Earned Media Strategy (media coverage not paid for by group)

The earned media plan for this campaign is designed in a multi-week format with the goal of repealing the municipal mergers Act, Law 170. The overall theme of the campaign is that the Act is unfair to both English and French citizens rights, to all taxpayers, and that it is unnecessary.

Theme-Schedule
At strategic intervals in the campaign, the coalition will focus on delivering a particular message associated with a set theme. Planned events and paid advertising will coordinate with the theme schedule. Eight themes are given, more can be added. The goal of the periodic theme schedule is to keep the issue alive in the media by providing new angles for coverage of the same issue. Themes should be released longer than two weeks apart.

A note on negativity
Note that communications with the media as presented in these theme weeks do not contain "negative" campaigning.  All negative work is handled through paid campaign activity.  All interaction with journalists deals with positive and/or defensive communications about the groups message, and no direct attacks coming from the campaign.  It is a goal to coordinate paid ads to coincide with a similar positive theme.  For example, a week dealing with Local Rights can be launched alongside a paid advertising campaign with a negative ad attaching the lack of democratic consultation shown by the PQ.  Key phrases in the negative ad will be picked up on in the positive campaign.  For example, the term "unrepresentative" can be used in a negative ad, and reinforced in a positive issue theme on local rights.  The key word will resonate with the public, and hopefully be picked up as a sound bite in the media, providing amplification of the core message, and the strategic attack message at the same time.  Should the media pick up on a negative ad and replay segments of it, that will further spread the negative message, while bringing attention to the issue by the media.

Theme 1: Not a done Deal: This week's events will focus on general education of the issue. The focus is to explain why the issue is not over, and what can be done to fight/lobby the implementation process. The events will include information displays in various municipalities in Quebec, and a rally in Montreal. The rally will emphasize opposition to the mergers.

Theme 2: Mega-Merger Won’t Work: This week will focus on problems with the Act. An example event would be to have a Toronto Open House meeting with merger opponents from Ontario, who will share the problems faced in Toronto.

Theme 3: Unrepresentativeness: This week will focus on the violation of citizens rights under a new system, the larger role of the Municipal Affairs Ministry, and the power of some "Mega City Mayors." Events would include interviews with local mayors who’s positions will no longer exist.

Theme 4: Local Rights/Local Representation/Local Say: This week will focus on the constitutional rights of citizens which were violated when the act was enacted. An event during this week would be to rally in front of the Quebec Legislature. Focus attention on the PQ.  Focus on the Francophone communities that will loose their identity.

Theme 5: 170 is Unfair to Taxpayers: This week would focus on the millions that taxpayers would end up paying to fix a bad merger. The media and public should be flooded by the various grass routs complaints, research, analysis, and data. Issues such as the Montreal Debt of 3.3 Billion can be brought up. Demonstrations to this effect can be staged.

Theme 6: Hold the Government Accountable: This week would focus on the PQ, their lack of consultation and their "other" motives for the act. Media and negative attack adds will be launched at this time. The campaign will go "negative."

Theme 7: "It’s About Local Democracy" Part I: This will start of a two-tiered drive to focus on the plight of local French communities, which would be negatively affected by this Act. Events this week will center around interviews and "snapshots" of a town. The goal is to draw the French media’s attention to a particular "typical/traditional" French town where they risk loosing their identity. A different town per region will be selected. The goal is to generate a "human interest" story with lots of emotion.

Theme 8: "It’s About Local Democracy" Part II: This will continue the strategic message by incorporating interviews with regular town folk and other famous individuals/artists affected by mergers.

These proposed themes must be stretched around ongoing events and developments, such as the municipal election campaign, a court decision, a government decision, a significant development in another region such as Toronto, which helps the group’s cause, or an already planned major rally etc.

News Releases
News releases will be made for all major events and will be dispersed at the event as well as included in any media kit. Media advisories will be issued the week before and included in the media kit and handed out at that week’s events. The news releases will be written in a story format to allow easy story writing for journalists.

Media Kit
A media kit will be handed out at every media event and will be sent with weekly updates to all targeted media outlets. The media kit will include the following materials:

Television
Provincial/local affiliate networks will be targeted for television coverage. The campaign will create weekly updated VNRs (Video News Releases) to disperse to television outlets. Each media event will be made accessible for television crews. Some of the other approaches for the television media are to have prescheduled interviews on network news talk shows and other more local programs.

Radio
Provincial network stations, syndicates, and local programs will all be targeted for coverage. Again, special sound bytes will be made for radio programs on a weekly basis. Each event will be made accessible for live radio feeds. Spokespersons will be booked on radio talk shows and news programs to get out each weekly message.

Newspapers
All of the major Quebec newspapers will be targeted as well as local newspapers. The journalists will receive by-monthly updated media kits and event schedules. Also, spokespeople will meet with editors and journalists in advance of events to discuss stories and the campaign message. Op-Eds will be submitted on a daily basis to various newspapers and the best will be included in that session’s media kit. Also, story-formatted news releases will be made for journalists. Interview schedules will be made in advance for various spokespeople and experts. Media availability time will be made at major events for all media outlets to interview participants.

Again, local, especially French language newspapers will be just as important, if not more important, than major newspapers, since the campaign’s focus is grassroots. However coverage in a large English daily, namely positive coverage, will be good for the campaign.