In the April 14th issue of PR NEWS, our cover story focused on securing third-party endorsements to lend weight to your PR efforts. In this week's issue, Mark Reilly, our
newest columnist, shows you how to win support for campaigns that have a legislative or regulatory twist.
At some point in almost any PR professional's career you may have been tasked with helping a public affairs campaign directed at specific legislative or regulatory objectives.
Here's a strategy that uses PR skills and can be extremely effective when executed correctly. In public affairs jargon the strategy is called "third party outreach" or
"stakeholder management." The concept is to find groups or organizations that agree with parts or all of your policy issue and that are not a direct part of you industry. You
then pitch them to take a supporting message to the legislative or agency staff you want to influence.
Public affairs and public relations are different functions to be sure, but in many respects the basic concept of encouraging someone else to convey your message to influence
perception of a brand, product, and political issue is the same. In PR you understand that the media are important to you because they can help deliver your message to the
targeted audience. We also understand that the message sounds more credible to our target audience if a respected source says our message to them. In public affairs the dynamics
are basically the same, having a credible third party deliver your message to an elected official will probably carry more influence than if you deliver the message directly
alone.
Many of you may be thinking to yourself, "not us, we use lobbyists and our trade association folks to help us convey our legislative and regulatory agendas to Congress and
State legislators. And besides, they have great connections, that's why we hired them." That's probably true and I am not saying that you shouldn't use lobbyists and your trade
association as part of your corporate public affairs campaign, you should. But think about it: lobbyists and trade association representatives are basically an extension of your
company and industry. That's how any Hill staffer will perceive them. Lobbyists and industry trade association reps are often great at what they do and are extremely helpful,
but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to enlist the help of third parties who may be seen as more credible by the legislative staff you are trying to reach.
The answer will depend on your issue. The key is to think about the different levels of business or society that your issue touches. Let's take the example of wind energy.
Who besides the many companies that make, supply or otherwise benefit from wind energy would support legislation that fosters more wind energy consumption? An obvious choice
would be environmentalists. Environmentalists like renewable energy sources like wind energy because it is generally cleaner than "traditional" energy sources. Who else? Many
windmills are on land leased from farmers, so farmers groups would be another choice to reach out to. Farmers lead us to rural groups in general, of which there are many.
How to ask them? First ask yourself what's in your issue and specifically your position on the issue that's good for the groups you've identified as potential supporters. It's
OK that they may not agree with you on "other issues" now, in the past or in the future -- for now it's just about this issue. It's even alright if they don't agree with you on
every aspect of your issue, although it makes the temporary partnership even more delicate. In general, focus on the part of the issue that makes sense for them. If you want to
find out more about what any group's thinking is on the issue before you setup the "pitch" meeting, go to their conference. Join their association if you can. Understand how
they think and talk before you approach them directly.
How to get them to help? Some good ideas would be to ask them to send an official letter from the President or other high-ranking member of their organization to targeted
members of Congress. Better yet, ask them to set up meetings with legislative staff to discuss the issue in addition to submitting paper on the issue. If you can, set up a Web
site where third parties can get more information and send sample letters to their Member of Congress on the issue facilitated by the web site. Ask them to place a link on their
site to promote the policy related site and to promote the Web address in their organizational newsletter. (One note on making policy related web sites when working with third
parties: Make the Web site about the issue, not about your corporation.
Having independent voices talk about your issue in their words will help in any public affairs campaign. (Most) Members of Congress need to hear that more than just a few
industry professionals inside Washington (who get paid to push their issues) care about this particular issue in order to vote for it (or against it). Reaching out to third
parties and having them lend their support can make the difference.
What if You Can't Find a Group to Work With?
Creating a front group is generally a bad idea. It is generally a waste of time, unless you bundles of money to back it up because the credibility factor is just too hard to
overcome. In addition, it is potentially a PR disaster. (The only time this is not the case is when your issue is so unpopular that you have no other alternative, in which case
you need to follow an inside-the- Beltway strategy anyway.)
Mark Reilly, senior consultant of Issue Dynamics Inc., advises corporations, national trade associations, and non-profits on public affairs campaigns with a focus on using the
Internet. His Public Affairs column will appear regularly in PR NEWS.
In 2003, campaigns Mark worked on won the National Grassroots Innovation Award, the Politics Online Conference Golden Dot award, and an honorable mention at the American
Association of Political Consultants "Pollie" awards. He can be reached at [email protected] or 202.263.2932.