Public Advocacy And Why You Need It

by Purvi Dalvi Writer

Understanding the rationale:

Public advocacy campaigns help to influence or support any cause, or the policy brought by the administration in the region. This act can work in both public and private areas. In India, people have come across multiple such instances of brands taking-up the concern for promotion of its product line.

For instance, a giant cola brand might promote a campaign on road safety. They come across an issue during the campaign and raise their opinion on the same. Such publicity creates a positive impact in the mind of consumers, if it is an issue that strikes a chord with them. In such scenarios, the consumers are most likely to use the brand. Even those who were not part of the brand wagon, would start consuming it. Many non-profit organisations are working to uplift the customer experiences, be through social media or other mediums. They also use different methods of advocacy to publicise their cause.

The public advocates can bring positive change in legislation or filing litigation with the courts. This plays a prominent role in bringing the crowd together and channel the movement to a frequent target. The advocacy talks about even representing the common interest of the public. Public advocacy campaigns may include all those who have experienced injustice in some way or the other while defending the rights of underprivileged.

It relies on advocating for the masses and relevant topics like labourers, migrant workers, women & children, environmental degradation, animal rights and most importantly, voter segmentation.

Why we need public advocacy campaigns

1. It increases the brand value

The brand value of a business and its product line depends on the perception of its stakeholders and the image it creates in the mind of a customer. Their trust is the crucial aspect for any brand to succeed while creating a new pool of customers without spending much on publicity. While running public advocacy campaigns, they pick an issue to create awareness among its existing and potential customers to develop a sense of goodwill in the market. This results in a string of loyal customers and long-term trust on the brand.

2. Helps in creation of loyal customer pool

When the brand picks an issue to start campaigning, people who have gone through the trauma, tend to join the movement. These people belong to all walk of life, and they anticipate that the issue needs complete attention of the authorities. However, for the brand, these people are also the potential customers who can future consumers of the product. A corporate reputation management company makes sure that these are hot and trending topics, only to draw maximum attention of the customers.

3. System level advocates

Public advocacy campaigns require to keep the victims in mind while changing the system and policy. Suppose you are addressing violence against girls and women; you should incorporate both practical as well as policy and systems change activities. Several NGOs implement both in their strategies nowadays.