Case Study: EPA – Custom Message Workshop
CHALLENGE:
The Innovation, Partnerships and Communications Office staff required a custom-built media training session at a on site meeting to help the group frame a message in the public debate before a public outreach effort.
SOLUTION:
We provided a on site message development workshop. The goal of the session was two-fold: (1) to provide foundational message development skills for the entire office and (2) to support a working meeting where a smaller group discusses a conceptual message box we developed related to an issue relevant to the office.
Each participant of the large group session gained an understanding of the fundamentals of positioning theory, instructions on how to build a “Message Box” and a hands-on demo using materials provided by the instructor. In addition, we distributed a reading list and recommended resources to the group.
After the preliminary presentation, a smaller group convened a roundtable. This roundtable discussion was a forum to critique a custom message box we had designed with the program staff for one key issue on the horizon.
Before the roundtable discussion, the program office leadership reviewed all materials and cleared them for distribution.
RESULTS:
After participants in the smaller group meeting refined the message box, the final version produced by this workshop framed the public debate of the issue.