Last week at ukactive’s Strategic Partner Group event, Lee Cain, former Number 10 Director of Communications and founding partner of Charlesbye strategic advisory firm, shared his advice on how best to influence the Government.
In this exclusive session for members of ukactive’s Strategic Partner Group (held at the QE11 Centre the evening before our Active Uprising conference), Lee joined ukactive’s Katy Cox to discuss the power of messaging, the steps our sector can take to influence the Government and the importance of keeping communications strategies simple, focused and backed by data.
Here, Lee explains his three key tips to support our sector in its engagement with the Government.
Getting cut-through when trying to win the support of the Government
To work effectively with the Government – especially during times of crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic – it’s all about recognising what they need and how you can help.
For organisations looking to make an impact and demonstrate why a particular policy should be introduced, it’s important to have three core tenets for any successful campaign:
- Prioritisation:
What is the issue you are focused on? Many organisations and sectors have so many things they’d like to change within policy but it’s important to prioritise one. Having five or six policy ideas runs the risk of confusing people. Pick one thing and run with it.
- Simplification:
Everyone in business wants to sound smart but you should aim to break down your ask into a phrase as simple as possible. Clarity is the only thing that will help your organisation engage with a government that doesn’t have the time to spend deciphering what you’re really asking for.
- Repetition:
Once you have decided on your main ask, keep repeating it! Simply sharing your campaign in one social post or one letter is not going to resonate. This was something we used to great effect during the referendum (Take Back Control), the 2019 General Election (Get Brexit Done), and Covid-19 (Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives). Having confidence in your call and finding ways to repeat it over time to both the Government and your wider audience is essential.
Addressing the changing media landscape
The media landscape is ever-changing, and the Government hasn’t caught up with the way people access and absorb their news.
In Downing Street, the team would sift through the newspapers each morning. While it is important to monitor the media, it is more important to listen directly to what the people are telling you.
For the physical activity sector, this could be utilising the access you all have to research data that shows what consumers really want when it comes to using your facilities. Being guided by this information and using it to inform conversations with the Government, rather than being entirely directed by the focus of mainstream media, is significantly more impactful.
It’s also essential to think about the ways the nation now engages with the news agenda and its platforms, such as Facebook, TikTok, and receiving news from friends and family via WhatsApp. These are growing ways consumers are keeping up to date with what is happening in the world. Knowing this is powerful and it can be another way you gather support and advocacy for your policy calls.
The importance of a unified sector message
Most importantly, your sector should have one unified message. The organisations and sectors most successful and able to work effectively with us during the pandemic were the ones that spoke with a collective voice.
Providing solutions to the Government’s problems, whether that be the safe reopening of gyms following the Covid-19 pandemic or demonstrating how improving the health of the nation can lead to economic growth, is the key to success. Sectors that do the best with the Government are the ones that bring solutions, not problems.
Find out more
ukactive Strategic Partners are invited to four exclusive insight events every year that provide an opportunity to learn, network, and collaborate with ukactive’s partners and stakeholders.
These events give exclusive access to sessions that examine contemporary topics of interest for the physical activity sector, from the Government and industry experts to access to data and insight analysis that helps support members to improve and grow.
If you are interested in becoming a part of ukactive’s Strategic Partner Group, click here.
To learn more about Lee Cain and the recently published report, Talking to the Nation from his agency, Charlesbye, click here.
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