Message Framing: How a Few Words Make all the Difference

Health Care for America Now is a nonprofit in the midst of a tough battle over the current reform bills going through Congress. They have done an excellent job of keeping their constituents well informed of the latest news, developments, and essential points in the debate. They use their website, a blog, an e-mail newsletter, and a facebook page to get their message out.

Yesterday, they published a piece called "NBC/WSJ Poll Results Misleading - They Changed the Questions" about how a slight change in a poll question can have dramatic effects to the types of answers you get. How does framing factor in? Because a question hinges as much on a frame as a talking point. In strategic communications, establishing a frame comes right after selecting a target audience. It happens before the message development. That's because the frame is the workhorse of communications.

Consider this example: A Girl Scout selling cookies is greeted by a potential customer. She has to choose one of two questions to make a sale:

1. Would you like to buy a box of delicious Tagalongs to help our troop?
2. Would you like to help our troop raise money by buying a box of Tagalongs?
   

The change from the first question to the second may seem trivial, but it's where the rubber meets the road for communications. The first question is framed from the cookie consumer's perspective. The "delicious Tagalongs" brings up images of pleasure and/or satisfaction for the potential customer. The second question is framed from the troop's perspective and brings up feelings of service, altruism, and giving. The Girl Scout has to pick the question by sizing up the potential customer (aka "target audience") and deciding if they are more likely to want some self-satisfaction or to help a worthy cause. The audience is first, then the frame, then the message.

Back to the healthcare story. In the NBC/WSJ news poll referenced in article, the original question was framed from the point of view of the consumer - the average person having to make healthcare decisions. In the revised question, the frame shifted from the consumer to the insurance company. Even though most people don't directly relate to large insurance companies, the natural tendency is to empathize with a perceived wrong. From the insurance company's perspective, a public option is a bad thing. Therefore, a question that uses their frame will skew toward perceiving a public option as bad, even if people logically know otherwise.

From the blog post:

"These polls are not comparable. The first poll (June) accurately framed the question - should people be able to choose a public health insurance option. The second poll (July and August) pushed them towards an answer by leaving out the essential question of choice and asking a yes or no question."

The message's frame can have a dramatic effect on how it is perceived. Using the right frame to match your target audience can mean the difference between a successful campaign and a thud.

Using a news event to communicate your message

Teri Gardner is the Communications Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC). She's also one of the amazing group of people who participated in the 2008 SPIN Academy last August.

She's now using her skills to promote bicycle use in San Francisco, and today was a good example of her work.

For those outside the bay area, the local commuter train agency, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), has been in contract negotiations with its unions for some time. It was announced early today that there would be a union strike starting on Sunday. This strike will affect hundreds of thousands of riders who use public transportation each day.

Teri and her team (Marc Caswell was also at the Academy last year) have put together a communications campaign in very short order. They have put out a press release, created a slogan and corresponding logo (which I shamelessly stole and pasted below) for an effort they're calling "Bike the Strike", and have mobilized supporters to both hand out informational material about biking in SF and help new bikers next Monday.


They realized that the strike is actually an opportunity for them to get their message out to people who may avoid biking because they take the BART and think biking is more of a hassle than it really is.

SFBC was able to use several tools to get its message out. Below is a screen shot from their facebook page, announcing their efforts and asking for support.
Notice that the press release mentions the current upcoming strike as a news hook, but also includes information and message points that were previously developed. They didn't have to create a whole new frame/message because they already knew who they were speaking to and the talking points they wanted to use. The 70,000 daily BART trips in SF, the 43% increase in bike riding since 2006, transit that is "replaced with a sustainable alternative"; these talking points are easy to deliver (for their volunteers) and easy to relate to (for their target audience).

This type of nimble answer to recent news events only happens when you have a plan in place and the ability to react quickly to your environment. Teri and everyone at SFBC are turning this inconvenience into an opportunity to get their message out.

Values-based messaging to promote legislation

Last Friday, I wrote a post stating that Democrats are losing support for healthcare reform because they have lost the messaging battle around healthcare. A couple of hours after that post went up, Jim Lehrer talked with two analysts on NPR about the issue and essentially confirmed the points I made in the post.

Now, I'd like to present a campaign that does messaging right.

Underground Ads is a terrific advertising and strategy firm that works with nonprofits around the nation to promote positive social change. Heath Wickline, one of their senior staff will present a session at the SPIN Academy about messaging in the traditional American perspective.

They recently rolled out a new campaign for AWEA - the American Wind Energy Association. This is one of the ads for that campaign:

If you click through to the post on the Underground Ads website, you can see two more videos. The ad is an example of how legislation can be promoted using a strong message that appeals to values.

The central message is that new sources of energy produce jobs for real people. The focus is on the people; people telling their story and how renewable energy is a positive thing. The ad concludes with tangible ask to support specific legislation. However, it never gets bogged down in numbers or facts about the bill in question. Many nonprofit organizations tend to go straight for the data, believing that all people need is "the truth" to realize what is right. This is a common and tragic misconception for progressive activists. People don't care much about facts, they care about things they can relate to. The people in the ads are relatable. Statistics about dependency on fossil fuels are not.

Overall, Heath and his team did a good job on this campaign.

The communications marketplace

The Philanthropy Journal recently published an article from Kyle Gregory of the Shoestring Creative Group. The article hinges on the similarities between financial investing and marketing investment. Gregory does a decent job of showing how the common tenets of financial investment have a marketing analog. His main point seems to be that, much like in finances, marketing is best and most successful when balance and effectiveness are the main drivers. The main elements of his nonprofit marketing article are:

• Diversify.
• Reduce risk but don't dilute.
• Evaluate and find the winners, and divest the losers.
• Keep your objectives honest.
• Adjust your marketing portfolio as needed, but keep it diversified.

