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TRANSCRIPT:

 

DOUG: Melanie, I’m really excited to be speaking with you, in part because of the very important work that you do, but if we can start, what is one of the key roles that communications is playing in strengthening the Planned Parenthood brand?

 

MELANIE: Well, thanks so much for having me, Doug. I’m really excited to be here to talk about the great work that we are doing to strengthen and promote the Planned Parenthood brand. First of all, we want more people to know about the work that Planned Parenthood is doing, to know about the services that Planned Parenthood health centers provide. We do a lot of direct media contact, pitching stories about the great work of Planned Parenthood, but also in a crowded media environment, it’s important that we meet our audiences where they are. So, we’re communicating in every way possible through our online and social media platforms, direct media, and through social media, we are able to connect directly to our audiences, right? And so, we’re doing a lot of awareness, educational work directly to our audiences through our social media platforms as well.

 

DOUG: Obviously, there’s an intense relationship between the organization and the people you serve. While most companies, brands, non-profits are working to strengthen their brand, you also have the added task of having to protect the brand in the environment. What are some of the ways you think that through in this current, especially fragmented media environment.

 

MELANIE: The foundation to protecting the brand is maintaining that brand awareness and that brand strength. So, our offensive work, talking about the work of Planned Parenthood, the services we provide, the ways in which we advocate for sexual and reproductive health, and the education work that we do is foundational to protecting the brand. And then on the defensive side, we’re doing a lot of rapid response. Laying groundwork for that rapid response is keeping in constant contact with reporters. So, the team is always pitching stories, always talking to reporters, making sure they know before a crisis strikes, before something happens, before we are getting attacked by people who don’t support the work that Planned Parenthood does. They know, here’s the work we’re doing. Here’s the impact of whatever legislation is happening at the time. Here’s where, you know, here are our success stories. So, we are in constant communication with reporters to make sure they have the framework, the basis of information about the work that we do. We are constantly communicating with our audiences directly to maintain and strengthen the brand, and those things really help to inoculate against brand damage when crisis strikes.

 

DOUG: Yeah. And that’s something that every brand or organization can take from. You know, we find some of our clients, a crisis erupts. Oh, can we do this? It’s like, well, what’s the level of connectedness that you’ve already had and built up and the level of trust? So, they do call you before they print a story and publish a story you were touching on the different the audiences you have. And obviously there are a number that are different, you know, patients, supporters, and policy makers. Do you find sort of patients and supporters go together as one group, or even that those two need to be separated with how you communicate?

 

MELANIE: I think it is separate. Our patients are looking for whether our health centers are open, whether they have access to care. Congress defunded Planned Parenthood last summer, and one of the key components of our communication strategy around that was ensuring that patients knew that we’re still open, we’re still here. You can still access care at Planned Parenthood. Call or reach out to your local health center. For our supporters, we want them to know that the care continues as well and here’s what you can do to support Planned Parenthood, to do the great work that Planned Parenthood continues doing, right? And so, for those people who want to show up and want to engage, support Planned Parenthood, and that includes whether it is volunteering, making donations, or sharing information on social media. There are many different ways that people engage with the brand and show support. And so, giving them what we call CTAs, call to action, here are the things you can do to support Planned Parenthood in this moment is also really important, and was a key to our campaign work around that moment.

 

DOUG: One of the things that we’re speaking with a lot of people more and more about is how the way people discover information is changing so much with like, generative engine optimization and AI search. I’m wondering is that affecting any of the things that you’re doing, are you increasingly trying to factor that in?

 

MELANIE: It is. So, just like many brands, we work with partners to promote the work of Planned Parenthood. And sometimes, depending on the topic, we found that it can be suppressed. Also, organic social media content isn’t doing the same engagement numbers that it has been doing. And so, putting some money behind key content that we want to make sure people are seeing care continues. Our doors are open for patient communication. Here’s what we need you to do to support Planned Parenthood in this moment when we have messages that we really want to get out or need to get out, we have found there has to be some money behind it.

 

DOUG: Yeah. And also, a key audience is policymakers on that, which can be challenging based on the current environment of the US political environment. How are we trying to reach with policymakers, and does that include crossing the aisle to both sides?

 

MELANIE: Absolutely. One of the key things that we do and the team I run is both the communications team, but we also have a team that communicates directly with policymakers. And so, we are showing up in in congressional offices, we have our supporters writing letters, making phone calls. That type of advocacy in support of issues of the day is critical to not only our communication strategy, but our advocacy strategy. And then we absolutely advertise directly to supporters asking them to show their support, call their member of Congress, letting them know. And I think another key component is ensuring that people know who’s responsible for the changes happening to Planned Parenthood. We’ve had over 20 health centers closed since the defund happened. Letting them know who’s responsible for that is critically important to maintaining that support, protecting the brand, strengthening that support, and engaging our supporters at a time where their engagement is critical.

 

DOUG: Yeah, it’s so challenging. Just that loss of service availability for so many women out there. Are there key lessons you learned from managing communications in such a highly politically charged environment that you could share because it seems applicable for more and more businesses?

 

MELANIE: Absolutely it is. And, you know, I could go on about case studies. I think core to our brand awareness, our brand strength is that people trust the information that Planned Parenthood provides. In fact, we have found that they often seek out the truth from Planned Parenthood. So, continuing to be that trusted communicator, that trusted source of information in a time where information is fractured. There’s a lot of misinformation and disinformation campaigns, there’s AI. People don’t know who to trust. Many people are turning to Planned Parenthood and have for a while for trusted information. Maintaining that is critical. I would also say living our values, being who we say we are, remembering who we say we are. No matter what we see everyone, no matter who you are. We believe and we are advocating for access to sexual reproductive health care for everyone, no matter who you are, where you live, how much money you make. People experience our values in our communication. And that’s really, really critical to ensuring that people can parse truth and lies when it comes to Planned Parenthood, and the work that we do, and what we are fighting for, and what we’re working toward, and especially what’s happening in in Planned Parenthood health centers.

 

DOUG: Yeah, and you talked about the importance of trust. And I was going to ask any other tips for other organizations looking to protect their brand? And you’re somewhat unique in that I would think the people who support you are very intensely supporting you. It’s not like in the middle of the road. It’s a very strong commitment in both directions, but what are some advice, additionally, that you can give to brands, how they can go about building and maintaining that trust?

 

MELANIE: We segment our audiences, our audience, just like other organizations do, and other big brands do. And we do have soft supporters. We have supporters who may not have ever been a patient, are generally aware of Planned Parenthood, don’t have negative feelings toward it, but aren’t quite sure what to believe when they hear misinformation and disinformation. And that’s why really leaning into that trust that role as educators. In a time when you know the government websites aren’t posting, aren’t doing clinical research, aren’t posting information about healthcare, are not recommending vaccines, for example. Planned Parenthood can really step into that gap with that information and really move people along the funnel from soft supporters to stronger supporters. And so, understanding and being able to segment the audience and knowing which messages work to move people along is critically important. We do a lot of research and testing so that we can understand who we’re talking to, and find them, and meet them where they are.

 

TRANSCRIPT:

 

DOUG: It’s such an honor to have you on our platform, on our podcast, and we’ll certainly leave a link where people who want to get involved can do so when we post this. Thank you so much for your time.

 

MELANIE: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it, Doug.