Transcript communication strategy

Pluralizing Acceptance
Project dissemination tips
First meeting
8-9 July 2010
European University Institute
Florence, Italy
Terry Martin, advisory board member - media
ROBERT SCHUMAN CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES
Contents
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Project Identity issues
Audience considerations
Communication tools
Recommendations
ROBERT SCHUMAN CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES
I. Project Identity
Communication:
Assets
Liabilities
• High-profile topic
• Lack of brand recognition
• High-profile sponsor (EU)
• Ad-hoc nature
• Academically authoritative
• Unknown quantity
• Multinational perspective
• Multilingual output
• Provocative title/logo
- Who are these people?
- What’s their agenda?
• Provocative title/logo
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Project Identity
Logo
Graphic impact
•
color version upbeat, harmonious
•
symbolically ambiguous (crescent?)
Textual resonance
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provocative, morally imperative tone
implores interlocutor to accept undefined “ism”
slightly paradoxical
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Project Identity
Clarify lead question
What key question is your research trying to answer?
A. How can social cohesion be enhanced while respecting
ethnic, religious and cultural plurality? or
B. How much cultural diversity can be accommodated?
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II. Audience Considerations
The media ask:
• What’s new? (news value - think headline)
• Says who? (Is source known? reliable? familiar to our audience?)
• What’s the evidence?
- How do we know this? How big was the sample? Think numbers!)
• Who cares?
(explain why your findings matter to whom)
 Of relevance to general audience?
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Audience Considerations
Policymakers ask:
• What does your research tell me about the policy problem
I am dealing with?
a. in my constituency
b. elsewhere
• Does evidence challenge or support my (partisan) views?
• Are current policies working, not working?
• Can I afford to ignore this research?
• How should my office respond to this policy challenge?
(recommendations)
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III. Communication Tools
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Launch events (15  generating reports and pictures for website)
Website (multilingual)
Discussion groups (1 per case study in each country  15 x 2 = 30)
Policy briefs
(multilingual  1 per country = 15 + 3 regional (+ final PB?))
• Regional workshops (3  generating reports and pictures for website)
• Newsletters (quarterly, 39-month project = +/- 11)
• “Toolkit of Tolerance Indicators”
• “State of the Art Report on Tolerance and Cultural
Diversity in Europe”
• “Handbook on Ideas on Diversity and Tolerance in Europe”
• Final conference and report
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Communication Tools
Flyer
• Utilize depliant and adapt to flyer format for print version
• “Pastel People” watermark good (but avoid color logo overlay)
• Think of it as a “teaser” – designed to arouse interest – 1st point of
contact – key branding tool – send to every contact of potential
interest who did not receive earlier version
Brochure
• Adapt “project identity” document to brochure format – a follow-up
instrument – aimed at solidifying relationship with contact –
opportunity to solicit participatory interest
Website
• If content behind clickable icons/buttons still forthcoming, tease
expectations.
• Display EU flag with “European Research Area” prominently at top of
page
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Communication Tools
Distribution of labor
All partners are equally involved in the empirical
work (Case studies) to be undertaken in the project.
And all partners are also equally involved
in the dissemination strategy.
-- Annex 1, Section B.2.3 of
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IV. Recommendations
• Stress EU credentials to attract interest (door-opener)
• Prioritize collection and dissemination of
empirical comparative data
• Plan meaningful charts, graphs, maps
• Headline “Tolerance Indicators”
(benchmarking capability)
• Feed legislative cycles and organs
(timely and targeted dissemination)
• Avoid terms like “deliverables” in external
communications
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