Blog - Shop Talk

For the first time in seven years, San Diego has a new Mayor who will set and direct policy for the City of San Diego in the coming years. While legislative and entitlement processes remain the same, every new leader brings with them new priorities, new policies and generally a new way of doing things. With Mayor Bob Filner’s first few weeks in office complete, he has shown that he has new plans for San Diego. Based on our observations of these first days, we have compiled a few tips to guide you in working with Mayor Filner and his administration.

1. Focus on neighborhoods

“…on inauguration day or swearing-in day, I’m spending the whole day in neighborhoods. I’m going to schools and then I’m doing these neighborhood receptions. I think that shows a whole different way. We’re not doing some downtown-sponsored inaugural. No, we’re going to the communities and saying ‘You’re my boss.’”

While community outreach is always a key component in public affairs strategies, working directly with the local neighborhoods that will be impacted by a project is crucial under Mayor Filner’s leadership. Throughout his campaign, Mayor Filner focused heavily on putting neighborhood interests in front of business or development interests. His choice of spending time in the City’s neighborhoods on his first day as Mayor reflects how he will spend his time in office. As you plan your projects, look at your community engagement strategies: Are you communicating with nearby residents? Are you asking for feedback? More importantly, are you incorporating their feedback? When you ask for opinions, you need to be prepared to not just listen but to integrate that feedback where possible to help build support for your project.

In addition to residents, engage with community planning groups. Community planning group support will be vital during Mayor Filner’s administration. During his first speech as Mayor, Filner identified plans to work to restore City services, specifically the planning function. The changes he has planned will specifically grant planning groups more authority.

2. Examine infrastructure and livability needs

“That means we’re going to complete the update of neighborhood Community Plans, and as part of that process we are going to ask neighborhoods to prioritize their public facilities needs and help us develop a program for financing those improvements. Along the way, we will protect urban open spaces, reduce storm water pollution and make our neighborhoods more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly.”

Throughout his campaign, Mayor Filner referenced the need for creative financing to fulfill the needs of the City’s neighborhood infrastructure needs. This could lead to an infrastructure bond or an increase in community benefit districts as a way of providing neighborhoods with services that have disappeared throughout the years. In fact, on December 12 our new City Council President, Todd Gloria, proposed the creation of a new council committee to focus solely on our City’s infrastructure backlog, the first step in what they hope will lead to a ballot measure in the coming years to address the infrastructure problem. No matter the outcome, the infrastructure in proposed projects will be closely reviewed. Additionally, Mayor Filner has stated his want for more livable spaces, for increased open space, trails and pedestrian-friendly features in neighborhoods and developments. Whether it’s a pocket park or a bike path, including and highlighting these components in your project is important and will create a project that will better serve the needs of residents.

3. Support community-based organizations

“There’s going to be some whole new initiatives — international involvement, artistic support, environmental, the use of environment for tourism, use of neighborhood art and accomplishments for tourism. I want that to build up an excitement about the city heading toward, of course, the 2015 centennial at Balboa Park.”

Beyond infrastructure, Mayor Filner is also looking to new initiatives for the City, ranging from artistic to environmental, that will often include local community organizations. As you make plans, consider your relationships with community organizations. Whether through your project or your relationships, you have the opportunity to positively impact the community around you. Identify potential groups in your community that reflect your goals as a company and consider working with them.

We expect the next few weeks to be interesting as Mayor Filner’s office gets settled in and begins the hard work of managing the eighth-largest City in the country. No matter what happens, Filner’s administration is sure to leave its stamp on San Diego. We congratulate him and wish him the best as he moves forward.

Learning from the Best and Worst of 2011

With 2012 just around the corner, this is the ideal time of the year for individuals and organizations to reflect upon both the successes and missed opportunities of the past year. New Year resolutions are often about building stronger relationships. One of the most critical relationships a business or organization can foster is its relationship with the media – a link that can make or break important messages to key stakeholders.

Dealing with reporters’ tough questions can seem daunting. But with ample preparation, any person or group can have the ability to confidently face the press and ensure that their perspective is communicated clearly and concisely. Whether you are a newcomer who has never spoken to a reporter before or a seasoned spokesperson that regularly interfaces with the media, professional media training is an irreplaceable tool to hone the skills necessary to effectively communicate a point, purpose or value.

