Making Allies of the Media and Public

Tips

Tools

91. Try to interest local media by finding the local or national aspect that will immediately appeal to their audience.

InterConnection’s Virtual Volunteer Website Design Program^*
Provides personally designed websites to nonprofit organizations in developing countries at no cost

Coyote Communications Free Resources for Mission-based Organizations^*
Tip Sheet to Using the Internet to Advertise Successfully & Ethically

SpamCon Foundation^*
Best practice links for diverse audiences and marketing, includes netiquette guidelines

Connecticut Association of Nonprofits’ Toolkits and Resources for Advocacy, Lobbying and Media Relations^*
Includes sample letters to the editor, public service announcements and pitching feature story ideas

Development Gateway, putting the Internet to work for developing countries with portals, awards and communities^*

Maquila Solidarity Network’s Stop Sweatshops: An Education/Action Kit^*
Openly available materials include guide on corporate research, codes primer, sample issues sheets, and complete script for staging a “sweatshop fashion show” publicity event

Oxfam’s Art of Self-Defence for Supporters^*
Stylish and effective macromedia pamphlet with answers to counter persistent criticisms (“myth-busters”) about its methods and operations

Indonesian Peacebuilding Directory (CERIC FISIP UI direktori-perdamaian) (in English)^*
Online guide to Indonesian organizations for social change, includes an automated registration and update template for donors and international organizations, training providers and over 500 civil society organizations

The Democracy Center’s Free Advocacy Materials^*
Including advocacy strategies, policy analysis primer, lobbying and media and Internet advocacy

PROSHIKA Center for Human Development (Bangladesh)^*
64 online project success stories from one of the largest NGOs in the developing world

92. Watch how your target media covers similar “human interest” stories and try to frame your issue in the same style. Look for the opposing interests and try to set up the story as a conflict between the good and bad or big and little guys.

93. Effecting real change is always hard; it is especially so if your group does not have ready access to the opinion shapers. The best advice for a successful advocacy strategy is to know who or what you most want to influence and then to frame messages specially directed to them.

94. Always go well prepared to meetings or interviews with your facts and figures. Try to maintain a business-like demeanor, even if you are patronized, discounted or insulted.

95. If a politician or journalist asks for more details that you may not currently have, be sure to find them out and remember to send them along later in a professional follow-up. Journalists will use again sources who meet their deadlines and are reliable.

96. Sometimes an open letter or an interesting letter to the editor is spotted and then investigated to see if it can be turned into a full story.

97. Depending on nature of the NGO, external communications should be directed locally, nationally, regionally and internationally and should be pitched to different audiences. To the extent possible, don’t forget to think of ways of monitoring or measuring your communications success.

98. Some other helpful tools to use and examples include: person to person contacts, phone, personal letters, mass or direct mails, faxes, electronic media, smooth looking promotional materials, and newsletters.

99. Don’t forget that cheap-to-produce and easy-to-walk-around-in message T-shirts often work very effectively. Paper leaflets get thrown away too easily but most people are happy to become walking billboards in free T-shirts if they have a cool message.

100. Be guided in all public affairs activities by the principle of how best to retain the trust and confidence of the public.

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The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank Institute nor the Asian Development Bank. Names of countries or economies mentioned are chosen by the author/s, in the exercise of his/her/their academic freedom, and the Institute is in no way responsible for such usage.