Planning communications activities

There are lots of different ways to draw up a local or regional communications strategy. The following is intended as a brief introduction to communication planning only and is not intended to replace the advice that is available to you locally from your PCT communications teams.

When planning a communication programme there are four clear stages in its development:

1) Planning
Careful planning is a critical success factor for any communication programme. Defining the communication campaign goal effectively is essential. By ensuring that work at the planning stage is conducted thoroughly it will help avoid making costly changes as the programme is rolled out.

At the planning stage of your communication campaign you need to identify a range of issues including, but not limited to:

The larger goal – where are your efforts going to be most profitably directed;

Determine which part of the larger goal could be met by a communication campaign;

Describe the specific objectives of the campaign; integrate these into a campaign plan;

Know what you want to say;

Know who you want to say it to;

Know how to present your message;

Know where to distribute your message;

When to send your message;

You also need to consider the style and tone of your message and the follow-up actions that will be required of you and others in order to generate more screens.

The planning stage is crucial as it allows you to create the plan that will provide the foundation for your intervention. By the end you will have:

Clear terms of reference;

Identified how you can use communication effectively to address the health problem;

Identified intended audiences;

Used consumer research to craft a communication strategy and objectives;

Drafted communication plans, including activities, partnerships;

Developed baseline surveys for outcome evaluation.

2) Testing
Getting feedback from young people as you start developing messages and materials is essential. Spending time to learn what messages work and what terminology to use, will avoid producing an ineffective programme and resources.

3) Implementation
Follow the plans you developed at the beginning of the campaign and ensure that you communicate well to ensure the campaign runs smoothly.

4) Evaluation
Begin evaluating the campaign plan and processes as soon as the campaign is implemented.

The stages form a circular process in which the last stage feeds back into the first as you work through a continuous loop of planning, implementation, and improvement.

The NCSP advises that all local and regional communication and marketing activity is developed in association with your PCT’s’ communications and legal teams who are best placed to support you with the issues you may face throughout the process. For further information and support please contact the NCSP Communication Manager Carla Maurici.