Early Learning Coalition Webinar April 20, 2011

1. Early Learning Coalition Webinar April 20, 2011

2. Objective and Agenda • Objective: Provide important overview and tactical information regarding “Love. Talk. Play.” so that coalitions can hit the ground running with the campaign • Agenda • Campaign strategy overview • Campaign materials • Use guidelines • Distribution process • Branding and messaging • Implementation ideas • Evaluation and reporting • Next Steps

3. Campaign Strategy

4. Parent Audience There are currently more than 348,000 children under the age of 3 in Washington state. The “Love. Talk. Play.” campaign has the power to provide helpful information and tips to every one of their parents and primary caregivers. The main purpose of this campaign: reach the parents who need these messages and tips the most. • Parents who are connected to services • (e.g., home visiting, Play & Learn Groups, WIC, health clinics) • How we will reach: Work with regional early learning coalitions and their local service providers to get information to parents • Parents who aren’t connected to services • (e.g., geographically remote, culturally isolated, transient, non-English speaking) • How we will reach: Work with coalitions and have them talk with their local community leaders about best ways to reach these parents

5. Overall Campaign Goals • Simplify the noise coming at parents about what’s important for their children’s healthy growth and development • Help more parents, as their children’s first and most important teachers, feel as if they have the information, skills and confidence to support their children • Improve parent interactions with their children • Reach parents who often don’t receive parenting information and resources • Provide the early learning field with some simple, common messaging that helps connect efforts

6. Campaign Principles • Create a sense of ownership for the campaign among state, regional and local partners • Create an initial “bounce” and “buzz” to get interest, so that we can keep it going • Use the majority of our limited resources to benefit our target families • Ensure that materials are relevant to the populations we’re engaging • Convey to families who are our primary focus that we see and understand them by how we use our resources and frame and place materials and engagement opportunities • Learn and become more sophisticated (and help the coalitions and other supporting organizations to be so as well) as we go • Build on existing expertise and strength within coalitions and help form new partnerships • Ensure materials do no harm but engage/connect with existing efforts • Ensure we know how to effectively reach populations with specific characteristics (e.g. Indian nations with extended family structures, migrant workers who seldom interface with consistent community organizations, etc.) • Highlight partner information and resources to deepen understanding of importance of love, talk and play and show collaborative effort to parents

7. Three Key Messages about “Love.Talk.Play.” • “Love.Talk.Play.” supports parents as their child’s first and most important teacher, so that parents can make the most of this important growth and learning time for their child and can help give their child the best start in life and school. • We want parents to connect with this campaign and feel good that they’re already doing the little things that make a big difference for their child or feel as if it’s doable to add more love, talk and play with their child into their day. • Partners at all levels in Washington state are working together to provide parents with a common and consistent message about what’s important for their child’s healthy growth and development.

8. Thrive’s Primary Roles • Do overall strategy and messaging in coordination with DEL and OSPI • Provide core materials • Lead and coordinate campaign Advisory Board • Help generate broad public awareness of and support for campaign • Connect partners at state, regional and local levels and work with them to ensure we’re all reaching the target population • Make sure messages and materials get to the people who need them the most • Conduct campaign evaluation

9. Coalition Primary Roles • Provide direct outreach to parents with the LTP message and materials • Engage coalition partners in supporting LTP as appropriate in your community • Engage community partners in LTP efforts • Manage materials orders for coalition and community members • Report quarterly to Thrive about LTP efforts (see evaluation section)

10. Campaign Building Sequence • Phase 1 – Sept. 2010-Sept. 2011: Work with selected partners to learn what works best with unique populations (e.g., migrant workers, Indian nations, recent immigrants, etc.) and start building dissemination mechanisms through existing statewide, regional (e.g., WA State Migrant Council) and coalition efforts. Grow, test and understand period. • Phase II – Oct 2011-Dec. 2012: Broader dissemination, informed by what is learned in Phase I and what continues to be learned in Phase II • Phase III – Jan. 2013-?: Viral growth, responding to interest of not-previously engaged partners. 

