Presentation for Mental Health Council of Arkansas, December 2012

1. Mental Health Council of Arkansas
December 13, 2012

2. Independent Consultant in Nonprofit
Marketing, Fundraising, and Strategic Planning

3. Language shapes the way we
think, and determines what we can
think about.
Benjamin Lee Whorf
If we use words, there is a very grave
danger they will be misinterpreted.
H. R. Halderman

5. Hurricane Sandy
Syria

6. What is marketing?
 The American Marketing Association Board
of Directors approved this definition in
2007:
 “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and
processes for
creating, communicating, delivering, and
exchanging offerings that have value for
customers, clients, partners, and society at
large.”
○ www.MarketingPower.com

7. Why engage in marketing
strategies?
 Effective “messaging” strategies are highly
researched and tested
 Audiences are sophisticated and savvy
 Legislative sessions are “noisy”

9. Analyze the Audience
 Who are the stakeholders?
 Mental health care program administrators
 Mental health care patients or clients, current
and future
 Citizens of the state
 Hospitals
 State government
 Justice system
 Law enforcement
 Families

10. Analyze the Audience
 Who are the decision makers?
 Legislators
○ Analyze the legislative audience:
 Who are they?
 What is their education level?
 What is the political environment for this issue?

11. Analyze the Challenges
 What are the challenges?
 Lack of education on issues
 Prejudices and misconceptions about people
with mental health disabilities
 Current economic situation
 Current attitudes about government in general
 High turnover in the legislature because of term
limits
 Competing issues

12. Determine the Purpose
 Develop certainty and consensus within the
group about the final goal
 Immediate goal
 Long-term goal
 If more than one outcome is desired, prioritize
the goals (so that you are prepared for a Plan
B)
 State the immediate goal clearly and simply –
one sentence if possible
 List the long-term outcomes if goal is achieved

13. Develop a Case – Hard Facts
 Use numbers and statistics – no jargon!
 Keep them simple and targeted
 Make sure they are easily repeatable
 Create a paragraph or two about the history
of the problem and previously tried
solutions

14. Develop a Case – Emotional Appeal
 What kind of specific story can you tell, while
preserving confidentiality?
 Do you have a trusted spokesperson who can tell
his or her own story?
 Find these stories regionally
 Prepare the spokespersons in advance
Storytelling is the most
powerful strategy.

15. Develop a Case – Practical Appeal
 What is the economic impact?
 What is the community impact?
 How does it affect the average person?
 What are the consequences for not acting?
 What are the benefits of acting now?

16. Anticipate the Opposition
 Outline the known or potential objections
 Practice responding to the opposition
 Incorporate responses to the opposition
into message

17. Creating “Talking Points”
 30-second elevator speech
 5-minute speech
 Identified and clearly outlined key words
and phrases
 Develop a one-page white paper
 Unified message ALWAYS

18. The One-Page Case Statement
 One or two sentences that state the immediate
goal
 Short paragraph of history of the issue
 Talking points (in bullet form) from the case
that’s been developed
 Hard facts
 Emotional appeal
 Practical appeal
 Response to opposition
 Description of long-term outcomes of
proposed legislation

19. Call to Action
 What do you want stakeholders to do?
 What do you want legislators to do?
Be prepared to say it over and over and over
and over and over . . .

20. General Advice
 Talk only about what you DO, not what you
don’t do - use affirmative language
 Use plain language, not technical or medical
language
 Be prepared to say the same thing over and
over 9,000 times and stick to the script
 Know what your funding allows you to do

22. Analyze the Opportunities
 New health care legislation
 Key committee members and committees
 Identify advocates for the issue, the
stakeholders, and the legislation

23. Analyze the Obstacles
 Competing issues
 Advocate conflicts
 Public perceptions

24. Identifying the Market
 Where do you find the legislators and the
key markets?
 Which media channels work best for this
message?
 Television
 Newspaper
 Social Media
 Press conferences?
 Professional publications, like an agency’s or
organization’s newsletter

25. Events
 Create events or opportunities for news
coverage
 Press releases for those events should
outline the key points

26. Some Legislative Realities
 Hundreds of pieces of legislation flying by
 Legislators with no staff to help them sift
through bills
 Emails from constituents make a difference!
 Lots of junk legislation