Chapter 30

CHAPTER 30
Public sector
communication
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
■ evaluate theories relevant to public communication
■ recognise the specific characteristics of relationships between non-profit organisations
and their publics
■ compare and evaluate public communication practice across three non-profit sectors
■ identify the key elements for planning public communication.
Structure
■ Theories of public communication
■ Central government communication
■ Local government communication
■ Health sector communication
■ A communication planning framework
Introduction
Practise safe sex, wear a seatbelt, recycle waste, eat more fruit and vegetables, reduce
the salt in your diet. And while you’re about it, don’t drink and drive, don’t smoke in pub-
lic places and don’t forget to use your vote. Communication arising from the public sec-
tor has a very different set of driving forces from those of commercial enterprises where
profit is ultimately the key concern.
Public sector communication is situated within the democratic context (see Chapter 5)
and as such is driven by the need for transparency in how an organisation carries out its
public duties, accountability to the public on how money from taxes is spent and, in-
creasingly, as we shall see from the case studies in this chapter, public consultation
and involvement in the services provided.
This chapter examines three specific areas of the public sector: central government,
local government and the health sector. While, on the one hand, it identifies the special
contexts of organisations within these sectors, on the other, it presents evidence that
public communication practice is not so very different from public relations practice
found in commercial enterprises and elsewhere.
To provide an understanding of public communication and public communication cam-
paigns, we start by identifying theories drawn from North American and European litera-
ture. We then focus on three specific areas of public communication, with the main fo-
cus on the UK experience. In concentrating on three areas we recognise that we cannot
do justice to a specific sector in one short chapter. However, what this chapter aims to
do is present an idea of the scope of public communication for the student to take for-
ward for further investigation.
578 CHAPTER 30 · PUBLIC SECTOR COMMUNICATION
tions to be further accountable to their publics. Ac-

Theories of public communication cess to official information is a right of all UK citi-
zens, which means that public sector communication
Public sector communication in context professionals need to be aware of disclosure rules con-
cerning the types of information held by their organ-
The term ‘public’ is generally used to denote affairs
isations.
that affect everyone (Raupp 2004). Within a national
The context of public sector communication is also
democracy, central government departments (or
political. While it is sometimes difficult, from the
ministries), local authorities, hospitals and other
public’s point of view, to perceive a clear distinction
public sector organisations are legally and morally
between political communication and policy commu-
obliged to inform the population and the media
nication (for example, in the case of campaigns to in-
about policy decisions and issues affecting everyone
crease voter turnout) it is important to bear in mind
in society. However, it is not just national institu-
that in theory, at least, there is a distinction between
tions that have a duty to keep the public informed.
the two. Political communication arises from politi-
Supranational organisations such as the European
cal parties with the objective of putting across the
Union are also included here.
party’s views on a range of issues to the electorate;
Societies everywhere are faced with social problems
policy communication arises from the policies de-
that elected politicians and their officials are tasked
cided by elected politicians, with the support of offi-
with solving. In 2005, the re-elected Blair govern-
cials who advise on policy implementation.
ment in the UK announced that disrespect for others
was becoming a widespread problem in society. The
government promised that it would take action to en-
Public communication campaigns
courage young people in particular to have a greater
respect for their fellow citizens. Public policies for- Public sector organisations’ responsibilities to inform
mulated to tackle a wide range of social problems – the public are often translated in the communication
from antisocial behaviour through to teenage preg- campaigns. ‘Public information campaigns’ and ‘pub-
nancies, binge drinking, car crime, drug abuse and lic communication campaigns’ are terms that are often
the high number of fatalities in road accidents – can used interchangeably, but in the literature there is a
only be translated into action through effective com- distinction between the two. Public information cam-
munication. These policies take shape in the form of paigns are typified as one-way communication (sender
public communication campaigns (see later). to receiver) while public communication campaigns
Public sector organisations also communicate with are seen as interactive (sender–receiver–sender). In
many stakeholders to demonstrate how the public’s practice, however, campaigns are usually a combina-
money is spent. Therefore, in market-driven economies tion of both strategies and are characterised by an at-
such as the UK, the ‘bottom line’ for some public sec- tempt to persuade citizens to think about or do some-
tor organisations such as hospitals is accountability: thing for their own well-being or the public good.
showing that public money is being spent wisely and Public communication campaigns can be summed up
responsibly in providing services. Communication is as: ‘Purposive attempts to inform, persuade, or moti-
thus a key element in showing how an organisation vate behavior changes in a relatively well-defined
is accountable to the public as citizens, voters, resi- and large audience, generally for noncommercial
dents, patients or consumers. Within the context of benefits to the individual and/or society, typically
public sector accountability, the news media play a within a given time period, by means of organized
crucial role. The news media may be regarded as communication activities involving mass media and
friendly allies, critical opponents or neutral observers, often complemented by interpersonal support’ (Rice
depending on a wide range of factors concerning the and Atkin 1989: 7).
nature of the news media and the nature of the public Dozier et al. (2001) argue that public communication
sector organisation itself. Any abuse of public money campaigns fit in with the two-way asymmetric model
will make a newsworthy story, so it is in the interests of communication where a change in knowledge,
of a public sector organisation to ensure that the is- attitudes and behaviours of target populations – or
sues it campaigns on are perceived as worthwhile. If persuasion – is the organisation’s intention. How-
the ethics of the organisation itself become the main ever, as we shall see later in this chapter, there is evi-
story (for example, corruption on any scale will make dence that public sector communication is moving in
headlines), then the policies it is trying to implement the direction of public involvement and perhaps a
will receive much less public attention. more symmetric style of communication.
In the UK, the introduction of the Freedom of In- Rice and Atkin refer to the mass media in their defi-
formation Act 2005 compels public sector organisa- nition of public communication campaigns. Table 30.1
THEORIES OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 579
TABLE 30.1 Two types of media campaign in public communication (Source: Coffman 2002,
www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/pubs/onlinepubs/pcce)
Campaign
type/goal Individual behaviour change Public will
Objectives ● Influence beliefs and knowledge about ● Increase visibility of an issue and its
a behaviour and its consequences importance
● Affect attitudes in support of behaviour ● Affect perceptions of social issues and
and persuade who is seen as responsible
● Affect perceived social norms about ● Increase knowledge about solutions
acceptability of a behaviour among peers based on who is seen as responsible
● Affect intentions to perform the behaviour ● Affect criteria used to judge policies and
● Produce behaviour change (if accompanied policy makers
by supportive programme components) ● Help determine what is possible for service
introduction and public funding
● Engage and mobilise constituencies to action
Target Segments of the population whose Segments of the general public to be
audience behaviour needs to change mobilised and policy makers
Strategies Social marketing Media advocacy, community organising and
mobilisation
Media Public service/affairs programming: News media: print, television, radio, electronic
vehicles print, television, radio, electronic advertising advertising
Examples Anti-smoking, condom usage, drink driving, Support for quality childcare, after-school
seatbelt usage, parenting programming, healthcare policy
highlights this use of media, identifying two types of educate the population about the Holocaust and pro-
public communication campaign. mote messages of social inclusion. In 2005, 12 senior
From Table 30.1, it can be seen that individual be- journalists were taken to Auschwitz–Birkenau in
haviour change programmes include public informa- Poland to see the place where millions of Jews met
tion or public education campaigns that ‘strive to their deaths during the Second World War. Survivors
change in individuals the behaviors that lead to so- who were willing to tell their stories were contacted
cial problems or the behaviors that will improve in- and matched to relevant media outlets. Following
dividual or social well-being’ (Coffman 2002: 6). widespread media coverage leading up to the Holo-
Many well-known campaigns are concerned with caust Memorial Day, it was estimated that 1.5 million
public health (e.g. anti-smoking) and are instigated people watched the memorial service on national
by government ministries or departments which television (PR Week 25 March 2005: 32). (See Activity
deal with health issues. However, campaigns arise 30.1.)
from other policy areas such as education (e.g.
teacher recruitment), social affairs (e.g. foster care re- activity 30.1
cruitment), law and order (e.g. anti-theft) environ-
ment (e.g. recycling of waste) and transport (e.g. Two types of campaign
anti-speeding). As can be seen from Table 30.1, these Can you list further examples of the two types of cam-
campaigns use social marketing strategies (explained paign given in Table 30.1?
later in this chapter) and often paid-for media such
Feedback
as advertising. You will probably find it easy to name the high-profile
Public will campaigns, according to Table 30.1, are advertising campaigns that are specifically aimed at
about bringing social issues to the public’s attention changing people’s behaviour. However, by keeping a
to influence awareness or knowledge. This is mostly close eye on the national and local news, you will soon
done through the news media, using media advocacy learn to ‘spot’ awareness-raising campaigns that public
sector organisations carefully plan to achieve maximum
and community mobilisation strategies. Public rela- impact around calendar events – e.g. news items about
tions, in the form of media relations, plays an impor- drink-driving fatalities around Christmas and the New
tant role here. An example is the Holocaust Memorial Year.
Day, organised annually by the UK’s Home Office to
Objectives lic communication where the citizen or consumer

