Smart PR

Influencing the Influencers: The importance of third party advocacy

May 18, 2011 at 3:59 PM Leave a comment

Strategic communications are most effective when the message is delivered by someone else. This system of causal influence is the driving force behind partnering with third party advocacy groups to build awareness around an important issue.

Developing messages and media training your spokespersons to deliver them is certainly effective, but when a third party advocacy group corroborates your company’s stance on an issue and disseminates your messages to target stakeholder groups, it lends invaluable credibility to your organization.

For example, one of our clients recently partnered with CancerCare, a nonprofit organization that provides support services for anyone affected by cancer, to raise awareness about advances in the treatment of rare cancers. By partnering with a respected third party advocacy group on this issue, the client was able to gain credibility among the physician and patient communities, provide educational materials without infringing on regulatory issues, and deliver information that may not otherwise have resonated.  With this model, we were able to leverage CancerCare’s resources and reputation to build awareness about a disease that was of major significance to our client. In turn, CancerCare obtained valuable resources to provide educational sessions and materials to their members, in fulfillment of their mission.

There are several steps to consider when developing advocacy partnerships:

1. Recognize the issue – Select one or more issues that are significant to your organization.
2. Identify possible partners – Based on the scope of the issues you seek to address, identify a third party with relevant background and experience.
3. Research! – Once you’ve developed a list of possible partners, conduct an extensive investigation to learn of any existing or past partnerships the organization may have which may be a conflict of interest or may overshadow a partnership with your company. Also consider any negative elements that may affect the organization’s media presence.
4. Reach out – Contact the third parties to determine interest and feasibility of partnerships. Remember that building partnerships takes time, so develop them early. For example, third party relationships can be of critical importance during a crisis, but establishing them beforehand allows the third party expert to speak on your company’s behalf without the perceived biases associated with company-issued statements.

There are lots of examples of successful – and perhaps not so successful – third party partnerships out there. Can you think of any? What made them a success or failure?

By Mia Scott and Melissa Hurley, Ricochet Healthcare Team

Entry filed under: Communications, Corporate, Health Care. Tags: Best Practices, Communications, Crisis Management, Health Care, third party advocacy.