You may be asking yourself – what is a SOCO? I certainly was when first introduced to the term during my studies at Boston University. SOCO stands for Single Overriding Communications Objective. Every organization has a communications objective, but it is important to identify the single most important objective that mass communication messages are designed to achieve.
A great example of a successful SOCO is illustrated by the recent media attention focusing on alcohol advertising on the MBTA (Boston’s subway system). The American Journal of Public Health recently published a study by Boston University Public Health researchers measuring the impact of alcohol advertisements on the subway trains. The study reported the estimated alcohol advertising exposure of Boston residents riding the trains.
The researchers could easily have pitched a story to news outlets suggesting that there is too much alcohol advertising on Boston’s trains. The researchers instead carefully chose this SOCO: “The state should not allow its property to be used by alcohol companies to recruit, entice and eventually convince youths to start drinking especially when the legal age for purchasing alcohol is 21.” This places blame on the state and relates to youth, a strategy almost guaranteed to generate media attention.
This SOCO appears in all of the messaging on this topic. Regardless of the question, researchers and spokespeople always repeat the point that state property should not be used to advertise alcohol to teens.
Tips for Developing a SOCO
- A successful SOCO should not be lengthy.
- A good SOCO stands on its own. No additional information or context should be required for the reader or listener to understand the SOCO.
- Carefully chose the important aspects of the topic for which the SOCO addresses and chose appropriate words to describe the aspects.
Tips for Delivering a Fantastic SOCO
What do you do when a reporter asks a question that does not relate to your SOCO? Professor Michael Siegel of the Boston University School of Public Health suggests three different approaches.
- Bridge the question into the SOCO. When asked a question completely unrelated, pull out a few words of the question and insert the SOCO. For example, if a reporter asks about a policy maker’s position on a particular topic, you can respond with “they have an interesting position, but our position is [repeat the SOCO].”
- Deflect the question by saying something to the effect of “that’s an important issue, and so is [repeat SOCO].”
- Repeat the SOCO verbatim and don’t worry about any disconnect. This is the crudest way of responding to a question, but it may be the only option if the reporter has steered you far away from your message.
Dr. Siegel recommends all spokespeople for organizations practice delivering the SOCO prior to conducting interviews with the media. He also suggests practicing media interviews (or conducting media training) with three other people. One person plays the reporter, one person makes up a SOCO and the third person is told the SOCO right before they are asked questions by the reporter. This way, the third person does not have a lot of time to prepare and must respond spontaneously. He notes that people in public health are often better at giving statistics than sound bites.
The reporter then asks three questions. The first question is related to the SOCO, the second question is related to the field, and the third question is completely irrelevant. This way the third person can practice bridging. The second person rates them on how well their SOCO came through in questioning.
Marketing and communications professionals should work together with public health organizations to help develop and deliver effective SOCOs. What are some ideas you have to help organizations successful deliver their messages to the public?
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