OA Communication Strategy

OXFAM AMERICA

Communications Strategy SECURING RIGHTS AT SCALE

BY BUILDING THE SUPPORTER BASE Â April 2014 | Communications & Community Engagement (C&CE)

Communications & Community Engagement

1/1/2013

Contents INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 2 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................... 4 OA BUSINESS OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................... 6 OA COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................... 7 C&CE WAYS OF WORKING ....................................................................................................... 9 C&CE EVOLVING STRUCTURE ............................................................................................... 11 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 12

APPENDICES TARGET AUDIENCES AND GEOGRAPHIES .......................................................................... 13 INFOGRAPHIC: A rudimentary introduction to market-driven communication .......................... 24

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OA Communications Strategy

INTRODUCTION This document—Oxfam America’s first comprehensive communications strategy—has been shaped in and by a climate of dramatic change. We have new and inspiring strategic plans here at OA and at Ol. And Oxfam has a new vision for what we are to become by 2020, as set forth by global leadership. This vision includes a shift toward the global South. We are also influenced by external realities of global power dynamics and economics that demand that international nongovermental organizations (INGOs) like Oxfam reassess their role in the world. How we speak, how we present ourselves publicly—indeed, how we actually see ourselves and our role—must also change dramatically or our big ideas will amount to little more than development babble. It is not enough to be doing good. To inspire others—to bring our vision to fruition—we must prove to our stakeholders that we are doing measurable good.

A HARD LOOK As we developed this communications strategy, we took a hard look at our assets and our weaknesses. We have some excellent “raw materials” at our disposal. Not only has Oxfam America become one of the most respected advocacy and campaigning organizations in the development sphere, but our development programs—our core work for so long—have become progressively more focused and effective. Our investment in assessing program quality has helped improve the agency’s work. Our “practical visionary” global identity, and Oxfam America’s own manifesto and its derived brand statement, “Right the Wrong,” have captured public support. We have invested wisely in photography, story gathering, and digital communications.

Weaknesses? We are a heady organization. Our analyses are necessarily thoughtful, but this has led to a cultural habit of over-explaining. Our investment in brand has been tiny (roughly $250,000). We have been appropriately skeptical of expenditures that do not support our beneficiaries, but the influence and revenue growth that we need to achieve cannot be met without a broader constituent and donor base. This means growing our brand. We are at a crossroads. If we are going to grow our constituency base, we must use our limited resources to greatest effect and focus relentlessly on communication activities that are aimed at that specific purpose. We simply can’t afford to be undisciplined.

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IT COMES DOWN TO THIS With this communication strategy, we aim to extend and grow our supporter base and our influence by building brand and engaging the US audience. We will use channels, context, and content that make sense to our audiences rather than reflecting our internal organizational structures and priorities. This is what we mean by market-driven communications. This is far from a radical proposition. In for-profit companies, marketdriven business planning is a given. To be clear, when we speak about this approach, we are speaking about affecting the impressions and actions of potential US supporters—charity-giving, world-aware people.

This means meeting audiences where they are, whether they have a sophisticated understanding of Oxfam or are meeting us for the very first (or second or third) time; whether they need to be educated about our areas of concern or invited to act or give.

We will use communications to create the most enticing, effective, and powerful supporter experience possible, aligning all of our channels and content initiatives to convey the importance and urgency of our efforts to end the injustice of poverty.

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SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS Oxfam’s vision is a just world without poverty—a world in which people can influence decisions that affect their lives, exercise their rights, and assume their responsibilities as citizens.

Oxfam’s purpose is to help create lasting solutions to the injustice of poverty. We are a single part of a global movement for change.

In our strategic plan, we situate ourselves in “a world at an important inflection point that presents serious challenges to the core business models of international nonprofit organizations.” We go on to identify key challenges: “a highly competitive and contentious environment for fundraising as well as a likely shift of donor focus from international NGOs to national governments.” In addition, INGOs in general, and the Oxfam confederation members in particular, are facing significant financial challenges— revenues are down, while our ambitions continue to grow.

