Marketing Accelerator - Battle for the Hearts and Mind

Description

Nonprofit professionals often find themselves frustrated by the way the public thinks and talks about the issues they care about. That broad public conversation — also called the public narrative — shapes the way our audiences consider the problems we seek to solve, and the solutions we propose to solve them. Shifting that narrative to one that is more complete, productive, or just plain accurate can be a bewildering prospect for any advocate. This workshop will break through the mystique of the public narrative, present clear strategies to identify the current state of hearts and minds around your cause, and offer specific ways you can begin to shift the way people think and talk about your mission. Along the way, we will examine how our own messaging may actually be making our problems worse, and strategies we can employ to make sure we are attracting more people, resources, and attention to your cause, not driving them away.

Event Schedule:

8:30 AM – 9:00 AM : Registration, Light Breakfast and Networking
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Workshop
        Welcome / intro

• Mindsets and Framing

• Identity Map

• What we are all up against

• Public Narrative

• The Top Five Mistakes Mission-Driven Communicators Make, and How to Avoid Them

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the key themes, concepts, and frames that shape the public narrative around my issue.

2. Learn how mindsets and framing shape our audiences, and how culture gets in the way of our messaging.

3. Identify strategies to begin to shift the way people think and talk about my cause.

4. Learn the most common communications mistakes that drive audiences, money, and support away from our cause, and how to avoid them.

5. Identify the specific role my stakeholders — board, staff, and volunteers — can play in shifting the public narrative around my issue.

Target Audience:

This workshop will be most helpful for board members, executive directors, program officers, communications, programs and development staff.

**PLEASE NOTE: Foundation for MetroWest will prioritize giving tickets to nonprofit board members, staff, and/or volunteers of MetroWest serving nonprofit organizations.

Presenter:

Shaun Adamec is Founder and President of Adamec Communications, a strategic communications consulting practice exclusively serving mission-driven organizations. Adamec is an experienced writer and storyteller, helping to develop narrative, voice, tone and messaging for some of the nation's most noteworthy nonprofit brands, including City Year, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the American Red Cross, and several local, national and international philanthropic organizations. His experience in government and politics includes communications and messaging support for a City Council, a major-city Mayor, a governor and a Presidential campaign. He holds a BA in Political Science from Providence College and a MA in Government and Political Communications from The Johns Hopkins University, and lives with his wife and three children near Boston.