Sample NGO Communications Plan
Focus on the Global South: Food Sovereignty Communications Plan
The purpose of this plan is to detail how best Focus can communicate on the topic of food sovereignty to its diverse audiences, while capitalising on the paradigm shift of attitudes to globalisation that the COVID era has created. This plan will enable Focus to better approach its audiences with more effective, targeted messaging, while positioning Focus more widely as an authority organisation on the subject that will be approached for comment and analysis.
Focus on the Global South profile
Focus is a think-tank / research institute challenging globalisation, neoliberalism and militarism in the global south, with a strong focus on Asia. It has main offices in Bangkok, New Delhi and Manila, but produces research on countries across the region.
Focus’ existing communications framework is informal and ad-hoc in nature, without a dedicated comms team / head. While the work Focus puts out is well-produced and well-received in relevant circles, and there are strong examples of individually produced comms materials and projects that show excellent initiative, this has not been an ongoing process and it is not an organisation that is well known to the broader public.
Focus has two main Unique Selling Points (USPs): firstly, the quality of its staff, being well-respected professionals both locally and from across the world, with broad socio-political and academic backgrounds. Secondly, it occupies a key position as an anti-globalist and anti-neoliberalist institution, which gives it common ground with the aims of counter-culture media, civil society and social movements.
Key objectives of the Focus food sovereignty communications plan
1. Push food sovereignty as a key issue in the COVID era
Food sovereignty will emerge from COVID as a major topic of debate. The pandemic has shown how fragile international supply chains and markets are, and has pushed into the public eye some of the major flaws of reckless globalisation and outsourcing. Countries such as Singapore, which imports 90% of its food, and Iraq, which imports 80%, should be positioning for a serious conversation on the issue. Greenpeace, Al Jazeera and other major organisations are currently writing op-eds on the subject and politicians will not be far behind. As a well-respected academic organisation, Focus’ messaging can contribute to expanding and keeping this issue in the public domain.
2. Increase Focus’ general visibility and position it as a market-leader on food sovereignty analysis
Focus occupies a unique position as an anti-globalist international organisation with a deep breadth of experience, that has extremely skilled local staff in the countries that it is based in. Food sovereignty and deglobalisation messaging go hand-in-hand, particularly for civil society, grassroots org and the general public. Using these key issues to push Focus’ policy points will have a strong impact on Focus’ general visibility.
3. Effect / lobby for policy-level change on a domestic / international level
With food sovereignty occupying a larger space of domestic and international dialogue in the COVID era, media sources and policy makers should be much more engaged with the issue and keen to respond. Focus should be engaged in analysis and education that pushes for and tracks policy change both domestically and abroad.
Audiences, stakeholders and key communication methods
1. Policy makers
Policy maker is a broad category that contains both government and non-government actors. Non-government actors are primarily concerned with their organisations and businesses, while government actors are primarily concerned by the things that affect their constituency, constituents and political ideology. Both categories will also have broad national issues they also feel strongly about.
Regardless of their category, targeting key policy-makers with issues that are relevant to them is essential. As food sovereignty is simultaneously a local, national and international issue, it is therefore relevant to policy makers across the board. Recent examples in Focus’ target countries include COVID displaced migrants from farms in India and Thailand.
Prioritise: Local/national constituency concerns, individual interests
Policy makers key communication methods:
Invitations to speak / keynote at events and launches that have media presence and reflect their positions / interests. Invitations to co-author / be quoted in significant research / opinion pieces.
Targeted links to publications they have a local / national / international interest in.
Building Focus’ organisational relationships and staff’s personal relationships with policymakers, and ensuring that Focus is positioned as an authority on food sovereignty.
A strong social media campaign on food sovereignty targeting professional platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) will be most beneficial in influencing policy-makers.
2. Social movements / civil society
Social movements and civil society are interested in key local issues and specific national ones that align or conflict with their stated goals. Offering support (education, comms, resource sharing) or credible academic research that supports their aims are achievable ways to gain their support. In terms of food sovereignty, the overlap with deglobalisation, workers rights, environmental issues, poverty, nutrition and political activism is vast, so Focus and many organisations goals should align.
Prioritise: key local & national issues, offering support
Social movements / civil society key communication methods:
Regularly pushing and promoting research papers, events and updates out to other organisations.
Promoting collaboration in situations where Focus and other organisations objectives are aligned.
Inviting and amplifying the voices of local organisations to a national / international level through events and research.
