PBRL-6015 STRATEGIC PLANNING & CRISIS COMMUNICATION TEAM ASSIGNMENT: Strategic Communications Plan Communication Objectives: Specific: Should

a provincial election be called, Carol White should be ready. At any given time, we, as her campaign team must make certain that Carols support is above the rest, and that she is ready to campaign in an election. White must also be prepared for nomination period. In order for this preparation to run smoothly, White must ensure that she has garnered support from powerful ridings in widespreading regions of the province. Our goal is to ensure that Carol White wins the political race for Premier of her province. The benefits in accomplishing this goal are extraordinary. This would not only be a win for Carol White, and her party, but also for all women in the country. The fact is, women are seven times less likely to run in an electoral race than men. Carol White will already be a marginalized individual, even before the political race will have begun. This blatant gap of the sexes is a key reason as to why our team must be motivated to achieve our goal. In addition, Carol White represents 3% of the population. Although this number is relatively small, the agricultural community benefits society in unimaginable ways. For this community to flourish, it requires a strong leader, a leader that is capable of overcoming adversity; a leader like Carol White. Who: Who is involved? In order to executive a successful campaign, an experience and diverse team of specialists needs to be assembled. Here is a list, accompanied by a brief description of the key political staffers on Carol Whites campaign team. Each political staffer plays a managerial role on the team and has a sub-committee of staffers to aid them in their processes. The Strategist: The individual is one with a far-reaching and all-embracing history with election readiness. This staffer has years of experience in campaigning and can maneuver our candidate around the intricacy that is the political schemata. The strategist will have a hand in voter support, communications, philanthropic initiatives, and policy decision-making. He or she will make certain that Carol White has the necessary alliances to back her if an election should be called. Outreach: activists, volunteerism, fundraisers. This person is to ensure that Carol White has a generous, and philanthropic name within her community. This staffer organizes all affiliations to local nonprofits, and other such organizations. For our candidate, an affiliation to a womens shelter would be ideal for an image of women helping women. This particular staffer will also target agricultural initiatives. He or she will have extensive knowledge of the needs, issues, and

core values of the farming community. Thus, this team member will be able to pinpoint which organizations to become affiliated. In turn, Carol White will band with these organizations, helping them to subsequently help her politically. The Communicator: A media specialist, a seasoned speaker, and a strategic talker. This individual will look over all media relations, social media initiatives, press conference organization, and the dissemination of key messages. He or she will also be responsible for creating speeches, articles, and gathering quotes. This staffer will be the primary liaison between the Carol White campaign team, and the media, as well as the community. The Legislative Advisor: This staffer will be an expert of all things policy. He or she will have a breadth of knowledge on regulation, so that our candidate may also display this knowledge. This policy expert will be responsible for ensuring that all areas of the campaign coincide with supported legislation, and that Carol White is endorsing regulations that help her constituency, rural farmers especially. Measurable: Carol White does not have the same financial privileges as her opposing candidates. This alone is a major setback. Elections require endorsements, and endorsements require incentive. As Carol Whites campaign team, we must ensure that sponsorship is abundant, and that the community is willing to support Carol White fiscally, and in the polls. The fact that Carol White is the only woman running in the political race is an advantage in this case. Carol Whites educational background is also a sizeable gain. Her affiliation with the local college, as well as her experience in teaching the generation of tomorrow will gather support from educational institutions. Although students do not have a high voter turnout, their professors often know the value in voting. We must not forget that Carol is a Corporate Communications professional herself. This is another way to make up for a potential lack of finances. Carol White will understand that it is not the quantity of ads and political ad material that is disseminated, but rather the quality of the messages being articulated. So, although Carol White may be slightly set back financially, her background in teaching accompanied with her ability to advocate for a marginalized group will help her to receive endorsements, assisting with her fiscal needs. The success of leveraging her educational background and her connection to marginalized members of the community can be measured by the number of endorsements she received. If she is successful in garnering support from the aforementioned riding associations, this will be a strong indicator of success. She will also need endorsement from pillars within the agricultural community. Education, agriculture and infrastructure are areas of the community that are not to be ignored. If these three sectors are behind our candidate, then we shall be in

the forefront of the electoral running. Achievable: The goal of seeking endorsements is dependent on a vast network of relationships, as well as communication. The achievement of our goal also relies on each key political staffer accomplishing their respective goals. The individual responsible for outreach should be able to tangibly quantify the benefit in helping nonprofits (i.e. food banks, womens shelters, the Salvation Army, etc.). This can be measured by how recognized this work is within the community. It is essential that the outreach Carol White is doing is seen and respected by her constituency. The communicator of the team will need to guarantee that key messages of the campaign are being delivered to through the appropriate mediums to the appropriate parties. Carol Whites political persona and brand will need to be circulated positively to every major and local news network. The success of communications will be made measurable by increased support in social media, an optimistic image on all news networks, and a high demand for interviews. Carol White will need to communicate her platform in a well-planned and articulate manner. She will need to emphasize her interests in the socioeconomic development of the agricultural community without marginalizing the business community. This is a crucial point as she herself is a corporate communicator. This contrast of interests can benefit greatly the to support she receives, as it will be from all areas of the community. Relevant: As Carol Whites campaign team, we must ensure that there is a sense of consistency and solidarity within our team. We must also ensure that our key messages are parallel to those of the needs of the community. Carol Whites platform must be based on local needs, issues, and improvements to be made. Our efforts must match those of what is needed by the provincial candidate. Carol White must be illustrated as the only person to fight for these efforts, and local needs. Our goal must be to brand Carol White as the woman who her community can turn to for a change for the better. Timely: An election could be called at any time. Therefore, it is crucial that planning be completed well ahead of when the race is called. As of now, Carol White is the only female candidate. She is also the candidate whose first time it is running in a political race. To make matters even more difficult, her party has come third in previous elections in the riding. So, as previously stated, and for these reasons, timely preparation is key. Carol White will need to have her name buzzing around the community well in advance of the elections. Three months before the election is called, although we do not know when that will be, Carol White will need to be attended major business and agricultural functions within the community. She will need to begin forming her platforms, and advocating for the changes she can bring to the community. Carol White as her campaign team will need to begin canvassing the appropriate parties with the utmost discretion two

months before the election is called as well. This way, when the election is called, Carol White will be aligned with her proper endorsements, and ready with her platform for news media. The communications wing of the campaign team will need to compile media lists of all the relevant and important media players within the community. However, many things must be kept in quiet, as nomination period involves sensitivity. We must keep in mind that if Carol runs in the political race, she will have to resign from her job as a Corporate Communications professor. This is a sensitive issue, and that is why all parties affiliated require discretion. In terms of day-to-day tasks that need to be done in order to accomplish our goal, much needs to be done in preparation. The campaign team needs to schedule meetings with desired businesses, election specialists and riding executives. These connections are crucial to the end objective.