What is advocacy, anyway? And why should a company or organization care about it?

Let’s use some examples to make the case.

A company finds itself in the middle of a public policy debate due to a piece of legislation that will seriously impact its business. Company managers try to rally employees to the cause, but are baffled when they receive a lukewarm reception.

An organization is dealing with an issue that could negatively impact its reputation, jeopardizing the bottom line. Usually content to stay off the radar, the company doesn’t know where to start, and reaches out to colleagues for help. The organization’s leaders are surprised by the lack of support they receive.

In both cases, the company or organization could have benefitted from an advocacy program, or an organized, sustained effort to keep employees, customers, and professional colleagues informed and engaged on issues affecting their business. A crisis is the worst time to start making friends and identifying allies, a lesson illustrated by the hypothetical examples above.

Advocacy efforts don’t need to be complicated, or expensive. But the best advocacy programs are authentic, strategic, and sustained over time.

Blueprint Alaska specializes in helping organizations and businesses build powerful advocacy programs that ensure when a crisis develops or a public fight hits the front page, the right tools are in place to handle it quickly and effectively.