A strong social media campaign with a focus on amplifying grassroots social movements and activism is more likely to be taken up by other organisations.
3. Mainstream media
Mainstream media are focused on interesting stories that have good USPs. As media sources receive many pitches, a great story should ideally be compounded with a strong personal relationship with the editor/journalist involved. Media relations are a slow-grow, but the Return on Investment (ROI) is potentially very high.
As mainstream media are currently very aware of COVID and its surrounding complications, and are suffering from some fatigue from its reportage, alternative takes on outcomes of the pandemic should be welcomed. Food sovereignty should be a trending topic in the coming months and Focus should aim to position itself as an authority and quotable source on the subject.
Prioritise: key stories with good USPs, relationship-building
Mainstream media key communication methods:
Relationship building is essential to working well with mainstream media, as they are oversaturated with stories and organisations seeking favourable coverage.
Meeting as many journalists and editors in person as possible, for example at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club, is essential.
Clear, interesting and concise press releases with easily extractable quotes and good USPs. Strong social media campaigns.
4. Alternative media
Alternative media are interested in stories that align with their ideology or ethos, whether this is a counter-culture campaign or a left-aligned local anti-globalist campaign. What alternative media often lacks, however, is academic or political authority, so targeting them with the aim of adding to their authority should be effective.
As with civil society, there will be many places where Focus’ emphasis on food sovereignty will align with alternative media’s interests in workers rights, human rights, environmental issues and so on.
Prioritise: presenting Focus as an authority they can refer back to
Alternative media key communication methods:
Relationship building is as important as with mainstream media, but for slightly different reasons. Alternative media are generally more editorially independent and run stories that are more likely to open them to criticism by government. This makes trust and personal relationships especially valuable commodities.
Alternative media can have a large base of consumers but often lack authority due to a lack of political / academic credentials. Making Focus available as a quotable research institute would be a mutually beneficial relationship.
A well-produced social media campaign can directly lead to coverage from alternative media more effectively than a press release. Alternative media are usually very quick to pick up on trends and push content out.
5. General public
The general public, like mainstream media, are seeking interesting stories with good USPs, although they may also have a strong interest in domestic and international issues. Targeting the general public requires a dynamic and adaptive approach over several forms of media, with regular engagement on key issues the public is interested in. The aim is building Focus’ brand as trustworthy and one that can be relied upon to speak hard truths.
In terms of food sovereignty, this can be communicated as a local, national and international issue depending on the audience, and is one that offers a lot of opportunity for strong case studies and examples that would translate well to social media.
Prioritise: relationship building through mixed media that builds Focus’ brand and reputation
General public key communication methods:
Social media campaigns remain the most effective tool by far to engage with the public. The makeup of the campaign will vary slightly with different demographics, but Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter and Focus’ website should all have a significant increase in regularly scheduled, accessible and interesting content.
Email marketing through MailChimp is an effective communications tool that can be used to build user engagement around specific issues around food sovereignty.
Focus can unilaterally, or in collaboration with selected organisations and individuals, run events, education and training targeting the general public with the aim of increasing awareness around food sovereignty.
For the general public, localised content is particularly important, as they may have a lower level of international language literacy than the other demographics, and this may be a substantial barrier to engagement.
Content Schedule
An ideal content schedule would see the following schedule.
Instagram:
At least one piece of content being produced per day. Regular engagement and paid content is vital for getting the best from Instagram’s algorithm. This can be a crosspost from Facebook.
Facebook:
As with Instagram, ideally one post per day. This can also be a crosspost.
Youtube:
At least one 20s - 1m video per week.
Twitter:
At least one tweet per day.
Website:
At least two pieces of content (blog, publication, news article) per week.
This is an ideal content schedule, however logistical and financial constraints may restrict its implementation.
Key target audiences and market research in primary Focus countries
This section lays out some key background information and target audiences, organisations and individuals in Focus’ three main countries: Thailand, India and the Philippines.
Thailand
Thailand’s media sphere is broadly conservative with notable outspoken outliers. Subjects that are difficult to cover include the King and his business interests, alongside anti-corruption and government overreach.
Most media offices are in the same building in Phloen Chit. The media is divided into two spheres: regional reporters based predominantly in Bangkok, and local/international media for Thai consumption. Logistically, it is helpful to include pre-written quotes with press releases for local papers due to language constraints and to prevent inadvertent misquotations. For major players like the Bangkok Post, Reuters etc, this is not an issue.
