Communicating the Value of Preservation: A Playbook (2012)

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18 Chapter 2. Building Blocks for Effective Communications 2. Building Blocks for Effective Communications The remainder of the Playbook guides you through the process of using the following four building blocks to construct an effective communications campaign comparable to those profiled in the previous chapter: • Audience Identification — Learn to identify audiences so you can find out what motivates them, what words resonate with them, who their trusted sources of information are, and which communication methods are most effective; • Message Design — Translate technical data about preservation into concise and compelling messages that not only deliver facts, but also appeal to the emotions and interests of your most important audience segments and work in multiple delivery channels; • Message Delivery — How you deliver your message should be continuous and will have the most impact when you use all three major avenues — traditional, one-on-one, and new internet media opportunities — to effectively communicate messages to your most important audience segments; and • Market Research — Utilizing research — particularly primary research that connects your DOT directly to what stakeholders are thinking, feeling, and saying — is the mortar that holds the building blocks of good communication together. Within each building block chapter, occasional Tie-In discussions identify areas of synergy across individual blocks; you are encouraged to pay particular attention to these tie-ins in order to learn more about the way all four blocks work together. The Playbook’s emphasis on following four building blocks implies a rigid formula for creating a campaign. Also emphasized, however, is the importance of customizing your agency’s approach to each block. A small A or B Customization Choice icon denotes particular options for customization. For inexperienced message developers, or those that are developing preservation messaging for the first time, all four building blocks will be helpful. For those experienced in message development or those that have a specific issue of interest, individual blocks or steps within those blocks might be consulted.