has to first engage with the message in order for
As described earlier, public communication cam- change to be brought about. However, it is also im-
paigns attempt to achieve changes in an individual’s portant to acknowledge that public sector campaigns
attitudes and knowledge (known as cognitive are initiated by organisations that have the political
change) feelings (known as affective change) and be- will, knowledge, resources and technologies to make
haviour about social issues. Table 30.2 shows cam- them happen, so while a two-way symmetric style
paign objectives drawn from the examples and case might be adopted, it is in the interests of the organi-
studies in this chapter and the types of cognitive, af- sation to achieve the ‘public good’ campaign targets
fective or behavioural changes they are attempting that are set.
to achieve.
Source or sender
Communication process
Public communication, particularly that of national
As we have seen in earlier chapters (especially governments and supranational governments such
Chapter 8, which examined communication the- as the European Union, fits the asymmetric model
ory), the communication process is mostly con- of communication where a change in knowledge,
ceived around the SMCR model: sender, message, attitudes or behaviour is intended – for example,
channel, receiver. It is these variables, with the ad- where the ‘sender’ of the message is engaged in mo-
dition of ‘effects’ or receiver impact, that form the tivating populations to drink less alcohol, eat less
basis of public communication campaigns. We will fat, exercise more regularly, give up smoking or
use a similar framework to discuss campaigns in support the introduction of the euro (European
this chapter. currency).
While the SMCR model is a useful framework to Town or regional councils initiate campaigns locally
discuss the elements of a campaign, a criticism is to improve voter turnout at local elections, to increase
that it is one-way and linear: it does not acknowl- the number of young people voting, to encourage peo-
edge the involving, two-way nature of effective pub- ple not to drop litter and to get people to recycle their
TABLE 30.2 Public communication campaign objectives
Type of cognitive, affective

and/or behavioural change
Campaign topic Objective(s) intended
Holocaust Memorial Day 1 Educate general public about the Increase knowledge about a
Holocaust significant place and associated
events during the Second World
War
2 Promote social inclusion Encourage positive attitudes
towards people in society who are
different
Banning smoking in public places 1 Raise residents’ awareness about Increase knowledge about
proposals to create a ‘smoke-free’ proposed policy change
city
2 Gauge residents’ views about Test public opinion and attitudes
proposed ban on smoking in about effects of policy change
public places
3 Inform and educate people about Increase knowledge and
the dangers of smoking encourage public disapproval of
smoking
4 Provide advice and support on Behavioural change – encourage
giving up smoking smokers to stop smoking
‘Name that Tag’ (environmental 1 Get people to report the names of Behavioural change – discourage
crime – graffiti) ‘taggers’ who leave their ‘tags’ or graffiti artists from leaving their
graffiti signatures in public places ‘tags’
waste. These are not campaigns promoting a particular of young mothers may not use the local media at all,
political party’s views but they are all persuasive cam- but prefer to talk to their neighbours, family or
paigns with the intention of achieving a behavioural friends to find out what is going on. Segmenting
change for the good of democracy and the community. publics in a sophisticated manner, however, usually
Sometimes it can be confusing as to who is actually requires substantial data to discover specific media
the ‘sender’ of the message: is it the initiator (e.g. the and information-seeking habits. Research, therefore,
organisation’s policy department), the sender (e.g. plays an important role here.
the communication professional working on behalf A wide range of media channels are available for
of the organisation) or the communicator (e.g. the public communication campaigns, but mass media
journalist working for the local newspaper)? advertising is most commonly used in large-scale, na-
tional campaigns. While advertising is an expensive
medium, it does reach a wide spectrum of society in
Multiple senders
raising awareness of an issue. So, for example, to in-
Public bodies increasingly work in close partnership form millions of people on low incomes about a new
with other public bodies, or with private enterprises state benefit, the UK government often uses televi-
to help solve particular social issues and to transfer sion advertising as a key channel, but this will be sup-
both the cost and risk from the public to the private plemented by a wide range of other channels (such as
sector (Leitch and Motion 2003). talk shows on local radio, leaflets and interpersonal
A recent example of public partnerships is the TO- communication through advisors) that provide more
GETHER campaign to tackle antisocial behaviour, or- detail about the benefit, and to encourage take-up.
ganised by the UK’s Home Office. This campaign This is because television advertising cannot success-
works on two levels, national and local, and relies on fully disseminate large numbers of facts. As Windahl
a range of local agencies, for example, the police, the et al. point out: ‘All media have their strengths and
courts and councils, to deal with nuisance neigh- limitations’ (1992: 108).
bours, begging and environmental crime (e.g. graf-
fiti). A key part of this campaign is to get people to re-
port crime and name the wrongdoers. To catch the
Many messages
graffiti artists, a poster campaign called ‘Name that A single campaign will have many messages simply
Tag’ was created to encourage people to phone a num- because it needs to reach different sections of the
ber to report the ‘taggers’ from their publicised signa- community and because messages are attended to
tures, and be rewarded with £500 (Home Office 2004). and perceived in different ways by different people.
(See Think about 30.1.) The two-step flow of information theory (Katz and
Lazarsfeld 1955) recognises the influence of reference
groups on message reception. In other words, while
Several channels the target receiver may not attend to a given message,
To reach a heterogeneous (dissimilar) public, multi- their immediate family and friends might do. For ex-
ple channels need to be considered in a public com- ample, a very elderly person may ignore all mass me-
munication campaign. Publics should be segmented dia and written attempts by a government organisa-
(broken down into definable groups) in order to de- tion to get them to claim special allowances, but a
termine channel usage. The campaign may need to campaign aimed at the families or carers of elderly
address different levels of media use and information people is more likely to be effective in getting the
seeking within the community. One segment of rela- message across. This is because, in the eyes of the el-
tively isolated elderly people may only listen to their derly person, governments are often associated with
local radio station for information, while a segment taxation, rather than giving money, so a direct
S e n d e r s – ‘ N a m e t h a t Ta g ’ p o s t e r
think about 30.1 campaign
As a local campaign, who is the initiator, the sender and the communicator?
Feedback In this case, the initiator is the Home Office, the sender could be the local police (who deal with
crime), and the communicator could be the communication professional who creates the poster
on behalf of the police. In a national campaign, however, both the initiator and the sender would
be the Home Office, and the communication professional could be an agency working on behalf of
the Home Office to create a poster.
PICTURE 30.1 To catch graffiti artists, a poster campaign called ‘Name that Tag’ was created by the UK’s Home
Office to encourage people to phone a number to report ‘taggers’ from their publicised signatures, and be rewarded
with £500 (source: Anti-Social Behaviour Unit, The Home Office).
message could arouse suspicion, whereas a family the ‘worried well’ and encouraging message avoid-
member or carer would be able to explain to the el- ance among high-risk groups (e.g. early HIV/AIDs
derly person that they are missing out on a sum of campaigns). Similarly, campaigns that unintention-
money to which they are entitled. ally glamourise risk taking (e.g. through ‘cool’ im-
The strength and tone of the message also has to be agery of young people smoking) or are too patronis-
considered. Health messages have to tread a fine line ing (e.g. ‘just say “no”’ in regard to drug use) will
between arousing too high a level of anxiety among produce negative effects.
FIGURE 30.1 A model of communication influence process (source: McQuail 1987

