These two organizations – while very different in many ways – also have a lot in common. They are run at the national level but rely on numerous affiliates to do the tough work of bringing health care to not only the poor and disenfranchised, but in many cases, particularly in our rural areas, they are the only place women in the community can get much-needed breast screenings. Planned Parenthood and Susan G. Komen for the Cure are tireless providers of access to women’s health. If they didn’t exist, many women would not get these screenings and many more would die as a result.

Here are the lessons to be learned, as I see them.

• Lesson One – Decision-making at the national level – as was apparently done by the Komen camp without input from the affiliates who are on the front lines of this battle – neglected to take the consequences into consideration. Headquarters of organizations cannot act in isolation without the facts – and there is no better place to get the facts than from the front line people who do the actual work. Targeted research into how any major decisions being considered will impact the organization is also fundamental to avoid nasty surprises.    
• Lesson Two – Read the mood of the country. Women and men are passionate defenders when it looks like the health safety net for the poor is being further compromised. Did we learn nothing from the recent outcry from the Presidential debate trail? The Occupy movement?  Out of touch organizations can soon find themselves out of support and then out of business.  Top-down, one-way communication seldom works – unless you’re in an actual war situation.
• Lesson Three – Don’t underestimate the power of interactive communication. While mainstream media found the story irresistible, it went viral in record time with an energy that was scary. While donations increased to Planned Parenthood – this may be the one good thing that came out of it – to do so at the cost of taking a chunk out of a high-quality organization like the Komen group, in a snarky, pitting of women-against-women tone that was unmistakable – was stomach-turning. No one wins in the long run if these two organizations that have done so much for women’s health can’t work together. It is essential to prepare our organizations with interactive-friendly strategy when major decisions are being made. “No comment” never really works and comes across as weak and out of touch. The Komen organization said those magic words we in public relations know help to sooth the public sentiment in cases like these – “we’re sorry.” The healing could begin now for those who want to move on.  

In the aftermath, my hope as a supporter of both organizations is that any woman in small town, rural America as well as her sister in the inner city can walk into a Planned Parenthood clinic and get her breast screening examination without having to worry about how she’s going to pay for it. 

What does that mean?

DHC’s overarching strategy lies in an integrated approach—utilizing a mix of tactics through a variety of mediums to engage audiences. We could write a textbook on why this approach is so effective in conveying a message, altering perceptions and supporting business goals, but the crux of it lies in these three numbers.

How many times a consumer must hear a message for it to register.

How many different sources consumers must hear a message from in order to trust it.

Number of people or parties needed to communicate.

Those first two statements are widely accepted by marketers and communicators across the globe as the new reality thanks to the proliferation of digital information, advertising, and new mediums. The average person is assaulted by 3,000 messages per day—it’s an ever-increasing wall of clutter. So much so that people are now conditioned to tune it out. Even the most creative message presented in a unique way is still just 1 of 3,000 vying for the consumer’s attention.

The lesson here is that a single tactic—pure advertising, pure media relations, pure community outreach, etc.—won’t do the job on its own. But hearing the message through an ad, as a news story, in a company newsletter, via social media—together this fosters the recognition and credibility a consumer needs to act on a message’s call to action.

Then there’s that last statement about how many parties are required to actually communicate.

Sounds like common sense, but many communications strategies we observe don’t seem to pay it much heed. Gone are the days when an organization could do all the talking and expect audiences to just listen. 95% of consumers don’t trust advertising and 84% don’t believe companies have consumer interests at heart.* To foster any sense of credibility and support for your brand, establishing two-way engagement is critical. A single medium won’t reach enough of your audience to ensure they know your organization is earnestly trying to engage them where they’re at. But when they see a combination of ads, their opinions being asked for through social media, positive stories about you in the news, and see you in the community giving back, that’s when a dialogue based on trust can commence.

So keep those three numbers and the statements behind them in mind. In a world of cluttered messages and jaded consumers, an integrated strategy is required to make a message stick. That’s why it’s at the heart of every strategy we plan for clients.

*Your Brand: At Risk or Ready for Growth? Published by Alterian, Written by Michael Hulme of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Lancaster University

Our team has had served on over 30 community boards, advisory committees, and other support roles ranging from Greater Spokane Incorporated to a bachelor auction benefitting a camp for youth recovering from cancer. We’ve crafted over a hundred professional development presentations to share our perspective with our peers. We’ve taught graduate and undergraduate classes at area universities and granted hundreds of students job shadows.

