4.3(a) Finding the target
Aim
To use the group’s campaign tools to their best advantage.
You need
Your list of contacts you drew up in activities 3.3(a) We're In This Together and 3.3(b) Knowledge Is Power, activity sheets 28 and 29 and about an hour.
What to do
Now that you have developed posters, information leaflets and news releases, you need a communications strategy to decide how best to use them.
| Communication and contact methods | |
| Communication methods | Ways of contacting people |
|---|---|
| 1. Poster | a. Website |
| 2. Information leaflet | b. E-mail |
| 3. Letter | c. Calling round |
| 4. Newsletter | d. Phone call |
| 5. News release | e. Word of mouth |
| 6. Article | f. Post |
| 7. Presentation | g. Appointment |
| 8. Interviews (Radio, TV, newspaper/magazine) | h. On the street |
| 9. Big event | i. A demonstration |
| j. Social media | |
a) First, using activity sheet 28, list and number both the range of communication methods you have and the ways you can contact people, as in the example below. Of course, website and e-mail, for example, may be in both columns.
b) Get out your list of people and groups you want to contact from Unit 3: Knowledge is power, 3.3(a) We're In This Together and your fact files on them from 3.3(b) Knowledge Is Power. Do you want to add to this list? Your list may include other young people, councillors, local businesses, MPs, council managers and staff, local residents (young and old) and others. The list from unit 3 is given below in the first column on the left.
c) Now add the extra column headings to your table from unit three as in the example below, or use activity sheet 29. Remember too to think about what is in it for them and about timing. Drawing on your communication and distribution methods chart above, complete the table, being careful not to overlap unnecessarily. For example, it may not be helpful to send an e-mail and a letter about exactly the same thing to the same person. Build up your communication strategy. The example below gives you some ideas. (The big event is described in the next activity.)
| Our communications strategy | ||||
| Who do we want to contact? | What do we want from them? | Which methods should we use? | How best to distribute them? | Who is going to do it and by when? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youth groups | New members | 1, 2, 3, 7, 9 | e, f, c, j | MF (Date) |
| Local groups | Awareness | 3, 2, 4, 7, 9 | j | MF (Date) |
| National organisations | Contacts and support | 2, 3, 4 | BS (Date) | |
| Local media | Publicity | 5, 6, 8, 9 | AK (Date) | |
| National media | Coverage | 5, 6 | a, b, d | MI (Date) |
| Local councillors | Support | 2, 3, 7, 9 | MI (Date) | |
| Local officers | A meeting | 2, 3, 4, 7, 9 | a, b | |
| Police | ||||
| National Government/MP | ||||
| Pressure groups | j | |||
| Community groups | A place to meet | 3, 2 | c, d, f | |
| Local businesses | Resources | 1, 3, 4 | a, b, d, f | |
| Others | ||||
What do you think?
Your completed table is a useful means of checking who has done what with what response. Don’t get down if some things don’t work. Perhaps a journalist you had high hopes for doesn’t get in touch. Or you don’t get as many replies to your letters and e-mails as you had expected. It’s like the sower sowing seed. Some will fall on rocky ground, some on the path, some on poor ground. But some will fall on fertile ground and generate a huge harvest.