The strategic plan, “Securing Rights at Scale,” states that Oxfam is “singularly positioned to achieve rights-based results through effective field programs and by influencing public and private institutions to take those programs to scale.”

Oxfam functions in a competitive development landscape, buffeted by new and emerging challenges that require us to refine our business model to ensure our continued effectiveness and growth. Communications & Community Engagement (C&CE) must adapt by: 1. Moving OA from Pollock to Mondrian: Analysis of our market1 shows that while Oxfam America may occasionally drive a short, effective communication campaign toward an achievable goal, the organization as a whole suffers from an incoherent presence in the market. Our communications often lack a clear target audience, a compelling narrative, and/or a clear ask of our supporters.

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2. Building on messages that work, in places where we already have support: Data from existing supporters2 show that Oxfam does a good job communicating stories about how we “help people help themselves” or how poor communities pursue “long-term and sustainable solutions.” In fact, supporters want us to tell them more of these stories. At the same time, our own geotargeting analysis3 of our supporter database shows that we have established bases in Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. We need to continue to tell stories well and grow our existing supporter loyalty by concentrating on audience segments with whom our messages are likely to resonate and in markets with a concentration of these likely supporters.

3. Facing fundraising and resource challenges in a donor market with huge potential: While the confederation is challenged by diminished funding and a global decline in support for our collective agenda, Oxfam America enjoys a US market that has enormous potential for acquiring and cultivating new supporters.

We have access to corporate and foundation resources that can serve OA and the other affiliates if properly cultivated. We need to consider a new and inspiring way to engage potential donors (i.e. a fundraising call to action framework) and support our fundraising colleagues in confidently carrying that message forward.

4. Maintaining our influence with the US government and the private sector— huge players in global poverty creation and reduction: At the same time that we are shifting resources to support national-level campaigning in countries where we work, Oxfam must continue to focus on key US entities—the US government and the private sector. Because we do not accept direct funds from the US government, Oxfam America enjoys a competitive advantage in the INGO space. We also have experienced policy and advocacy experts in Washington, DC, and a campaigning staff that readily takes on the policies of the government and corporations. Our private-sector department is working alongside and against companies. What the US and our private sector do leaves an enormous imprint on the world. These are actors whose activities can materially change poverty’s footprint around the globe. We must continue to expand our influence with government and private-sector actors, using messages that resonate with and educate potential allies and targets.

For these reasons, we have an obligation to the confederation to build market share and support. Our communications strategy must therefore be designed with these realities at the core so that communications support takes OA from where we are to where we want to be, sensibly and logically.

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OA BUSINESS OBJECTIVES What OA is trying to accomplish during the next several years

These objectives offer high-level filters for all business decisions, including communications. Oxfam America’s leadership has determined that we aim to: 1. Secure rights at scale via the OA Strategic Plan external change goals: fueling the development-investment system; promoting fair, sustainable agriculture and food systems; and reforming the global emergency-response system.

2. Build a firm financial base and growth strategy so Oxfam America is a $100 million organization by 2019.This includes successfully executing a $75 million capital campaign in support of major projects and developing an exciting and inspiring fundraising call to action framework that motivates new and current donors to give.

3. Establish Oxfam America as the premiere thinker/practitioner of global, rights-based, poverty-focused development in the US. 4. Build an Oxfam workforce of global citizens.

5. Integrate and highlight gender in our work.

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OA COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES How C&CE will support OA business objectives The communications objectives listed below describe the areas where C&CE will prioritize our staffing and resource investments during the next three years.

1. Change the common understanding in the US of global poverty and its causes by: •

Establishing Oxfam as the authoritative voice on system-based solutions to poverty.4

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Elevating the voices of the communities we serve.

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Investing more in methods proven to engage supporters in a dialogue on poverty, a dialogue that inspires and leads to action.

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Taking an increasingly public and more aggressive role in identifying the “wrongs” to be “righted.”

2. Support Oxfam America’s goal to secure rights at scale for the communities in which we work by:

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Developing communications strategies for each of the external change goals included within the Oxfam America Strategic Plan (OASP).