We haven’t always tracked our volunteer hours, but I have little doubt they would number in the thousands.  Our sentiment has always been that part of our job is to make our region a better, stronger place to live and do business. It’s how we pay forward our good fortune, and have some fun along the way.

A few of my favorite volunteer projects have been:

• Back in 2006 we got a call from a local homebuilder who had just been asked by a national production company to take the lead on an episode of “Extreme Home Makeover” to be filmed in North Idaho. With only a couple weeks to plan a logistical miracle, we signed on to manage media at the site.  Every day for a week, our team made the drive to Sandpoint, media kits in hand, to coordinate: interviews, access to the construction site and the “talent.”  Everything was donated right down to the hot chocolate. It was cold. It was muddy. But it was beyond rewarding to see something come to fruition so quickly with hard work, a can-do attitude and lots of volunteers. A fantastic microcosm for what our community can do.

• Another staff favorite included the 2007 and 2010 US Figure Skating Championships.  It was a blast to see Spokane host media from around the globe, fielding a group of volunteers to staff the media room and the deluge of press conferences.  Another great example of our community coming together to pull off something really big—and making the most of Spokane’s time in the national (and international) spotlight. I’ll never view the “kiss and cry” area for skaters quite the same.  (And I developed a new appreciation for Johnny Weir’s fashion choices.)

• More recently we’ve been working on the YWCA’s Queen Latifah event, coming to Spokane on March 22, 2012.  This event is shaping up to be the largest one-time fundraiser in Spokane non-profit history.  What a coup to get Queen Latifah’s first visit to the northwest here in Spokane AND for it to benefit one of our most deserving non-profits, an organization dedicated to empowering women and ending racism.  And, in a shameless effort to raise money for the YWCA right now, please call 325-seat or visit www.tickestwest.com to buy your tickets to this one-of-a -kind event!

We count our blessing to have been a part of these events, and all the others, allowing us to contribute to a truly vibrant community. On behalf of DHC, thanks for anything and everything you do to make our home a better place. Our collective efforts do make a difference.

Andrei: Top Five Miscellaneous Moments from 2011

1. Favorite book I read this year: Welcome to the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan. Yes, time is a goon, and yes, Egan knows how to turn a phrase. Plus, there’s a chapter written entirely in PowerPoint! (Honorable mentions go to Never Let Me Go and 1Q84.)
2. Favorite example of a picture tells a thousand words: We built a house in 2011, and this snapshot represents the muddy, complicated, foggy and beautiful mess that is the process of homebuilding.
3. Favorite proud-father moment, courtesy of our 6-year-old daughter: “Dada, I think I like math better than recess.” (And this, coming from a girl who loves recess.)
4. Favorite work moment: Watching a younger colleague in an important client presentation and thinking to myself, “Damn, she’s got game!” Having a ringside seat to see our team grow and mature is a pretty fantastic thing.
5. Favorite I’m-not-as-young-as-I-think realization: Getting a thank you card from an intern inscribed to “Mr. Andrei Mylroie”

Casey: Top Five Age Appropriate Viral Videos of the Year

1. I told my kids I ate their Halloween candy
2. Webcam 101 for seniors
3. My daughter has chosen the dark side
4. Ojai Valley Taxidermy TV commercial
5. Rebecca Black, Friday

Cher & Jim: Top Five Achievements from 2011

1. Sara D’s amazing wedding and getting a terrific new son-in-law – like we told our other son-in-law at the wedding – thanks to him, the bar is really high in our family for this position. We couldn’t be prouder of our two surrogate sons.
2. Our 15^th DHC anniversary and remembering our humble roots in our basement at 5 mile, after the Elkins’ Trapper Creek Bar planning session that summer.
3. Watching the teamwork, support and innovative way everyone has pitched in during tough economic times.
4. Working with amazing clients – many since the beginning of our company – and enjoying every minute of the relationship.
5. Leading the team as a partner group – challenging each other, opening up possibilities and having a great affection for each other.

Honorable Mention: Oh and a kicker – watching Andrei complete his new house – admiration for his tenacity doesn’t begin to cover it!

