What Makes an Effective Advocacy Message

NOTE: This handout is being used to help us think about what makes an effective advocacy message. If we want to convince people on how to vote or what policies to support, we need to be thoughtful in how and what we communicate to them. The ideas and messages that move us to action might not resonate with the broader public. The following are some tips that will help you deliver effective public messages in our campaign to defeat mandatory minimums.

Know Your Audience: Not every message works for every audience. We need to be familiar with the interests and politics of the people we are talking to. Select messages that you think best fit with the audience you are talking to.

Short and Simple: A message is best if it can be briefly explained in a minute and has sound-bite that can be given in 10 seconds or less. In this day and age, people suffer from information overload. We need to make sure something is understandable at face value and does not require a long or complicated explanation.

Translate for Real People: We need to make sure we are not using jargon, acronyms, or referring to names that people might not be familiar with. Not everyone has the information and expertise we might have. For example, say the “Department of Corrections” not “DOC.” Don’t assume people may know who Kevin Mannix is or Max Williams. Only mention specific people if you think it is important for people to know their names and if you can provide a quick and factual explanation of who they are and why it is relevant.

Supports both Short and Long Term Goals: This is a complicated but incredibly important point. We cannot be so focused on winning the short-term victory that we sell-out our long term interests. In other words, we don’t want to use a message that might win us votes against the Mannix measure, but make it harder for us to change existing laws like Measure 11. For example, what would we do if polling showed that the following message might help convince voters in the short-run: The Mannix initiative is ineffective because it puts the wrong people in prison by focusing on non-violent offenders. A message like that could reinforce the notion that something like Measure 11 is good policy. We wouldn’t use a message like that. But we could use a message like: The Mannix measure is ineffective because it provides no investment in drug treatment programs.

Builds Credibility: We want to use messages that show we have important knowledge on the issue or establishes us as being constructive about solving a problem. Ask yourself if this message would build our credibility or call it into question.

Don’t Wing It: If a question comes up about something you are saying and you are not quite sure what the answer is, say so. We should never make things up. You can always refer people to Partnership for Safety and Justice for more information or to site sources. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know or I can’t remember the exact source of that research, but I can put you in touch with the group that can or I can follow-up with you later on that point.” Just be sure to actually follow-up if you say you are going to. Follow-up is part of building credibility.

Personalize Your Message: Sometimes it can make your message more powerful if you can connect it to why the issue is important to you. Again, you need to figure out how to do this in a very short way that builds your credibility and doesn’t take away from it. For example, “a close friend of mine really battled addiction and she was able to turn her life around because she was given access to treatment and drug court. She was given a chance by the system and benefited from it. I want to make sure we don’t take those opportunities away from people or write people off.”