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When developing a promotion plan, certain information will be the same for any approach used. They are the common threads that hold the approaches together and combine the materials and activities—we call them the in-common components.  They include: (1) Problem statement, (2) Objectives, (3) Primary audience, (4) Secondary and tertiary audiences, (5) Key promise and message, (6) Feasible practice(s), (7) Doable steps, (8) Obstacles, (9) Motivators, (10) Tone, (11) Media Channels/Forms, (12) Creative considerations, and (13) Essentials.  These components keep the promotion effort focused and phase the promotion program from one stage to the next.

Task 5.1.1:    Compile Existing In-Common Components of the Promotion Plan

• Read Key Information 5.1: Components of Each Promotional Approach:

  13 Components IN-COMMON to All Aproaches Developed:
  1. Problem statement; 2. Objectives; 3. Primary audience; 4. Secondary and tertiary audiences; 5. Key promise and message; 6. Feasible practice(s); 7. Doable steps; 8. Obstacles; 9. Motivators; 10. Tone; 11. Media channels/formats; 12. Creative considerations; and 13. Essentials

• Use Product 5, Brief 1 of the Promotion Plan and compile the problem statement; the primary, secondary, and tertiary target audiences; feasible practice(s); doable steps; obstacles – use only those highlighted in Step 3; and main support points/motivators – use only those highlighted in Step 3.

Task 5.1.2:        Determine In-common Promotion Objectives

It is easiest to develop, track, and evaluate promotion objectives that reflect feasible practices and doable steps.  By linking the program’s objectives to feasible practices, the program will make clear progress, and next steps will clearly emerge to direct and motivate the target audience to take action and to adopt new feasible practices.

• Reread Key Information 3.2: Behavioral Stages-Why and What?.
• Review Example 5.1: Promotion Objectives by Topic and Stage for a compilation of objectives developed for promotion programs by topic and by behavior change continuum stage.
• Using Decision Making Tool 5.1: Developing Promotion-Specific Objectives, develop promotion-specific objectives.
• Keep the feasible behaviors and doable steps handy for reference.
• Review Key Information 4.2 from Step 4 on SMART objectives.
• Organize the objectives by stages as determined in Step 3.
• Write objectives on Product 5, Brief 1 of the Promotion Plan.

Task 5.1.3:        Develop In-common KEY Promise and Message

A key promise and message must be developed for all materials and activities.  But how do you begin to create this message?  Knowing and understanding the perspective of the primary target audience is essential.  This audience will ask: “If I practice this feasible positive behavior, what positive result will I experience?” This phrase highlights the most important value or concern of the primary target audience.  In answering this question, the key promise and message emerge and provide the audience with the crucial reason(s) to consider the promoted feasible practice, to overcome any barriers, and to adopt the new behavior.

• Read Key Information 5.2: KEY Promise and Message:
  The key promise and message is the phrase that reflects what is of most importance and of most value to the primary target audience.  The key promise and message provides the audience with the crucial reason to consider the promoted feasible practice, to overcome any barriers to practice and to adopt the behavior.  A key promise must be the same on each and every material or activity developed for all media types.

• Read Example 5.2 on focusing energies:
  Think about focus in a different way - how can we focus the energy of our promotion?  Examine this example of cotton wool and magnifying glass, where the goal is, to burn the cotton wool.  You can keep the cotton wool under the sun for any length of time but it will not burn.  The sunlight here is diffused energy and does not have the desired impact.  If the sun’s energy is directed on the cotton wool using a magnifying glass for a certain length of time, the wool will burn quickly.  This is focused energy that allows us to achieve the goal.  Focusing the energy of a promotion works in exactly the same manner.  Focus the energy and it succeeds, diffuse the energy and it does not.

• Use Decision Making Tool 5.2: Developing a Key Promise and Message to develop the key promise and message.
• Write the key promise and message on the Product 5, Brief 1 of the Promotion Plan.

Task 5.1.4:        Detail In-Common “Tone”

• Read Key Information 5.3: Promotion Tone:

• Use Decision Making Tool 5.3: Defining Tone(s) of Promotion to select the choices that are appropriate for our promotion effort.
• Compile decisions made on tone Product 5, Brief 1, #10 of the Promotion Plan.

Task 5.1.5:        Determine Appropriate In-common Media Types and Forms

Matching the best available media options for the selected promotion to the target audience’s preferred choice will maximize impact and minimize resource inputs.  There are four types of media/channels: (1) print, (2) non-print, (3) traditional, and (4) interpersonal.  Each type comprises various creative forms or channels, including posters (print), radio spots (non-print), folkdance (traditional), and role plays (interpersonal). Experience has shown that smaller promotion program teams and mid-sized organizations can effectively develop, pretest, and implement up to five forms of media depending on financial and human resources available to them (for example, one poster, one radio spot, one drama, one brochure, and one community meeting agenda/notes).  

• Review the research and write what our audience’s stated as their preferred activities or channels.
• Complete Decision Making Tool 5.4: Choosing Appropriate Media Types and Channels/Forms, to determine which types of activities and channels are appropriate for the approaches chosen for this promotion program.
• Compare audience choices against “best choices” per the Decision Making Tool findings.
• Select program materials, activities and media formats that all approaches have in common. A priority should be made on those formats that the primary target audience ALSO cited as a preferred choice.
• Depending on the existing resources available, select up to five media formats.  If more than five have been identified, see Decision Making Tool 5.5: Reducing the Number of Media Forms to reduce the number to the five most appropriate.  Examine the cost of each and again reduce the number of formats, if needed.
• Write out all selected channels/formats on the Product 5, Brief 1, #11 of the Promotion Plan.

Matching the best-suited media format with the preferred choice of the target audience will maximize impact and minimize resource inputs.  Why develop four materials when we can have the same impact with one? 

Task 5.1.6:        Complete “Creative Considerations” and “Mandatories”

• Discuss with the team, ‘creative considerations’: issues that might affect the impact of each piece or material and/or activity, such as colors used, languages used, size of the pieces, etc.  Write the considerations agreed upon on Product 5, Brief 1, #12.
• Discuss with the team ‘mandatories’: items that MUST be included on each piece of material and/or in each activity, such as organizational logo, donor logo, key message and promise, etc.  Write your decisions on Product 5, Brief 1, #13.