Christine: Top Five Places She's Eaten on the Road This Year

1. The Capital Grille, Washington DC  
2. Bon Fire Grill and Bar, Scottsdale AZ
3. Lola, Seattle WA 
4. Departure, Portland OR 
5. Ben's Chili Bowl, Washington DC 

Emily: Top Five Reality TV Moments of the Year

1. Kim Kardashian dashes from her marriage… after 72 days.
2. The royal wedding. Even if it did air at 3 a.m. in the US! So worth it!
3. Charlie Sheen “wins” laughs from America and loses his TV gig.
4. Any and all of the republican party debates and the hilarity that ensued
5. The Jersey Shore cast takes on Italy in true guido/guidette fashion.

Kristen: Top Five Favorite New Businesses That Opened in Spokane This Year

1. Geno’s. Yummy Italian food and live music.
2. Trader Joe’s. Finally!
3. Saranac Public House. I’m dreaming of Saranac’s patio during summer months.
4. Farmgirlfit. Gonzaga alums opened an awesome women-only gym. You’ll be sore, but it’s worth it.
5. Sweet Frostings. Blissful Bakeshop. Delightful treats one block from DHC? Yes please.

Lisa: Top Five Quotes of Her 4-Year-Old Son, Lincoln, This Year

1. While watching a Mickey Mouse Christmas DVD: "Mom is Mrs. Claus Santa's friend or is there something else going on there?"
2. At a DHC workflow meeting: “Everyone, may I have your attention please!” Everyone turns to him as he lifts up his shirt. “I’m naked!”
3. While rubbing kids Vick’s cream on his chest: “Daddy is that dog slobber?”
4. Randomly: “I’m going to fly on a magic carpet ride to the circus, India and… Ohio.”
5. Eating Chex Mix and finds a peanut I forgot to pick out (he holds it up in the air): “Momma! You know I don’t eat ACORNS!”

Michelle: Top Five PR Bloopers from 2011

1. Weinergate. No elaboration necessary.
2. Facebook hires PR firm to smear Google.What were they thinking?
3. Charlie Sheen.#Losing.
4. Bank of America debit card fee.Single handedly launches a new national movement: Bank Transfer Day.
5. Netflix’s launch of Qwikster.Two words of advice: customer research.

Sara D: Top Five Milestones of 2011

1. Marrying Jake on October 1st at the Davenport Hotel. Our wedding was amazing. The lifetime partner I gained even better. Our marriage has officially lasted longer than Kim Kardashian’s.
2. Traveling on our honeymoon in the Grand Cayman Island a.k.a. paradise. We took two weeks of glorious vacation time and I’ll compare every vacation to it in the future.
3. Adopting Snow in March from the Humane Society. When we got her, she was anxious and scared of people. After lots of training, patience, and love, she’s a loving, happy dog and an irreplaceable member of the family.
4. First time for many things this year – scuba diving (it was a near fail…okay it was a fail), snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, attending a football game (Apple Cup) at CenturyLink, traveling to Leavenworth (such a great little escape right in our state). I also joined the Spokane Club this year and got to experience Amy Black’s Skinny Jeans class -- an intense boot-camp style work out at 6 a.m. I never felt stronger!
5. Celebrating 15 years of business for my parents and their partners. The anniversary was a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit and hard work over the years.

Sara J: Top Five Miscellaneous Moments from 2011

1. Favorite book and movie: The Help. Second favorite book– Born to Run, almost made me want to start running barefoot through the streets of Spokane.  Almost.
2. Favorite quote of the year: “I’m mostly a genius,” stated by my 3.5 year old Eli Williams.
3. Favorite trips: It’s tough to pick a favorite!  We logged around 25 trips to Seattle this year and each one had its own special mix of road-warrior fun.  We had the opportunity to meet with clients and work on some amazing projects!   I also had the chance to visit Hawaii and Arizona and traipse along the outer edge of the Grand Canyon! 
4. Are you smarter than a 6^th grader moment: Discovered that my 6^th grader outsmarted her parents by finding a way to turn her iPod Touch into a cell phone and texting tool, after the decision was made that she was too young for a cell phone!  Have to appreciate the technical savvy and ingenuity.  She’s texting to her little heart’s content now.
5. Favorite surprise this year: A surprise party thrown by my mom, Sharon, on HER birthday for her kids and grandkids.  Since she’s not a fan of surprise parties for her, she figured she’d flip the switch and plan a surprise for us.  The result:  wall to wall trampolines, dodge ball against some tenacious 10 year olds, and somewhat successful flying leaps and back flips into a pit of foam.  Has to be my favorite surprise party I’ve been to yet!