cited in Windahl et al 1992:104)
Receivers measured behaviourally in terms of the numbers who

give up smoking during the course of the campaign. If
As we have already discussed, messages are received dif- there has been a reduction in smoking, this is known
ferently by different receivers. McQuail (1987) identifies as an ‘intended campaign effect’ and the campaign
four filters or selection processes that determine how an will be deemed effective. However, some campaigns
individual receives a message: attention, perception, have backfired, producing negative, unintended effects.
group situation and motivation. These filters will be ei- Some anti-drug campaigns, for example, are thought
ther favourable or unfavourable towards the intended to have stimulated drug use among high-risk drug
effect of the message. The first filter is attention and this users (Makkai et al. 1991) and widened the gap be-
refers to whether a message ‘grabs’ or reaches the re- tween authority and youth supporting a pro-drug cul-
ceiver in the first place. The second filter is perception ture (Cragg 1994). (See also Chapter 11 for a further
and this refers to how the message is perceived by the discussion of evaluating campaigns.)
individual – as we have already suggested, both the Windahl et al. present McQuail’s communication
message content and tone could make a difference here. influence process model, which helps us to see some
The third filter is the group situation and whether peers of the breadth and complexity of a public communi-
are likely to reinforce the message or discourage its ac- cation campaign in Figure 30.1.
ceptance by the individual. The fourth filter is motiva- This model recognises that a given campaign will
tion: is the individual ultimately motivated to think, potentially have many sources or senders (‘collective
feel or do something about the message? source’), multiple channels and messages and differ-
ent success rates with different publics. (See Think
Effects about 30.2.)
Read Mini case study 30.1 and Think about 30.3,
‘Effects’ refer to intended cognitive, affective and be- which considers the communication influence model.
havioural outcomes that are agreed at the beginning of
the campaign. These outcomes are expressed as objec-
tives in a campaign plan (see the earlier section on ob-
jectives). Effects are also equated with campaign effec-
Communication models: a rethink
tiveness or success. So, for example, if the objective is The communication roles involving some public in-
to encourage students to stop smoking, this will be stitutions are becoming more diffuse, challenging the
Public communication influence

think about 30.2 process and public relations
Figure 30.1 presents the public communication influence process. How does this differ from the
public relations planning process described and discussed in Chapter 10?
Feedback The public relations planning process includes some elements of Figure 30.1, but in the public rela-
tions process there is a clearer identification of the organisation as sender. In public relations,
publics (receivers) are considered at an early stage in the process, following a definition of the ‘prob-
lem’ and situation analysis. Public relations also explicitly uses the terms ‘strategy’ to determine the
overall communication approach and ‘tactics’ which refers to the public relations activities and me-
dia channels selected to influence publics. In public relations, ‘effects’ are the outcomes of a public
relations programme and should relate back to the objectives set at the beginning (e.g. knowl-
edge/awareness change). In public relations, this stage of the process is called ‘evaluation’.
mini case study 30.1
Vote and post campaign

Crawley Borough Council in the UK wanted to improve als were timed to reach the widest audience in the town
voter turnout in the June 2004 council elections to com- during three phases between August 2003 and June
bat a downward trend: less than one person in four had 2004. One creative element of the campaign included
voted in the May 2003 council elections. Work on a cam- the use of impactful colour photographic portraits of
paign began in July 2003 with the theme of ‘vote and council staff who had volunteered. This element in itself
post’ to encourage postal voting. Postal voting gives peo- provided a vehicle to raise awareness about the election
ple the choice of voting by post instead of visiting a process within the council as well as encouraging staff
polling station. The campaign objectives were: to raise who lived in the town to use their votes. The campaign
awareness of the need to be on the electoral register; to achieved a 600% increase in postal vote registrations
encourage people to opt in to the postal vote scheme; and 70% who applied for a postal vote used it in the June
and to encourage people to use their postal votes. election. The overall turnout in Crawley was 34%, an 11%
Printed information was targeted at all 73,000 people on increase from May 2003. Media coverage in support of
the electoral register in Crawley, and at council staff. A postal voting was sustained throughout the different
wide range of communication channels were used to pro- phases of the campaign.
mote the ‘vote and post – make a difference’ message,
including media relations, direct mail, advertising and
new media. Extensive use was made of established Source: adapted from Excellence in Communication
communication channels such as council tax mailings Awards 2004, CIPR Local Government Group
and electoral registration distribution. Campaign materi- (best campaign category)
whole notion of ‘senders’ and ‘receivers’ in the Thus, social issues are brought to the attention of the
conventional SMCR transmission model of communi- news media by ‘political elites’ – government policy
cation. An interactive approach, which considers the makers, as well as pressure groups, with the intention
public sphere, is based on mutuality – both sender of testing public opinion on an idea or creating the
and receiver ‘contribute their views to a shared uni- right climate of public opinion for behaviour change.
verse of knowledge and interpretations’ (Voltmer and A good example of this is anti-smoking campaigns.
Römmele 2002: 17). An example of a more involving While high-profile advertising campaigns continue to
approach to public communication is found in Case persuade smokers to give up smoking, the news media
study 30.1 (Addenbrooke’s) at the end of this chapter. are often employed to generate public discussion
around, and support for, smoke-free environments.
Eventually, the social pressures are such that smokers
Agenda-setting theory are prohibited from smoking in public areas and are
forced to rethink their behaviours out of considera-
When talking about the use of media advocacy as a
tion for others (see Mini case study 30.3 (p. 591) on
strategy for drawing public attention to a social issue,
this specific issue to find out how this was done).
this process is sometimes referred to as influencing
the media agenda, or ‘agenda setting’. Agenda setting
refers to the theory (McCombs and Shaw 1973) that
Social marketing theory
the news media highlight the importance of an issue In order to further contextualise public communica-
by encouraging people to think and talk about it. tion, and to shed light on some of the integrated
think about 30.3 A communication influence model

