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Name _____________________________ Date __________________
Project ____________________________ Project manager ______________________
This worksheet is designed to help Program staff interact effectively with external audiences, or groups. It is intended to be used as part of the project planning process.
When to use this worksheet: Use it
- if your project seeks to achieve change in an external group;
- if you are communicating regularly with outside entities;
- when you intend to develop public information tools—e.g., Web sites, presentations, print materials, media coverage, etc.
The worksheet is intended to be used as a living tool. Start the worksheet when you begin the project, going as far as you can. It may not be possible to complete the worksheet at the beginning of the project – you won’t have enough information. Review and revise the worksheet every quarter, or as appropriate. In all events, complete the worksheet prior to beginning creative work (e.g., before designing any communication materials).
For help in completing this worksheet, you can contact one of the Program’s communications planning staff. They are:
- Mary Rabourn – mary.rabourn@kingcounty.gov or 206-263-3083
- Gerty Coville – gerty.coville@kingcounty.gov or 206-296-8459
1: Project outcomes.
List the project outcomes.
2: Audience
Primary audience: those people whose behavior must change in order for the project to attain its outcomes. Another way to say this: The primary audience is the group of people whose behavior the project is trying to influence.
Are you able to clearly identify your primary audience?
If so, who is your primary audience?
If you can’t identify your primary audience, describe why this is difficult and what must be done to arrive at an answer.
Who are the racial/ethnic/underserved groups affected by this project?
How will each group be affected (positively/negatively)?
List and describe the community members and/or groups who have been, or will be, involved with the development and implementation of this project.
Describe the community support for, or opposition to, this project; if there is opposition, describe any planned mitigation.
Priority audience(s). Which audience(s) does your project need to focus on first? Or, which audience(s) will your project focus on this year? This is your priority audience.
Only answer if you know this; otherwise, come back to this question in a few weeks, or months.
For your priority audience, list the things you already know about them.
- If the audience is non-business (i.e., some group of citizens), consider these aspects: demographic information (age, economic status, gender, education level), social and cultural attributes that may affect their behavior.
- If the audience is a business audience, consider: Who has decision-making authority? (e.g., corporate office? local site—if so, who?) What factors into decision-making? Does the company have an environmental staff person?
For your priority audience, list the things you don’t know—but need to know—about them.
Secondary audiences. List the secondary audiences, that is, those people your project needs to reach in order to influence the primary audience or those people who have a strong stake in the project.
For all audiences (individuals or businesses), describe their Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (“KAP”) with regard to your issue, if you know this.
You may need to stop here, if you don’t know much about your audience yet. If so, come back to this worksheet after you’ve gathered more information. Appendix A provides information about how to learn about your priority audience(s).
Step 3: Desired results.
Describe what you want the priority audience to know, feel or do (the KAP) this year in order to achieve the project outcomes?
If you don’t have enough information to answer this now, say so. Describe the information necessary to answer this question.
Step 4: Message
Write a simple, one-sentence statement that describes what you want the priority audience to know, feel, or do—and why.
- List competing messages for your audience – that is, list other concerns or issues that are very important to your audience.
Step 5: Strategy
Choose an approach that effectively delivers the message to your audience. An effective communications strategy means choosing the best method to deliver your message to your priority audience. It’s necessary to weigh many factors.
Consider the following:
- How does the audience prefer to receive communications (e.g., oral, written, email)?
- What communications channels already exist with your audience(s)? Can you use them?
- What are the barriers to receiving your message? Are certain vehicles more effective in overcoming these?
- Who is already working with this audience? Would working with them/through them be helpful?
- What are the limitations/special needs of your audience (e.g., language, reading level)?
- What does the audience already know, feel or do regarding your subject, and how can you build on that?
- Do similar materials already exist, and if so, can you use or amplify them?
- For businesses especially, what incentives would be persuasive? What types of promotions, ads, etc. would be salient to the business?
- What incentive programs and communications avenues already exist for the business? How can these be exploited?
- Are the materials produced one-time or are they on-going (institutionalized)?
- Is this material part of a family of materials, or is it stand-alone?
- What is the budget (monetary and FTE) for communications?
- What is the timeline?
- How will the material be distributed?
Step 6:
Evaluation. Did it work?
Describe how the communications strategy will be evaluated. What kind of data will be used to compare projected results with actual results?
