The document provides guidance on developing effective messaging strategies. It discusses identifying target audiences, understanding their contexts, and crafting messages using symbolic frames and emotional appeals. The key elements of messages are said to be clarity, conciseness, contrast, and convincing arguments. Effective messages also use repetition to break through and stay memorable.

1. Message and
Communications
Digital Strategies 101
October 18, 2011

2. This Lecture
1. Theory on Messaging (Building Blocks)
2. Exercise on Putting a Message Together
3. Online
4. PR—Talking to the Media

3. You talking to me?
Who is your audience?
 Other Activists
 Supporters
 Contributors
 Opinion Elites
 Leaders
 Constituencies
 The Press

4. Everybody Has A Context
 Language
 History
 Religion
 Family
 Education
 Class
 Race
 Income
 More…

5. Your Task: Change the
Constellation

6. Building Blocks of A
Message
 Symbols
 Emotions and Unconscious
 Framing and Naming
 Clear, Concise, Contrast, Convince
 Breaking Through—Sticky Repetition
 Context, Motivation and Competing Motivations
 Stay in Control—Choose your battlespace

7. Symbols
 Symbols come from our culture, our media, our
history and our life experiences.
 Every symbol has a set of values and feelings
associated with it that you can borrow.

8. "That will unleash the Barack
Obama as Abe Lincoln narrative.
Lincoln delivered his "House
divided" speech at that historic
spot and the announcement is on
Lincoln's birthday weekend.
Obama is expected to vault over
to Iowa, home to the first-in-the-
nation 2008 caucus, after the
announcement. ‖
Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun Times

9. Emotions and Unconscious
 People respond primarily to feelings. Feelings are usually not
conscious right away.
 Most feelings are about people.

10. Framing and Naming
 When news happens, people look for meaning…
 …we tell them what the news means.
Example GOP: Tax Cuts Grow the Economy
Example Progressive: Tax Cuts Take Food From the
Mouths of Poor Children in Order to give Millionaires
a Tax Break

11. Four Cs
 Clear: You aren’t Shakespeare—you write for USA
Today.
 Concise: I stop listening after a minute at most.
 Contrast: Why should I care if it is the same?
 Convince: Why is this important to my life?
“Less is more.”
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

12. Breaking Through is Hard
 Sticky = Memorable
 Find an Emotion and Drive it Home
 Surprise Us
 Confusion Flunks
 Structure the Story
 Repeat

13. Context: We All Have It

14. Stay in Control
 A key goal of your work is to maintain as much
control of the conversation as possible. You
decide what you’re talking about. Don’t allow
your opponent to control the conversation
 Example
Option 1: Debate How to Cut the Debt
Option 2: Debate How to Create Jobs

15. Exercise: The Message Box
What We Say About What Opposition Says
Ourselves about Themselves
What We Say About What Opposition Says
Opposition about Us

16. Online
 What’s different? Less personal. Less persistent.
 Most people are over consuming online.

17. Email
Infographic Twitter
Video Facebook
Blog Website

18. Polling: What is it good for?
 A measurement tool.
 But polls aren’t fate IF you have a messaging
theory for how to change them. Study history to
learn about what shifts polls.

19. PR: Talking to the Media
Broadcast and Print

20. DIFFERENT MEDIA, DIFFERENT NEEDS
 Different parts of a story are
appealing to different media.
 Print needs are different from TV
needs are different from radio
needs.
 Modify your pitch accordingly.
8/10/2012

21. PRINT
 Print reporters are  DEADLINES
looking for a compelling  Call a newsroom between
narrative arc for a story. 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
 Reporters most likely not in
planning meetings or
 Specific local interest. working against a 5:00 p.m.
deadline.
 Try to pitch at least a day
 Highlight the ―man bites before the event, though
dog‖ newsworthyness – two is fine with a reminder
why is this different from email the day-of.
the everyday?
8/10/2012