1 Who is the source/sender in Mini case study 30.1?
2 What are the channels? Can you explain the choice of channels selected?
3 What are the messages?
4 Who are the target audiences?
5 How are the ‘four filters’ identified earlier likely to affect the success of this campaign?
6 How was campaign success determined/measured? What effects were intended – cognitive,
affective, behavioural?
7 Now reflect – what are the strengths and weaknesses of this model?
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION 585
communication campaigns described later in this the product. In the case of condom wearing, promo-
chapter, it is important that we explore the concept tion will take place through many different mass me-
of social marketing. This draws on existing ideas in dia and interpersonal communication channels to
marketing but applied to non-commercial transac- reach the target public. Solomon (1989) added a fifth
tions. Kotler (1982: 490) described social marketing ‘P’ – ‘positioning’, which links to how a target public
as follows: perceives a product or idea in relation to other prod-
ucts or ideas. This relates to the message and whether
Use of marketing principles and techniques to advance
it is in tune with receivers’ self-perception. In the case
a social cause, idea or behavior. More specifically: so-
of condoms, some segments of the male population
cial marketing is the design, implementation, and con-
might be more inclined to take condom wearing seri-
trol of programs seeking to increase the acceptability of
ously if the message fits in with their particular sense
a social idea or cause in target group(s). It utilizes
of humour, and is not seen as patronising.
concepts of market segmentation, consumer research,
To avoid a crude interpretation of marketing the-
concept development, communication, facililitation,
ory, it is essential to be aware of other important dif-
incentives and exchange theory to maximize target
ferences between commercial marketing and social
group response.
marketing, as shown in Table 30.3. (See Activity 30.2
Social marketing does not assume that commercial and Box 30.1, overleaf.)
marketing principles are unquestioningly applied to As we have seen so far, there are different approaches
non-commercial communication planning. If we take to public communication, but literature and research
the famous four ‘Ps’ of marketing – product, price, findings have been synthesised to identify campaign
place and promotion (McCarthy 1975) – we can rein- success. ‘Success’ factors are shown in Box 30.2, on
terpret these labels to fit the social context. ‘Product’ p. 587.
can be an idea, an issue, a service or a practice/behav- You should use these success factors to reflect on
iour, such as wearing a condom. ‘Price’ is what the cus- the case studies presented within this chapter.
tomer pays for; in the case of condom wearing, it is
prevention against disease. ‘Place’ refers to the chan-
nel through which the product becomes available. Ob-
taining condoms used to mean an embarrassing visit Central government communication
to the local pharmacy, which is why condoms were
made available to both men and women through
vending machines in public toilets. ‘Promotion’ in-
Clarifying communication roles
volves persuading the target group to buy something It is important to distinguish here between the
or adopt a behaviour through creating awareness of communication work done on behalf of political
TABLE 30.3 Differences between commercial and social marketing (based on Windahl et al. 1992)
Commercial marketing Social marketing Example of social marketing
Targets most accessible part of Often targets hard-to-reach segments Young people ‘at risk’ of drug
the market (e.g. people with or publics abuse
disposable incomes)
Competitive environment Environment is less competitive Public library service provided by
(sometimes only one service local council
provider)
Services/products are paid for Services and products are often free New state benefit
Seeks to meet consumer needs Powerful interest groups are often Advertising industry (e.g. in
and wants challenged targeting young children with fast
food advertising)
Creates demand for a Balances demand with resource Encourage pharmacy visits for
service/product availability common ailments to reduce
demands on the local GP
(doctor’s) surgery
Product or behaviour promoted is Product or behaviour promoted is not Sticking to a low-fat diet
desired/wanted by the customer desired by the receiver
cation have become increasingly blurred. From the

