By Guillermo Caro*

"When we take the responsibility for a communication for the good of community we have to think of the lives that can be saved, but we have also to think of the lives that are lost for an improvised and not very professional communication".

To make a communication for the good of community we can use the vast resources offered by communication in general, such as: publicity, journalism, advertising, person to person communication, comments, etc. We can use either a leaflet, or a brochure, or even a TV spot. We can use either a gazette or a newspaper article, either a comment or a public speech. Although the objectives of this type of communication are different from those of advertising in general, it has common elements. For our purpose not to be only a good deed but an "efficient" one, we have to take into account as much information, knowledge, techniques, and stages to be followed as possible in order to achieve an effective message and the efficiency of our aims.

FIRST STAGE: To establish the problem to be solved by the communication for the good of community. We have to bear in mind that the information is the starting point. The following steps will arise from it and the subsequent results will depend on its accuracy.

SECOND STAGE: To define the purpose of the communication. If we don't have objectives, we fail before we start. The purpose of the communication is made up by those concepts about the product or about the social service which are going to be communicated to the receiver public. It must be clear, accurate, possible, and measurable.

THIRD STAGE: To elaborate a communication message. Once we the problem is accurately defined and we have established the purpose, we have to develop the content of the communication. It must be clear and credible.

FOURTH STAGE: To define which are the communications media to reach the target public. The media have to be determined and selected by giving them the same importance the purpose, the message and the idea have. WhatÕs the point in arriving on time to the wrong place?

FIFTH STAGE: To create the idea. The idea is the vehicle for the message. We have to achieve the necessary synthesis and impact for its recollection and later adherence and change of attitude by the receiver. We have to make use of the creativity as a means and not as an end. The creativity is the message itself.

SIXTH STAGE: Todevelop the pieces of communication. Once the purpose, the message and the idea are determined, we develop the pieces of communication. It is necessary to deepen in the carrying out and production of the described pieces and to highlight the characteristics of their development, bearing in mind that the difference between what we like and what is in fact effective lies in the result of the communication.

SEVENTH STAGE: To test the pieces in order to modify and/or learn. What people think we think is not the same as what we think they think. That's why it is very important to do motivational research, pre-test and post-test in to evaluate the effectiveness of the pieces created.

EIGHTH STAGE: To elaborate an action plan. Sometimes to develop an effective message is more difficult than to obtain the means and resources to have it known. Some other times to develop an effective message is simpler than to obtain the right communication media. Ideally, we would have both elements. It can be possible and with a little more than a hope.

ANNEX: The importance of the Direct Marketing in the Communication for the good of community. The direct marketing functions much the same as a street child gets some coins by extending his hand. It makes possible the collection of funds through contributions. It is an essential tool.

FIRST STAGE:

To establish the problem to be solved by the communication for the good of community.
We have to bear in mind the information as the starting point. The following steps will arise from it and the subsequent results will depend on its accuracy. The research is the exhaustive investigation, the careful and critical examination to be made looking for facts, background, principles, etc., which will provide the information for the problem to be solved through the communication.

The research is done to obtain the necessary information to make the elaboration of an accurate communication strategy as well as a proper message. The research will help us to know: The true dimension of the problem. To explain it accurately. The seriousness of the situation and the possible consequences if an immediate action is not followed. To know what the people perceives and know about the issue. Their tendency to participate or to remain indifferent. The new and unknown problems.

The information will allow us to elaborate a report and to outline a situation scheme which will allow us to express the objectives of the communication plan within the action program.

SECOND STAGE:

To define the purpose of the communication.
Without having objectives we fail before we start. The purpose of the communication is made up of those concepts about the product or social service that is sought in the communication to be transmitted to the receiver public. It must be clear, accurate, possible and measurable. We must not mistake the objective of the action for the purpose of the communication. The former describes the intentions of the program. It is different from the purpose of the communication because its approach and, therefore, its result, is different. For example: to wipe out certain disease. Instead, the latter describes the intentions of the communication. For example: to supply mothers information about a vaccination program. If we do not define what we want to achieve with the communication, any message will be the same and we will not obtain the desired results. Philip Kotler and Eduardo Roberto refer first to the purpose of the social marketing, defining it as either the transformation of an adverse idea or behavior or the adoption of new ideas and behaviors. The ideas and the behaviors are the ÒproductÓ to be promoted. They define three types of social product which is important to know exactly in order to later define the purpose of the communication.

1- Idea:

a) The belief: it is a conception which, in fact, is established regarding an issue. It does not include an evaluation. Example: "cancer can be controlled if it is detected in time".
b) The attitude: they are positive or negative evaluations of persons, objects, ideas or events. Example: "planned children are better cared than those from accidental pregnancies".
c) The value: they are global ideas regarding what is right and what is wrong. Example: "human rights".

2- Practice:

a) The action: such as "to have a vaccination".
b) The behavior: such as "to give up smoking" or "to use condoms to control births".

3- Tangible object:

Such as the "contraceptive pill" or the "safety belt". What is important is not only the information but also the change in the attitude. ThatÕs why the aim of a nutrition campaign is not merely to help consumers know more about food and to want a better food, but to change their diet.
From the objective expressed we deduce how, when, where, whom, and what we want to communicate. It works as a guide to adjust actions, to evaluate messages and to correct mistakes. If it s definition is not expressed or is incorrect, a domino effect will arise and this will damage not only the communication but also all the action. It is the right answer to the questions: What is the message issued for? What is expected to be achieved with it? What reaction is expected from the receiver?

It must be established the intention of the communication: Action or awareness.

1- The Action motivates to act immediately (example: to donate organs, to provide humanitarian support, to send funds, etc.)

2- The awareness reinforces, modifies or creates a new opinion through values. Both, either in the short or in the long term, cause a change in the attitude.

The purpose of the communication is to stimulate the adoption of an idea, a practice or both. The adhesion can include a proposal for the good of community, whether tangible or intangible. The key is: what process in the receiver behavior is possible to be affected?.

-If the process of the behavior is that of learning, the purpose of the communication will be to promote the favorable knowledge, reminder and image of the social proposal.

-If the process of the receivers starts with a low compromise, the purpose of the communication will be to make aware through those devices which focus the attention, so that an adoption of the trial of the social proposal can be generated. Once the problem and the objective are defined we have to elaborate a summary or brief with the most relevant elements of the social issue: Analysis of the social situation. The communication for the good of community which has been communicated up to that moment. Description of the solution to the social problem. Analysis of the receiver. Analysis of the positioning of the organization (the image we have of it, or the one we want to obtain from the receiver). Strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities.

Rational or emotional argument for the target group. This document will be used to elaborate the communication strategy, where the message, the concepts and ideas, the pieces and the necessary means to achieve the purpose of the communication will be developed.

Each organization must elaborate this report for each campaign, including in it the socio-cultural situation and its relationship with the social subject dealt with, the research and the results of the communication, so that other entities can refer to it through the Site or through the e-mail. In this way, more information is obtained and the learning through "Trial and Error" is reduced, as at the moment of saving lives the improvisation can be fatal.

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