Developing Communication Strategies: International Organization for Migration (IOM)

These communication strategies from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) represent their perspective specific to communication about migration and with migratory peoples. Their list presents tools and strategies that have traditionally been used, in various combinations, as the main delivery channels for information campaigns. According to the online resource, "A precise combination, or so-called 'media mix', is decided after proper research has been carried out on the profile of the ...audience and their information consumption habits. This choice is also influenced by the available budget and its time frame."

The media and options to consider include:

•  "TV documentaries produced by national public and/or private television stations or as sponsored productions. They might present the plight of the migrant, or that of the unsuspecting victims of trafficking. These are broadcast in prime time on national television channels and can be followed by live TV debates or talk shows.
• TV debates or round tables with expert panels can help to clarify migration issues from different standpoints and enable audiences to ask their own questions and provide feedback.
• TV public service announcements consisting of 15-30 second “spots” are used in high rotation, prime-time campaigns to convey strong, simple, and practical messages that are relevant to the specific subject of the campaign. These are a persuasive tool for influencing migration decisions.
• Weekly radio broadcasts can be formatted as write-in or phone-in programmes during which listeners seek concrete, simple answers to their questions on migration. These offer the advantage of good impact, flexibility as to subject matter and length, and a more personalised contact. They can be a means for migration officials and experts, representatives of humanitarian and relief organisations, returnees, and migrants to convey first-hand information, relate their personal experiences, and give practical advice. They can be distributed as audio news releases to local, national, or short-wave stations.
• Radio public service announcements and FM plugs tailored to the requirements of younger audiences can deliver, in compact and lively format, practical information, testimony from migrants or simple, strong messages. They are particularly effective in intense campaigns over FM radio and can be syndicated for wider broadcast.
• Migration magazines filled with migration relevant information and sold at news-stands can be a very effective and convincing tool. These contain articles on many aspects of a migration decision: how and whether to move, where to get information, pitfalls, dangers, etc. The variety of topics makes a magazine appealing to a wide audience. Selling it at news-stands gives it greater value and ensures its wide exposure. Brochures, handbooks, and fact sheets dealing with the same topics, but in a more detailed manner, can be distributed through local administration offices, local NGOs, consulates, or schools, or inserted into local newspapers.
• Radio or TV soap operas can be extremely effective message carriers in countries where official channels lack credibility or impact. Starting from real-life situations and setting personal drama against a wider historical or social background, soap operas create powerful role models and situations with which listeners and viewers can instantly identify. Their flexibility and longer-term impact make them ideal for reaching wider audiences and for delivering strong educational and cautionary messages.
• Simple, easy to understand, printed materials describe the realities of migration and the consequences of irregular departures. Issues of major migrant and public interest, presented on a country-by-country basis, can include sections on family reunification, legal employment, study abroad, etc. Special sections can present in a concise and objective manner the pitfalls of irregular migration, especially to young women considering resorting to trafficking.
• Posters or billboards with simple, high-impact messages showing the consequences of irregular migration, placed in public places frequented by potential migrants, bring the message to the streets.
• Networking and seminar tours can be designed to “bring the message” to the people, to provide the population with concrete legal information, and to do so, in person, in their place of residence. Key individuals and local organisations that will act as further disseminators of information can be briefed during seminars or round tables thus creating a corps of influential people knowledgeable about the realities of migration. Trips abroad by national journalists can be sponsored to subsequently inform the general public back home on the realities of life as an immigrant, regular and irregular.
• Training sessions can bring together NGO leaders, youth organisations, as well as local government officials. Led by trained moderators, the discussions aim at raising the awareness of migration issues among local officials and community leaders and, through them, spread campaign messages to the vulnerable population not readily accessible by other initiatives or through mass media.
• Seminars and round tables enable participants to share experiences, present problems and concerns, and search together for solutions. Participants can include actual migrants, government officials, representatives of international organisations or NGOs [non-governmental organisations], press, social activists, etc. They can be one- or two-day events held quarterly or bi-annually."

The document also details the possibility of establishing information centres through dedicated offices or locations that can provide answers to specific questions through face-to-face conversation. This is a time- and staff-intensive option, popular with migrant audiences, according to this resource. Partnering with national organisations in countries of origin to serve potential and actual migrants can open space to offer a range of free or fee-based services. Areas of information can include: documentation for visa applications; how to emigrate legally to major countries of immigration; exit procedures; and current emigration legislation. It can also include information on: the dangers of irregular migration; countries of destination, including their legislation and culture; opportunities for education abroad; and the location of national cultural centres, embassies, and consular offices abroad. This kind of facility can also provide a migration "hot line",  organise workshops and seminars, and provide access to specialised migration publications.