196 16.9 PR: Identify Audience

Once you clarify the types of messages and the communications strategy your ED wants you to pursue, you need to determine the audiences who will be targeted. This leads to another set of questions:

• Which media outlets should we target with our news releases/news conference/web conference messages? Are we trying to reach media organizations that produce news and information for the general public or for specialist audiences? Who are those specialist audiences?

• What will our industry members need to have in the “talking points” material we create for them? We need to anticipate their information needs since our mission is to help association members be effective advocates for the wind power industry as well as succeed in their individual business endeavors.

• Who are the other stakeholders we might target with our response? Our partner organizations and associations at the state and national level? Regulators at the state and national level who govern our industry? Bird enthusiasts who oppose wind turbines? Environmentalists who care about both renewable energy AND wildlife protection? Researchers inside and outside the government who study bird mortality and wind power?

• Once we know which stakeholder audiences we want to address, how can we best reach them with our messages?