Elevators, Airbags & FM Radio
Communication Planning
Innovation and Next Practice Division (DEECD)
Design Teams Professional Development Workshop
February 2008
1
Today
Communication & Promotional Planning
The Biggest Message of All
Stakeholders
Challenges
Communication Deliverables, Timelines and
Feedback
2
Going Up
The Elevator Pitch
Communication = Message & Mode & Feedback
3
Communication Planning
A Communication and Promotional Plan provides
the framework to effectively;
• craft our message
• identify our audience(s)
• set out the most appropriate mode(s)
• schedule activities
• define resource requirements
• establish and activate feedback loops
Objective: connection, co-ordinated, concise, consistent
4
Building a Communications Plan
1) Mapping the overall success measures for the project
2) Determining the key messages and supporting proof points
3) Understanding the key project milestones, deliverables and
timing
4) Identifying the universe of stakeholders and assessing their
individual communication needs
5) Developing a schedule of communication and promotional
activities and an overall calendar
6) Establishing resourcing requirements and monitoring /
evaluation options
5
Process
When working in teams a collaborative development process
using a model such as T-C-D is recommended:
(T) Thinking – (C) Creating – (D) Doing
Individual Pre-Work - “Guided Independent Thinking”
Thinking
Collective Dialogue – “Collaborative Agreement”
Synthesis – “Distilling and Structuring”
Crafting
Feedback – “Review & Refine”
Finalisation – “Issue & Execute”
Doing
Listening – “Learn & Leverage”
6
BMOA - The Biggest Message of All
Is the synthesis of the most important thing we
want to communicate….
Forms the basis and touch point for all
messaging…
Every communication needs to reference and reenforce the biggest message…
Should be based on our identified key success
factors…
7
What does success look like ?
For your project;
What is a successful outcome ?
What is the vision for the project ?
What is the mission for the project ?
What is the biggest message of all ?
8
The Outputs
Biggest Message:
Innovation is a creative and collaborative process with an
objective to increase the responsiveness of teaching and learning
to the needs of individuals, impact positively on specified learning
outcomes and build community engagement
Success:
A proven model to support the development of school and
network based innovation
Vision:
Practitioner led innovation creates next practice in education
Mission:
Teams of teachers work with experts to design and share
innovative ways of learning and teaching
9
Tips for Messaging
Keep it simple and short…
Avoid jargon…
Build a set of supporting ‘proof points’ that
support the biggest message…
Focus on benefits not features…
10
The thing about Airbags
Feature
Benefit
8 airbags
Improved
collision safety
11
Team Exercise
Brainstorm and capture….
What is a successful outcome for the project?
What is the vision for the project?
What is the mission for the project?
What are the key messages and the biggest
message of all?
12
When framing a response remember
Keep it simple and short…
Avoid jargon…
Build a set of supporting ‘proof points’ that
support the biggest message…
Focus on benefits not features…
13
Stakeholders
Stakeholder (audience) identification is a key task
in ensuring that communication is effective…
Who are the stakeholders for your project?
Understanding the differences (in terms of their
needs & expectations) between stakeholder
groups is very important to deliver the correct
messaging and the most appropriate mode of
communication…
14
The Importance of Duality
WII FM
What is in
it for me
WII FE
What is in it
for everyone
Seek to personalise the context
- each stakeholder group will
have a different balance…
Try to craft a ‘story’ that is
relevant and meaningful…
15
Modes
The mode in which you choose to provide your
communication can make all the difference to
effectively connecting…
Individual stakeholder group(s) may respond better to
certain methods…
Multiple approaches are typically required for any
audience…
What are the most appropriate modes for your
stakeholder(s)?
Web Podcast
Email Forums
Open Days
Brochures
Presentations Local press
Demonstrations
Case Studies
16
Challenging Audiences
Some stakeholders present unique challenges in
terms of connection…
Must closely understand what their issues are…
Need to ‘build bridges’ into these groups…
May need to enlist ‘advocates’ and ‘champions’ to
work for you…
17
When little things make a big
difference
Gladwell asserts that finding
‘connectors’ – individuals who are
respected, networked and have
the power to influence within
specific groups is a key to
spreading ‘idea viruses’…
Who are the connectors that
you may need to enlist to
assist connecting to your
stakeholder(s)?
18
Team Exercise
Brainstorm and capture….
Who are your key stakeholder?
Identify any challenging audiences?
Who are the connectors, champions and
advocates within your project frame?
19
Resources
Once the elements of the plan are established it is vital
to understand what resources will be required to deliver
the communication…
Who is going to do it?
What external assistance may be required?
What production/technology requirements are there?
Key Issues
• Can we do it? & do we have the time / $ budget?
• Must be realistic & achievable…
20
Feedback & Refinement
Effective communication is underpinned by taking
a continuous improvement approach…
Should build in opportunities for formal and
informal feedback to gauge effectiveness…
Also forms the basis of input of refinement of
message and mode…
What are our options for receiving feedback ?
21
Pulling it all together
Documenting the communication plan
consolidates thinking and provides the blueprint
for future activities…
Should include all key elements and a timeline /
calendar of events…
The timings of communication often coincide
with ‘new news’ – therefore need to consider
key project milestones…
22
This year is a Leap Year
The timeline summary provides a ready reckoner
on key milestones, communications focus and
modes…
Project
Deliverable / Milestone
September 2007
October 2007
19 teams
functioning
Professional Learning
plan
New Zealand trip 1
New Zealand trip 2
November 2007
Release of evaluation
reporting template to teams
d
Communications Focus
Team Focus /
Outcomes /
Outputs
Communication Method
Email
Web update
Project Update
Web update
Digital Newsletter 1
Regional Briefing
Web update
23
The Biggest Messages of All
A communication plan underpins effective
messaging…
Spend time on synthesising your success factors
and biggest message…
You BMOA is the foundation for all
communication – every message should support
and re-enforce…
24
The Biggest Messages of All
Keep it simple
Avoid jargon
Focus on the benefits
Consider duality
Identify your stakeholders and their unique needs
Understand the correct mode for each audience
Leverage connectors, advocates and champions
25
26