Key steps in designing a communications strategy
Effective communication is driven by the purpose of the campaign: what must change and who
needs to be reached so as to bring about change? Within the overall campaign strategy, the
communication strategy defines how to capture the attention of the target audiences and convey
a compelling campaign message.
During the campaign planning process, the problem has been identified, the situation analyzed,
the stakeholders and target audiences identified, and the campaign objectives or intended
outcomes set. This forms the basis to begin crafting a communications strategy.
The following are the mains steps involved in developing a communications strategy:
Set the communication goal and objectives: In some campaigns for behaviour-change,
communication goals and objectives may be identical to the overall campaign goals and
objectives (e.g. to “break the silence” on domestic violence). More commonly, communication
goals vary according to different target audiences. This is the norm in advocacy campaigns as
primary and secondary target audiences need to be reached differently and will likely take
different types of action.
For example: campaigns for more effective laws to prevent VAW often include two distinct
communication objectives, to: (i) alert law makers (i.e. the primary targets) to gaps and
inconsistencies between national laws and ratified international treaties, e.g. CEDAW and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, and (ii) stimulate voters to demonstrate their support for
a new national law incorporating international standards, e.g. by signing a petition.
2. Develop key messages that effectively speak to target audiences: Messages should be tailored
to resonate with the target audience(s) – various versions of the message may need to be
prepared to reach different audiences. For example, the message that ‘violence against women is
a violation of human rights’ could be understood differently by a parliamentarian, a religious
leader, or a village elder. It may need to be adjusted – while maintaining the essence of the
meaning – to be better understood. It is also important to consider who will deliver the
messages, i.e. the “messengers”. For example, behaviour-change messages resonate better from
peer groups of the target audience, but awareness and advocacy messages might resonate better
from celebrities and politicians. See also Crafting the Campaign Message.
Examples:
Australia: The state-wide public education campaign ‘Violence Against Women: It’s Against All
the Rules’ run by the VAW Specialist Unit in New South Wales, Australia in 2000-2001,
specifically aimed to build community capacity to confront the issue of VAW by involving high-
profile sportsmen to deliver the message to young men that such behavior is unacceptable. One
of the key evaluation findings of the campaign was that the use of ‘sports language and terms’ to
phrase the campaign message added to the masculine appeal of the campaign, as it stressed the
fact that the message was being delivered by men to men (and importantly, ‘iconic/role model’