A successful marketing plan will include several, distinct, and mutually supporting elements. Managers must take care that their activities are coordinated and this means having a strong strategic communications plan. A strategic communications plan will provide the guidance needed to make critical decisions about marketing expenditures.

As nice as all this sounds, it lacks a little "real world" touch. What it means, in a nutshell, is that nonprofit organizations that want to be successful with their marketing and communications work must approach the whole project from a strategic point of view. The op-ed written by the E.D. should deliver messages that jive with those in the monthly newsletter and the content on the website.

For example, if a big event is coming up, its publicity needs to be coordinated. When the event team prepares the communications plan, they must ensure that all the elements compliment each other and that they reinforce the work of the organization. Results from these efforts should be tracked whenever possible. If something failings to produce real publicity, stop doing it. If a minor part shows good returns, increase your work in it. Always measure the outcomes, and adjust as needed.

Plans are guides to help you make decisions. They are not set in stone; make course corrections when necessary.

Facebook is not a stategy, it's a tactic

The Nonprofit Online News website has many articles about nonprofit issues. One of it's latest is called "Outsmarting the Facebook Lobster Trap". In it, Michael Gilbert correctly argues that Facebook may not be the appropriate communications medium for every nonprofit.

The reason for this? Facebook is a closed environment that takes full ownership of any and all content that is placed into it. When a nonprofit creates a community on Facebook, it's giving Facebook ownership over all those connections the org worked hard to create.

If you don't think this is valuable, consider this very simple question: Is there any way to export your information from Facebook if you choose to stop using it? Can you export a list of your friends, groups, fan pages, etc? Not in any useful way.

Because of this, Facebook must be rightly viewed as a tactic of a larger communications plan. Deciding whether or not to use that tactic relies on first identifying who you are trying to reach, and how they wish you engage with your org.

Gilbert provides three issues you should understand about Facebook and seven tips on how to use the tool (because, it's still a useful tool). My three favorite:

1. Never develop content only for Facebook
2. Never confuse Facebook with the social networks off of which it feeds
3. Never require anyone to use Facebook to interact with you in a particular way

I completely agree with the assessment. Do you?

A timely communications lesson via video

Lets talk about healthcare, but strictly from a communications case study perspective.

This week has presented many lessons about communications and how the Democrats and Republicans are maneuvering around the issues. I'll give you the punch line right now and then explain it: public support for Obama's urging of healthcare reform is waning because the Democratic party has been unable to nail down a solid, values-based message or narrative around the need for reform. In contrast, the Republicans have hitched their message to their tried and true Lower Taxes Horse and they are winning the debate.

Here's the evidence. On 7/21, Dr. Aaron Carroll, from Indiana University, was the main guest on the Colbert Report. His exchange with Stephen was a demonstration of the classic conservative vs. progressive debates that happen each day.

Dr. Carroll insisted that his job was to tell people what was better for them. Colbert countered by basically saying "I don't care what's better, I care about what I feel." See the video segment below (try going to 2:00).

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Aaron Carroll
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford

Carroll is countering Colbert's "feelings" with facts and data. However, they are talking on two different planes of communication. The reason the Republican message of "universal healthcare is bad" is taking hold is because it appeals to people's fears and has been linked to their values. The Democrats haven't been able to produce a narrative that can counter on that level. They're trying hard, but slowly losing the messaging war.

To make it worse, President Obama made the classic mistake of going off-message during what should have been a very important national address on the topic. He talked about Dr. Gates' arrest in Cambridge during the Q&A portion of his healthcare address. His comments on that topic were much juicier to the media than the data and facts about healthcare. Jon Stewart saw the error in this immediately and commented about it in on his 7/23 show (go to 6:20):

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
White House M.D.
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

Unfortunately, the Democrats' already weak message was completely washed out by a few comments, made outside of the scope of the healthcare press event. President Obama is trying to nail down a message, injecting analogies in his speeches to make the points accessible, but hasn't fully succeeded.

And finally today, the President held another press conference specifically to clarify his words about the Gates/Crowley event. Words he should have recognized would hurt his healthcare message. President Obama acknowledged the damage by saying "Over the last two days, as we've discussed this issue... nobody's been paying much attention to healthcare."



It all starts with the lack of a clear message that appeals to people's values and addresses their real fears about the future of the country. There's a winning message in true healthcare reform, but the Democrats haven't found it. Because of that, the final bill may be the fruit of so much compromise that it may not yield the benefits that it should.

Know your target

The website of the for-profit communications/PR firm Ragan Communications, Inc. gets updated regularly with content that can add to the nonprofit communicator's toolbox.

A recent post centers on one of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speeches. It highlights the important fact that knowing the audience is the crucial first step when crafting a message.

As we will study at the SPIN Academy, identifying the target audience comes before actually crafting a message or any talking points, sounds bites, or other collateral. The very same messages will play very differently to different audiences.

Many nonprofit communicators suffer from the "general public" syndrome; they waste a precious opportunity in front of a reporter with words that are not targeted enough. They try to appeal to the "general public" when they should have a solid message directed toward a specific audience (e.g. city/state legislature, supporters, etc.).

Although that message may not resonate with everyone within ear-shot, it will have the most effect where it matters - with the target audience. When you send out press releases, or have a rally, or white an opinion paper, can you identify your target audience? If you can't do it clearly and succinctly, you're missing an opportunity for strong communications.