Public Awareness and Programming Getting Past the Fear and Stigma of Working with the Public.

Public Awareness  If you participated in the previous two webinars, you will see that building public awareness goes hand in hand with fundraising and coalition building. You can’t do any one of these without including the other two.

A Short Review The Coalition Start with your mission and vision statements  These determine who you are and what your coalition is about – something you want to convey to the public  Help determine your branding  Help determine your goals and objectives

A Short Review Your Strategic Plan –  From the mission and vision statements, you determine your goals and objectives for the short and long term  Your plan helps you determine your audience for your message and how you want to portray it – your campaign

A Short Review Long Term Goal Medium Term Goal Short Term Goal Focus Audience Lead Responsibility Completion Date Evaluation Indicators Objective 1 1. Tasks Objective 2 1. Tasks SAMPLE STRATEGIC PLAN Mission Statement: Vision Statement:

A Short Review While your public awareness program may or may not need funding, you need to keep in mind that your message may be a way to gain additional support for your coalition and its other needs. Keep your audience and the general public in mind.

Public Awareness Depending on your plan, your public awareness program may be about your branding or your campaign. Brand vs. Campaign These are very different things and need to be kept in perspective. Your brand is your identity – your logo, your mission statement. It usually does not change drastically. Your campaign is a current message that you want to convey. It can change often and more than one campaign can run at one time – if you can handle it.

Public Awareness Example: United Way We all realize this logo as the symbol for The United Way. While it might change slightly over the years, it basically stays the same and is readily recognized by all. This is the United Way’s BRAND.

Public Awareness Example: United Way However, every two to three years, the United Way will change its fundraising plan by developing a new campaign – such as the current one – LIVE UNITED.

Public Awareness Example: GEICO Geico has a logo that has seen little change over the years.

Public Awareness Example: GEICO Yet Geico runs many campaigns at once.

Public Awareness So let’s get back to our reality and talk about our own Awareness programs: Most, if not all coalitions have adopted a logo – whether it’s the branded one related to that above, or your own. It is your identity. No matter what you decide as your campaign, make sure your name is somehow attached. If you spend the time and in some cases, the money, make sure you get the recognition.

Public Awareness We don’t have the time in this forum to develop various public awareness programs – but there are things that all successful campaigns have in common:  A definition of the problem – “Suicide takes X lives in our community each year”  Setting your organization as the “expert” in suicide prevention and awareness – the go-to people when questions or concerns arise  A push for action – “Suicides can be reduced by being aware of the signs of suicide, alleviating the stigma that surrounds mental illness and suicide, and where to go for help”  A system of being able to respond well to inquiries and the needs of the public

Public Awareness  A definition of the problem – “Suicide takes X lives in our community each year” Choose your message well and be consistent. Be sure it remains the same throughout the campaign. Changing a phrase, or the way the message is delivered can also change the perception of that message, thus confusing people. If people are confused, the message is forgotten.

Public Awareness  Setting your organization as the “expert” in suicide prevention and awareness – the go-to people when questions or concerns arise Tell them that you know what you are doing – and be ready to back it up with facts and figures. Be sure that there are designated members of the coalition that will respond to media and/or public inquiries – to help keep that consistent message, thus establishing the expertise.

Public Awareness  A push for action – “Suicides can be reduced by being aware of the signs of suicide, alleviating the stigma that surrounds mental illness and suicide, and where to go for help” Do you want them to visit your website for more information? Join the coalition? What is the most efficient way to get your message across to your chosen audience? The media? Which forms? Television, radio, or newspaper? All three? What can you afford to do? What can you get for “free?”

Public Awareness For example, perhaps you decide to put together an awareness campaign for elderly men. What media would you choose – why? Now, consider a teen campaign – what media would you choose? Why? The best thing to do? Ask a few people who represent the audience you are hoping to reach. After all, they are the experts!

Public Awareness  A system of being able to respond well to inquiries and the needs of the public No matter what your message and to whom, have the procedures in place to handle inquiries and concerns. Be sure to have the appropriate organizations on board with your campaign – those who may have to deal with the increased calls, admissions, and so on – the crisis centers, law enforcement, emergency rooms, walk-in clinics, etc. Make sure they are kept aware of your plan and have input as to how inquiries should be handled.

Public Awareness You don’t have to recreate the wheel! Many campaigns are already out there for your study and use. There are counties who have already put together awareness projects just as remembrance walks, dinners, social events and more. Talk to them. Prevent Suicide Wisconsin has the public service announcements available, featuring Suzy Favor- Hamilton for awareness campaigns, and other helpful information on the website. We also have the wallet cards and means restriction brochures available for use.

Public Awareness You don’t have to recreate the wheel! SPRC, AAS, NAMI, NIMH, and others have programs available for your use – most are free. Check them out online, too!

Public Awareness Campaign Examples: HOPES

Public Awareness Campaign Examples: SAVES Campaigns can be viewed and purchased: &page_id=3836F2F3-7E90-9BD4-C93AEF2B191DF58D

Public Awareness The Media is Your Friend! Some ways of getting the buy-in of the media:  Remember, you have a need and so do they. You need to reach the public, they need to get ratings.  Provide information that is timely and attention grabbing – it piques the interest of the public, therefore the media

Public Awareness  Help them as much as you can – provide stats, stories, a human interest angle, etc. that helps the reporter put a full story together – a reason for reporting it  Keep them up to date with new developments and be honest with them – keep your integrity

Public Awareness  Be sure to thank the media outlets you choose and carry the story – let them know you appreciate their partnership in the wellbeing of the community

Public Awareness  To read examples of appropriate and problematic reporting on suicide, visit the following Web site to access “Reporting on Suicide: A Resource for the Media,” www. afsp.org/education/recommendations/index.html.  You can assist the local media in their reporting about suicide by also referring them to an SPRC document online: www. sprc.org/library/at_a_glance.pdf.

Public Awareness Which media should you use? Totally depends on your audience and message! Again, ask those who represent that audience – where do they get their information? Television? Radio? Newspapers? Online news? Facebook or other social media? How do they access it? How often? You save yourself time, money, headaches and embarrassment.

Public Awareness Engaging the media may start with an overlying press release. To gain the attention of the reporter:  Grab the reporter’s attention with strong lead sentence or short paragraph, which conveys your key message.  Write in short, concise sentences and paragraphs – provide important information, data, and statistics. Avoid extraneous details.  Emphasize the local angle.

Public Awareness Engaging the media may start with an overlying press release. To gain the attention of the reporter:  Include a quote from your organization’s spokesperson or expert. This lends more credibility.  Be sure to answer the basic questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Don’t forget to include the date!  Keep it to one page.  Include contact information and your Web site.

Public Awareness Sample Press Release

Public Awareness As with any project on your strategic plan, measure how well your public awareness campaign has worked. (This is why it’s good to have a call to action in your message.) There is no exact science on measuring the outcomes of working with the media other than subjective measurements like increased calls to the crisis line, increased visits to the ER or crisis center, increased visits to the website, etc. But they can help. Perhaps partner with these folks to ask callers/patients where they heard about the services?

Don’t Forget!!!  Debi Traeder Suicide Prevention Coordinator Mental Health America-Wisconsin 715/  Shel Gross Mental Health America-Wisconsin 608/ Special thanks to: Denise Pazur and PDV Foundation for their assistance with today’s webinar The Kubly Foundation for its support SPRC for information regarding working with the media