Welcome back, Saturday Campaign D.I.Y.ers! For those who tune in, welcome to the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic campaign. Each week we discuss issues that help drive successful campaigns. If you’ve missed prior diaries, please visit our group or follow Nuts & Bolts Guide.
This year we have been focused on activism, and how our activists outside of traditional campaigns wage their own campaign to help oust politicians opposed to them on the issues. In order to be effective, these organizations must build credibility within the community, and that is the focus of this week’s installment: organizational reputation.
Organizational reputation in advocacy greatly differs from corporate organizational reputation, though there are some similarities. This week, we are going to cover the differences and how you can build your organizational reputation.
Before we start, let’s talk about the big difference between organizational reputation and corporate reputation. Bennet & Kottasz (2000) identified more than 16 different scholarly definitions of corporate reputation, which ranged from brand image to product reviews. In the days since Yelp and online review sites, the definition of corporate reputation has been redefined repeatedly and can be thought of as marketplace advantage.
For activism, though, organizational reputation is built on three key elements:
- Consistency in values
- Effectiveness of efforts
- Sustained Public identification
Consistency in values
When your group begins, there is normally a statement of values. Here is what your group stands for, and what they stand against. Having values that represent your group will be important, but even more important is that your group stay true to these values.
In some ways, this can be difficult. While we all share a goal to elect more Democratic members, we have to realize that for activism, it does not mean you are a rubber stamp for every single official who carries a (D) behind their name. If your group is to build an organizational reputation, consistency in values is significant.
A great example of this could be organizations like Climate Hawks or Planned Parenthood. While they, in general, strongly back Democratic candidates, they reserve their endorsements for those who are with them on their issues. Imagine if a group like Climate Hawks endorsed a Democratic candidate who was wishy-washy on the environment, or Planned Parenthood an anti-choice candidate, just because they were the Democratic candidates running. While the impact they would have on the race would be minimal, the impact to their organizational reputation would be significant.
No matter what issue portfolio your activism efforts put together, you have to build a reputation of advocating for those issues and never against them. Making endorsements or providing support for candidates who fit your issue system consistently builds your reputation, while openly working for those who oppose your issue portfolio can permanently damage your organizational reputation.
Effectiveness in Efforts
Organizational reputation in activism is also viewed through a lens of effectiveness. How often do you see organizations note their involvement in winning campaigns? After a campaign, outside advocates will highlight their involvement in winning campaigns to make sure that their membership knows the organization’s efforts have a real impact.
As your activism efforts grow, keep an internal log of actions you have taken and the impact you have had, in a metric you can relay to the public. Whether the number you provide is voters registered or issues debated in a state house, conveying to the membership that your organization is effective is a key to building a reputation that provides for sustainable activism.
Sustained Public identification
And at last, we come to the effort best thought of as public relations. In order to build a reputation for your organization, people have to know who you are to build the mental associations required to succeed.
If people do not know who you are, it is very hard to build any reputation or credibility, no matter how hard you or your fellow activists work on your issue portfolio. Many activists steer away from self-promotion, and certainly, the activism efforts cannot be the lead story.
But making sure that people know who your organization is will be important in building a reputation for success and encouraging others to join.
Using social media as well as direct email and mail campaigns may be important in linking your organization with the issues portfolio you have chosen.
Final thoughts
It is exceptionally difficult to succeed as activists if people believe your organization has low or poor reputation. How you define your issues will define the audience you attract. If your organization backs all Democratic candidates, you are Democratic Party advocacy and will attract members motivated by that issue. If you are a group devoted to any other issue from health care to the protection of endangered species, you will attract members motivated by those issues.
The one thing you cannot do, at any point, is betray your purpose. If an LGBT organization endorsed an anti-LGBT candidate, it would damage their credibility significantly. Conversely, refusing to support those opposed to your issue portfolio helps build the reputation of your advocacy.
Next week: Interviews with advocates, how did they succeed?