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Third Party Advocacy

THIRD PARTY ADVOCACY

KEY POINTS

» One of the most popular PR techniques relies on a third party, a person with no apparent connections to the company or industry, to advocate for a client’s product or issue. The idea is that the public wouldn’t trust a car manufacturer that said global warming isn’t a problem, but would more likely trust an atmospheric scientist saying the same thing.

» Third party advocacy works because what experts say is generally trusted by the public.

» Whenever you see an expert saying something you suspect isn’t true, type his/her name into an Internet search engine to research his/her affiliations.

» Another strategy used by PR firms is the front group, an organization – usually non-profit – that is set up to look independent, but which is funded and controlled by an industry.

» Whenever you hear a euphemistic sounding name such as the Water Environment Federation or the

Temperate Forest Council, you can likely turn the needle 180 degrees and find out who’s really behind the organization.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why is expertise so widely trusted?

2. How else, aside from expertise, might information be conveyed to the public?

3. Third party advocacy and front groups both seek to distance messages from their source. Can we make sound decisions about political, social and economic issues in our lives if we don’t know where informatio is coming from?

EXERCISES

1. Creating a front group. After reviewing the concept of front groups, create one. Divide students into groups and have them create a name and mission statement for such an organization. Then, have each group present their front group to the class. The rest of the class will try to guess what the front group’s real agenda is and who would likely fund such a group (which interests would want such a group created).

2. Find front groups using the Internet. Which organizations do students think may be purposefully hiding their true agendas. How might the funding source affect what you see as the group’s position on a specific issue?