Strategy:
The Ultimate Communications Tacti
c

By Cynthia Fontayne

In marketing communications, the single most important tactic is…Strategy. This is a deliberately paradoxical statement. Too many tourism marketers leap right into the details of communications without formulating a truly strategic plan.

A sound strategic communications plan should include establishing goals, conducting or compiling research, identifying key audiences, defining messages, targeting media, and developing creative, cost-effective ways to combine all these components to maximum effect.

Seems obvious. So why doesn’t everyone take this approach? The escalating changes in our industry which can render long-term strategies obsolete overnight? The familiarity with basic tools such as familiarization trips and press releases? Inertia? Or perhaps its opposite: the urgent impulse to Do Something Now!!!

The constraints and uncertainties of the industry and the marketplace seem to conspire against strategic thinking. But without a communications strategy, one is doomed to operate at a disadvantage no matter what the current business climate or latest industry challenge.

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Goals

Strategic communications planning is not an arcane science, and it needn’t be expensive. It starts with setting realistic goals for the communications program. The goals should be:

· limited to a reasonable number,

· directly related to the overall goals of the organizations and its corporate and marketing plans,

· based on a sound understanding of the organization’s current and desired image,

· ambitious yet achievable, and

· measurable

The communications goals should also take into account the needs and interests of the working media, since they will be a primary channel for your messages to reach your markets.

Research

Research is important to several of these characteristics, and is a strong foundation of strategy. Good communications programs – using whatever combination of tools…advertising, public relations, promotion, etc., - are designed ultimately to do one thing: change behavior. Usually this is preceded by changing perceptions or opinions. So, it is important to establish where an organization is in these areas: how do people (markets, customers, clients, employees, partners, shareholders, whomever) perceive the organization? what are their opinions of it? and how do they act as a result of those perceptions and opinions? In planning the route to reach one’s goals, it is good to remember that the most important part of a map is often the spot marked – You Are Here.

Nevertheless, research is often a sticking point for communications planners. It’s too expensive; it’s not practical; it’s too complicated; it’s ephemeral; it’s too specific; it’s too general; it’s too time consuming, go some of the laments. Never mind; it’s a must. But it needn’t be an overwhelming proposition, even for the smaller marketer. It is certainly nice – and usually beneficial- to be able to conduct in-depth, detailed market research, and there are many reliable methods and experts to assist in that regard. But it is relatively simple and inexpensive to obtain some insights into perceptions held by key groups – e.g. customers, distributors, industry partners, the media. Getting a fix on current attitudes and behaviors achieves two critical things:

(a) establishes a baseline from which changes in attitude and behavior can be noted (measurability) and

(b) highlights those areas and issues which the communications program can effectively address, while pointing the way as to how they can be addressed. In other words, where are we? and where should we be going? A post-campaign assessment can then more easily tell us if we got there. It is especially important for communicators to get a fix on what the media think of your destination or organization. Because if they have a negative or non-existent impression, it is unlikely their readers will ever read, see or hear anything positive. It simply won't get reported.

Target Audiences

A strategic approach to communications planning usually ensures that all important audiences are included in the program. All too often, a program limits itself to several obvious groups (the consumer, the travel agent, the meetings and convention planner) while ignoring others which can be (a) reached at little incremental cost and (b) greatly expand the impact of the program. The wise strategist rosters all possible constituencies by asking a few simple questions:

· who is our customer now? occasionally? frequently?

· who could be our customer?

· who sells our products/services?

· who are our partners in the industry?

· who are our competitors? Our competitors’ partners?

· who works for us?

· who owns us/invests in us?

· who regulates us?

· who writes about us?

· who rates us?

· who loves us/who hates us?

· who can mold the opinions of others above?

· which of these groups is most critical to our business?

There is usually more than one answer to each of these questions, and each represents one segment of the total audience. Each segment requires its own messages, media, methods of communication. The most important segments are the ones to query on their perceptions. Because, more and more, communications is a two-way process. Indeed, communications is a process. And the more strategic the plan, the more control there can be over that process. And the more control, the more success.

The Media

The proliferation of media – in types and sheer quantity – is proceeding exponentially virtually worldwide. Costs, variety, formats, numbers can vary greatly from market to market. Strategic media planning must take into account such factors as local usage, credibility, price, productions, and content on a market-by-market basis, all the while bearing in mind the target audiences which need to be reached, informed and persuaded, and with what messages. While hard numbers such as frequency, reach, ratings, circulation, etc. are important to consider, it is even more important to remember that the media are produced and written by people. No two editors or reporters or news directors are alike. Even after you have developed, say a press release on a given topic written to appeal to certain categories of magazines, you must remember that each individual at each magazine has personal interests and preference that can affect how they receive and respond to your message. Something as basic as publicity development can no longer be approached with a mass media mentality. Personalize each communication as much as time and budget allow. The wise communicator has a strategy for each key media outlet and each key media professional. That strategy takes into account the publication, the personality AND professional standards.

The Mix and the Messages

It is the carefully constructed mix of market segments, media and messages (form as well as content) that characterizes the strategic approach. The messages can serve to strengthen positive impressions, dispel false impressions, communicate change, strengthen loyalty, create new awareness, solve problems, meet challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

What are the messages? Some of it is news that is being made by the organization (new products, pricing, personnel, profits, etc.) and some of it can be news made for the organization (promotions, special events, community and other good will programs). The latter type of news can be developed specifically to convey certain messages to certain audiences. But even the former can be presented in a way that is compatible with the overall strategy and key messages to persuade as well as inform, always within, of course the guidelines and standards of professional journalism.

Responsiveness to the media is of paramount importance, but don’t let it throw strategy out of the window. Answer ALL incoming queries and requests, but save your outreach efforts for those outlets and journalists covering topics critical to your messages and your goals.

Congruency and Consistency

The wise strategic planner looks at every component and every tactic and asks the question, How does this support our goals and fit with our strategy? If the question cannot be answered, the tactic should be re-thought, re-worked or discarded. There is little point in implementing something clever, elegant or merely inexpensive if it does not support the strategy. The strategist will save the time and money, no matter how little, and go do something else. This is an especially important rule during the implementation phase. It is easier to plan strategically than to implement strategically. Why? Because year-round marketers are presented with both challenges and opportunities. One must be nimble and market-responsive but within the parameters of the strategy. It takes some serious resolve to resist, for example, a free participation in a newspaper sweepstakes; aimed at budget travelers if you are a luxury resort. This kind of freebie is actually quite costly; you may pick up one or two guests willing to splurge, but you have sent a confusing message to thousands and thousands of upscale travelers you’ve spent the rest of your budget wooing.

The successful strategy is congruent and consistent. Even when it means having to say No to an opportunity…or to a friend.

Measurement

Finally, make measurement part of your plan. You can measure simple things like publicity results or more significant things like changes in perception or behavior. Measurement can suggest refinements and corrections to your communications program. And it can verify its impact. Don’t be afraid to measure before or after your campaign. Accountability frightens many people. The strategist welcomes it. After all, how better to prove that strategy is the number one tactic for successful communicators?

©Cynthia Fontayne 1995-2004

This article appears in SHINING IN THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT
A Communications Handbook for Tourism Professionals
,
published by the World Tourism Organization.

 

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