Strategic Communication uses communications to achieve a goal. It takes a plan, an understanding of the desired end result and the right vehicle to get there. Today there are various tools that have evolved with the advancement of technology, but the basic principles of communication remain the same. These are the important audiences and the appropriate message to reach them.
The Strategic narrative, in the context of Strategic Communication, should combine the following:
The present situation: A description of the error to be to be corrected or of the desired state to be maintained.
The future state: A description of the final state, whether it is maintaining or changing it.
The road: How to get there.
The justification: Why the proposal to keep or change the current situation, is better than other alternatives, an assessment of the road to get there. The justification is usually contained in the above three.
To be effective it requires a defined and understandable political pursuit, supported by individual objectives, a strategic narrative that explains and supports these objectives, and a coherent execution of Strategic Communication across all instruments of state power. In this way the narrative will be communicated to multiple audiences with specific activities, images and speech.
Strategic Communication ensures that all our activities in peace, crisis and war are planned and implemented with the anticipation of their effect on the Information Environment.
Domains are the physical and non-physical parts of the Information Environment where activities take place and audiences interact, as follows: Maritime domain, Land domain, Air domain, Space domain and Cyberspace.
Dimensions are the sections of the Information Environment, where results take place, and are as follows: Physical, Virtual, Cognitive.
The correlation between them and their understanding is important, while activities in all areas create results in the cognitive dimension. The smart use of information, through tailoring of messages, narrative and persuasion, is able to potentially reach around the world and provide dynamic impact to various target audiences. The digital war “man vs. machine” race is increasingly geopolitical in nature.
As for hybrid threats and the so-called “gray zones”, challenges are daily both from state entities and from other forms of power, who, understanding weaknesses, try to exploit them with asymmetric methods, trampling on traditional structures and perceptions of international relations. A typical example is the announcement of policy and decision-making, even by state leaders through instant messaging services on the internet (for example Twitter).
At the heart of the strategic competition are the so-called “information wars”, in which information is turned into a weapon and there is a struggle for the dominance of everyone’s “truth”. The use of information at the right time and in a coherent manner is able to provide a satisfactory advantage over an opponent, with mass effect and accuracy to disrupt and balance him. It is able not only to increase a controversy, but to create it. The main purpose is the traditional “divide and rule” between states but also within them, with the exploitation of national, political, religious and social elements, increasing the so-called “extremes” and reducing the political will.
Strategic Communication is based on the understanding of the aforementioned correlations and in particular:
Audience – Public: the identification of those affected by our activities, personalities influencing the desired outcome, biases. Information flow: entry into the audience’s environment, circulation of information, credibility, ability to change or reinforce behavior. Cognitive and behavioral changes: detect changes in goal, present in hierarchy for decision making and evaluation.
Every action sends a message, from the lowest to the highest level. Success from the operational level and above depends mainly on results in the cognitive - mental field. The armed forces, their activities and capabilities are means of communication. Operating with this mindset embeds military activities as a vital part of the broader politico-military strategy, one that places communication outcomes at the center of design. Since every military action, whether the dropping of a bomb or an electronic message, produces a mental effect on behavior, influence will be achieved by focusing on the target audience and the intended result. This can take place by synchronizing kinetic and non-kinetic activities that will take place both in the physical environment and in the virtual (digital) world to achieve the desired result.
The challenge of orchestrating and evaluating information activities comes to be answered by Strategic Communication for policy formulation and strategy development, as well as narrative communication and dialogue with the target audience. This is the goal of a continuous national outreach process that will provide a permanent link between strategy and tactics.
NATO’s Strategic Communications approach to hybrid threat incidents is summarized by the following analysis model: Summary of the incident, main points, content, protagonists, narratives, main incidents, strategic logic of actions, measures, areas of national security.
