A strong communications effort is critical to drive progress and increase awareness of CLA benefits, says Gail Ewan.
Much of the CLA Network effort is about providing "CLArity." This includes providing clarity on the potential of CLA and clarity on how to capture this promise. It also includes supporting clarity between the CLA Network and all of its stakeholders, from primary dairy and beef producers all the way to consumers.
For the CLA Network, the key to meeting these goals is to deliver a strong communications program to complement other core network efforts in research and development, says Gail Ewan, Senior Program Manager Nutrition with Dairy Farmers of Canada and a member of the CLA Network communications module.
"Communications plays a critical role in supporting the progress of the CLA Network by delivering knowledge and information to key internal and external stakeholders," says Ewan, who provided an update on communications module progress at the CLA Summit 2007 conference. "This role has become increasingly important, as CLA developments occur with greater frequency and potential new products advance toward commercial channels."
The CLA Network's communications module has delivered information to a broad range of stakeholders, including the network itself, funding supporters, dairy and beef industries, health professionals, the broader research community and the general public.
To date, progress of the module has been driven heavily by the funding support and assistance of industry partners, and has delivered a strong return for that investment through numerous initiatives, says Ewan. A major component of this effort has also been working with Meristem, a Calgary-based communications agency, to develop and deliver a number of communications tools.
"The knowledge and information delivered has great capacity to benefit many stakeholders, most directly the network and its partners, dairy and beef industries and consumers, by facilitating CLA progress and increasing awareness of benefits," says Ewan.
The processes to deliver information to stakeholders is based on a solid foundation of strategic planning, says Ewan.
The CLA Network developed a communications module team with both provincial and national perspective and representation of both dairy and beef sectors. This team currently includes representatives of Dairy Farmers of Canada, the Beef Information Centre, Alberta Milk and Alberta Agriculture and Food, with a range of expertise in areas including industry, nutrition, communications, marketing and administration.
This team then conducted thorough analysis, including a strong element of direct stakeholder consultation, as the basis for creating a strategic communications plan.
"A major part of the plan is to leverage partner resources," says Ewan. "This helps to maintain cost efficiency and to take advantage of effective channels already in place to carry the CLA Network message."
The result is broad distribution of materials, she says. CLA Network partners include not only Dairy Farmers of Canada, the Beef Information Centre, Alberta Milk and Alberta Agriculture and Food, but also the University of Alberta, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Agricultural Research Institute, Agriculture and Food Council, Alberta Livestock Industry Development Fund, Alberta Beef Producers and the Teagasc Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority.
The development process toward the strategic communications plan also included SWOT analysis, the crafting of key messages and roll-out plans for targeting various audiences.
For example, says Ewan, a focus at the current stage of the communications effort has been to place a strong emphasis not on targeting consumers directly but on targeting health professionals. These health professionals have a high reputation of trust with consumers, so are a good carrier of early messages about CLA, its benefits and its potential. While modest efforts to target consumers directly are also part of the effort, those will take on a stronger emphasis as part of future education and marketing efforts once CLA related products enter commercial channels and gain profile.
"The original communications plan included a number of components to support and anticipate CLA Network developments," says Ewan. "This plan continues to evolve with these developments, with continued feedback and analysis from partners and other stakeholders."
The CLA Summit conference itself is a major component of the ongoing strategic planning process, notes Ewan. The Summit, hosted by the CLA Network, was designed to provide an overview of the major progress achieved under the past three years of CLA Network funding, as well as perspectives from leading researchers and industry representatives on new opportunities.
The final day of the Summit included a round table stakeholder feedback session. Also, the broad CLA Network stakeholders in attendance were provided with evaluation forms to provide feedback on the conference itself as well as on the performance and future direction of the network. The comments received will help drive the direction of the network as it sets the stage for a new generation of progress beginning during the remainder of 2007 and extending for several years beyond.
Much of the communications effort has been delivered through the development and use/distribution of several communications tools and initiatives, says Ewan.
A chief example has been the development of a major CLA Network Web site, at www.CLAnetwork.com. This Web site provides quick access to all the latest news, developments and educational resources on CLA Network progress. Though promotion of the site is in early stages, it consistently enjoys strong use, as evidenced by tracking of key data such as hits and visits.
Other examples include development of a strong branded image through visual identity components such as a wordmark, tagline, distinct design for information materials and a major display booth.
The display booth is a large, multi-panel, attractive full color exhibit that is used regularly at major conferences and events, says Ewan. "The display was designed to capture the promise of CLA and get people interested. The response has been very positive."
