ORGANIZING, ADVOCACY AND MESSAGE FRAMING
STRATEGIES AND MODELS
How can we take action in our community, our state, our country and internationally?
Reducing the devastating impact of alcohol consumption by underage drinkers on individuals,
families and communities requires the implementation of effective public health solutions.
Our capacity to effectively educate, motivate and engage the public in the development of public
health policies that confront the harsh realities of underage drinking require that we provide a
practical “how to” toolkit of resources and information that can applied at the local, state,
national and international level.
The “How To” Resource Guide will focus on the following:
Guiding Principles for Organizing and Advocacy
Effectively engaging individuals and organizations in policy advocacy requires consensus
agreement on an underlying set of guiding principles. Understanding and following these
guiding principles are a critically important step as the foundation of our policy advocacy efforts.
Guiding Principles of Message Framing
The way that policy problems are framed is important as the frame of the problem often dictates
both the messages that are employed and the policy solutions that will be considered. Within
alcohol policy there are two competing frames- the alcohol beverage industry frame and the
public health frame.
The Guiding Principles of Message Framing will provide practical information to guide and
support the development and use of universal and specific messages that clearly frame the public
discussion from a public health perspective and counter the alcohol beverage industry
messaging.
Policy Goal Selection, Message Framing and Target Development
Effective policy advocacy requires the careful identification of a policy goal that is based on
addressing specific community needs and is supported by evidence based research. And, helping
engage and guide policy advocates in the process of goal selection and message framing is
critically important to success. The toolkit will provide practical guidance in these areas as well
as the development of a power analysis focused on the clear identification of who has decision
making authority related to our policy goal.
How To Guide: Policy Campaign Development and Implementation
Once the goal has been selected, message framing has been developed and we have determined
who has the decision making authority the toolkit will provide clear, step-by-step guidance for
advocates on how to develop and implement an effective policy campaign.
The how to guide will focus on the identification of stakeholders, building grassroots community
support and power so as to effectively influence policy makers. The guide will also highlight the
critical importance of including enforcement and evaluation of the policy.
The toolkit will include information designed to help advocates understand and develop an
action plan that helps them to guide and control the policy-making process as much as possible
Understanding and Responding to Alcohol Industry Involvement in Policy Issues
One of the most important tools to be included in the toolkit will be information that helps
advocates understand the role of the alcohol beverage industry in developing and influencing
current and proposed alcohol policies: locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
The toolkit will provide an overview of the political strategies employed by the alcohol beverage
industry through the use of media, lobbying and political donations. Included in this section will
be an overview of the key messages used by the alcohol beverage industry to promote policies to
expand their market and ways that policy advocates can develop counter framing messages.
Case Studies
To provide practical guidance and support to advocates, the toolkit will include a series of case
studies from both the U.S. and the E.U. which highlight the policy advocacy process and success
stories. Case studies focused on alcohol marketing, pricing and taxation will be utilized to
highlight the following steps in the policy advocacy process:
1. Identification of priority policy goal
2. Framing the issue
3. Developing a Power analysis: Identification of support and opposition
4. Identification of stakeholders
5. Building grassroots support
6. Influencing policy makers
7. Controlling the policy advocacy process
8. How to incorporate enforcement in the policy
9. Evaluation of policy impact
10. The power of personal stories in policy and advocacy