Moving Public Opinion

The Challenge To change basic public awareness and attitudes toward a natural resources extraction and manufacturing industry faced with consistent losses on specific federal, state and local environmental issues. Strategy Faced with a limited budget, the strategic decision was made to work each year, with great intensity, a limited number of politically targeted markets over a 90-day campaign period, using vigorously tested “proof of performance” messages, asking the targets to demonstrate their support. A new group of cities was intensely targeted each year each year, while the previous year’s cities were targeted with a substantial maintenance program.  Tactics   Creation of focused local market television/radio/print advertising campaign.   Development and promotion of national experts and local spokespersons in existing and created events.   Promotion of news and feature coverage, editorial board visits, Op-Eds, and radio and television talk shows.   Participatory activities, especially school, parent-child and outdoor, all with public officials, involving and demonstrating support from local organizations.   Coordination with, and expansion of, local industry activities.   Targeted grassroots/mail/telephone campaign to demonstrate support to elected officials.   Precise pre, post and post-post polling to measure results and sustainability. Results In Albany, New York, opinion leaders who said the industry does a good job replenishing resources rose 22 points, to 91%. In Sacramento, California, opinion leaders who said the industry “is committed to taking action to help preserve and protect the quality of the environment” rose 16 points, to 81%. In Tallahassee, Florida, opinion leaders who said the industry “was environmentally responsible” rose 30 points, to 79%. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, opinion leaders who recognized the industry achieved its voluntary goal of recovering 40% of all resources rose 40 points, to 69%. Among opinion leaders in California, the industry’s job performance rating improved an average of 26 points.