activity 30.2
time of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the
Five ‘Ps’ and social marketing 1980s to the more recent Blair administrations, com-
Find out more about a public communication campaign munication became politicised to the point where
with which you are familiar. Carry out an analysis of that specially appointed political advisors such as Alastair
campaign using the five ‘Ps’ discussed earlier. Con- Campbell and Jo Moore were providing the strategic
sider also the special characteristics that make it a
communication advice to government ministers,
campaign that fits social marketing criteria in Table
30.3. while apparently overriding the ‘official’ senior com-
munications professionals who were there to provide
Feedback ‘neutral’ and less partisan advice. The problems faced
Start by logging on to a government or local government by government communicators are well docu-
(municipal) website.
mented, eventually leading to an investigation by Sir
Robert Phillis in 2004. (A summary of the Phillis Re-
parties (known as political communication) and the port is provided in Chapter 5.)
communication work done on behalf of elected gov- This section is about the communication work car-
ernments and their departments of state or min- ried out by central government communication spe-
istries. In the UK, since 1947, the latter role has tradi- cialists who support a wide variety of government
tionally been the role of civil servants possessing policies through campaigns. In the UK, the work is
specialist public relations and communications skills carried out by members of the Government Commu-
who have been employed to support the government nications Network (GCN). Specialist communication
of the day. Cole-Morgan (1988) observed that depart- staff are employed by other national governments. In
mental ministers were responsible to parliament for Canada, citizens have a right to be informed about
the information policy of their department (or min- government policies. This information service is pro-
istry), and that each department had an information vided by Communication Canada, established in
division whose objectives were defined as follows: 2001 to conduct national information campaigns,
ministerial tours, as well as maintain a website that
1 To create and maintain informed opinion about
acts as a key access point for information on the gov-
the subjects with which each department deals.
ernment of Canada (www.canada.gc.ca). In the
2 To use all methods of publicity, as suitable, to
Netherlands, the Dutch government’s information
help the department to achieve its purpose.
service operates a centre for public information cam-
3 To assist and advise in all matters bearing on rela-
paigns called Postbus 51 (www.postbus51.nl). The
tions between the department and its public.
Postbus 51 website provides government information
4 To advise the department on the public’s reaction
leaflets and publications but is also designed to an-
to the policies or actions of the department.
swer individual questions by email within two days.
(Cole-Morgan 1988: 148)
Campaigns globally include efforts to prevent a
In recent years, however, the lines between party range of undesirable behaviours including drug use,
political communication and government communi- drink driving and unsafe sex (as part of HIV/AIDS
box
30.1 Public relations or social marketing?
Is public sector communication a type of public relations or is it social marketing? It all depends on how
you look at it. If we look at it functionally, there will be a variation across different public sectors. In
some public sector organisations, it is the task of public relations to coordinate all communications
activities. In others, the task will fall to departments labelled ‘corporate communications’, ‘corporate
affairs’ or ‘marketing communications’.
The public relations or social marketing orientation will depend on a range of factors including the
role and purpose of the organisation, the social issues it has to deal with, its resources and, of course, the
experience, education and training of the staff performing the coordinating role. Referring back to Table
30.3, social marketing may be given a greater emphasis in public sector organisations where there is a
significant emphasis on behaviour change campaigns and a large advertising budget (e.g. central gov-
ernment in the UK). Public relations is likely to be emphasised in organisations where the coordinating
function for communications has a strong media relations orientation (e.g. local government in
the UK).
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION 587
box
30.2 Success factors in public communication campaigns
1 Role of the mass media. Mass media help to create awareness and knowledge and stimulate others to
participate in the campaign process, although behavioural changes as a result of mass media are
unlikely.
2 Role of interpersonal communication. Peer groups and social networks are instrumental for behaviour
change and maintenance of such change.
3 Characteristics of source or medium. Credibility can influence the outcome of a campaign.
4 Formative evaluation. Campaign objectives and messages need to be evaluated to make sure they fit
media habits, audience predispositions and availability of resources. (For example, there is no point
in emphasising the exercise benefits of pilates when classes are scarce and expensive.)
5 Campaign appeals. Campaigns must be specific rather than general in order to appeal to the values
of individuals. (For example, appeals to recycle waste are not enough. People need to know how to
recycle and it has to be made easy for them. See the Westminster Council case study in Chapter 11.)
6 Preventive behaviour. Long-term prevention goals are difficult to achieve because rewards are often
delayed and uncertain (e.g. eating healthier foods as prevention against diabetes). Therefore delayed
benefits must be related to immediate ones.
7 Timeliness, compatibility, and accessibility. Communication messages must be timely and culturally
acceptable, and the channels over which they are transmitted must be available to the audience.
Source: Adapted from Windahl et al. 1992: 101–102
prevention). Other campaign efforts are designed to inundated with low-risk clients (Noble and Noble
promote desirable behaviours including using sun- 1988).
screens, eating more fruit and vegetables (‘5 a day’) American scholars Hyman and Sheatsley as long
and crossing the road safely. ago as 1947 posed questions on why information
campaigns fail and Mendelsohn (1973) identified rea-
sons for success.
Hyman and Sheatsley (1947) attributed blame to
Why some campaigns fail, why a large group of uninformed receivers among the
some succeed American population whom they critically called
‘chronic know-nothings’. Common threats to the
The interesting thing about central government-
success of information campaigns were attributed
instigated communication campaigns is that while
to what is known as ‘selective processes’ or filters –
many people will agree that they are a ‘good thing’,
selective exposure, selective perception and selec-
they are sometimes ineffective in achieving their
tive retention. Such filters ensured that the ‘chronic
goals because of their reliance on mass media. In sup-
know-nothings’ were impossible to reach with any
port of this view, the leading American social psy-
information. Mendelsohn, however, believed that
chologist McGuire asserted that there was little evi-
campaign planners were the ones to blame in ig-
dence of mass media persuasion having any effect on
noring communication research and theory. For
receiver attitudes, beliefs or actions (McGuire 1986).
campaigns to succeed, three conditions had to be
While this picture may not be entirely accurate – for
met:
example, out of 29 US health campaigns between
1980 and 1994, 20 were successful in changing be- 1 Realistic goals had to be set, based on the as-
haviour and nine were not (Freimuth 1995) – health, sumption that the publics are not overly inter-
in particular, does appear to be a hard area to cam- ested, if at all, in the message.
paign in. 2 Information was not enough. Interpersonal com-
A study of public information campaigns in Aus- munication played an important role, therefore a
tralia observed that some mass media campaigns in combination of mass communication and inter-
that country had been criticised for their irrelevance personal communication should be considered.
to the general community. For example, an AIDS 3 Campaign publics needed to be segmented ac-
‘Grim Reaper’ advertisement was criticised for unnec- cording to media habits, lifestyles, values and be-
essarily scaring people who were not at high risk of lief systems, and demographic and psychological
AIDS; the result being that screening centres were characteristics. (Windahl et al. 1992: 101)
Other writers stress that in today’s increasingly so- Role of public relations
phisticated media environment, and with higher cog-
nitive levels among publics, it is no longer enough to Poster, billboard, and television advertising can be vi-
‘broadcast’ to undifferentiated publics using mass sually memorable, but it is the explanatory work
communication methods (if, indeed, it ever was). done with the news media that draws attention to
What is important is the correct utilisation of socio- the advertising message in the first place and helps to
scientific research tools for campaign planning, im- stimulate public debate. Public relations (more nar-
plementation and evaluation (Klingemann and Röm- rowly interpreted as media relations within this con-
mele 2002). This means the campaign planners text) is an accepted communication tool for central
should obtain a clear understanding of the publics government campaigns. While government depart-
targeted, their receptivity to particular messages and ments in the UK have their own media relations
channels, and their willingness to adopt the core functions, staffed by news officers or press officers,
proposition of the campaign. campaigns are now more commonly outsourced to
consumer public relations agencies in line with New
Labour’s ideas of citizens as ‘consumers who exercise
Role of advertising choice’ (PR Week 26 November 2004: 19).
Within an integrated communication campaign,
Having concluded that mass communication
public relations may involve media relations activi-
should not be the only method of reaching publics,
ties such as a press conference announcing the
it is still the case that governments use advertising
launch of the campaign and creative tactics to keep
as a key tool in public information campaigns due
the campaign momentum going. Tactics will involve:
to its efficiency in reaching a wide audience. The
publicising key sources of information such as hot-
UK government is one of the biggest spenders on
lines and websites; briefings with key journalists writ-
media advertising, often the main channel in pub-
ing for target publics; and a sequence of press releases
lic information/communication campaigns. In
commenting on the campaign progress (e.g. in
2004, for example, the Central Office of Informa-
achieving public awareness targets), introducing sup-
tion (COI), which buys advertising space on behalf
porting events (e.g. roadshows, exhibitions), report-
of the UK government, reported a total advertising
ing on human interest stories and putting on record
spend of £189m, second only to Procter & Gamble,
what the campaign has achieved.
the company famous for its soap powder and sham-
To generate media interest in ‘Use Your Head’, the
poo brands. This figure represented a 19% increase
integrated communication campaign to recruit more
on the previous year, leading to accusations by the
teachers to state schools in the UK, public relations
Conservative party that the government was
activity was targeted at potential ‘career switchers’
‘sneaking’ Labour party propaganda into public in-
among specific groups that the teaching profession
formation commercials (BBC1 2004 online). This
lacked, such as male primary school teachers and
may or may not be true. However, advertising is of-
people from ethnic minorities. The campaign was
ten used by governments because the elected politi-
timed around the academic year, with the spring
cians who run them know it is highly visible and
public relations activity aimed at ensuring that all
through advertising they are ‘seen to be doing
places on teaching courses were taken up by the fol-
something’ about a social issue. However, as the
lowing September (PR Week 9 January 2004: 7).
authors of a study of youth at risk in Australia
A campaign may also be wholly ‘public relations
concluded:
driven’: in other words, the public relations activity
Advertising campaigns against specific social problems will be the main focus of communication, such as the
are too frequently chosen by politicians as a solution to Holocaust Memorial Day mentioned earlier in this
a social problem. It is clear that they are ephemeral – chapter.
last week drink-driving, this week AIDS. Social prob-
lems are not tidy political issues. They come attached
to people and communities and the solution to them
can only be found in people and communities. New priorities for government
(Easthope and Lynch 1989) communication
While there is controversy in the literature about In Chapter 5 we noted that a key concern for democ-
the effectiveness of mass media campaigns, and espe- ratic societies is the inclusion of minority groups.
cially advertising, it is clear that mass media channels These are regarded by society as marginalised groups
play an important role at the early stages of a cam- because they often do not have contact outside
paign in stimulating awareness and putting an issue their immediate community. Social inclusion is a
on the public agenda. concern for all governments that are operating within
LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION 589
activity 30.3 Local government communication

