There’s much talk these days about the “say-do gap” in communications – the best communications narrows that gap between what you say and what you do. Certainly anyone in a position of authority (parent, teacher, officer) may be able to get away with a wider gap, but what about when your actions impact global public opinion or company-client relations?
This is where understanding strategic communications pays off. At the National Summit on Strategic Communications in Washington, DC, speakers from government, industry and the military shared insights from a lifetime of learning, including those teachable moment missteps and stories of success. Here are some highlights from this inaugural gathering. I can’t wait until next year!
Paging Willis Conover: In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Bush Administration adopted a domestic-style political campaign strategy to explain the global war on terror. What may have worked for an American audience-the use of the word “crusade” to explain the president’s resolve to a nation just attacked by terrorists-conjured up negative historical associations overseas. Interviews with foreign media were arranged, but more interviews resulted in falling goodwill in the world. Why? Because the selling approach with words did not match actions (Abu Ghraib). What we know today is that asymmetrical warfare needs asymmetrical communications. Wikileaks needs monitoring and response as much as any Larry King Live show. The era of the cookie cutter approach is over. If our failures have taught us anything, it’s that we have to look at every operation differently -this is jazz and not architecture.
Remember your ABC’s and D’s: William Nixon, Chairman and CEO of Policy Impact Communications, said that everything comes down to how you position your message to resonate better than the competition. Strategic communications is “the persuasive application of words.” The following factors are prominent: (A) Audience: Understand your audience and how you articulate your word to that audience – write/use language from the perspective of your audience – put your mind in the position of your audience. (B) Balance: There is a delicate balance among facts, analytics, advocacy, and emotion. In seeking balance, remember that veracity reigns supreme. Never, ever manipulate facts. It will jeopardize your integrity. (C) Consistency: This refers to two essential elements, frequency and recency. Frequency is about making sure your message is repeated often. Recency has to do with timing, position, location, and relevance. Think McDonald’s. They advertise only when they know people are thinking about food. Is your message the one they remember last before heading into that ballot booth? If so, then you have the advantage. (D) Dramatic Effect: We are storytellers. But we must tell a good story and keep it short. Reagan knew it best: “It’s show business.” Reagan also used humor, but at its greatest effect: self-deprecating.
Corporate Responsibility is Strategic Communications: Russ Yarrow, General Manager, Corporate Affairs for Chevron, reminds us that the competitive landscape has changed dramatically. The old drivers are capital, technology, and hardware. New drivers include expertise, the latest communications technology, and socioeconomic investment. Yarrow shared 6 Principles of Corporate Responsibility: (1) Business investments can be strategically leveraged to create enduring social and economic value. (2) Businesses cannot be successful outside of a healthy, functioning society. Corporations need to continually look for ways to positively influence destabilizing factors; i.e., fighting AIDS in Africa. (3) Social investment is a strategic business function. (4) CR should be rooted in values, and integrated in to business strategies and disciplines. Values are lived every day and integrated into processes. (5) CR is best advanced through engagement, dialogue and partnerships; and (6) CR is an act of continuous improvement – it never stands still – responding, adapting, learning, and innovating.
Looking Ahead: Price Floyd of the Department of Defense: Too often success in strategic communications relates to the personalities in charge at the time. We need to standardize procedures so that it becomes policy-based and not personality-based. At the international level, the United States has no global branding of its humanitarian relief efforts around the world. Bill Nixon: The Internet is the modern Tower of Babel where everyone’s opinion has equal weight. How do we address that? Today 17% of Marines are on Twitter. That figure is likely to grow. While everyone may have a right to his own opinion, he does not have a right to the facts (attributed to Reagan). We need to separate the wheat from the chafe in communications. Not every opinion matters, much less needs a response, just those that influence for good and bad.
The Public Diplomacy Architect: Lessons Learned: Karen Hughes, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, treated us to her insights from working as a broadcast journalist, running two successful presidential campaigns, and coordinating coalition information centers in the days after 9/11. The Dallas Morning News once referred to Hughes as the most important woman ever to serve in the White House. I can see why. Few have such a resume. She’s now Global Vice Chair for Burson-Marsteller. Hughes was given the thankless task of taking over America’s chief persuasion role in 2005, a time when the Bush Administration was dealing with rising anti-Americanism. I recall this time well. I taught a special topics course that fall on “Hating America at Home and Abroad,” the only such course ever taught at the USC Annenberg School for Communication in Los Angeles. The public diplomacy efforts by Karen Hughes were of much interest to me and I was not always so approving. I thought her proximity to President George W. Bush would hurt her efforts. The press coverage of Hughes was particularly jarring. After listening to her presentation, I realize how much Karen Hughes actually did to put in place strategic communication practices that continue today at the Department of State. To name just a few, she established Rapid Response Units to cover global media reaction in real time. She created a two-page Dip-Note for the frontlines, “the field” in State-speak, to make sure that personnel were “on message” with policy. Those who didn’t like anyone connected to George W. Bush dismissed much of what Hughes did throughout her two-year tenure at State. But this is where we fail in strategic communications. We must learn to separate personal feelings and political ideology from what works. The fact is, everyone fails at something at sometime and though Hughes was not perfect for the job (Who ever is?), many campaigns that she put in place have the ‘stickiness’ that endure today. For that she should be credited.
Hughes shared her 5 C’s for best practices in strategic communications:
(1) Clarity – Say what you mean. To be effective your message must be clear. Make sure you have the sound bite that is tomorrow’s headline.
(2) Conviction: Mean what you say. There is a fine line between being emphatic and being overstated. Learn the difference.
(3) Compassion: Make your message relevant to people’s lives. Tell the story in the context of the audience you are communicating to. Focus on kitchen table issues.
(4) Credibility: People have to believe you/trust you. If they don’t, it doesn’t matter what you say or do.
(5) Consistency: Say it over and over again. About the time you are sick of saying something is about the time it begins to sink in. You have to find new and interesting ways to say the same thing. Messages based on core values are good because you speak about what you believe in. Speak with one voice throughout the organization. You also have to DO what you SAY for consistency.
Like Russ Yarrow, Hughes spoke about the need for more corporate responsibility. She referred to it as “business diplomacy” to achieve your company’s goals. Employees are your best ambassadors, but you have to give them the tools and latitude to allow them to speak out in conjunction with the company story. At State, Hughes expanded the Diplomacy of Deeds approach, realizing that so much good works by the U.S. went unnoticed.
Example: George W. Bush’s AIDS program for Africa was very well received, even with so much negative global public opinion about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hughes said that in everything you do, you must think about building partnerships with diverse stakeholders. You need to offer them a vision of hope, while also isolating and marginalizing those who work against you. Always work toward identifying, fostering and nurturing common interests and values. She told the story about her best success with women in the Middle East. It was an effort to build awareness about breast cancer. It did not have the heaviness of a political message, but rather a win/win for all.
Finally, don’t forget to inspire. People are hungry for inspiration and hope. They want to feel good about their organization and feel a part of something truly excellent.
Dr. Nancy Snow
Associate Professor of Communications
California State University – Fullerton
Dr. Snow was among participants at The National Summit on Strategic Communications May 20-21 in Washington DC. The event was co-organized by the Institute for Public Relations and the Arthur W. Page Society.
Does anyone else see problems with the linking of the fields “public relations” and “strategic communication”? I find it interesting that this conference–of which I was blissfully unaware–was sponsored by the PR community.