Adapted messaging: best for a specific audience
Every time you address a new audience you should adapt your message to directly target them.
When 16-year-old Greta Thunberg began her 'school strike for the climate’ campaign her message was directed to adults. She sat outside Swedish Parliament’s main building in central Stockholm, with leaflets and addressed those who passed.
“We kids most often don’t do what you tell us to do. We do as you do. And since you grown-ups don’t give a sh** about my future, I won’t either. My name is Greta and I’m in ninth grade. And I refuse school for the climate until the Swedish general election.”
Her messaging made adults think about what they were doing to help or hinder climate change and what affect that has on the younger generation.
It was a bold and powerful statement that got her point across quickly and succinctly and made people stop and think. She is now the world's most prominent young climate change campaigner.
The best messages are
Simple and solution-focused.
They are practical and reasonable in what they ask of their audience. They are evidence based, but, most importantly, they show that there are good reasons why you care about your campaign, and why they should too.
For further tips and inspiration, head back to the Activist Hub.
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