New religious communication processes: “creative destruction” in contents - case study

We are living a time of intense renovation in what concerns the way the Catholic Church interacts with its citizens. In a certain sense, the “creative destruction” defended by Schumpeter (1942) also applies to the world of religion, once the new technologies have been replacing other ways of getting in touch with people. New paradigms and the notion that speech should become closer, leads the Church to adhere to the new digital and interactive media . Thus, we are witnessing the internet as a missionary tool, whether through websites or through social networks like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter or Youtube, a theme already presented in studies at IAMCR (Balonas: 2010, 2011). In short, religion is renewing its discourse with the outside world, creating new bridges of contact, seeking for more followers. Portuguese religious institutions are also aware of the power of these new mediators, reason why they have been hiring advertising and communication companies to implement new strategies for communication, targeting the younger. But this seems to be insufficient. A recent case study shows that the speech and the contents have to be rethought in an internal level, within the catholic community. It is no longer enough to change the way they communicate with the outside, they must also change internal communication trying to motivate all stakeholders in the complex process of adherence to religion

Internet as a missionary tool 2.0

In a case study presented in 2010 (IAMCR Braga, Portugal) we decided to look at communications strategies in the religion sector. The presented study was focused on the analysis of a campaign launched in Portugal by Secretariado das Vocações in 2009. Under the claim “Discover a world you think you already know. Open your mind to www.myspace.com/vocacoes”, this national campaign uses a social network page where young people can discuss, create a friend network and find the other side of the religious life. As a method of approach, we have shared data on young people's behavior through market research, followed by an analysis of a Vocations Campaign on MySpace concerning semiotic and pragmatic and also campaing’s results. In order to evaluate the consistency of the phenomenon, now we propose to discuss the campaign launched by the same entity, in the following year (2010). Using Facebook as a mediation platform, the campaign under the claim "More people like you!" seems to confirm the success of such strategies in institutions that seek to renew its speech as a mode of survival in the religious market. Why is this happening? There is a change of Christianity as culture to Christianity as a choice (Brieresly, 1991). At the same time, we live in a time of multiple beliefs in a multi-religious world. And also in a time of atheísm growth. Religion adapts itself, reivents itself, revitalizing the Word of God through new signs and new discourses. The young, digital natives, no longer accept traditional Faith models transmission. In an european context, Christianity is now a question of choice rather than a cultural inheritance. The change of paradigms and the conscience that the speech should be closer the youth, led the Church to adhere without reservation to the new digital media and interactive. Therefore, we watch to the evangelization of the digital generation via social networks such as MySpace, Facebook and Youtube. The portal Pope2You, created by the Vatican, has links to the main social networks – Youtube, Facebook and Twitter, and allows seeing Vatican videos and the Pope’s speeches. The Facebook application Pope2You provides papal messages and the H2Onews application for iPhone and iPod assure Church news all over the world. Ways to spread God’s message through a “technological media near the young” (Agência Eclesia). The portuguese church institutions, as in other countries, are aware of the power of these new mediators and hire advertising agencies to implement new communication strategies focused on the youth. These campaigns seems to validate the existence of a network society, where the Internet emerges as a missionary tool, in line with a digital generation that likes a “living space with a vibrant presence, human and collective” (Kerckhove, 1995). Key words: religion, marketing, advertising, internet, digital natives

