Kristi Remkus, M'P'H'

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WELCOME
Making Your Pitch Communications Planning for
Busy Leaders

• Kristi Remkus, M.P.H.
• Health Education Information Associate
• Health Assistance Partnership

Join the HAP Community - www.hapnetwork.org
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What Well Accomplish

• Learn what you and your SHIP colleagues have
  tried
• What you want to say
• Branding
• Messaging
• How you want to spread your message
• Creation of a Communications Plan
• Goal
• Target Audiences
• Key Messages
• Tactics

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Getting to Know You
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Importance of Branding
Customers must recognize that you stand for
something. Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of
Starbucks
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Branding

• What is branding?
• -- Unique Look and Feel
• -- Associate your service as a solution to their
  needs
• -- Consistency of materials and messages
• Why is it important?
• -- Product Recognition among target audience
• -- Builds Trust
• -- Creates Cohesion between local SHIP programs

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Liberty
Immigration
Freedom
Strength
The United States of America
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Breast Cancer Awareness
Name that Logo
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Melts in your mouth, not in your hand. MMs
Name that Tagline
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What Does this Say to You?
Local Help for People with Medicare
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What Else Do You Want it To Say?
In Your Community
Complete
Free
Earned
Medicare
Compassionate
Extra Help
Counseling
Personalized
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Little Tweaks Big Changes
Helping Medicare beneficiaries access the care
they earned. Free
Objective Local Personalized
Compassionate
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Sampling of SHIP Brands
South Dakota
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Creating Key Messages

• Decide on tone -- educate, promote, or advocate
• Collect words that resonate with your audience
• Create messages that are
• Concise avoid jargon and acronyms
• Active make every sentence active
• Positive talk about what one can do, not what
  you can't
• Short memorable statement that takes 10-15
  seconds
• Specific address a particular challenge and
  audience

Source Dr. Judith M. Newman, Key Messages
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Key Message Framework

• Problem
• Impact
• Solution

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Practice Key Messages Increasing Awareness of
SHIP Program

• Problem
• Medicare is becoming increasingly complex.
• Impact
• Beneficiaries must navigate more choices and are
  often alone in weighing the potential risks and
  benefits of an increasing number of coverage
  options.
• Solution
• SHIPs, a network of local programs created by
  Congress to assist Medicare beneficiaries, are
  available to help beneficiaries weigh their
  Medicare coverage options.

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Key Messages Recruiting SHIP Volunteers

• Problem
• SHIP, a network of local programs created by
  Congress to assist Medicare beneficiaries, rely
  heavily on volunteers to help beneficiaries weigh
  their Medicare coverage options.
• Impact
• When SHIP volunteers are scarce, SHIPs are not
  able to serve and reach out to as many
  beneficiaries as have need.
• Solution
• You can serve your community as a SHIP volunteer.
  There are lots of volunteer roles available, call
  us and we will find one that is right for you.

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Be Prepared to Be on Message
Planning is Key!

• What outcome, ideally, do you want from this
  communication?
• What is the audiences Call-to-Action?
• What do you want to emphasize?
• (Hint Key Messages)
• What do you not want to say?

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Being on Message

• Written Materials
• Lead with the Hook
• Write in an Inverted Pyramid
• Highlight Results
• Use Design Features to Emphasize Key Details
• Make Clear the Call-to-Action

• Verbal Presentations
• Prepare an Elevator Speech
• Build on the Talking Points
• Create exercises to Engage and Inspire as you
  Teach
• Use Stories to Illustrate Complex Ideas
• Use Questions to Bridge

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Practice Being On MessageGood Rep., Bad Rep.
Scenario A local newspaper reporter calls you
for background information about a story because
she googled Medicare Advantage and your SHIP
program came up.

• Talking Points ? Results
• Stories ? Examples
• Bridging ? Call-to-Action

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How do you get them to listen?

• Hook them using this formula created by Bill
  Stoller
• Situation, Surprise, Support
• Highlight the 5 Ws
• Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How
• Tell a Story
• Emphasize your key audience your key message
• Think about your story visually

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Communications Planning
Someone's sitting in the shade today because
someone planted a tree a long time ago. Warren
Buffett, American Businessman and Philanthropist
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Why Create a Communications Plan?

• To clarify your goals and objectives.
• To elevate promotional activities as a key part
  of your programs strategic success.
• To enable creativity and camaraderie among your
  team.
• To develop a consistent message.
• To identify a variety of communications
  activities.
• To agree on the activities you will engage in, so
  you are not continuously pulled in different
  directions.

Source W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Communications
Toolkit
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Components of a Communications Plan

• Create a SMART goal
• Specific
• Measureable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Time-bound
• Determine your target audiences
• Draft key messages
• Establish a defined scope of tactics

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Sample Strategic Communications Plan

• Communications Goal
• Target Audiences
• Key Messages
• Problem
• Impact
• Solution
• Tactics

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Practice Creating a Plan

• Communications Goal By May 2009, recruit one
  volunteer for each of the 4 regions who can act
  as the volunteer coordinator.
• Target Audiences
• Human Services professionals
• Retired managers (e.g. auto workers, nurses,
  corporate, teachers)
• Key Messages
• Problem Due to limited funding, SHIPs rely
  heavily on volunteers.
• Impact When there arent enough volunteers, we
  are limited in our
  ability to reach out and serve Medicare
  beneficiaries. Solution We need you to
  volunteer for SHIP.
• Tactics
• Ask to give a short presentation at a
  professional networking event
• Ask your board for referrals
• Place an ad on craigslist in your community

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Create a Unique Plan

• What SMART goal can you achieve through
  communications activities?
• What audiences might you target to reach that
  goal?
• What tactics could you use to reach those
  audiences?

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Thank You!

• Please do not hesitate contact me
• Kristi at shiphelp_at_hapnetwork.org.

Join the HAP Community - www.hapnetwork.org
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Sources

• Bill Stoller, The Publicity Insider
  http//www.publicityinsider.com/
• Business Week, Make Your Brand Pop
  http//www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_11
  /b3924440.htm
• Dr. Judith M. Newman, Key Messages
  http//www.lupinworks.com/roche/pages/keyMessages.
  php
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Communications Toolkit
  http//www.wkkf.org/default.aspx?tabid75CID385
  NID61LanguageID0