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Developing a fundraising call to action framework for OA (in collaboration with Resource Development) including supporting messaging.

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Privileging communications efforts that support both the OASP external and internal change goals over those that do not.

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Supporting the outcomes of Oxfam 2020 as they pertain to supporting effective communications in those countries where OA has an interest as well as supporting the Worldwide Influencing Network.

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Implementing a structure for C&CE that is consonant with a redefined global communications structure and that allows the department to incrementally move toward the vision outlined in the OASP and Oxfam 2020.

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Contributing directly (seeking restricted funds for communications activities) and indirectly (through general fundraising activities) to raising funds that support our aims.

OA Communications Strategy

3. Shift OA’s communication approach from being driven by our internal structures and unit priorities to being data and market driven by:

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Using data to inform tactics to capture market share from INGO competitors, specifically in our target audiences and geographies.5

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Using data to create communications that will increase loyalty among our existing constituents.

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Using data to deliver relevant and tailored communications to our vast database of supporters through segmentation strategies.

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Using data to refine off-line engagement strategies with supporters.

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Investing in staff and/or external resources to pursue market insight in order to learn what messages, campaigns, fundraising ideas, etc. resonate with our constituents.

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Investing in staff and/or external resources to support MEL for Oxfam America’s Communications & Community Engagement efforts.

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Engaging our current and potential supporters where they are, including by shifting resources (OA’s and in particular C&CE’s) toward digital communications.

OA Communications Strategy

C&CE WAYS OF WORKING Core principles for how we want our staff to work and to what end We aspire to lead the public-facing narrative for Oxfam America: •

We will embed ourselves in projects throughout the agency that build the OA narrative.

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We will create communications strategies for the OASP external change goals that will include specific messages to educate supporters.

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We will create micro-messaging guides when needed for major streams of work.

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We will identify a few emblematic program stories each year that embody OA’s approach and elevate those to supporters, the media, and thought leaders around the world through multiple channels.

We aspire to work strategically, using data, and in response to our US market segments’ interests: •

We will make choices among our potential communications ideas, favoring communications that further the OASP and those for which our US market has shown an appetite.

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We will use Fenton supporter acquisition data and Donor Voice donor loyalty data to inform our choices.

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We will focus on key audiences (practical visionaries and global citizens) and geographies (Boston, San Francisco, and DC).

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We will use Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) and online community data to inform how we speak to supporters about what they care about.

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We will speak to people “where they are,” which includes an increased emphasis on digital communication.

We aspire to work cross-functionally within C&CE and to enhance impact and minimize resource spending: •

We will select C&CE leads for key streams of work (end-of-year fundraising, fall hunger communications, category 1 humanitarian emergencies, etc.) who will: o Be accountable for creating communication strategies. o Lead cross-functional teams and meetings within C&CE and perhaps with members from other departments and divisions.

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o Establish RACI charts and serve as one point of contact for our colleagues outside of C&CE. We aspire to build communications and community engagement capacity throughout Oxfam, particularly in the global South, consistent with the global communications structure designed for 2020: •

We will create two-way modes of operation between Boston and DC-based C&CE staff and our colleagues in countries where OA has an interest. This will be reflected in our evolving department and structure. That capacity will exist across each of our C&CE teams, either through dedicated staff people or from a portion of team members’ responsibilities.

We aspire to be recognized as a center of excellence and set the gold standard within the confederation in constituency building, supporter engagement, and storytelling: We will offer our services in support of the Oxfam confederation in areas where we believe C&CE already excels:

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We will support digital growth via the Secretariat (specifically by offering staff support to help guide WIN and Oxfam 2020 growth and investments).

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We will seek to create capacity throughout the global South in constituency building and supporter engagement, perhaps via Constituency Building and Digital Idea Lab conferences in Latin America, Africa, and Asia each year.

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We will create clear and compelling stories about Oxfam’s work, infused with a strong expression of the brand—visually and verbally.

OA Communications Strategy

C&CE EVOLVING STRUCTURE Over the next few years, C&CE will pursue a department structure that better reflects our business and communications objectives. Over time we will evolve to be: •

Better connected to countries in which OA has an interest.