According to a study by the research service of the European Union, Strategic Communication is a key tool for dealing with hybrid threats. It is considered the appropriate way of response, so that disinformation campaigns can be dealt with quickly and efficiently, while it is a priority for European politics and external action. In particular, Member States have decided to promote the sharing of information among themselves to identify and jointly respond to cases of disinformation. In this context, actions have been taken to encourage the participation of the private sector in the fight against disinformation such as technology companies, digital services, social digital platforms and advertising companies. Support is also provided to mass media and journalists in order to disseminate high quality and accurate news, relevant information to the European public and media literacy and among citizens. (Stratcom as a key factor in countering hybrid threats, EPRS-European Parliamentary Research Service, PE 656.323-March 2021, p. 127-128).
A crisis manager wants to receive legitimacy and support when managing a crisis. Strategic communication is the means to organize the various types of communication. Specifically: Information management (collection and analysis), understanding the crisis in a way that favors the manager, framing the crisis. information on causes and conditions, as well as the process dealing with it, meeting the needs of SMEs.
A crisis situation is almost never the same as a previous one, nevertheless the following principles can act as a guide to communication management: Speed, understanding the facts, instant and concise update of the hierarchy, transparency, adaptability. In times of crisis, the public expects governments and organizations to be a quick and reliable source of information. Today, high quality and timely communication can be considered as important as crisis management itself. Staff responsible for communication do not only handle the media or information given to the public. It is responsible for the overall management of the organization’s reputation and name, which are tested in a crisis. The effective use of Strategic Communication and its specialized tools is a critical factor in dealing with crisis situations.
To communicate strategically is to use communications in such a way as to directly align an organization’s communication objectives with its overall policy objectives. This will take place through the early collaboration of all members of the organization in various areas and their active involvement during the initial planning-decision-making process.
In peacetime, the government must have the ability to form narrative, themes and messages and be able to synchronize and communicate them effectively. At the same time, it also needs to ensure that the target audience receives and understands the communication provided. This capability can influence opinions and perceptions of the adversary and moderate the adversary’s activities and intelligence outputs. These communications must also undermine or mitigate the potential effects and capabilities of the adversary or information activities of the enemy.
Technological advances in media distribution methods have led to a continuous and rapid flow of communication. Communication has also become fragmented with the proliferation of media platforms, allowing multiple, and sometimes conflicting, narratives to co-exist. This has created a situation where it is very difficult to achieve the intended result. Countering the narrative or message of the adversary or enemy requires proactive action, diverse and flexible processes and capabilities. The result is the battle of the narratives. The goal of this battle is to gain superiority over the opponent’s narrative, reduce its impact, and when possible, replace it or make it irrelevant.
This battle is fought in the information environment and its success or failure is measured in the cognitive dimension (perceptions/attitudes) and physical domains (behavioral change). The goal is to gain superiority over the opponent’s narrative. National communication varies widely based on technology and established cultural practices for sharing information. This variety extends from word of mouth to technologically facilitated social media.
Furthermore, the contextual understanding of a message or narrative varies between cultures, different demographics, and local conditions. Often, people filter the information transmitted through social media to establish the credibility of the information. Synchronizing communications in the information environment during operations requires a comprehensive process.
Established well in advance of a crisis, a nation’s strategy for dealing with national security threats provides the foundation for its narrative, describing how a government builds resilience and prepares for unforeseen events. Narrative also is the general expression of context, reason and desired outcomes associated with a resistance campaign.
A psychologically unifying, crafted narrative that aligns strategic and operational goals should also resonate with the population to enable control, unity of purpose, and encourage ethical behavior. The issues are formulated at the strategic, operational, and tactical level accordingly. Topics at each level (each level must have multiple topics) must be nested below the top-level topics. Messages are secondary to themes and support the themes and narrative.
They provide accurate information to a specific target audience to create the desired results while advocating a specific issue. Messages are tailored for a specific time, place, delivery mechanism and target audience. In the resilience phase, the government will communicate the national narrative within its borders and to allies, partners, the international community, and the potential adversary.
If the legitimacy and credibility of a government is called into question, that government’s ability to represent the nation’s interests to the international community and orchestrate response efforts to a potential threat or crisis will be compromised.
Proorasis has a broad portfolio and experience in Strategic Communication both in the theoritical field and in practice at the highest national and international level.