‘Hard-to-reach’ audiences
Select one of the four groups just listed that the UK gov- Local government in the UK
ernment designates as a ‘hard-to-reach’ audience. Find
out something new about them by contacting www.com- Local government in the UK comprises city, district,
mongoodresearch.gov.uk. unitary and county councils. Elected politicians
What do you now know about communicating with (known as councillors) are accountable to the local
this group? population for the money raised from taxes, which is
spent on a wide range of services.
Services are organised differently depending on
a multicultural context – the Netherlands, Australia, the type of council. However, most people live in a
the USA and the UK being four countries with size- town where the local council is responsible for
able diverse populations. refuse collection and disposal, street lighting, road
One of the key concerns for the UK government, maintenance, culture and leisure facilities, plan-
for example, is finding ways of reaching out to black ning regulations and environmental issues (see
and minority ethnic (BME) groups using innovative Mini case study 30.3, on p. 591). In larger towns,
communication strategies, instead of relying on councils have wider responsibilities including edu-
translations of traditional media such as information cation for children between the ages of 4 and 16
leaflets. To support this initiative, an Inclusivity Unit and social care. Council employees are known as
has been set up by the Central Office of Information ‘officers’ and usually have a job title such as ‘envi-
to commission research and devise communication ronmental health officer’. Each council has at least
strategies that will be most effective in reaching mi- one public relations officer and in some councils
nority groups. Agencies that specialise in reaching there are communications teams of 10 or more, in-
BME groups are being taken on to the COI ‘roster’ corporating media relations, internal communica-
(approved list of suppliers of services) to carry out tion, marketing communications and other func-
communication campaigns (PR Week, 26 November tions such as graphic design.
2004: 19).
As well as BME groups, other ‘hard-to-reach’ audi-
ences such as small to medium sized enterprises,
youth and elders (senior citizens) have also been sub-
Local government public relations
jects of research by the COI on behalf of government The communication function in local government is
departments. A ‘Common Good’ website has enabled commonly referred to as ‘public relations’, explained
other government departments and communications by its origins in media relations and the establish-
agencies to access the research findings. (See Activity ment , in 1948, of press officers to inform the public
30.3 and Mini case study 30.2.) about the role of local councils. One of the oldest
Segmenting minority groups

Segmenting the target population is important when In Canada, a ‘Second-hand Smoke’ campaign, warn-
communicating to minority population groups. Media ing of the dangers of passive smoking, was specifically
messages need to be culturally appropriate, but they targeted at smokers, an estimated 70% of Aboriginals.
also need to recognise that a cultural group is diverse The campaign highlighted the toxic chemicals found in
with different lifestyles and habits. cigarettes and the need to consider the health of un-
In its ‘Why Start?’ multimedia campaign aimed at re- born babies, families and co-workers. Campaign mate-
ducing smoking-related deaths among Maoris (an in- rials included television and radio advertisements,
digenous tribe of New Zealand), the New Zealand gov- posters, print advertisements and a brochure – all
ernment developed a three-year campaign using translated into Inuktituk, a language of the Inuit people.
cinema and TV advertising, advertising in buses and
bus shelters, health education materials and Maori ra-
dio advertising. Specific campaign components were Sources: NZ Ministry of Health 1996; Health Canada
directed at Maoris, taking into consideration their cul- www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fnihb/cp/tobacco/
tural needs and differences. keepinginformed.htm
special interest groups of the UK’s Chartered Institute Councils have to communicate corporately and in-
of Public Relations is the Local Government Group. volve a wide variety of stakeholders, including part-
Local government traditionally operated at the ‘pub- ners and employees, as well as citizens varying widely
lic information . . . end of public relations’ (Harrison in age, ethnicity, and ability to communicate their
2000: 173). Campaigns focused on increasing public own needs and wants. Communication is increasingly
awareness of social issues such as road safety and the recognised as a two-way strategic function (Gaudin
environment. 2005). The role of public relations in local government
Local councils in the UK are specifically prohibited is thus made clear: ‘Good communication is central to
by law to attempt to persuade publics. Recent advice community leadership and the delivery of services to
states: ‘Council communications should be informa- local people’ (Yeomans and Adshead 2003: 250). (See
tive rather than persuasive’ (IDeA 2005). Within this Think about 30.4 and Mini case study 30.3.)
context, persuasion is seen as providing information
that is identifiable as one political party’s views.
However, in order to cut through the clutter of me- Health sector communication
dia and messages faced by residents, and to use re-
sources effectively, it is essential for councils to have
clear objectives in what they are trying to achieve in
The health environment
public relations terms. Some of these objectives will Healthcare is a high priority globally. In 1998, the
be about raising awareness about the council’s poli- World Health Organisation (WHO) set challenging
cies (e.g. Leeds City Council introducing ‘Fairtrade’ health targets for people worldwide in its HEALTH21
foods at all its catering outlets); other objectives will policy. The policy comprises three values:
be a direct encouragement for people to do some-
■ health as a fundamental human right
thing such as using green bins for recycling waste.
■ equity in health across nations
Unfortunately, local government has always suf-
■ participation by, and accountability of, individu-
fered from a lack of public knowledge, not only about
als, groups, communities, institutions, organisa-
the role of elected politicians, but also of what coun-
tions and all sectors in the health development
cils actually do. It is a truism that British people have
movement (WHO 1999: 4).
held either indifferent or negative views of their local
council, based on experiences of litter in the streets or Within the context of the HEALTH21 policy, a four-
dog excrement in the local park. part strategic action plan has been set out for coun-
To demonstrate accountability to local residents, tries in Europe. This action plan, with an emphasis on
councils have had to shift away from passive ‘infor- participatory health development within local com-
mation giving’ to what is known as ‘community en- munities, implies changes not only in healthcare de-
gagement’ where people are openly encouraged by livery (i.e. through primary care organisations and
their council to have their say on public issues. Dur- hospitals) but in health communication.
ing the 1990s, for example, the London Borough of While governments at national level will continue
Lewisham opened its committee meetings to televi- to have a responsibility in raising awareness through
sion cameras to enable the BBC to make a documen- mass media campaigning on public health issues,
tary series. It also opened a Video Box in an experi- such as those discussed earlier in this chapter, it is at
ment to let the public have their say about local the local level where the changes to people’s behav-
services (Walker 1997). iour can be achieved most through a greater involve-
Since 2001 performance checks undertaken by ment in decisions about their own health and health-
the Audit Commission have helped to reinvigorate care. Here there is a clear role for locally based
the communication function of local government. communication professionals.
think about 30.4 Yo u r l o c a l c o u n c i l ’s s t a k e h o l d e r s