A year of presidential primary campaigning and high profile press conferences has provided many examples of what to do and what not to do when facing journalists. Below are some notable clips that demonstrate the principles of effective media communication strategies. While some may seem comical to an outsider, these instances were probably very sobering for those involved on the PR side.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: LACK OF PREPARATION

This advice might seem obvious, but there have been many examples where candidates, spokespeople or public figures did not adequately prepare themselves before an important debate or interview. Doing your homework on the issues and the people involved is paramount to your ability to answer questions successfully. In this clip, Herman Cain was asked a straight-forward question on whether or not he agreed with President Obama’s actions in Libya. His ensuing silence speaks for itself.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK: BEING ARGUMENTATIVE

While the temptation can be strong, arguing or yelling with a reporter certainly does not help you communicate important messages with the public. Every question – tough or not – should be seen as an opportunity to engage and educate rather than a personal attack or embarrassing set-up. In this now-notorious interview, Rachel Maddow attempts to ask candidate Art Robinson basic questions about his platform but cannot seem to get a word in edgewise between his rants and accusations.

WHAT DOES WORK: CONSISTENCY AND CLARITY

The communicative power of clear, simple language cannot be stressed enough. Using technical jargon or references to case studies/examples that may not be familiar to most audiences can be confusing and distracting from important messages. The press conferences held during the infamous hunt for exotic animals let loose in Ohio this year are a good example of crisis communications executed smartly.

WHAT DOES WORK: BRIDGING

A key technique we share with our clients during trainings is the A-B-C strategy: Answer, Bridge, Communicate. Bridging involves the nuanced ability to migrate the discussion from the question asked to the main message. President Obama is a good example of this quality, and uses bridging frequently in his interviews to effectively communicate his policy agenda.

As these examples show, the importance of effective communication through the media cannot be underestimated. Professional media training can provide the skills you need to help your business or organization move to the next level.

Southwest Strategies provides tailored media training workshops that help our clients develop the skills they need to master media appearances and interviews. If you are interested in media training services, contact Alan Ziegaus (aziegaus@swspr.com) or Chris Wahl (cwahl@swspr.com) for more information.

On behalf of the entire SWS family, we wish you Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year.

The City of San Diego is home to 1.3 million people, but in the world of public affairs, it can be a very small town. Establishing credible relationships with your target audiences in an increasingly transparent world is critical to the success of any strategic public affairs program. If done right, these relationships will serve as stepping stones for your next initiative. If done wrong, the mistakes you may have made to accomplish your short-term goals can have major impacts on your long-term ability to build the community relationships you were hired to create, maintain or enhance. The next time you are working on a public affairs program, there are four essential elements that you should consider. We’ll also tell you about how these pillars recently helped us win approval for the revitalization of Flower Hill Promenade shopping center.

Listen – Engaging your target audiences is the first step in building a relationship. However, this cannot be a one-way dialogue. If you ask members of the community for their opinions, you need to be prepared to listen to what they have to say and incorporate their feedback where possible. For example, we recently worked closely with the community on the revitalization of Flower Hill Promenade. The shopping center’s owners conducted extensive outreach during the seven-year planning process, reducing the project twice and even re-circulating the draft environmental document at the community’s request. Showing that we were willing to listen helped us keep the lines of communication open leading up to the final vote.

Trust – Creating a level of trust between you and your target audience will be the foundation of your relationship. Do what you say you are going to do and don’t make promises you can’t keep. That’s how the Flower Hill Promenade team won the support of Spindrift, the community located directly behind the shopping center. Although the HOA initially opposed the project, we met with the association’s leadership on a near-weekly basis to establish trust and ultimately won its unanimous support. In the end, numerous Spindrift residents wrote letters, authored opinion editorials and testified in favor of the revitalization before the City of San Diego Planning Commission and City Council.

Accuracy – Part of creating trust is providing accurate, honest information to your audience. It is better to admit that you don’t have an answer than to guess and be wrong. If you mislead your audience, unintentionally or not, you will have an uphill battle to regain that trust. Because the plans for Flower Hill Promenade had been revised and refined several times, some members of the community had outdated or just plain inaccurate information about the project. We worked hard to educate the community, conducting a number of presentations to communicate the true scope of our plans.

Balance – Working with your supporters is easy. A genuine effort to engage the opposition can be more challenging but is equally necessary. It is important to understand the opposing side’s arguments so that you can ensure that accurate information is being presented. Sometimes miscommunication between the two sides can be easily remedied by sitting down and talking. That was certainly the case for Flower Hill Promenade. We proactively reached out to our neighbors to address opponents’ misleading claims. Targeted media outreach also helped provide a balanced picture of the project.

Adhering to these basic tenets helped us build support for the revitalization of Flower Hill Promenade and secure an 8-0 vote of approval from the San Diego City Council. For more information about how the four pillars can help you achieve your public affairs goals, visit our website at www.swspr.com.