22. TELEVISION
 Visuals are always the lead  DEADLINES
concern for television  Doesn’t have time to focus on
reporters. anything beyond the day-of.
 The person at a television station
 Duh. to talk to prior to an event is the
Assignment Editor.
 But seriously, visuals are always  Call the assignment desk early
the lead concern for television (even if you get the night editor),
reporters. between 6 and 8:30 in the
morning, just to confirm that they
received your advisory prior to
 Your pitch should lay out in its their morning meeting.
first sentence the visuals you  If you do want to try pitching
have to tell your story. earlier than the day of, you can
call the assignment desk or the
 Ideally, the visuals will also beat reporter after the morning
meeting, between 10:00 a.m. and
encapsulate local 3:00 p.m., but not in the hour or so
involvement. before a noon newscast.
8/10/2012

23. RADIO
 News radio pitching is mostly  DEADLINES
similar to print pitching.
 Best time to call is early—
 Maybe you can mention if around 7:30 - 8:30
there will be interesting a.m., and then again
ambient sounds, (i.e. after 10:00 a.m.
chanting, etc.) but it’s less
important.  News directors, reporters
and producers are often
 Talk radio is all about gone by the afternoon.
relationships – esp. the
compelling back and forth  If a reporter is not able to
between host and guest. attend the event, offer to
have one of your
 There’s no substitute for speakers or interviewees
building talk radio do a taped interview.
relationships.
8/10/2012

24. Attribution Rules
Journalistic Ethics and You

25. ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT
 The single most important rule: never say ANYTHING to a
reporter that you wouldn’t want on the front page of the
paper.
 However, protecting sources is a key journalistic ethic.
8/10/2012

26. ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT
 That said, under journalistic ethics you can request to have
something you say be:
 ―not for attribution‖
 ―off the record‖
 ―on background‖
 For any of these to go into effect:
 You must tell the reporter BEFORE you say whatever you wish to be
under these conditions, AND
 You must get verbal agreement from the reporter before journalistic
ethics are binding.
8/10/2012

27. ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT
 ―Not for Attribution‖
 Relatively straightforward.
 Means that the reporter can use the information you give them, but
you cannot be sourced as a specific individual.
 The reporter may ask to clear with you a descriptive phrase, such as
―One representative of a community-based organization said…‖
8/10/2012

28. ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT
 ―Off the Record‖
 Means what you’re saying shouldn’t be written down by a reporter.
 Information should not be attributed to you in any form.
8/10/2012

29. ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT
 ―On Background‖
 Useful for giving a reporter ―a tip.‖
 Useful for relatively long technical explanations, which can be
helpful to a reporter but where you don’t want to worry that every
word is perfect.
 In general, best used for directing reporters to sources of information
(people, reports, websites, etc.) where you don’t want to be seen as
involved.
8/10/2012

30. ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR PRINT
 REMEMBER:
 These are just ethical rules, and journalists can and do break
them all the time!
 Journalists MUCH prefer that you talk on the record wherever
possible, especially post-scandals.
 If you don’t give notice BEFORE you talk, Journalistic ethics
don’t bind the reporter, no matter what they say.
 If you don’t get verbal confirmation from the reporter BEFORE
you talk, Journalistic ethics don’t bind the reporter, no matter
what they say.
 THE KICKER
 No two reporters agree on the definition of any of these
terms!
8/10/2012

31. ATTRIBUTION RULES FOR
BROADCAST
 The mic is always live.
 Live radio or TV is live.
 If you are being taped for later use, they can use
whatever you say, but it is sometimes possible to
let them give you another shot.
 Television and radio producers want good tv and
radio.
 If you tell them that you can do it better with one
more try, they may just let you.
8/10/2012

32. HELPFUL TIPS
 Never make anything up.
 Never use jargon or acronyms.
 Support your messages with anecdotes, statistics and
soundbites.
 Speak in short sentences with pauses between them.
 Repeat, repeat, repeat.
 Repetition is good, improvising off-message is bad.
8/10/2012