11. Phase 1: Tactics and Timeline

12. Who We’re Talking To/ Starting to Talk To • 10 Regional Early Learning Coalitions • Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe • Families in Early HS (Children’s Home Society) • African-American Childcare Taskforce • Black Child Development Institute • Thrive Demonstration Communities • Neighborhood House • Washington State Migrant Council • Parent Trust for Washington Children • WithinReach • Home Visiting Services Account Grantees • KCTS Outreach Program • Talaris Institute • DOH; DSHS; DEL; FEL (Library Partnership)

13. Events and Engagement Under Way 10 Early Learning Coalitions Supported by Thrive • First 5 FUNdamentals of Pierce County (Pierce County) • Inland Northwest Alliance for Early Learning (Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane and Stevens counties) • The Partnership for Children & Families (Chelan and Douglas counties) • Investing in Children: Coalition Central (Yakima, Kittitas, Grant and Klickitat counties) • Sound to Harbor Early Learning (Lewis, Thurston, Grays Harbor, Pacific and Mason counties) • SELF (Support for Early Learning and Families) (Clark County) • SOAR (King County) • Northwest Early Learning Coalition (Island, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties) • Olympic-Kitsap Peninsulas Early Learning Coalition (Clallam, Jefferson, Mason and Kitsap counties) • Walla Walla Valley Early Learning Coalition (Walla Walla County) Thrive-supported LTP Event Talking with about LTP Other LTP events and activities

14. Campaign Materials

15. Print Materials • Flyer • Activity cards • Posters • 11”x17” and 20”x30” • Customizable 11”x17” All materials are currently available in Eng and Spanish

16. Promotional Items • Balls • Playing with a Ball activity card • Bibs

17. Materials Use Guidelines • Who should get materials? • Most: Parents in our target audience – hard-to-reach, low-income parents of children birth to three years old. • Some: Campaign partners and supporters to engage them in the campaign • How should materials be distributed? • Other Notes: • Activity cards, flyers and bibs: 1 per family • Balls: 1 per child (always include “Playing with a Ball” activity card”

18. Materials Distribution • Each coalition needs one point person to order materials for coalition members and community partners (will help with overall tracking and evaluation) • By early May, all ordering will be done online through Print Northwest (more info to come) • Order form will ask for quantities and some event info • You can order for several events at a time, but please don’t over order materials. Be mindful that there are 10 coalitions and assorted other partners who would like to use these materials, too! • All online orders will be approved by Molly

19. Materials Use Reporting • With quarterly reports, we will ask for the following: • Event or activity materials were used for • Number of each item used • Description of audience who received them • How the materials were distributed • Anecdotal feedback from participants and users

20. LoveTalkPlay.org Seattle Sounders to serve as campaign spokespeople! We’re on Facebook and Twitter, too! We’re also now offering a Weekly Tip by e-mail that may become a cell phone tip.

21. Facebook Page • Like the LTP page today! • Ask your coalition members to like the LTP page today! • Have coalition and partners promote LTP to their followers on Facebook

22. Campaign Branding and Messaging

23. Logo Usage

24. Colors and Fonts

25. Typography

26. Message Platform

27. Implementation Ideas

28. Ways to Spread the Word about “Love. Talk. Play.” • Posters: Can go everywhere in your community! • Laundromats, child care centers, grocery stores, community centers, health clinics, pediatrician offices, WIC offices, shelters, food banks, social service offices, libraries, places of worship, local businesses, etc. • Flyers: Still a pretty wide distribution area but should be ideally handed out not just left as a stack • Play & Learn Groups, Home visiting, Newborn kits, library programs, book bags, community events, etc. • Activity Cards, Balls and Bibs: Should be handed to a parent in the target audience • Play & Learn Groups, Home visiting, Newborn kits, library programs, etc.

29. Evaluation and Reporting

30. Quarterly Reports • Done through Thrive grant reporting process • Materials • Event or activity materials were used for • Number of each item used • Description of audience who received them • How the materials were distributed • Total # of parents reached (through events, one-on-one, etc.) • # of calls received monthly (including previous year) • # of press/media mentions and copies of articles • Anecdotal stories of success, feedback, etc.

31. User Evaluation Forms • Simple form to be created for coalitions • For those who used materials • Both parent and trusted advisor

32. Next Steps

33. Coalition Meetings • Thrive will meet with each coalition over the next three months to talk about campaign implementation • Set plans and goals for next grant cycle

34. LTP Advisory Board • First meeting MAY be coordinated with June coalition meeting • Advisory Board objectives: • Review and advise on campaign implementation. • Ensure campaign remains a partnership effort. • Coalition participants include: Jill Johnson Karma Hugo Lexi Catlin • Patricia Jones • Harla Tumbleson • Samantha Bowen