Searri: Top Five Signs that Life is Changing in 2011

1. Hearing my kids quote what I would say to their friends before I have a chance. (When it is something they know there is no chance of.)
2. Having to look up for the first time when talking to my teenager.
3. You can’t even talk in code in front of the kids anymore.
4. Your daughter wants summer camp really bad when she sells 800 more boxes of cookies than normal to pay for it.
5. When you can escape for a date night and not have to pay for a babysitter anymore.

Tyler: Top Five Nerd/Fanboy Moments of 2011

1. TWO SONICS?!?! Sonic Generations: greatest videogame ever made. Ever.
2. The DC Comics Universe “reboots” for the first time since the ‘40s. No more colored outer-undies for Superman and Batman!
3. The Rock returns to wrestling. If you SMELL what the ROCK, IS, COOKIN.
4. “Time to find out.” Optimus Prime has had it up to here. Later much, Megatron.
5. Winter is Coming...  Games of Thrones arrives on HBO—Sean Bean is always awesome.

Lesson 1: Work (and life) is a team sport.

The constantly recurring answer gets the top spot. As one DHCer put it “Good people – that’s the most valuable thing. No matter where you’re at or what you’re doing, good people and good teams make life.” We witness just how amazingly powerful a cohesive team working together toward one goal can be every day at DHC, and our clients tell us they notice too. “When everyone comes together, that’s when the magic happens,” summarized another DHCer.

Take Away: Surround yourself with people who push you, make you smile and collaborate well.

Like a family!

Lesson 2: Behold the power of communication!

All right, we might be a touch biased on this one, but even a team that does this for a living is routinely struck by just how powerful targeted, effective communication can be. It’s often the deciding factor in everything from selling a product to winning a war of ideas. One DHCer put it like this: “Whether dealing with hardships or celebrating successes, the way that you tell that story is what makes it mean something.”

Take Away: Take every chance you get to express your ideas, talk something through, be thoughtful about the words you choose, and how you deliver those words.

Our friends at CHAS telling their powerful story.

Lesson 3: Don’t hesitate to pull a Darwin.

Look no further than our awesome list of clients 15 years in the making to observe how we’re constantly adapting and growing. We do so as a firm and as individuals. “I think I’ve grown a lot through this talented team. It’s humbling.” That’s how one DHCer articulated the personal growth she’s experienced here. Another said, “I’m capable of so much more than I thought I was.” From humble beginnings in a basement to serving national and international clients, DHC knows change is inevitable, and that to thrive as a small business and as go-getters, we have to adapt to shape our own destiny. Sometimes that means taking calculated risks.

Take Away: Take time to step outside yourself to observe the larger picture. The next opportunity is there, but it might mean stepping outside your comfort zone to grow.

Have you found a way to integrate this into your communcation strategy yet?

Lesson 4: Celllll-a-brate good times, COME ON!

A lyric and a philosophy we make time to implement. Getting out of bed every morning and coming to work isn’t a chore when you know there will be a team of smiling faces there ready to celebrate even the smallest of wins. Seeing our client on the front page of the paper recognized for the work they do, winning an award, or a personal triumph like a new home or baby—they’re all wins and we’ve always taken time to celebrate them. One DHCer said, “Sometimes in the press of business, it can be stressful when you’re trying to meet deadlines, but at the end of the day we’re all working together toward the same goal in helping our clients achieve success.” Once that success happens, you better believe a celebration is soon to follow.

Take Away: There’s always an excuse for a party. If you can’t find one, look again. Wine and chocolate are optional, but highly recommended.

Celebrating... Tuesday.

Lesson 5: Keep learning. Seriously.

The industry is changing fast—think of what the advent of social media has done to the nature of communication over the past decade--no, the past few years alone. To be effective, we’ve got to keep ourselves on the bleeding edge. Not only are DHCers passionate about learning, but we’re actively teaching too. We think it’s a nice balance and we’re committed to being and helping lifelong learners. One DHCer said, “I continue to learn things everyday but a few things that stand out are you should never give up and never take no for an answer.” It may be life lessons like these, or more practical lessons like don’t rely on spell check alone, but the bottom line is we don’t ever plan to stop learning (or teaching for that matter) and we hope you don’t either.