Related to use of the display booth and other resources, a major part of the communications module effort has been to provide representation of the CLA Network at conferences and events. Among prominent examples from the past year, several CLA Network scientists and communications team members attended and delivered presentations at the BIOCLA Symposium in Fermoy, Ireland – a major European conference on CLA progress. A few other examples, among many, include display and presentation efforts at the Dieticians of Canada conference in Vancouver, the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar in Red Deer and the AgChoices event in Red Deer.
Further key items developed and delivered by the communications program include editorial-based information tools such as brochures, articles, fact sheets, advertorials, news releases, electronic newsletters and Power Point presentations. The Power Point presentations are based on a regularly updated "macro version" of all key CLA Network information, which may be tailored for a variety of specific uses.
"Items such as the news releases and articles are broadly distributed and often reprinted or redistributed by partners, media, industry organizations and others," notes Ewan. All of the latest reports, along with easy-to-access archived reports are also available on the Web site at www.CLAnetwork.com. Examples of recent news release and article headlines include, "The producer payback of CLA," "New hope in battling diseases" and "Science blazing trait for CLA benefits."
The many initiatives have also included a number of more targeted, high impact efforts, she says. To name a few examples, the network delivered a direct mail-out package of materials on CLA and CLA Network progress and activity to over 5,000 members of the Dieticians of Canada, placed advertorials in major consumer magazines such as Canadian Living, and developed an electronic newsletter tool, "The CLA Network Insider," that is distributed directly to network members, partners and industry stakeholders.
The Insider is designed for the CLA Network's internal audience. It delivers advance notices of upcoming communications materials, as well as perspectives on network activity, challenges and opportunities. To receive the Insider visit the Web site www.CLAnetwork.com and click on "Become an Insider."
The impact of the various communications module efforts are reflected in numerous ways, all of which provide indications of success for both the communications module and the CLA Network as a whole, says Ewan.
These "measures of success" are analyzed regularly to provide important indications of client, stakeholder and team member satisfaction.
Monitoring partner use of communications materials. One key indicator is use of CLA Network communications materials, such as news releases and articles, by organizations that include clients, stakeholders and team members. These materials describe CLA Network progress. As a result, their use is a validation by partners that this progress has strong enough value to warrant awareness by their members or stakeholders they represent. The CLA Network regularly contacts partners directly to inquire on their use of materials and also monitors this use by viewing partner publications, Web sites, etc.
Monitoring media publication of communications materials. Similarly, media publication of communications materials is another key indicator of satisfaction. Media are important judges of the value of information to producers, industry, consumers and other stakeholders. The CLA Network, through its communications consultant partner, regularly monitors this use, which is recorded in a Media Clippings Report. One recent example of high profile coverage was use of CLA Network materials, along with original material from interviews with CLA Network sources, in a feature article on page one of the Edmonton Journal health section.
Monitoring of "Insider" stakeholder communications participation. The Insider, which is the monthly electronic newsletter developed and distributed by the CLA Network, is targeted exclusively to internal members, partners and stakeholders of the network. This newsletter provides notice of new communications materials available, advance notice of upcoming communications materials and highlighted perspectives on issues of importance to the CLA Network.
Distribution is targeted to a list of internal audience members; members of this audience may sign-up to receive the newsletter. The ongoing increase in the distribution list, combined with the lack of those requesting to be removed from the list, is an important indicator of satisfaction. The newsletter also regularly encourages feedback, which may be provided directly by email or by phone – this provides an additional means to capture and analyze satisfaction.
Monitoring of Web use. Use of the CLA Network Web space, at www.CLAnetwork.com, and the material it contains, such as network news releases and articles, is also monitored as an indicator of satisfaction. The CLA Network, through its communications consultant partner, monitors this use on a monthly basis. Monitoring is based on a combination of standard statistics from Telus, along with enhanced analysis through a more sophisticated Google service.
Monitoring of the potential negatives indicator. Avoiding major negative media coverage or other forms of negative profile is an important indicator of satisfaction. All monitoring of CLA Network coverage includes specific monitoring for potential negative coverage, which has been virtually non-existent to date.
As with all CLA Network activity, communications module efforts are driven by stakeholder feedback, which is encouraged regularly in numerous ways. A couple prominent examples related to communications module activity include manned use of the CLA Network display at major events as well as regular feedback encouragement in communications materials such as articles and other reports.
"Effective communication is a two-way process," says Ewan. "That's why in addition to delivering a variety of information, the CLA Network strongly encourages comments, questions and other feedback from all of our stakeholders."
Reprintable with credit. Individual articles in the Report on CLA Summit 2007 are available for reprint, with acknowledgement of the source: The CLA Network. For broader reprint requests or reprint assistance contact the CLA Network at CLAnetwork@gov.ab.ca.
