THE MARYLAND ALLIANCE AGAINST FAMILY VIOI..l1NCE The Barten-Gillet Company Promoting Awareness and Action A Preliminary Public Relations Plan for The Maryland Alliance Against Family Violence The Batton-Gillet Company May, 1991 The Barton-Gillet Company Meeting the Challenges Family violence is fast becoming a national crisis. The establishment of the Maryland Alliance Against Family Violence represents a significant step in coordinating and strengthening the resources to combat this problem. However, the Alliance faces a serious challenge, not only in terms of combatting violence directed at women and children, but also in terms of making the public aware of the family violence crisis and of the resources available to cope with and overcome this growing problem. Through the development of a broad-spectrum public relations program, the Alliance can achieve name recognition, promote awareness of the problem and better reach those in need of help, as well as those able to deliver help. To develop the public relations program, it is necessary to determine: • the Alliance's mission and goals • target audiences to whom specific programs or strategies will be directed • public relations strategies • assessment and evaluation methodologies Who Is The Alliance? To gain support for the Alliance and provide direction for its activities, members of its core group, The Family Violence Coalition, must first determine both the mission and goals of the organization, as well as its role and that of its member organizations. Is the Alliance, for example, to be a public advocacy group against family violence? A referral network? A lobbying organization? The Alliance must also identify the criteria for membership. Membership recruitment must also be initiated early on to increase support for the organization. As a first step to membership cultivation, Alliance members should solicit support and participation from individual members of the boards of directors of their organizations who, in tum, can seek out the support of their respective corporations and organizations. This may best be handled through one-on-one meetings with board members and presentation of background information on the The Berton-Gillet Company Alliance as well as excerpts from the Coalition's report, "Broken Bodies, Broken Spirits: Family Violence in Maryland and Recommendations for Change." With a strong membership in place, the Alliance will be better positioned to seek out financial sponsorship for specific events and projects. To promote cooperation and coordination between member organizations, the Alliance should also publish a directory which includes brief descriptions of each organization, key contact persons and other pertinent information. Target Constituencies With both mission and membership in place, a public relations program can be implemented. We recommend that the public relations program for The Maryland Alliance Against Family Violence be targeted to reach these key constituents: • Victims of family violence • Potential victims and others at risk • Teachers, physicians, social workers, police officers and others at the front line in identifying and dealing with victims of family violence • Corporations, foundations and other major sources of private and public support. • Community-based organizations such as Baltimore City Public schools, county schools, churches, shelters for the homeless and other organizations that can make referrals to the Alliance's representative organizations • The media, including area newsyapers, radio, television and magazines (at the local, regiona and national levels.) • The general public who through their awareness and support of the Alliance can help combat the problem of family violence. The Berton-Gillet Company Recommended Strategies Because of the diverse nature of these audiences, several different public relations strategies should be utilized that will enable the Alliance to gear its message to each individual audience, as well as to encourage a specific desired reaction from each. However, regardless of the audience, each of the strategies or programs would have the common goal of creating name equity for The Maryland Alliance Against Family Violence as an organization formed to: • Increase the public awareness of the scope and dimension of family violence problems in Baltimore, throughout the State of Maryland and across the nation. • Draw attention to the risk factors for family violence • Increase awareness of resources available to help prevent and intercede in family violence. as well resources available to cope with the aftermath of family violence. • Centralize and strengthen the referral network between organizations that deal with family violence. • Heighten awareness among community leaders, employers and other decision-makers that family violence has a tremendous social, personal and economic impact on society. In addition, specific strategies would be incorporated to help the Alliance cultivate membership and gain financial support for its endeavors. The following media relations efforts should be considered to support, strengthen and increase awareness about The Maryland Alliance Against Family Violence. • Development of a graphic identity for use on stationery, news releases, brochures, flyers, posters and other communications materials, which will serve to increase name recognition and public awareness. • Special events, including a "first annual" conference on family violence and prevention which features leading experts on the topic, who can discuss the issues and what needs to be done to combat family violence and its aftermath. The Barton-Gillet Company • Community events such as a "Stop Family Violence" poster contest in public schools, a "Families in Harmony Night" similar to "Women Take Back the Night" rallies and "Neighborhood Family Workshops" designed to teach families more effective communication strategies, any of which will serve to raise awareness and initiate efforts to combat the problem. • A press package/media kit to be distributed at the annual conference and other events and for use by feature writers. • A monthly desktop newsletter with information about resources, new legislation and other information for Alliance member organizations and others who deal with family violence. • Regular news releases and editorials calendar notices about the Alliance's special events, activities, etc. • Feature articles placed in electronic and print media that portray the seriousness of the family violence problem, its tendency to cross all socioeconomic boundaries, the connections between family violence and substance abuse, the notion of abuse breeding abuse, the personal, professional and economic impact of family violence, and what can be done to combat the problem. • A Speaker's Bureau in which representatives of the various member organizations in the Alliance, noted experts and former victims of abuse speak to businesses, civic organizations and others about the family violence problem and what can be done to fight it. • Public service announcements on radio and TV aimed at increasing awareness of the family violence problem and of the resources available to help. • Audio-visual materials which could be distributed to community organizations and other public venues to increase awareness. Each of these strategies or programs also would include an evaluation tool, depending on the nature of the particular program, to determine its effectiveness and for use in planning subsequent strategies. Detailed plans for each of these programs and the accompanying evaluation tools will be provided once Alliance members have agreed upon the specific elements to be used in their public relations plan. The Barton·Gillet Company The Big Event To introduce the Alliance to the public and immediately position it as a major resource for information and assistance regarding family violence, a significant, headline-making event should be held. A "First Annual Conference on Family Violence and Prevention" would serve several immediate goals, including: • defining "family violence" in new terms that more concisely capture the true nature and scope of the problem • increasing public awareness of the family violence problem • bringing together concerned individuals and organizations from all sectors • promoting dialogue and action The Audience The target audience for the conference would be members of organizations or groups working at the front line of the family violence crisis -- social workers, teachers, police officers, interested members of the media and others -- as well as the general public. It is expected that public interest in the conference will be limited initially until other public awareness programs have been put in place. Therefore, the conference would be geared primarily to these "frontline" people. Sponsorship The conference would be funded by private donations from member organizations and those businesses and organizations represented on the boards of directors of the member organizations. The Berton-Gillet Company The Format The conference would be an afternoon event which featuring noted speakers on topics pertaining to family violence. To ensure this is a "headline" event, the conference should feature speakers whose topics would relate to current news items. Examples include: • one of the women recently released from Maryland prisons as a result of Governor Schaefer's actions who would talk about her experience; • a woman who allowed her name to be publicized following a domestic