Take Away: Sometimes the lessons come in the funniest of places, but if you’re listening and ready to absorb new ideas you too will never stop learning.

Sara J sharpening her razor's edge leadership skills.

Imagine what answers we’ll get when we ask DHCers this question 15 years from now. We won’t make you wait that long though—keep checking our blog and social media for the lessons we learn from day to day! You can also check out everyone's answers to all the questions we asked around our 15 year anniversary here.

Fact: Successful campaigns will have been measuring their return on investment from communications strategies from the very beginning.

Hence the final entry in our DHC process series (catch up on research, strategy and implementation).

Measuring a completed or ongoing communications plan is essential to knowing what has been successful and which elements of your strategies might need tweaking to finish strong.  Measurement helps answer important questions like, “what strategies should we continue to invest budget and manpower in and what should we forgo implementing next time?” 

A campaign implemented without measurement is a like making a movie but ignoring all the critics and fan feedback, then making a sequel with no idea what anyone liked or disliked about the original.

Let’s begin with what you weigh your implemented strategies and tactics against—the objectives you created at the beginning of your communications plan. Objectives serve as the roadmap while implementing and the judge of ROI upon completion.

If you remember one thing about objectives, remember this: make them specific, measureable and outcome-based, not output-based. 

For example, say you work for a utility company and, through customer perception research, you’ve found that there is a lack of awareness for the energy efficiency programs you offer.  Knowing that the majority of your customers get their information about the utility through the media, you might decide that the utility needs to raise awareness of energy efficiency programs by increasing media coverage by 20% over the next six months.  The tactical level is where you would then include news releases, media tours, etc.

The medium we get the most measurement questions on is social media.

The major social media platforms are nothing new at this point, but the advent of social media is still a new enough shift in the basic way people and organizations are conversing that it is still hard to wrap one’s arms around solid ROI. What is the value of a Facebook Like or a Twitter Follower? You have access into impressions and click-throughs, but the technology is still too new for a reliable way to pin a dollar amount to these numbers. Some researchers are trying, but the variance in their formulas is still too great for us to state the value of a Tweet.

That isn’t to say one can’t measure social media success. You just need to take a different approach focusing on content analysis and qualitative feedback. Instead of measuring Likes and Followers as primary factors, critically analyze the conversations you’re engaging in and the types of people following you.  Social media is a case where quality is much better than quantity. If you only have 100 Likes, but they all engage with you on a weekly basis, that’s much better than having 1,000 friends who never engage with you.

Whenever possible, especially with full campaigns, we suggest that clients test out messages with another round of research midway through the campaign to determine shifts in audience perceptions and the impact messages have had. This allows room to alter any messages to make them as compelling as possible and ensure the campaign is achieving its goals.

Still unconvinced? Here are some general examples of measurements for common tactics we employ:

TV/ Radio Spots

• Frequency and reach
• Impressions
• Phone calls received since run began
• Attendance at events
• Changes in perception/awareness in annual survey

Website

• Numbers of site hits
• Length of time on pages
• Responses in interactive sections

Collateral Materials

• Inquiries
• Changes in perception/awareness as measured in poll or qualitative interviews
• Number printed and disseminated

Media Relations

• Number of articles
• Number of gross impressions
• Advertising equivalency
• Placement of key messages

Special Events and Community Partnerships

• Groups and organizations participating
• Event attendance
• Feedback from attendees
• Tracking the number of trainings, presentations and public exposures for the campaign

There is still a persistent myth within many organizations that it is impossible to glean ROI from public relations and marketing efforts—that communications results are just too nebulous and qualitative in nature to quantify. We consider that myth busted. With the right goals from the outset and the right measurement techniques for each strategy, you’ll be able to watch your communications plan working to support your overall business plan and track exactly what your investment yielded.

So all the research and planning has led to this: implementation. It’s finally time to start doing what you’ve been researching, planning and talking about. So how do you jump in? Here are some questions to ask yourself as you begin to implement a program or campaign:

• Am I meeting people where they are? Don’t make people seek your messages; take them to where your audience already is (churches, existing meetings, stores, etc.).

• Have I considered an integrated approach? We help clients utilize the best of public relations, marketing and advertising to achieve their goals. Rarely will a single tactic adequately communicate your message, much less make an impact on audiences.

• Am I using repetition? People need to hear things several times before they will begin to believe it, buy-in and change a behavior or take an action.

