Campaigns to End Violence against Women and Girls - Virtual ...

(VAW). The guide presents a variety of media and communications strategies
used in different parts of the world. Available in English and Spanish
� Report by EQUITY Tanzania on a training workshop in 2003 on communication
for advocacy to eradicate gender-based violence. Useful tips and lessons learned
in developing communications strategies for advocacy campaigns. A distinction is
made between people-centered advocacy and policy-centered advocacy.
� The Multimedia Training Kit by ItrainOnline (2003) is an online resource that
focuses on the technical aspects of how to use new media to communicate
development messages. Sections include searching the Internet, digital audio
production, databases, and content development skills – there are also specific
materials on the theme of VAW. Available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic
and Russian.
� Empowering Messages: What You Should Know: Strategic Communication and
Gender-based Violence, Media Monitoring Africa.
6.6 USING THE MEDIA
MEDIA STRATEGY
A deliberate media strategy is needed to identify and effectively use appropriate media.
Crafting the media strategy should follow the steps of strategic planning as outlined in
Campaign Planning and Campaign Strategy: conducting a situation analysis, defining
clear goals, planning action, and deciding how to monitor the process and outcomes of
the media strategy. The analysis should include a thorough mapping of the media
environment, to review existing media and identify the communication channels which
are most likely to reach each of your target audiences or audience segments.
Elements of the media environment include:
� Communication channels
� Quantity and quality of media outlets; type of media outlet
� News cycles: 24-hours (like the BBC or CNN), daily (many newspapers), weekly,
monthly (many magazines) etc.
� Popularity; levels of readership or viewership
� Types of readership or viewership (e.g. age group, education level)
� Levels of access by target audience(s)
� Ideological or other leanings (e.g. media that adopt a certain religious leaning, or that
are for/against a particular political party)
� Non-traditional media outlets: new mediums (e.g. online news sites, blogs),
alternative media (not mainstream, NGO-led, including community media outlets)
Practical tips to identify which media you need to target
Consider the following factors:
� Circulation and audience ratings – i.e. the number of people who use the media
(find out from the newspaper, TV or radio station concerned) or check external
ratings agencies (Nielsen, etc)
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Campaigns December 2011