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More digitally capable.

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Better able to use data and market insight information to build our brand.

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Better able to provide surge capacity when OA requires more communications support than we have resources to deliver in-house.

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CONCLUSION The role of C&CE is to leverage our resources, channels, and expertise to help OA achieve its goals. By creating powerful, strategically shaped communications, we aim to compel deep and broad engagement with our target audiences, raise awareness of Oxfam, and change the nature of discourse and debate on poverty and injustice in the US.

WHY? Not as an intellectual exercise, but to unlock the assets of the US public and the power of the US government and private sector to support our aims. Communications initiatives are in service to that end and this strategy speaks to how Communications & Community Engagement’s work will support that objective.

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APPENDICES TARGET AUDIENCES AND GEOGRAPHIES Background As stated earlier, with a small budget and an enormous market, it is critical that we both refine our messaging and narrow our target market in order to significantly and measurably increase our supporter base. We did not select the target audiences (by geography and individuals’ characteristics) randomly. We used data to drive our decisions and to ensure the best fit with our goals and resources.

Using data from Fenton, Donor Voice, internal analysis of our current file, and multiple publicly-available external sources, we filtered outcomes through behavioral, psychographic, and demographic criteria to select three demographic targets. The Global Citizen and Practical Visionary audience segments represent potential financial support in the near term (next 18-24 months). The Next Global Citizen represents potential financial support in the long term (10+ years). All three target audiences also represent immediate, non-financial support (advocacy, organizing, activism.)

When choosing our target geographies, we gathered and analyzed data from three main sources: Nielsen designated marketing areas (DMA) data, US Census and Department of Education data, and Oxfam America database. Based on our findings, we chose to focus on the top three DMAs where we could have the most impact. The three cities where we found the highest average median incomes and education levels, combined with a strong base of current Oxfam support and above average brand awareness, and a lower relative cost of media, were Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. Based on the data, it makes strategic sense to focus our limited brand marketing dollars on these three areas.

What Targeting Means Our aim is to expand our supporter base—the group of individuals who are activists on our behalf and/or who donate to Oxfam America. Targeting means aiming our limited assets (time and dollars) and our communications at a strategically selected, defined audience or audiences. In our case that means engaging with individuals whom we have identified as predisposed to be interested in our work—111 million American world aware charity givers. Because that is still too broad an audience to reach in an orderly way, we narrowed it further, choosing three demographic and three geographic targets.

Targeting also means developing deep understanding of the value systems and interests of each audience and the best media channels to intersect with these audiences. Noted in the profiles below are lists of media channels that we could use to connect with each target. Also noted are “values to tap into,” which represent personal 13

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values we believe each persona type holds in common with Oxfam. This is the value intersection on which to base future messaging. Today, we conduct a great deal of controlled message testing, and going forward we will do more. We will undertake repeated review of messaging options on our campaigns, programs, and fundraising.

Results will inform how we craft all communications on selected topics. For example, there could be numerous ways to frame a campaign ask. If we test alternative messaging, results will drive our messaging frame throughout the campaign. The result will be a simpler process for drafting and signing off content, and greater impact by using messaging that resonates.

SOURCES: 1. US Census 2012 2. www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/sep/08/charitable-giving-country 3. Toluna Analytics, 2012 brand awareness survey consultant 4. Oxfam America database, Ken Mallette

Why These Audience Targets Our supporter base is aging and we need to capitalize on changes in US demographics to ensure a robust pipeline of donors and supporters who will materialize over the next decade. Therefore we have selected two primary demographic targets for cultivation.

“Global Citizens” and “Practical Visionaries” have immediate potential to make significant financial contributions and become vocal and engaged advocates of our work. We will spend the majority of our limited brand marketing budget to engage these 14

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two audiences. Complete profiles of these demographic target types are included on pages 16–22 of this document.

Our secondary demographic target is college aged students. We know that connecting with people before age 20 dramatically raises the likelihood that they will become supporters later in life. They represent our primary demographic, our Global Citizens of the future. Today, our investment in this group is modest and executed primarily through our community engagement initiatives. This will not change with the implementation of this communications strategy.

Making target audiences work Targeting will only work when efforts across the agency align toward greatest influence of these groups. Therefore, C&CE will be relentless in working with other departments (Resource Development, Programs, Executive Office and Policy & Campaigns in particular), to ensure that the first thought is how to aim messaging at these groups.

What communication tactics will appeal to these groups? What media buys will most likely be spotted or heard by these target groups? How can campaign plans be set to meet both campaign-specific objectives and also connect directly and powerfully to the target audiences? No communication should be undertaken without first asking the question, “How will it connect to targets?” Decisions to communicate on significant initiatives that are aimed at a wider or different audience than our primary targets should be rare and intentional.

In addition, as OA develops the annual budget, C&CE will look at what funds from across the agency can be used to support efforts to build these audiences. These would be funds allocated to campaigns, fundraising, etc., that could be used to dual purpose as described above—to meet the initial objective and zoom in on our targets.

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TARGET FOR IMMEDIATE ADVOCACY SUPPORT AND NEAR TERM FINANCIAL SUPPORT (NEXT 18-24 MONTHS)

GLOBAL CITIZEN (target age 50-65) Meet Susana, 57 Susana is at the peak of her career as a tenured professor of sociology at George Washington University. She is married to Rafael, an architect in DC who grew up in the Dominican Republic. They met in the Peace Corps, before they came to the states to attend graduate school. They have one teenage child at home finishing up the college application process and another child at Wesleyan. Susana has been asked to serve on several boards in DC, but has been looking for the right fit as she thinks about where she can have the most impact.

“Giving back” has always been a part of their life and a value they instilled in their children early on. (They volunteered at the local food pantry every Thanksgiving and Christmas.) While she doesn’t consider herself particularly religious, Susana regularly attends the Unitarian Universalist Church in her community and considers herself more of a humanist and interested citizen of the world. The last trip that she and Rafael took together was to Peru, reprising an inspirational trip they took in their early days together.

In her free time, Susana loves to make use of the fresh produce in her weekly CSA basket and can be found mining Epicurious.com for recipes. She uses Facebook primarily for communication with her students but also values its utility for staying in touch with colleagues abroad. She is an avid reader and looks forward to the print versions of her New Yorker and Atlantic subscriptions. She attends yoga classes twice a week—sometimes she even gets her 16-year-old daughter to join her.

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Susana’s interests

Media:

Value to tap into:

Life stage:

NPR

Helping people help themselves

Established professional

Long-term sustainable solutions

Empty nester (or near empty nester)

New York Times The Atlantic Utne Reader New Yorker

A sense of responsibility

Smithsonian

Fairness

Travel + Leisure Epicurious.com Mother Jones Edible Boston

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TARGET FOR IMMEDIATE ADVOCACY SUPPORT AND NEAR TERM FINANCIAL SUPPORT (NEXT 18-24 MONTHS) PRACTICAL VISIONARY (target age 30-45) Meet Joe, 34 Joe is a java-fueled tech entrepreneur who spends most days in meetings with his fellow “digital rethinkers” (his senior leadership team) at the Silicon Valley company he founded three years ago, a crowd-funding site for small-scale projects. Joe started the company with two partners, one he met while in graduate school and one at his previous stint at Google. Joe rides his fixed-gear bike to work, clearing his head listening to his latest Spotify playlist (featuring The National and Vampire Weekend).

While Joe is financially secure and owns a loft, he uses a car-sharing service and is militantly proud to be car-free. He has a crush on Aubrey Plaza of “Parks & Recreation” and is feeling optimistic about his upcoming weekend plans to hang out in Marin with Megan (whom he met at a food truck). Joe is politically active and loves to debate Obama’s politics with his parents (who live in Berkeley, where he grew up) but gets frustrated with their blind Democratic Party support. As a systems thinker, he’s realized that he really needs to sort out his charitable giving strategy. Last December— for the third year in a row—he felt pressured to figure out quickly which charities he’d support. (But that’s on the back burner; maybe if things work out with Megan they can figure that out together.)

