Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Heading 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Block quote

Ordered list

1. Item 1
2. Item 2
3. Item 3

Unordered list

• Item A
• Item B
• Item C

Text link

Bold text

Emphasis

^Superscript

_Subscript

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Heading 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Block quote

Ordered list

1. Item 1
2. Item 2
3. Item 3

Unordered list

• Item A
• Item B
• Item C

Text link

Bold text

Emphasis

^Superscript

_Subscript

Marketing & Communications

A strategic communications plan can act as a catalyst for advancing DEI strategy and actions and will help individuals embrace new beliefs and behaviors, ultimately supporting a shift in organizational culture. It is important to strategically communicate DEI activities in a way that shows their alignment at the organizational and personal levels.

Your marketing and communications teams will play a pivotal role in promoting the launch event by helping to spread awareness and publicize the event. While you want to bring as many people to the event as possible, your communications provide those who do not attend with an awareness of the plan and ideally, other ways they can engage, such as reading a progress report, signing up for a training session or attending other DEIA events.

Marketing Your Event

Think about your organizational culture and how your employees best receive new news or change initiatives. Make sure the messaging reflects the organization’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, while mimicking the culture of the organization AND showcasing the seriousness of the impact to your people, and the risk of not showing the organization’s beliefs. Though this work is ongoing, because the launch event is the first formal activity, and will set the tone of efforts to come, communication and marketing activities must be developed in a way that will bring intrigue, curiosity, awareness and generate support for the work.  

Below are examples of marketing material for DEI A events at other companies that were held to bring awareness to organizational DEI efforts.

Storytelling

One of the most critical levers that communications teams have is to bring excitement to DEI work is in its messaging and storytelling. In our attempts to create more awake and aware environments, we’re forgetting that numbers typically don’t inspire us to change our behavior — people and stories do. it’s telling these stories at events, focus groups, and listening sessions will inspire people on a personal level. When people hear stories that feel represented by others experiences which invites perspective-taking. A Harvard University study found that taking the perspective of others “may have a lasting positive effect on diversity-related outcomes by increasing individuals’ internal motivation to respond without prejudice.”

The question is often HOW do I craft my story.  Use the story telling worksheet to help walk thru your message by walking thru the following path.

Start With a Message

• Who is your audience and what is the message you want to share with them?
• What is the moral of your story?  
• Once you settle on your ultimate message, then you can figure out the best way to share it.

Focus on Your Personal Experience(s)

• Look to your life experiences for ways to illustrate your message.
• Have you ever been discriminated against? Been witness to it?
• How did it make you feel?
• How does it impact your desire to “do the work” of DEI?

Don’t Make it About YOU, Make it About the Experience

• Even as the central figure of your story, your focus should be on people or lessons you’ve learned.
• At some point, try to make the employees the hero. Maybe you can say, “Imagine YOU, helping to lead efforts to make others feel welcomed, to belong . . . “

Highlight a Challenge to Overcome

• All good stories need conflict.  
• Don’t be afraid to suggest the road ahead will be hard work, and uncomfortable for some.  
• Share with employees the outcome once your challenge has been successfully met.  

Keep it Simple

• Don’t detract from your core message with flowers and sparkles, keep it simple, which can be very effective.
• Don’t put in too much details that people get lost in the story.
• Make it linear so it is easy for everyone to follow.
• Bring out the emotion of what you’re feeling to help drive home your message.

Practice Makes Perfect

• Storytelling is a “real art form” that requires PRACTICE.
• Practice with friends and other leaders to get feedback on your message
• Sharing your story will bring others in. It can also be a great way to encourage other leaders to identify their WHY, to uncover what has them connected to equity and inclusion, and what the catalyst is that has them wanting to make a change.

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Heading 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Block quote

Ordered list

1. Item 1
2. Item 2
3. Item 3

Unordered list

• Item A
• Item B
• Item C

Text link

Bold text

Emphasis

^Superscript

_Subscript

Evaluation & Impact

There are many ways to measure the success and impact of a DEIA launch and anchoring event. It is best to approach this evaluation by considering the viewpoint of many different people in attendance, as well as tracking concrete indicators where possible. A few metrics to track:

• Number of people in attendance vs. Number of people invited
• Gather feedback by creating on the spot survey to capture event experience or sending one immediately after the event. Don’t be afraid to ask your guests what they think on the day of the event.
• But a more fun way to get feedback on the day is to make it part of the event. You could offer guests a swag bag if they leave their feedback on your event app.
• There are also a number of online survey tools (like Survey Monkey) you can use which makes it quick and easy to create a feedback form. You can also create your own feedback form and send it to participants.
• Thank them for attending and explain why their feedback is important to you.

Also, one of your main tasks during the event itself is to look and listen. Make observations about how well things are going. Is your staff enjoying themselves? Are they listening? What’s their body language saying? Use your phone or a notepad to write down observations throughout the day. It will help you remember what happened more accurately. Also look to gather data by identifying:

Event Planning Success

• What worked and what didn’t work
• Whether you met the expectations of your guests
• How well your marketing efforts worked
• If your budget and timeline were realistic
• What you should stop, start, continue

Encourage Social Media Engagement

Ask staff to (in the moment) take a selfie and post it on social media with your selected hashtag.  All social media platforms have an insights tool that gives you valuable data and you can use these tools to calculate your:

• Likes
• Comments
• Shares
• Mentions
• Followers

Event Team’s Feedback

Your staff and leadership sponsors are not the only opinions you should care about.  Remember to listen to your event team as well. It’s always a good idea to hold a debrief meeting after the event and the team has had a chance to think about what went well and what might be improved.  But don’t take too long, it should be fresh on their minds.                                                                                                                          

THE BOTTOM LINE: Assessing the effectiveness of communications as well as the events themselves is important.  Celebrate what went well and remain open to what can be done differently in the future to better meet the needs and interests of your campus community.

Preparing for Your Launch

• Launch goal worksheet
• Launch budget template

‍

Project Planning

• Launch project planning worksheet

‍

Marketing and Communications

• Change management communication principles
  
• Sample invite email templates
• Storytelling worksheet