Who are the stakeholders of your local council, municipality or government? Try segmenting ‘in-
ternal’ and ‘external’ groups.
Feedback The list is endless, but internal groups will include elected politicians, senior managers, and offi-
cers (who can be segmented by grade and department). External stakeholders will include central
government departments or ministries (these are significant stakeholders), other publicly funded
agencies, the police, residents, the local media, community leaders (e.g. prominent people in the
church, education, youth groups, minority groups, etc.). These are just a starting point.
HEALTH SECTOR COMMUNICATION 591
Community engagement – banning smoking

in public places
Coventry City Council in the UK wanted to take advan- of the 6000 who responded to the consultation (includ-
tage of growing public support for banning smoking in ing smokers) said they wanted the city to become
public places. The aim of the three-month campaign smoke free in public places. This positive response
‘Smoke-Free Coventry’ was to position Coventry as a gave impetus to the tactical campaign. The focal point
leader in the national debate on smoking and banning of the campaign was a wacky character called ‘Termi-
smoking. The key objectives were: to raise awareness nator’ (in reality, a smoking cessation officer) who
of and gauge the views of Coventry residents about roamed pubs (public bars) warning people of the health
proposed plans to create a ‘smoke-free’ city and ban risks of smoking and giving advice on quitting. This at-
smoking in public places; to inform and educate peo- tracted television coverage and letters flooded into lo-
ple about the dangers of smoking and promote Coven- cal newspapers in response to the debate. As a result
try’s Quit Smoking Team. of the campaign, Coventry City Council is a prominent
To gain local support, the campaign team involved lobbyist at the UK parliament on smoking legislation.
partners and opinion formers including the media,
health agencies, schools and the fire service. Local
public opinion was tested using a residents’ poll, a Sources: PR News (IPR Local Government Group)
website questionnaire and a citizens’ panel comprising November 2004, I5: 8; Excellence in Communication
members of the local community. Eight in ten residents Awards 2004, IPR Local Government Group
As the WHO’s ‘Health for All’ (HFA) policy states: holders in its corporate life’ and strengthening ‘the
perception of health as a fundamental human right’
More vigorous and open involvement of journalists and
(Kuteev-Moreira and Eglin 2004: 123). All this opens
other professionals working in the media and the com-
up a new dimension for the health sector communi-
munication industry in creating and sustaining public
cator in terms of the communication style they
knowledge and debate about health issues will be vital
adopt. (See Activity 30.4.)
to the success of HFA policy, with its emphasis on pub-
lic participation and the transparency of policy-making
and implementation processes. Special training in such
health issues should be part of the education of such Health sector communication in the UK
professionals. The health sector itself must make a The policy document Shifting the Balance of Power: The
start by welcoming a more open dialogue on its affairs. next steps (Department of Health 2002) announced a
(WHO 1999: 158) new way of organising and managing health services
The role of the corporate communicator in a within the UK National Health Service (NHS). Since
healthcare organisation such as a hospital is thus sug- 2002 the hospital sector has also changed, with ‘well-
gested as ‘promoting the participation of all its stake- managed’ hospitals being eligible to apply for foun-
dation trust status to enable a greater degree of com-
munity autonomy and financial discretion. With the
activity 30.4 policy emphasis on partnership working and stake-
holder consultation, communications practitioners
A hospital’s stakeholders
(the term ‘public relations’ is rarely used) have had
List the stakeholders of your local hospital. Now con- many new challenges to address, not least their own
sider their relationships with the hospital in terms of ex- personal competences. Adopting an ‘inclusive profes-
pectations and level of involvement.
sional style’ in working with partner organisations is
Feedback identified as just one success factor (Beresford and
Stakeholders will include: patients and service users, Yeomans 2003).
organisations representing patients and service users The emphasis on consultation is undoubtedly a key
(these include voluntary organisations), purchasers or change for communication practices in the National
contractors, regulators, partners, suppliers, competi-
tors/rivals, employees and potential employees (health Health Service because it involves a shift in mindset
service professionals), trade unions/professional asso- away from traditional one-way public information
ciations, the media. giving to that of working with publics to identify
healthcare problems and solutions. It implies, as we
case study 30.1
Public involvement – Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge

University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The prospect of NHS foundation trust status in 2004 Phase 2 concentrated on building up a membership
signalled a challenging opportunity for hospitals since base, but also tackled tricky issues like explaining to
the NHS was set up in 1948: a chance to be at the staff that they would be members of the new NHS foun-
forefront of major change to deliver a responsive, ac- dation trust, unless they actively decided to opt out.
cessible, inclusive health service accountable to the This phase also used: newspaper advertising; radio ad-
local community and free from central government con- vertising; direct mail shots to 100,000 addresses at
trol. random from the electoral register; awareness ses-
The basis for foundation trust status was establish- sions for potential governors; posters in local doctors’
ing membership of the trust and involving staff, pa- (GP) surgeries, libraries, pharmacies, opticians and
tients and the public in the running of the trust. It was dental surgeries. All this was supported by media rela-
therefore vital for any communications campaign to tions and articles in both the trust’s internal and exter-
embody the values and spirit of the new NHS founda- nal newspapers and a central membership office which
tion trust itself. fielded questions and comments.
Addenbrooke’s’ communication objectives were to: The evaluation of phase 1 – the consultation – was
by the number of responses received. These re-
■ explain clearly the benefits and implications of NHS sponses then informed the writing of the application
foundation trust status for foundation trust status. Eleven public meetings re-
■ engage its publics’ enthusiasm and engender dia- sulted in invitations from another 44 venues for further
logue meetings.
■ translate involvement into support that would then The monitoring and evaluation of phase 2 was
establish a membership base of 10,000 by 1 April based on the number of members recruited. The target
2004. was 10,000 by 1 April 2004. By the middle of Decem-
ber 2003 only 1500 members had been recruited, so
All this was undertaken against the background of
a change in tactics was needed involving a totally new
getting to grips with a new organisation still in the
design for campaign material. The colour chosen was
process of evolving.
part of the NHS corporate palette, but made a distinct
The campaign comprised two phases: first, an initial
statement from the more often used NHS blue seen on
12-week consultation with staff and the local commu-
the logo. All photography was commissioned from Ad-
nity, which informed the writing and acceptance of the
denbrooke’s Medical Photography department which
application for foundation trust status and, second,
used staff as models in the leaflets. The look was car-
the long-term commitment to recruit members of the
ried across to the website and other visual communi-
trust – staff, public and patients.
cation channels.
Straplines were developed for both phases of the
To further boost membership, radio advertising with
campaign – encapsulating the results Addenbrooke’s
two stations covered different age ranges, teens to
wanted to achieve. The first phase was ‘Your hospital –
35 year olds and mid-30s onwards, together with direct
your chance to be involved’ and the second phase
mail shots to 100,000 households, plus newspaper
which incorporated both a staff and public audience
and magazine advertising. A total of 16,203 members
were ‘Together we can make a difference’ (staff) and
were recruited, which justified the change in tactics.
‘You can decide how the future will look’ (patients and
Addenbrooke’s achieved NHS foundation trust status
public).
in July 2004.
Printed material formed the basis of the campaign –
for phase 1 an ‘expression of interest’ leaflet was dis-
tributed in the local newspaper, which offered further Review
information available from a 50-page consultation doc-
In March 2005 membership of the trust stood at
ument. This was supported by: the website; 55 meet-
21,000 but the age of trust members was not repre-
ings in the community where trust directors gave pre-
sentative of the local community. A new plan was de-
sentations and answered questions; a short video
veloped to target young people aged 16–35.
shown in shopping centres supported by literature and
displays. This activity was mirrored in the trust with a
tailor-made presentation developed for managers to Source: By kind permission of Cambridge University
deliver at team meetings. Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
A COMMUNICATION PLANNING FRAMEWORK 593
think about 30.5 A d d e n b r o o k e ’s c a s e s t u d y

