Advocacy Organizations
We've been reading a lot about the importance of integrating online and offline activities. We have also been focusing a lot on candidate campaigns. So far, I've been more involved in advocacy organizations, and I wonder how some of them are doing. One of my favorite organizations, Center for American Progress does a very good job of promoting their website. One of the ways they do this, is with daily appearances by their Director for Strategic Communications on Air America Radio's Al Franken show. Their research is excellent, and they, of course, drive people to their website with these appearances, where you can sign up for their e-newsletter. (Interestingly, they are not very aggressive about fund raising; their DONATE button is pretty far down the page, and their e-mails, when I was getting them, did not focus on fundraising, as many DNC e-mails do.) I wonder if they could do more. Perhaps holding press conferences? Other forms of publicity?
Another one of my favorite organizations, and one that I've been associated with, is Americans United for Separation of Church & State. They're slightly more assertive about fundraising than CAP - their "support AU" button is at the top of the page, and they also urge you to join or renew your membership pretty high up on the page. Their e-mails are not frequent, and they are usually press releases, with opportunities to donate at the bottom of the e-mail. However, their Executive Director gets much more press coverage than does CAP, but I've never heard him mention the website on one of his appearances. Maybe he should, (though I'd be curious to hear if some of you think that would be too obnoxious.) They have been quite clever on the issue of publicity, though; they broke the news of Falwell's concerns about "tinky-winky" the PBS tele-tubby being gay, for instance. They also recently broke the news of comments made by Tom Delay to his supporters about the Schiavo case.
Overall, I wonder if the advice for campaigns also applies to advocacy organizations such as Americans United and the Center for American Progress.
Another one of my favorite organizations, and one that I've been associated with, is Americans United for Separation of Church & State. They're slightly more assertive about fundraising than CAP - their "support AU" button is at the top of the page, and they also urge you to join or renew your membership pretty high up on the page. Their e-mails are not frequent, and they are usually press releases, with opportunities to donate at the bottom of the e-mail. However, their Executive Director gets much more press coverage than does CAP, but I've never heard him mention the website on one of his appearances. Maybe he should, (though I'd be curious to hear if some of you think that would be too obnoxious.) They have been quite clever on the issue of publicity, though; they broke the news of Falwell's concerns about "tinky-winky" the PBS tele-tubby being gay, for instance. They also recently broke the news of comments made by Tom Delay to his supporters about the Schiavo case.
Overall, I wonder if the advice for campaigns also applies to advocacy organizations such as Americans United and the Center for American Progress.
2 Comments:
I don't think mentioning the website would be too obnoxious. A simple "for more information, you can visit our website at..." is perfectly legitimate. I might not do it in television interviews, but at the end of a segment of radio, it seems quite appropriate.
And certainly, at something like a press conference, it's a really good idea to mention the website, particularly if the organization has a "press room" page. (As we all know they should!)
It's difficult for advocacy groups and non-profit organizations to promote their cause on-air and in other tradtional advertising mediums. I would think they would need the Internet to reach a larger group of people inexpensively. I think it's critical for people to mention websites during publicity campaigns and don't think people will be turned off by this tactic.
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