• Who will do the work and what will it take? Part of aligning resources is ensuring you’ve accurately projected your needs – if you have to accomplish 20 speaking engagements in a quarter, how many speakers do you need? Be thoughtful about what you can bite off, and chew!

• What are others in our space doing? Scanning the marketplace to understand what mediums both your competition and partners are using can be tremendously helpful as you implement your program and will allow you to make necessary adjustments.

Let’s take a glimpse into two common tactics we use and lessons we’ve learned while implementing:

• Media relations. Flexibility and thick skin are key when it comes to pitching the media. Earlier this year we pitched national media who target Native Americans about an opportunity for Tribal members to benefit from a national settlement. Even after six months of preparing the largest media list we’ve ever put together, when it came right down to it the list was never going to be perfect so we had to jump in and remain flexible. You’ll never know what media will say or do with a story (if anything) but the exciting part is for every unfriendly or uninterested person you talk with there seems to be an equally excited and eager one around the corner. That’s especially true when you’re willing to adapt to their needs and remain nimble.

Tyler on the phone with regional media to promote a story for one of our clients. When research determined a need to highlight a particular facet of our client's business, we developed a strategy for a highly targeted media relations push to publications across Washington State.

• Special events. While planning a special event for a client last fall, preparations were moving right along and things were going great. That is until a discussion about the lunch menu ensued and a few people mentioned there was too much feta cheese… No matter how detail oriented you are, regardless of how many times you’ve checked and double checked, you have to be ready to switch things up because it turns out that cheese can be a big deal. Good food at an event will go a long way to making attendees happy.

Sara D. and Kristen assisting with the grand opening of the CHAS Lewis & Clark Dental Clinic. We supported with event prep, regional media relations, collateral development and more as part of the overall stragegy.

I’ll leave you with three tricks I think apply to these scenarios and just about every other tactic when it comes time to execute:

Tip #1: Implementation isn’t the time for a Leap of Faith. The next time you get the urge to start a _______ (you fill in the blank – brochure, awareness campaign, media pitch, etc.) make sure implementation is not your first step. Take the time to do your homework, build a research-based approach and plan accordingly. You’ll save time in the end and achieve greater results.

Tip #2: Walk in “their” shoes. No matter what tactic you’re implementing put yourself in your audience’s shoes. It sounds simple right? But often in the hustle and bustle of moving through our daily to-do lists we don’t take the time to stop and be intentional about really pretending we’re them.  Sometimes it’s easy, I’m a parent of a young child so when I’m working on a brochure aimed at telling parents about vaccine safety it’s easy, but sometimes you aren’t part of your audience and it’s always worth seeking someone who is. Tap your family, friends and colleagues to do this – if you’re targeting motorcycle riders find a friend who rides. Feedback from the source that will impact your implementation efforts before you start will always pay off in the end. 

Tip #3: Always have a Plan B. I was born a planner, but whether you’re with me or not on that having a backup plan can save you when you need saved most. Think through what could go wrong and figure out what you’ll do if it does. That way when it happens and everyone else is panicking you’ll be the calm, cool, collected one saving the day!

There are often a myriad of ways for organizations to maximize the outcome they’re hoping to achieve, but in our experience, relying on a single approach, a single tactic, isn’t the advisable path to maximize the impact of your message.

An advertising campaign built on the most creative whizz-bang idea may sound great on paper and look even better on storyboards. A pure public affairs initiative targeting the movers and shakers may seem like the most direct route to change. A media relations push can be a powerful way to generate a positive buzz people can trust.

Yet to achieve something as powerful as altering a perception or reinforcing a change in behavior, any one of these strategies on its own is rarely up to the task. Sometimes you can see this play out (a startup restaurant you’ve noticed launching a social media blitz with coupons and promotions galore but no coverage or reviews in local publications) and sometimes you can’t (when a public issue never reaches your ears because of a community relations campaign targeting audiences too narrowly with no media push behind it).

With the average person exposed to over 1,600 messages per day*, it’s wishful thinking that your message can get through, much less make a lasting impact, with only one vessel to deliver it. Most research agrees that a passive listener needs to hear a message about 7 times before it even registers.**

Hence the integrated approach.

At DHC, we pull from a tactical utility belt that would make Batman blush. Branding, advertising and media buys, crisis communications plans, media and community relations outreach, public affairs—together these strategies and more complement each other and reinforce a message across multiple mediums capable of producing a change in perception or behavior.

