Here is some Public Relations advice for the Freedom Convoy organizers to help sort out their messaging. To be successful, you don’t have to be fancy or polished. In fact, you’re a grassroots, organic movement, being fancy wouldn’t fit your character. Above all, you need to be honest.
First, find some ex-military or media trained people in your outfit. Even if they’ve only worked on a school paper, it’s better than nothing. The military people are for organizing stuff. That’s what we’re trained for and they’re good at working under pressure with tight deadlines. Also, they know what SMEAC and OPORDs stand for.
Ok, your Situation is the Government has pissed you and a large bunch of your friends off.
Your Mission statement has to be short and sweet. For example, your goal is to take your message to Ottawa and deliver it to the Government. Take some time to think this over because this is what you want the media to latch onto. Right now they’re saying you’re an anti-vaccine convoy. If you want that impression changed, you’ve got to change it by multiple repetition. It’s got to be something simple so the public can understand it.
Execution, here’s the meat and potatoes. The media cannot be allowed to work in a vacuum or they will get 100% of your message wrong. DO NOT turn media away. DO NOT say NO COMMENT. DO NOT be rude to media. Plus nothing is ever ‘off the record’. Number one rule: BE 100% HONEST! If you don’t know the answer, say so. Take note and get back to the questioner. If the answer is going to make you look bad, OWN IT! For example, Tamara Lich is associated with the Maverick Party, ie. portrayed as Right Wing Kooks. Well, Preston Manning did this whole Reform thing and last I looked there are 32 Bloc MPs elected to Ottawa.
Okay, here’s my suggestions on getting your message out. First, find someone to be the ‘Face’ of the Convoy. They need to be personable, confident, knowledgable, & comfortable being in the spotlight. At least once a day there needs to be a set media access scrum (15-30 mins max), more depending on how fast events are moving. Standard news conference, make an opening statement detailing your mission, updates on the situation, facts and figures, pertinent details, 5 to 10 minutes tops. Open the floor to questions, one question and one follow-up. Don’t play favourites but the goal is to develop a professional rapport with the media. Be punctual, be professional, be informative.
The Convoy has image issues, you’re full of ‘racists, violent people, white supremacists, etc.’ Consider a ‘Trucker’ of the day. Showcase the ordinary people making up the group.
If you have the time, make up Backgrounders, Talking Points, general info that can be given to the Media and to your spokespeople. It helps keep everyone on the same page and reporters generally take that stuff verbatim so your message doesn’t skew.
Another avenue to get the word out is the authorities like the police and government representatives. Again, you have to be better than them and proactive. People in Ottawa are not going to be happy with you tying up their streets. Work with the Police to minimize traffic issues, pissing off ordinary people isn’t going to help you. Work with government types and invite their reps to talk/attend whether at rallies, in private, at their offices, etc. Set times and again get the media to these things and/or informed.
Admin/Logistics: gather a team, this needs to be farmed out or stuff will fall through the cracks. Make one person the Point of Contact (POC) for media enquiries/requests, someone can gather/disseminate general info, sort out a scheduler, figure out who’s in charge of all of this.
Command & Signal: get the word out to your people what the media policy is. Who’s the person a reporter can be directed to for greater detail? What’s the phone numbers, email addresses? What’s your Talking points you want to focus on. For example, B.J. Dichter had a good interview with Tucker Carlson but at the end he veered off on some tangent about cell phone info at the Border. NOT HELPFUL when you come off as conspiracy types. The Convoy members also need to know who they can direct reporters to when the questions get too detailed. Good reporters will ask questions from anyone, there’s nothing wrong with that, they’re just looking for a story. DO NOT YELL AT THEM! Whoever pissed off that one news crew got the negative attention of some heavy hitters. Not smart! Here’s a good rule of thumb, the media is not the enemy until they are the enemy. If a particular reporter screws you over, give them a chance to explain themselves but if it was malicious, then put them on the outs. As for people randomly talking to reporters, tell them to stay in their own ‘lane’. Talk about themselves, their personal reasons for being there, what they hope will come of this but they should stay away from conjecture or being baited.
None of this is particularly difficult. Be honest, own the mistakes made, show you’re willing to make corrections, be somewhat flexible, and be confident. Many Canadians are looking at your Convoy as something that will unite the country. But there’s some powerful enemies who want your movement to fail. Just Google some names of the organizers and see what pops up. Try to stay out of the ditch and on the high road.
Feel free to contact me for further pointers or questions.
Blair Gilmore, SLt(Ret’d), RCN, CD
204-841-8340
