to have more
choices for transportation other than driving my car.”
82% agree strongly or somewhat with the statement, “we should place some limits
on where new housing developments can be located.”
On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is not at all important and 10 is very important,
Ohioans rated the following:
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Protecting air and water for the health of our families – 84% 7 or higher
To improve the communities where we live now rather than build new
development outside of our cities and older suburbs – 69% 7 or higher
To protect the places in nature that are special to our families – 77% 7 or
higher
To make sure we do not lose the things we value – our natural resources and
the communities we care about – 77% 7 or higher.
Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin and Associates, and Public Opinion Strategies, 2004.
The Language of Conservation. Paper developed for the Trust for Public Land.
The Language of Conservation
1.
Do talk about water first and foremost…voters prioritize water as a critical
reaons to purchase and protect land, no matter how it is expressed: vast majorities
of those polled see it as “very important” to buy land ot protect drinking water
quality (84%); improve the water quality in our lakes, streams and riers (75%);
prtect lakes rivers and streams (72%); and protect watersheds (66%). Moreover,
water is tops in every region (not just the perennially thirsty West) and reates just
as high in big cities (85% very important) as rural areas (84%)…. Air and water are
consistenly seen as “needs” rather than “wants”.
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2.
Do stress preserving water quality. …Voters do not view water quality as a
problem NOW, rather they want to rpserve the good water quality they already have
and recognize a need to invest in preserving water quality.
3.
Do link land conservation to preservation of working farms and ranches.
Fully 63% of americans say that protecting working farms and ranches is a very
important reason for their state or local community to buy land and protect it from
development…our ocus groups found that there is a great deal of value placed by
voters on preserving small, family farms.
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Do evoke protecting wildlife…do not use endangered species as
interchangeable with wildlife- voters view them differently. Voters can point to
examples where environmental regulations have held up important projects in
order to protect what many deem to be obscure and unimportant species.
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Do not say “open space…Do say “natural areas” instead. …natural areas could
be wildlife habitat, could have trails for public use, or siply could have scenic value.
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Do not just say “trails” – say “hiking, biking and walking trails”. Trails can’t
be assumed as a phrase that envelops recreation. …attaching some uses to it made
the phrase resonate more strongly in the focus groups.
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Do not use any of the following terms: “undeveloped land”; “green space”;
“working landscape”; “natural landscapes”… natural areas works better.
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Do not use the threat of “sprawl” unless with certain core supporters. Do use
“poorly planned growth”, rather than “unplanned growth”, or “sprawl”.
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Do stress “planning” in terms of growth. Voters want well-thought-out and
responsible planning for growth… voters view growth as inevitable. They want
growth that is well-planned, responsible, and does not negatively impact their
overall quality of life. In fact, Protecting quality of life” is the fourth highest rated
reason for government to fund land conservation.
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Do use phrases that imply ownership and inclusion, such as “our” and “we.”
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Do not ask voters to protect the land for someone else – like tourists – no
matter how important tourism is to a state or local economy. Voters want to
preserve the land for themselves to enjoy and use…
12. Do not focus on economic rationales for land preservation…This may be a
message which changes if the economy completely collapses, but even then, it may
take some time for voters to respond as warmly to economic rationales as more
emotional appeals.
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Do connect land conservation to “future generations”. Evoking children and
future generations consistently tests very well as a rationale for land preservation.
Importantly, there does not tend to be a difference in the overall ratings between
parents and non-parents in their reaction to messages which evoke children or
future generations…
National Association of Realtors, 2011, 2011 Community Preference Survey:
What Americans are looking for when deciding where to live. Conducted by
Belden Russonello Stewart,
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The economy, attracting businesses and creating jobs, has become
Americans’ clear top priority (84% extremely high or high priority) while
concern for other issues has dropped somewhat since 2004. Six in ten adults
(59%) would rather stay within their budget, even if it meant they could not
live in their desired community, compared to 39% who stretch their budgets.
Those with lower incomes are particularly hesitant to go out on a limb
financially.
When selecting a community, nearly half of the public (47%) would prefer to
live in a city (19%) or a suburban neighborhood with a mix of houses, shops,
and businesses (28%).
Overall, Americans’ ideal communities have a mix of houses, places to walk,
and amenities within an easy walk or close drive.
Desire for privacy is a top consideration in deciding where to live.
But, having a reasonable commute can temper desire for more space.
Community characteristics are more important than size of home.
Improving existing communities is preferred over building new roads and
developments.
Ohio Coastal Training Program, 2009. Survey of local governments in the Lake Erie
Basin, Land Use Training Needs (online survey, not sampled)
 71% requested information on funding and financing of projects
 75% requested model regulations
 60% requested information on step by step implementation guides
 76% requested local examples
 67% requested information on cost-benefit analyses
Ohio’s Balanced Growth – Best local Land Use Practices, 2011. Survey of
participants in Balanced Growth workshops and conversations. (online survey, not
sampled)
Respondents were asked to rank the following areas of assistance that can be
provided by the program. The combined ranking for all respondents in order of
preference was:
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1. Research to provide needed data on the recommended practices – property
value studies, cost of services studies, comparative costs of the practices, market
studies
2. Technical assistance on projects related to the Best Practices (development
review, drafting codes, meetings with developers and staff, input on current
planning projects, etc.)
3. Workshops/training for local officials
4. Facilitation of local pilot projects and case studies
5. Workshops/training for professional staff
6. Development of a regional network of professionals/officials in our area to
support education and implementation of the practices
7. Workshops/training for the public
The first two items were the top two choices for all subgroups (e.g.
municipal/township, county, etc.) with the research item the clear favorite with
40.5% of respondents making it their first choice.
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