Without an integrated strategy, we never would have been able to increase enrollment in children’s medical programs by more than 90,000 in Washington State during our Healthy Kids Now! campaign. We utilized press conferences, media kits distributed to targeted outlets across Washington, a PSA campaign featuring TV, radio and print, and a slew of collateral materials to make the message as visible as possible and reinforce it via multiple sources.

And we certainly aren’t the only ones making use of integrated campaigns. Who hasn’t seen the Old Spice Guy? Well that campaign isn’t limited to TV and print ads, it’s one of the biggest social media campaigns of all time thanks to a team of writers constantly monitoring and responding to posts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and beyond. They also launched efforts with promotional events at concerts and major outdoor events targeted by Old Spice. Did that work? The Old Spice YouTube channel became the all time most viewed in history and by December 2010 sales were up 107%. Certainly speaks to the power of social media as a campaign element.

But you don’t have to be a company the size of Old Spice to make use of an integrated approach. Here in Spokane, Community Frameworks has done great work educating the public about their work building families affordable housing. It’s taken a combination of highly targeted media relations, community partnerships, ad campaigns like the memorable “Do you have one?” that decorated Spokane billboards in the summer of 2009, and a host of specialized collateral for their many events.

So how do we decide what combination of strategies is the right combination to employ?

To start with, your audience just told you. If you took the time to conduct research with them, one of the questions you were sure to ask was about how they get information about you and from what sources. The answer to this question will inform which channels you use to communicate with them.

There isn’t a textbook formula to arrive at the ideal tactical mix, but it’s often informed by factors like the composition of your audience, the nature and scope of the message, and the budget you’re constrained by, forcing you to prioritize.

When our team sets out to craft the most defined message and effective integrated strategy, we utilize just that—our team. Our campaign plans are often the product of group brainstorms involving a whiteboard, lots of laughs from cornball ideas that lead to the golden ones, and caffeine in all its wondrous forms (DHC does not condone drug use to generate ideas). Having used all the aforementioned tactics and more for every type of communications campaign you can imagine is what gives us the necessary insight to continue crafting the most relevant and powerful integrated campaigns for clients.

I’ll leave you with a few final tips for generating ideas that I’ve learned in my many brainstorm sessions at DHC:

• There are no bad ideas in a brainstorm (unless you’re in our large conference room with Andrei—but that’s another story).
• Even when you think you’ve got the winning approach, remember to step back from the process and look at things from a big picture standpoint. It’s easy to get mired in the detail and forget the overall campaign goal. 
• Prioritize your budget: don’t stretch it too thin over multiple mediums just for the sake of having an integrated approach. It’s more important that you dedicate enough budget to the medium that best reaches your audience.
• Go with your gut, but go with your audience’s gut more. Always remember who the message is intended to reach and affect!

*2010 Neilson Report

**Michael J. Naples, Effective Frequency

You might also wonder why the clients we work with look to research. After all, research alone doesn’t lead to increased sales, changes in perception or improved market position. 

The answer is they can’t afford not to.

In fact, it’s so ingrained into how we do things that I’m not sure we could really help a client who didn’t want to at least do a minimum amount of research. Not that we’re rigid, but the marketplace is littered with infamous examples of products and programs that organizations failed to research, conducted ill-designed research or ignored the issue altogether with disastrous consequences—think New Coke, GAP, Pontiac Aztek or Vioxx. 

While millions of dollars could be at stake, oftentimes the risk is smaller, but every bit as important. It breaks our heart to see precious resources wasted because someone didn’t take the time to target the audience, get the right message or understand what exactly the problem is in the first place.

Research doesn’t have to be a heavy, all or nothing approach. We know and have often sharpened our pencil to get it done through creative sources. Secondary (already existing) research has never been more plentiful—best practice examples of other successful messages around a given topic , for example, are only a strategic Google search away. Now you have to keep your eyes peeled for the quality and source of course, but you don’t want to ignore it going into major decisions or programs. We’d like to think we know the academic best practices through our work in that sector and our credentials, but blend it all with a liberal dose of street smart guerilla research too.

We never move ahead planning strategy for a project without an intimate understanding of the audience we’re reaching out to beforehand. Sometimes a client isn’t sure of their audience. Sometimes clients know their audience, but they don’t really know much about them. With our deep experience into qualitative research we can probe deep into the minds of various audiences and segment target markets.