Decodificando la publicidad en la esfera social

Advertising is often seen as a muse that deceives and urges us to consume through its magnetizing narratives. The purpose of this article is clear: to look at advertising as capable of being more than an ally of consumerist drift and recognize in it other attributes, even immaterial aspirations. It is assumed that advertising often translates dominant societal values in a persuasive version. Is it even considered a “star product” in a trading system of extreme complexity. But advertising can aim to be more in an era of ideological disbeliefs and loss of trust in institutions. Its persuasive nature, inherited from Aristotelian rhetoric, makes it capable of inducing values and catalysing conducts. How? By informing, educating, preventing, revealing and empowering citizens to better deal with social and environmental issues. Advertising is also the discourse that brings citizens closer to science, to health or to politics, as well as to other issues beyond consumption. This is an utopia for many of us: behavioural advertising, seeking for awareness and mobilization instead of sales. However, studies evidences that a significant diversity of organizations are developing social advertising campaigns – belonging to the third sector, to public institutions or to the private sector. We then face the dilemma: advertising is held hostage to its capitalist genesis. However, institutions seem to recognize its contribution for social awareness and even for social change. To know the phenomenon of advertising in the social sphere, either through mapping or through the systematization of its uses by the various sectors of society, is the purpose of this article. Also seek to contribute to a conceptual clarification of this complex area. Ultimately, we are interested in debating the role of advertising in society. It is about reconfiguring its social role, in particular regarding its contribution from a perspective of citizenship. More than the broadening of its sphere of action, which already seems to be in progress, it is a question of recognition of its capital, as a social change operator.La publicidad a menudo se ve como una musa que engaña y nos insta a consumir a través de su narrativas de magnetización. El propósito de este artículo es claro: Mirar la publicidad como capaz de ser más que un aliado de la deriva consumista y reconocer en ella otros atributos, incluso aspiraciones inmateriales. Es asumido que la publicidad a menudo traduce valores sociales dominantes en una versión persuasiva. Es incluso considerada un “producto estrella “en un sistema comercial de extrema complejidad. Pero la publicidad puede intentar estar más en una era de incredulidad ideológica y pérdida de confianza en las instituciones. Su naturaleza persuasiva, heredada de la retórica aristotélica, la hace capaz de inducir valores y catalizar conductas. ¿Cómo? Informando, educando, previniendo, revelando y empoderando a los ciudadanos para que manejen mejor las cuestiones sociales y cuestiones ambientales. La publicidad es también el discurso que acerca a los ciudadanos a la ciencia, a la salud o a la política, así como a otros temas más allá del consumo. Esta es una utopía para muchos de nosotros: la publicidad conductual, la búsqueda de conciencia y movilización en lugar de ventas. Sin embargo, los estudios demuestran que una diversidad significativa de organizaciones están desarrollando campañas de publicidad social, que pertenecen a sectores terciarios, a las instituciones públicas o al sector privado. Entonces enfrentamos el dilema: la publicidad es rehén de su génesis capitalista. Sin embargo, las instituciones parecen reconocer su contribución para la conciencia social e incluso para el cambio social. Conocer el fenómeno de la publicidad en el ámbito social, a través del mapeo y de la sistematización de sus usos por los diversos sectores de la sociedad, es el propósito de este artículo. También busca contribuir con una aclaración conceptual de esta área compleja. Finalmente, estamos interesados en el debate acerca del papel de la publicidad en la sociedad. Se trata de reconfigurar su rol social, en particular con respecto a su contribución desde la perspectiva de la ciudadanía. Más que la ampliación de su esfera de acción, que ya parece estar en progreso, es una cuestión de reconocimiento de su capital, como un operador de cambio social.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O fator comunicação na profissionalização do terceiro setor

Num contexto em que as grandes questões sociais que afetam comunidades e indivíduos persistem - como a fome, o desemprego, as alterações climáticas, as assimetrias sociais, as doenças, entre tantas outras - temos vindo a assistir a uma verdadeira profissionalização da sociedade civil, que se tem vindo a organizar de forma crescente, dando lugar às instituições do terceiro setor ou organizações sem fins lucrativos. Aos novos desafios que parecem inadiáveis para as instituições do terceiro setor, junta-se a apetência das empresas e do Estado pela chamada responsabilidade social e ambiental. No terceiro vértice deste triângulo encontra-se a necessidade de uns e outros comunicarem as suas estratégias. É aqui que parece existir, cada vez com mais nitidez, espaço para a comunicação estratégica e persuasiva, ao serviço de organizações sem fins lucrativos, ou de empresas ou organismos estatais, mas sempre com as causas sociais como tema de fundo

The third sector and the imperative of professionalization

The era of generous philanthropy has led to social responsibility strategies by companies, aligned with corporate values, but also guided by the confidence in the nonprofit organizations, concerning their capacity of effective social return. In order to capture the companies’ attention and survive in a strongly disputed market, the third sector organizations need to learn the best management practices and corporate accountability. Recently, we have been witnessing a growing professionalization in fundraising methods, in marketing and communication strategies, in partnerships with the public and private sectors and also in new financing models such as the Social Stock Exchange, a place to invest in social causes. Understanding and sharing this new funding system in the field of nonprofit organizations can be a clue of new sustainability models for social institutions where social investors and social profit become part of the vocabulary

Social change: bringing allies to the field. An interdisciplinary model

This chapter discusses the proposition that development programmes may not place sufficient value on the use of strategic communication, and instead focus on information and awareness campaigns that offer no guarantee of effective change. The chapter seeks to emphasise the importance of strategic communication when applied to behavioural change and effective social change. To this end, certain fundamental concepts will be revisited, such as communication for development and social change and its capacity to embed strategic thinking. Furthermore, we will try to understand the essentials of participatory communication, social marketing, and behavioural sciences, as disciplines to be convened in communication strategies for social change. