In these last dog days of summer, we call your attention to…Miracle Whip! That's right - Miracle Whip dressing. Kraft Foods spends 90 percent of its Miracle Whip marketing dollars on people who already use it. We can employ this approach to build a strong brand for civil legal aid as well. After all, in civil legal aid as in dressing, the “base” - that's you! - is the best messenger.
In these last dog days of summer, we call your attention to…
Kraft Foods spends 90 percent of its Miracle Whip marketing dollars on people who already use it. Why? Because the “base” is the best messenger. The base comprises those who are most affected and who have access to the microphone – including access to the media. For civil legal aid, that’s us – the advocates and our clients. If we – our best brand messengers – are not frequently and effectively conveying what civil legal aid is and why it matters, we have little hope of raising awareness of our cause.
Raising awareness about your great work for justice and fairness requires message discipline. With this in mind, here’s a quick exercise:
Pretend you are a news reporter covering an issue that the civil legal aid organization in your community prioritizes – say, a new study about the incidence of domestic violence, or rising evictions because of gentrification, or what’s happening with homeless veterans or people returning to the community from prison. Now, wearing your reporter hat, go to the organization’s website (i.e., your website), how quickly and easily can you find the right people to talk to and how to reach them?
Now pretend you’ve interviewed a civil legal aid expert for your story. You’re ready to write, and you return to the program’s website so you can plug in a clear, shorthand description of what the program is and does. What do you find? Does the term “civil legal aid” leap off the page? Is it even there?
If it turns out that your program’s website needs some tweaking in this regard, the Voices team stands ready to assist. We can help you clear away these fairly simple impediments and insert clear, proactive language that will help you become an effective brand advocate for civil legal aid. Just ask.
Tags: Communications