Local Thais, particularly young Thais, are very politically conscious as evidenced by recent events around the FFP. Engaging these young Thais should form a cornerstone of Focus communications.
Digital literacy is very high in Thailand, and social media outputs on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube will be key to a successful strategy.
Activists often weather the tough political climate by banding together into like-minded coalitions, so groupings of organisations are common. Broadly, the Thai government is ambivalent about organisations based in Thailand criticising foreign countries, but is harsher on domestic dissent.
Interesting figures and organisations:
Andrew MacGregor Marshall - https://twitter.com/zenjournalist.
James Buchanan - https://twitter.com/JBuchananBKK (Guardian).
FTA Watch - http://www.ftawatch.org/node/50425. Tracks the progress of Free Trade Agreements in Thailand.
Johnathan Head - https://twitter.com/pakhead (BBC).
Khaosod English - https://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish. Khaosod English is an activist site that is pro-China and anti-Thai government. It originated from Khaosod, which is a working class publication that is pro-rural & pro-agriculture.
Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Thailand - https://www.fccthai.com/. To track the FCC’s current interests, it is useful to watch their videos and track back through what they consider the cutting issues.
Thisrupt - https://thisrupt.co. A relatively new alternative media positioned as Thai Vice.
India
The media and activism landscape in India has become more difficult to navigate under Modi and the BJP.
Press freedom has declined, journalists are under attack, and left-leaning publications have been targeted, particularly around the citizenship amendment act. Many organisations have been forced to censor, or have chosen to self-censor, due to fear of Hindu nationalists. Access to areas deemed high-risk in this period have also been restricted. Mukesh Umbani also controls a great deal of the media, much as the Murdochs do in the West.
Nonetheless, political engagement in the world’s largest democracy is still very strong and local issues take a front seat. Localising important food sovereignty issues for civil society, alternative media and the general public should be at the forefront of Focus’ strategy here.
Interesting figures and organisations:
Rana Ayyub – https://twitter.com/RanaAyyub. Vocal investigative journalist.
Kaflia – https://kafila.online/. Blog for academics and activists discussing class action and social issues.
Scroll - www.scroll.in. Thoughtful mainstream media outlet.
The Wire - https://thewire.in/. Financially independent journalism.
Caravan India – https://caravanmagazine.in/. Good alternative analysis.
Gender at Work – https://genderatwork.org/genderatwork-india/. Alternative feminist network.
Indian anti-globalization activists
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._R._Neelakandan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajagopal_P._V.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arundhati_Roy
The Philippines
Media and press freedom have come under attack in the Philippines under Duterte. Fear of the Cyber Libel Law and the new Anti-Terror Bill appear pervasive in Filipino civil society and are acting as a deterrent to activism, as is ‘red-tagging’ of academic institutions. Following a global pattern, the government is also using COVID-related laws to prosecute and intimidate its critics in media and civil society.
As a result, Focus’ approach to communications in the Philippines should be cautious, with a focus on research, analysis and education, and ideally carefully building on the existing personal relationships of Focus’ Filipino staff.
Interesting figures and organisations:
Rappler - https://www.rappler.com. Digital and independent reportage by young journalists and activists.
Vera Files - http://verafiles.org. Independent media organisation, training provider and watchdog. https://verafiles.org/articles/media-and-public-trust
Aletrmidya - www.altermidya.net. Reports local, township level news about predominantly rural issues.
Major media - Inquirer - https://www.inquirer.net/. Founded by Belomente. Comfortable middle-of-the-road media.
Evaluating success
The success of the Focus communications plan for food sovereignty can be measured using several metrics. These include:
1. Volume and quality of content produced across all social media channels, ideally measured monthly or quarterly over the year, rising to the amount of content specified in the content schedule and maintaining that output.
2. Feedback, followers and user engagement with this content, using analytics to track digital success across Google, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and so forth.
3. Using informal CRM systems or Excel to track physical engagement (i.e phone calls, enquiries etc).
4. Track Focus’ success in being cross-referenced, quoted, invited to speak at events and mentioned in media.
Additional Sources
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/43662/food-sovereignty-now-and-beyond-covid-19/ https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/solution-food-insecurity-food-sovereignty-200425143803134.html https://southeastasiaglobe.com/future-forward-trial-dissolution/ https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/22/philippine-activists-charged-sedition-fake-news https://www.democratic-erosion.com/2019/12/16/activism-is-under-attack-in-the-philippines/ https://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/1134753/digital-uptake-paying-off