Formulating a Communications Strategy

Developing and implementing the annual communications outreach strategy spans a five-month timeline – beginning in the weeks following ratification of the year’s honorees by the Foundation’s Board of Directors and concluding in the weeks following the presentation of the awards, when earned and paid media placements begin to appear in outlets across the state. The first step is assembling background information on the honorees, including a LexisNexis search to determine their levels of exposure in general market or ethnic media and the relevance of that coverage to the messages associated with the champions award.

We then reach out to the honorees to schedule individual face-to-face meetings, which include 40- to 60-minute on-camera interviews that cover biographical material, professional background, and their philosophy or beliefs about health professions diversity and how that has driven their work. It is also important at this stage for honorees to verify specific information that was initially supplied to the Foundation by nominators so that recent information is included in media materials. At the interviews, we also talk about media relations to assess their experience and comfort in dealing with reporters. Moreover, we assess whether they are conversant in languages other than English to conduct interviews with ethnic media, if warranted.

B-roll footage is captured to portray honorees at work, or with colleagues or students, and in other situations that are reflective of the reasons behind their selection as champions. We also take high-quality portrait photographs. This material forms the core visual and narrative elements used in all communications materials created to support the plan: paid ads, news releases, biographies, question-and-answer interview summaries, a website newsroom and DVD vignettes.

Across much of its scope of work, TCWF’s Communications Department staff calls upon a team of communications consultants, independent photographers, copyeditors and other professionals who add tremendous value to the Foundation’s external communications capabilities. For the champions award, the team typically includes: a media relations consultant with general market and policymaker communications expertise; ethnic communications firms with expertise in Spanish-language media and Asian/Pacific Islander- and African-American-focused media – depending on the backgrounds of the honorees; the Foundation’s website design consultant; and a photographer and videographer(3).

The core components of the strategic communications effort consist primarily of four elements.

Outreach To Generate Earned Media

A primary goal in securing placements is telling the stories of individual champions award honorees and linking those personal and professional experiences to health care issues. Specifically, reducing disparities in health outcomes among Californians requires addressing disparities in representation of minorities within the state’s health care workforce. Pitching the work of these compelling individuals to reporters as feature stories, as opposed to news, has proven to be effective. Reporters and editors have been less interested in the award or its cash prize, but respond positively to the honorees’ compelling stories.

To generate media interest, a kit is developed in print and digital formats that includes: a news release; brief biographies of the honorees; a question-and-answer document culled from transcripts of the interviews we conducted; a fact sheet about the award and the issue of health care workforce diversity that includes links to reports, studies and other useful resources for reporters; and other supporting documents that promote the Foundation’s website newsroom and other resources for journalists.

Media kit materials in other languages are created, as appropriate, for outreach to ethnic media from communities represented by honorees. TCWF does not rely simply on direct translation from English. Care is given to develop materials that are culturally and linguistically meaningful and relevant for media serving non-English-speaking communities in California. During the past five years, Spanish- and Chinese-language materials have been created by our media relations team and edited by copyeditors with extensive journalism experience in these respective languages. This approach to content development is called “transcreation” by one of our consultants.

Media kit materials are disseminated to a list of targeted media via e-mail and fax that includes: general market, English-language papers in honorees’ communities; major daily newspapers throughout the state (specifically to health care/health and medicine reporters, when possible); ethnic media outlets (print, radio and television) that are reflective of the year’s honorees; news services with specific interests in health issues; the philanthropic press; and media that have covered TCWF and/or its awardees in the past. Additionally, the news release is typically distributed via PR Newswire to its California subscribers. We also work to identify media outlets (e.g., university alumni magazines or those targeting physicians) that may have a special interest in particular honorees.

The media relations consultants are charged with following up on the dissemination through phone calls or e-mails to individual reporters and editors to generate interest in covering the story. They are poised to connect reporters with the honorees for interviews and facilitate any other requests. The TCWF communications officer overseeing the communications rollout also responds to media inquiries that typically include questions about why the Foundation is honoring individuals and why it has identified increasing the health care workforce and its diversity for funding.

“It [the champions award] gave me the incentive and resources to further invest in the diversity and cultural competence of Asian Health Services. After the award, we created Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Chinese patient navigator positions to increase the career ladders and opportunities in community health.”

— Sherry Hirota, ’05 champions award honoree

Paid Media Placements

The Foundation’s communications officer oversees the media relations consultants to develop a paid media plan to reach the honorees’ communities (including ads in English and other languages, as appropriate), their peers and California policymakers and opinion leaders, and our colleagues in the philanthropic sector.

Paid ads follow a TCWF leadership ad template that is used with each award program, using the leadership medal as the anchor design. The ads prominently feature portrait photos of each honoree and a brief quote relevant to the issue. A concise narrative describes the purpose of the award and applauds the honorees for their dedication to increasing diversity in California’s health care workforce. The text also specifically directs readers to TCWF’s website, which features a newsroom section with additional information on the awardees’ stories. Poster-size versions of the ads are also created for display at the awards banquet.

Internet Outreach

Information about the champions award on the Foundation’s website is a key component of the campaign, serving as a one-stop information shop for a variety of audiences interested in learning about the award and the honorees.

Much like the paid-ad template, a consistent newsroom structure for the Foundation’s leadership awards is used on TCWF’s website, ensuring consistency across awards programs. Digital versions of media kit pieces are posted. High-resolution versions of the honoree photos are available for download by media outlets looking for visuals to accompany their stories. It is also possible for visitors to see archived materials on past years’ honorees. These downloadable materials are regularly accessed by media.

In addition to the media-focused dissemination activities described previously, the Foundation sends an e-alert announcement and a printed postcard via U.S. mail to thousands of contacts in its database that directs readers to the newsroom.

Outreach to Policymakers

Policymakers are a priority audience for the communications plan, defined broadly as those in positions to impact the size and makeup of California’s health care workforce. They include: elected and appointed officials and policy staff at state, county and municipal levels; leaders in higher education and a broad range of health professional associations; and leaders at nonprofit organizations that advocate for these issues. As those working on projects to inform California’s elected officials know, regular turnover among officeholders as a result of term-limit laws means this work must be ongoing to keep contacts current and information front and center.

In the weeks following the presentation of the award (4), a poster-size version of the paid advertisement is mailed, under a cover letter from the Foundation’s president and CEO, to a list of nearly 400 individuals. The letter encourages recipients to hang the poster in their offices to raise awareness among constituents, colleagues and other visitors about the champions award. An ancillary result of this mailing is that a number of the elected officials will draft official proclamations honoring the three champions and forward these documents to the honorees, which are a welcomed added benefit.

While developing this strategy has been the task of TCWF’s Communications Department, it could not have been successfully implemented without an effective behind-the-scenes working relationship between the communications officer and the program director overseeing diversity in health professions grantmaking. They consult regularly throughout the planning and implementation period about issues ranging from the logistics for photography at the awards presentation to more complex questions on message development as it relates to the Foundation’s grantmaking priorities. Being able to count upon strong buy-in from the Foundation’s leadership, notably its president and CEO who has been a highly visible spokesman about health care workforce and diversity issues, has also contributed to the success of the outreach.

It should also be noted that all media materials, paid advertisements and other externally disseminated information go through the Foundation’s internal review process prior to distribution or release, which includes reviews by the designated program director, communications staff, professional proofreader, legal counsel and the Foundation’s president and CEO (5).

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