August 2017
Bighorns of the Tetons
A proposal for strategic communications
Bighorn sheep are the iconic species of the West, and Wyoming’s Teton Range are the iconic landscape of the Rockies. Sadly, the herd continues to dwindle as human development, competing exotic species and recreation puts pressure on their habitat. The solution is partially biological and partially political. This proposal outlines a communications plan for grappling with the human element of this debate.
What is a Strategic Communications Plan?
When two coaches with two fine teams take to the football field, the one with the best game plan will generally emerge the winner. A good coach thinks again, striving to understand the nuances of the game, the playing field, the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. He knows plays that will maximize his team’s strengths, understands timing and knows how to respond to probable lines of attack. A communication plan does much the same thing for a campaign.
Instead of winning a football championship, Wyoming conservationists are striving to prevent a cherished bighorn herd from sliding into oblivion. Resource Media can assist this effort by providing:
· An informal scan of public discussion of this issue, both in print and online. This is akin to “watching the films” of previous games. Our goal is to understand the issues, the critics and what messages are rising to the surface.
· A core campaign message. Effective campaigns have one message that they stick with and repeat over time. This message is grounded in the core values of the target audience – the people you need to have on your side. It explains the problem simply and offers a commonsense solution. This also identifies the attacks the critics will throw at our plan and ways to effectively deflect those criticisms.
· An outreach plan identifies the timing of the issue and the most credible spokespeople to deliver the message. We’ll identify key media outlets and other means to deliver the message to who needs to hear it, when it counts.
I want to emphasize that developing this message and plan will be an iterative process. It’s not something Resource Media has in boilerplate or we pull out of a hat. We will work together to make a plan that is rock-solid accurate, relevant and accessible to your audience, and effective toward our desired result.
About REsource Media
Resource Media is a one-of-a-kind. It is a non-profit communications shop that serves conservation groups, public health groups and other folks working to make the world a better place. We have offices throughout the West and in Washington D.C.
Senior Program Director Ben Long will lead this project. Ben opened Resource Media’s first field office in Kalispell, Montana, in 2001. He has helped scores of successful campaigns from the North Slope of Alaska to suburban New Jersey. He focuses mostly on public land, water and wildlife in the northern Rockies. An Idaho native and lifelong hunter and angler, he regularly contributes to the outdoor press and is a blogger/contributor for Outdoor Life Magazine.
Costs
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