Communications Strategy 2013 -2017 in a nutshell
Objective: To transform our relationship with our priority audiences by:
 Increasing our relevance
 Clarifying who we are, what we do and how people can be involved
 Using our channels differently to connect with these audiences
 Changing the way we speak to and involve people
Brand model for all communications:
Core essence: We see the wellbeing of people and our planet as one and the same
Vision: A new and positive relationship between people and the environment
Promise: A fresh perspective and ways to act with others to create a better world
Priority Audiences
Public: Generous Environmentalists, Passionate Engagers, Young People
Specialist: Disproportionally Affected Communities, Influencers, Political Decision Makers, Business.
Existing Supporters: financial and active and local groups.
Big changes in our approach
Digital First – thinking about digital first rather than as an add-on, selecting it where ever it creates social, shareable and actionable
opportunities to engage people in our work and enables a rapid, agile response to real world events.
Move from broadcast to conversation- creating opportunities to co-create new ideas with our supporters, local groups and external partners,
enabling others to be our voice, prioritizing channels that facilitate dialogue, comment and debate.
More pictures, fewer words- using visual language (photos, video, graphics) to provoke an emotional response and drive action.
Creating more experiences and opportunities for face to face – getting out more to meet and engage with our supporters and audiences so
that they see and hear us, feel part of our work and come closer to our cause.
Changing our core skills – to be highly competent in digital, visual storytelling, presenting and debating, networking and contact building.
Innovation – giving staff permission to try new things and learn from our mistakes, empowering many more people to speak on our behalf and
managing associated risks.
Key initiatives which will help drive this transformation in our communications approach:
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1. Creating our organizational story – we will create an overarching narrative which will communicate the bigger picture – showing how
apparently distinct problems are connected and how Friends of the Earth’s agenda can help deliver a better future for people and the planet.
This narrative will sit in key places such as the website and form a framework for all our communications. As part of this work we will create a
mental short-hand description of who we are and start to scope the concept of a “Goal Campaign” for Friends of the Earth.
2. Developing Guidelines to support a new communications approach- these guidelines will explain the latest thinking about how to connect
and engage with people effectively with a focus on practical application to ensure consistent delivery across our communications.
3. Changing our mentality to digital first – we will continue to build digital skills to ensure not just confidence and competency but a change in
mindset which mainstreams digital communication for all. We will also build it into our recruitment and appraisals processes.
4. Shifting from broadcast to conversation – we will prioritise activities and communications channels which support dialogue, comment,
debate eg online engagement tools and platforms, face to face meetings and experiential events. We will invest in skills to support this
approach: more digital “natives”, good conversationalists, visual story-telling, knowledge of how to emotionally connect with people.
5. Reaching our priority audiences – integration of audience choices into all our planning processes for campaigns, fundraising and activism,
creating internal audience champions for each segment, sharing good practice and monitoring progress through a Quarterly Community of
practice to share best practice and review KPIs.
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