1 Based on what you know about effective campaign planning, could anything have been done dif-
ferently at the start of the campaign to reach the 10,000 target earlier?
2 What should the hospital do to recruit young people?
Feedback 1 Consider the use of research and segmentation beyond the three main groups identified.
2 Consider segmenting this group further.
noted earlier, less reliance on traditional mass com-

munication methods of dissemination and more em- A communication planning framework
phasis on interpersonal channels as part of a planned
approach to health communication. You will find a very rich body of literature and re-
For communication professionals within the health search to help with the planning, implementation
service, health promotion projects such as breast or tes- and evaluation processes of a communication cam-
ticle self-examination may be a relatively minor ele- paign. The bibliography at the end of this chapter
ment of their work given the corporate orientation of will help you to develop your knowledge in this
the communication effort: this can range from advis- field. This bibliography draws on research and the-
ing senior management on communication strategies, ory in public relations, persuasion, social psychol-
dealing with media attention and enquiries, organising ogy, health promotion, social marketing and mass
or writing the internal newsletter and writing content communication. Some of these areas are covered in
for the web. Case study 30.1 illustrates the wide-rang- Chapter 14, where the psychology of persuasion is
ing role of the communication function in a public in- discussed. The planning process for public relations
volvement campaign. (See also Think about 30.5.) is discussed in Chapter 10, and the same sequence
PICTURE 30.2 A landfill site is always an issue of public concern when it’s on our doorstep. See Case study 30.2.
(Source: © James Leynse/Corbis.)
case study 30.2
Overcoming public opposition and mobilising support

for the waste management site of Szentgál, Hungary
Background 1 The depot was to be built with EU support in compli-
ance with the strictest environment protection and
In 2003, 175 local councils in the western part of Hun- security regulation.
gary formed a consortium in order to build a new waste 2 Szentgál could benefit greatly by accepting the
management site with the financial support of the Eu- waste management site.
ropean Union (EU) and the Hungarian government. Al-
though the environmental experts and the environmen- Implementation
tal impact studies found the area on the outskirts of SMG’s strategy was to build personal relationships
the village of Szentgál appropriate for the construction with, and gain the trust of, the local residents and thus
of the waste depot, the project – as were most of the avoid the slightest suspicion that the decision would
previous attempts in other areas – was hindered by the be made ‘behind closed doors’.
opposition of the concerned local citizens. During the six weeks of the campaign, four community
The question of environmental technologies (such meetings were organised for the citizens of Szentgál and
as sewage treatment systems, waste managing sites) the neighbouring villages. SMG invited independent ex-
in general, and the issue of ‘waste’ in particular, is an perts and opinion leaders to these community meetings,
emotive topic not only in Hungary but in most European and had them explain what had to be done to gain per-
countries. The participants of the industry usually have mission to use a site, what kind of planning consent and
to face serious challenges and trials, radical environ- licensing consent was required in order to operate a land-
mentalists and other pressure groups. As a result, fill and how the environmental impact studies were con-
there were at least half a dozen negative referendums ducted. Holding regular community meetings also helped
preceding this campaign in other parts of the country to keep the issue ‘local’ and to keep out ‘intruders’ (e.g.
with negative or scaremongering media coverage. ‘green groups’ from Budapest). Even the opponents of
Objectives the depot did not like their ‘outsider’ opinions, and re-
jected their help and intervention. SMG paid special at-
Six weeks before the referendum, the consortium turned tention to avoid any associations with party politics.
to Sawyer Miller Group (SMG), a public relations consul- SMG edited and published two periodicals that were
tancy, to reduce the negative effects of ‘ecological scare distributed in Szentgál and the neighbouring villages. In
stories’ in the media, minimise the foreseen conflicts addition to general technical information, readers could
with local residents and build a constructive relationship also find several ‘testimony interviews’. In these inter-
network with other local organisations. A key objective views, both sides were given an opportunity to voice
was to turn public opinion around in Szentgál so that the and explain their arguments. According to the feed-
majority of citizens would vote supportively at the refer- back, this approach resulted in a lot of support for the
endum deciding the fate of the construction. project, and managed to balance the previously widely
distributed leaflets of the opposition, which were poorly
Research
written and personal rather than factual in tone.
First, SMG had a local poll executed about support for the During the campaign SMG organised excursions to
project. Out of the 3000 residents only 25% would have other waste depots where the citizens of Szentgál
supported the investment, 49% of them would have re- could see in person how an environment-friendly waste
jected and 26% had not yet decided at the time. The poll depot operates and how it can contribute to the devel-
also helped to better understand the demographics, the opment of the region.
nature and strength of opinions, attitudes and beliefs. Other communication tools included leaflets, giving in-
One of the biggest concerns of the citizens was that depth explanations about all relevant issues, such as
their village would be associated and identified as the landscape, containment of litter, site management, se-
‘garbage village’. As the findings showed, people who curity, drainage, noise containment, operational hours,
opposed the waste management site wanted to pre- traffic impact and the future of the local flora and fauna.
serve the status quo and were worried about the nega- An information hotline was also set up, and a per-
tive changes to their daily lives and lifestyles. They did manent exhibition organised to model the depot to-
not want decreasing property values or a polluted envi- gether with video clips. The media were informed
ronment. In contrast, people in favour of the project through press conferences and special briefings.
wanted new benefits such as more workplaces, higher
Result
income tax, financial compensation and elimination of
a local contaminated brownfield, infrastructural devel- In December 2003 nearly 60% of the population of
opment. The most favoured compensation was the po- Szentgál cast their vote and 56% of them voted for the
tential donation of a new school site. investment.
The campaign was built around two major messages: Used with permission
BIBLIOGRAPHY 595
can be followed for a public communication cam- beginning and throughout this chapter. Case study
paign. However, it is important to bear in mind the 30.2 demonstrates a public relations-led approach
particular characteristics and success factors of a to public communication, involving a controversial
public communication campaign highlighted at the issue.
Summary
This chapter has considered the special characteristics hand, we identified that there is also a need for public
of public sector communication: its context, goals, organisations to work with communities to jointly solve
publics, media use and effectiveness. Theories of com- these problems. We have also identified that within a
munication, including agenda-setting theory and social multicultural context, a healthy democracy requires pub-
marketing, were considered to provide an understand- lic participation. In achieving this, the public sector
ing of the types of communication campaigns that are needs to understand and communicate with minority
undertaken by public sector organisations. On the one groups and ‘marginalised’ communities. Finally,
hand, we identified that common public communication through case studies we considered the use of cam-
objectives were to change knowledge, attitudes and be- paign models, theories and approaches to campaign
haviour in tackling social problems, while, on the other planning.
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tions to be further accountable to their publics. Ac-

Objectives lic communication where the citizen or consumer

TABLE 30.2 Public communication campaign objectives

Type of cognitive, affective

FIGURE 30.1 A model of communication influence process (source: McQuail 1987

Receivers measured behaviourally in terms of the numbers who

Public communication influence

mini case study 30.1

Vote and post campaign

think about 30.3 A communication influence model

Commercial marketing Social marketing Example of social marketing

cation have become increasingly blurred. From the

Source: Adapted from Windahl et al. 1992: 101–102

activity 30.3 Local government communication

mini case study 30.2

Segmenting minority groups

think about 30.4 Yo u r l o c a l c o u n c i l ’s s t a k e h o l d e r s

mini case study 30.3

Community engagement – banning smoking

case study 30.1

Public involvement – Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge

think about 30.5 A d d e n b r o o k e ’s c a s e s t u d y

noted earlier, less reliance on traditional mass com-

case study 30.2

Overcoming public opposition and mobilising support

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