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Joe’s interests

Media:

Value to tap into:

Life stage:

Curated content on Twitter feed

System change

Established professional

New York Times

Tackling root causes

Mashable.com

Data/researchdriven approach

WIRED

“Smart development”

Fast Company TechCrunch.com

Transparency & effectiveness

TED Talks

Simple solutions

Single, no kids

Spotify HuffingtonPost.com Politico BuzzFeed.com (his guilty pleasure)

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TARGET FOR IMMEDIATE ADVOCACY SUPPORT AND LONG TERM FINANCIAL SUPPORT (10+ YEARS) OUR FUTURE: THE NEXT GLOBAL CITIZEN (target age 18-25) Meet Ashley, 22 Ashley is a recent grad of Emerson College and is now living back at home in Beverly with her parents while she interns at WERS 88.9, the Emerson College radio station located in Boston. She studied journalism and is interested in pursuing a career as a foreign correspondent for a major news network.

Like many of her underemployed friends, she feels this stage of life is teaching her a lot about resiliency and believing in herself as she stays true to her values and passions. She is not quite ready to take just any job to pay the bills if that means abandoning her goal of making a difference in the world with her career choices.

Ashley became interested in the idea of news as a real vehicle for change when she studied abroad in Ecuador during her junior year of college, where she minored in Spanish. There, she saw extreme poverty for the first time along with extreme class divides. It was in Quito in 2007 when she saw the eruption of a heated debate around the issue of rights to the country’s oil reserves. Foreign companies were clashing with the Ecuadoran government and the media seemed to be leaving out real perspectives from the communities affected by this big debate.

She thought of the situation and the importance of social justice again last year when she heard Malcom Gladwell’s recent TED talk on the story of David and Goliath. She feels a career in media can help to give attention to the “Davids” in these situations.

Ashley also tries to buy products that she believes make a difference, like TOMS shoes, and listens to artists like Lorde and M.I.A, whose music often sends a message about the hollowness of wealth and consumerism. She doesn’t have a lot of extra money to spend but if asked, she’ll always try to give $20 to a friends’ personal fundraising effort or to an emergency relief effort like the recent typhoon in the Philippines.

Ashley thinks it’s fun to argue with her parents about what they see as her prolonged teenage zeal for fairness. They usually take the position of “it’s more complicated than that.” And Ashley holds her own by saying “but there is a simple underlying truth that is not complicated at all.” It’s a fun and lively household where there is almost always 20

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fresh produce on the counter, and Fair Trade coffee in the pot. If home weren’t such a comfortable place to be, Ashley might be more motivated to get an apartment with her friends.

For now, she can rely on seeing her friends on an hourly basis through their Pinterest posts, their Instagram feeds featuring lots of artsy “selfies,” and their weekly gatherings to watch Girls and Game of Thrones on their friend’s HBO Go app.

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Ashley’s interests

Media:

Value to tap into:

Life stage:

Instagram

Feeling part of something bigger than oneself

Recent college graduate

Youtube Facebook Spotify Pinterest Jezebel The Daily Show Al Jazeera BuzzFeed.com

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Connectedness & belief in global community Transparency & visible effectiveness Smart, innovative solutions Social justice

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Additional target audiences •

US government officials and policy influencers

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Foundations and other funders

What will success in building our target audiences look like in 3 years?

Assuming this work begins in earnest in early FY15, we will work toward the following results: 1. Increases in both list size and committed volunteer bases in the three geographic areas: Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, DC 2. Increased share of voice in broadcast, digital, and print media 3. New public figure ambassadors who inspire our practical visionary and/or global citizen segments 4. Increased brand awareness in the three geographic areas In C&CE, we expect to measure how well we’ve grown our target audiences in 2016—three years from our 2013 baseline measurement.

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A RUDIMENTARY INTRODUCTION TO MARKET DRIVEN COMMUNICATIONS Understanding how to adjust your message to your audience

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1

Data from Fenton Communications.

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Data from Donor Voice.

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Data from C&CE analysis of our CRM database.

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Specifically those solutions included in the OASP.

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We define constituent as donors and activists, online and off-line.

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