Dignitaries mingled with the homeless at The Second Annual Day of the Homeless  at the Good Neighbours’ Club at Jarvis and Shuter. The Day of the Homeless honours those who have died on the streets, and takes place on or around the anniversary of the death of Good Neighbours’ Club member Paul Croutch, the former journalist who died after being beaten by intoxicated soldiers from a nearby armoury in August, 2005.

This year, the event featured a photo exhibit of the men taken by acclaimed photo journalist Rita Leistner (Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair) and an exhibit called Expressions of Hope and Despair, featuring photos of life on the streets by club members themselves (all homeless or marginally housed).

Dignitaries included the Club’s Patron, The Honourable David Onley, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and Sheldon Levy, the President of Ryerson University.  It was hosted by Francis D’Souza (event host), Citytv – CityNews Anchor.

The Good Neighbours’ Club is a Toronto charity dedicated to the homeless or marginally-housed man who is 50+ and trying to find his way back to a normal life.  By the time he is 50, a homeless man is aged well beyond his years.  He is also vulnerable to attack by younger men.  No other Toronto charity is so uniquely equipped to deal with the daytime needs of the homeless man over 50.

Founded in 1933 and located at Jarvis and Shuter, The Good Neighbours’ Club is a day centre for homeless and under-housed men who are 50 and over.  Its members have faced the despair of downsizing or have lost everything due to illness, addiction, poor choices or bad luck.  They receive new, donated clothes and have access to mail services, showers, laundry facilities, hot meals, phones, televisions, games, computers, a weekly medical clinic staffed by Street Health nurses, a safe place to lock up valuables…and compassion.  The club also provides final arrangements for members whose bodies would otherwise go unclaimed.  

Funded largely by the United Way of Greater Toronto, the Ontario Ministry of Health and the City of Toronto, The Good Neighbours’ Club is assisted by the Daily Bread Food Bank, Second Harvest, Whole Foods Market and Torontonians who realize that these men could be their fathers, their brothers, their sons or even themselves. For more information about The Good Neighbours’ Club please visit www.goodneighboursclub.org.

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I hear it all the time, especially from charities. “We just need to get a whole bunch of press. Once we get our names in the paper, our membership will sky rocket and we will be the talk of the town.”

But is it true?

Well, sometimes yes. But all too often no. And sometimes, a slew of news stories can have unpredicted consequences.

Let’s say you have an organization. It’s been going for more than a decade, has a publication that gets distributed to a core of your demographic, and has board and member representation from across the country.

To some, that looks like an entity that’s primed and ready to go out and get a little media attention.

But not so fast.

PR is about influence. It’s about taking an existing opinion and shaping it in your favour.  In order to do that, however, you first need to know what the opinion currently is.

Here’s the rub. Most organizations don’t take the time to find out how they’re perceived by the public(s) that matter most to them. And that’s a problem. Especially now when social media and instant communication lets the disenfranchised find each other easily.

It’s also an incredible waste of resources.

A lot of well intentioned, underfunded, incredibly dedicated, hard working people put a huge amount of effort into trying to get certain messages out when they don’t even know what their reputation is amongst those they serve. And it’s because many are afraid to ask questions that may necessitate change.

Additionally, many good-hearted folks have their eyes firmly in the rear view mirror looking at the services their organization have always provided instead of assessing the value of those services in a changing world and communications landscape. “Because we’ve always done it this way” isn’t a rational argument in the face of evolution.

Going out to get all kinds of media attraction may get your name in the paper, but it may also illuminate the disconnect between you and your public(s). It may also invite backlash and criticism.

A good media campaign starts with a plan. And a plan starts with research. At the very least, you need to have an understanding of the following:

1. Do you know how many members/supporters you have and what the stats are on each of your core demographics?

2. Do you know what your core demographic understands about your mission and your relevance to them?

3. Have you polled them recently to find out if you are meeting the needs you have said you will meet?

4. Have you connected with the community to find out if you are indispensable to them and if not, what would make you indispensable?

5. Have you connected with your detractors to find out why they think your organization is missing the boat?

It’s much more comfortable living in a bubble. But the comfort is temporary.If your organization isn’t indispensable to those you serve, you are dispensable. And extinction probably isn’t that far away. Kinda makes asking a few tough questions look a whole lot easier, doesn’t it?

PR isn’t just about getting your name in the paper. That’s simply one way of communicating with your public(s). But if you don’t know what perception you’re trying to change, or worse, if your organization isn’t meeting the need its public is looking to them for, then you’re shortchanging your constituents, and maybe even putting yourself out of work.

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More details on this event in a later post but for now, here is a picture from yesterday’s event honouring six of the greatest Albertans who ever lived, including my Great, Great Grandmother, Alice Jamieson, for whom Calgary’s Jamieson Place is now named.

My mother, Alice’s Great Granddaughter, is the last living family member who actually knew Alice, having grown up very close to her. My mother’s mother, Dorothy, was Alice’s favourite Granddaughter.

My mother, Adrienne, followed closely in Alice’s footsteps. Alice was the first female appointed as judge in the British Empire (perhaps the western world) serving as a judge in the juvenile court and then as a Police Magistrate. Adrienne, prior to her retirement from the Metro Toronto Police Force, was the highest ranking woman and civilian on any Canadian Police Force.

The picture if of my mother and me at the monument baring Alice’s name.

Enjoying Calgary as always.  Back to Toronto soon.

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A recent blog post by the always insightful Max Kalehoff’s reminded me of the seminal 3 year study undertaken by the Advertising Research Foundation. Released a couple of years ago, and summarized in this Brand Week article, the study called On the Road to a New Effectiveness Model contends that connecting the modern consumer to brands through advertising was most effectively done through stories.

A lot of us, particularly those who have worked in the not for profit space, have known that for a long time now.  You can throw facts, figures and information around, but when it comes to connecting a brand with the public, stories build bonds the way nothing else can.

Stories are the bridge between our experiences and those of another, be it a person or a brand. It is fundamental to our species to want relationships with others. And decades of imbuing brands with human characteristics have made us expect to be in relationship with the products and companies we give our hard earned money and time to. The more relatable the brand, the stronger our relationship is likely to be to it.

In fact, the very definition of what a brand is has evolved over time. A brand does not exist in and of itself and is so much more than the sum of its parts. What a brand is is no longer separate from the person who experiences it. The user of a brand is increasingly part of its definition.

In the words of American poet Maya Anjou “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

And stories are the fast train to feeling.

Storytelling is primal. It is at the core of who we are and how we understand our world. Every civilization has used story to make sense of itself and the universe, especially that which is unknowable. We rally around shared stories, be they religious, national or family. They bind us, unite us and sometimes they pit us against others.

They are our truths and what calls us to action. They are what we cling to in our darkest hours and what we use to bring another to our point of view.

Stories are very powerful. And brands that understand the power of story are the ones that will best weather uncertain times.

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