<aside> 💡 Campaigns use strategic, tailored messages that move key constituencies toward us and away from our opponents.

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Effective messaging help our audience make meaning of our campaign, weaving our people, demands, targets, and tactics into a cohesive story. As part of a narrative strategy, messaging is one way we move key constituencies toward us and away from our opponents.

We craft our messaging using the following elements (adapted from Narrative Initiative and Frameworks Institute):

• STAKEHOLDERS & AUDIENCE. Stakeholders and audience are the base of people we’re organizing, people we want to activate, potential partners, and other key constituencies who will hear our messages. This includes anyone we want to move, along the spectrum of support, through our campaign’s story.
• FRAMING. Framing is the language we use — word choice, rhetoric, metaphors etc. — that generates emotional responses, draws connections, and articulates our worldview. Effective framing connects our audiences’ experiences and worldview with our campaign. For example, consider the difference between environmental “regulations” vs. environmental “protections.” These two frames can evoke very different reactions to the same set of governmental agencies and practices.
• STORY. Our stories are particular series of events that demonstrate our campaign issue and goals. Stories have a beginning, middle, and end; they have , and a resolution. The stories we tell about our people, targets, and demands transmit our beliefs, analysis, and vision to people unfamiliar with our issue and to our opponents.
• NARRATIVE. Broader than specific stories, narratives are broad systems of meaning build from archetypes, symbols, and generalizations. If stories are like tiles, narrative is the mosaic. Think of narratives our opponents use, like “billionaires are job creators” or counter-narratives like, “billionaires don’t pay their fair share.”
• VALUES. Values are cherished ideals, deep-seated principles, and universal truths. Effective campaigners identify and speak to widely-held values of their audiences, which enlists new constituencies into a ‘common good’ mindset and make them more likely to approach our campaign with an open mind. (See The Values Map)
• MESSENGERS. Messengers are the particular people, voices, and characters that deliver our message. They can be specific people (Tabatha Green), constituencies (taxpayers), or institutions (American Medical Association). Messengers are particularly effective when their perspectives are viewed as trustworthy, reliable, and free of bias.
• MESSAGES. Messages are the actual words, slogans, and talking points that we use to advance our campaign goals. They use framing, stories, and narrative to convey our values and goals to our audience.

Example: SOS DC Campaign

Worksheet

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Other Resources

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