On projects without extensive budget for research, we frequently test to make sure we’re on the right track. We conduct best practice research into the competitive landscape for other messages, effective or otherwise.

Focus Groups, Insight Interviews, exiting polling, surveys: these are the tools that can inform a business strategy. We never suggest research for the sake of research—it’s always to support an outcome like developing a long term strategic plan, testing messaging, or identifying perceptions around issues and organizations alike.

We know when to use Focus Groups and Insight Interviews separately to collect specific types of feedback and when to complement one with the other to give us a broader spectrum of insight. A Focus Group allows for a melding of thoughts that grow and can be teased out from group discussion, but Insight Interviews focus on highly targeted feedback from key informants like business and community leaders or individual stakeholders considered experts on an issue. We’ve used both tools to inform strategic planning for organizations like the Community Colleges of Spokane (CCS). Here we spoke to a full spectrum of audiences—students, faculty, administrators, business and community leaders. The purpose was to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that CCS will use to chart the best course to lead them into the next decade amid changing student populations and severe budget limitations.

Research results directly impact the business strategy and sales, as we saw as a result of our work with intelligent self-service developer Next IT Corporation. DHC conducted multiple Focus Groups around consumer perceptions of their ActiveAgent program to refine the program, test its effectiveness and develop new strategies for messaging.

Findings compiled from Insight Interviews we conducted on behalf of the Washington Center for Nursing (WCN) informed recommendations regarding how communications could assist the Center in their work on the nursing shortage. Insight came from key informants such as nurse executives, nursing educators and WCN board members, as well as nurses currently in the field. From this came a new communications strategy and mission statement for WCN.

Common sense dictates the difficulty in crafting a message for an audience if we don’t know what that audience is thinking. Both DHC and our clients are always surprised from the level of insight research reveals—no matter what level of understanding we think we have about an audience.

Research is the foundation of an informed, results-driven approach to a campaign. It gives us an accurate baseline from which to form goals and craft the most effective messages—it isn’t always the whizz-bang creative idea that resonates with audiences, but an understanding of our audiences give us a window into what will resonate.

It was the cap on quite the portfolio piece for DHC.

It was our team here in Spokane who alerted over a thousand media outlets across the nation about the Settlement in order to inform class members of their rights under it. How did we get involved? Why? Well we’re a tribally owned firm with years of experience helping tribal entities, and we recognized early on what a momentous case this would be for Indian Country.

It all started with Elouise Cobell, featured below, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana, who fought a 14 year legal battle with the federal government. The Cobell vs. Salazar Settlement is the result of her class action lawsuit seeking accounting for mismanaged trust funds and assets belonging to over half a million Individual Indian Money (IIM) account holders.

The Court mandated a comprehensive notification process take place to alert the hundreds of thousands of class members of the settlement, requiring all class members be informed of their rights under the Settlement. The agency that was required to notify all these people around the nation, Kinsella Media of Washington D.C., chose Desautel Hege Communications to execute the earned media strategy.

Our team personally contacted over 1,100 news rooms and placed individual calls to approximately 800 reporters, editors, and tribal representatives. It was our charge to present newsworthy information to the media in an unbiased fashion to inform class members so they could decide for themselves to participate in, object to, or comment on the Settlement.

It was important for us to remain neutral as we presented the facts of the Settlement—it wasn’t our place to convince class members to act one way or the other, and we recognized that a media campaign could never fix decades of broken trust and mismanagement. They nevertheless needed the full facts, because class members would never again be able to make this particular choice.

Our team began calling at 6 a.m. on the first day of the notification period and we called non-stop until it was dark, every day for days straight.

One of the best indicators that this campaign was successful was the sheer volume of coverage – over 88 million impressions across the nation from December 21 - April 20, 2011 with an advertising equivalency value of $3.9 million. Of course, ultimately it is about quality over quantity when it comes to media coverage. In this case, it was critical that we reached the tribal readership so they could make up their own minds. That’s why we reached out to publications ranging from small tribal newsletters to the big daily, national publications.

At the end, we were left with our largest media relations campaign in the firm’s history, the most comprehensive list of contacts for tribal media publications in existence, and a pivotal part in a Settlement that will leave an imprint on Indian Country long into the future. Time will tell how the Settlement will be judged by Native Americans years from now, but we are proud of our part in this historic campaign.