Molly Conisbee, Soil Association www.charitycomms.org.uk/events

1. Charity Communications:
Communicating the Soil Association
23 September 2011

2. Communicating the Soil Association
1. Who we are – our history and achievements
2. How does the Soil Association effect change?
3. Our vision, strategic and lobbying priorities – and
how the communications team helps achieve them
4. Recent campaigns – opportunistic and planned

3. Who we are
The Soil Association is a membership charity, campaigning for
healthy, humane and resilient food, farming and land use
We also certify organic food, farms, timber, textiles and health
and beauty products
Income from our certification business in part funds our
charitable activities; we are also funded by members, charitable
trusts, major donors

4. Where we have come from
We were founded in 1946 by a pioneering group of scientists,
farmers, nutritionists and doctors
The Soil Association was founded to:
• Research the connection between the health of the soil, animals,
people and the environment
• Create an informed body of public opinion on food, farming,
nutrition and health
• Show there is a way to feed ourselves sustainably now and in
the future

5. Our founder, Lady Eve Balfour

6. Our key achievements
Thirty years ago we drafted the world’s first organic farming standards and are responsible for
promoting and maintaining the principles of sustainable agriculture in over 30 countries.
As a result of our work, environmental and wildlife benefits of organic farming have received
official endorsement, with significant payments to organic farmers for delivering these public
benefits. Our policy and campaign work is widely respected and has had a profound impact on a
host of public health issues, including GM, antibiotics, pesticides and animal welfare.
Working with key partners, we have played a leading role in creating localised food systems,
through farmers’ markets, box schemes and Community Supported Agriculture and supplying
food to the public and private sectors.
By harnessing the support of our farmer and grower members through our Organic Farm
Network, we have created a nationally significant platform for public education, hosting over one
million visits a year.
Our Food for Life Partnership programme is transforming food culture in 360 schools and
communities across England, and engaging a further 3,600 schools.

7. How does the Soil Association effect change?
• Clear vision, strategy and objectives – our key
principles
• Focusing on our policy priorities
• Communications strategy works to support these
goals

8. Vision and pillars of work

9. Setting our policy priorities: the drivers
Climate change, diminishing resources that modern agriculture has become dependent
on (oil, phosphates, minerals, water), and a growing world population to feed
Decreased reliability of production
and crop productivity
Resource
shortages
Climate change
Emissions
Increasing Food waste
use of
resources
Unfair and unequal
Produce more food distribution of food
A growing Wealthier Changing diets Unequal
population populations wealth

10. Communications Strategy - Form
• Re-positioning the Soil Association
• Building the brand
• Mapping the audiences and stakeholders
• Defining the key messages

11. Communications strategy - Norm
• Secure staff buy-in and understanding: everyone who
works for the Soil Association is responsible for our
communications – ‘total communications’
• Own the brand and messages: tight, succinct, but
meaningful to incorporate top policy and fundraising asks
• Ensure our stakeholders are clear about what we are
trying to do, when and why – they are our ambassadors
too

12. Communications Strategy - Storm
• Reaching out – showing that change to our
food and farming systems is necessary,
desirable, achievable
• Aiming high - celebrate pioneers, best
practice, stimulate research
• Building our organisation – living our values
and philosophy

13. Tactics without strategy is the slowest route to
victory. Strategy without tactics is the noise before
defeat. Sun Tzu
Turning plans into campaigns
• How will it create the change we believe in?
• Tactics vs. strategy
• Opportunism
• Planned campaigns

14. The Opportunistic Campaign: Foston Pig Farm

15. Not in my Banger

16. The Planned Campaign: Organic September

17. Discover Organic Campaign
• Developed identity, strapline, key messages,
supporting messages and boilerplate
• Marketing toolkit for licensees – big social media
presence in 2011 (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr,
YouTube
• Events and supporting activities – campaign to
be ‘owned’ by community
Discover Organic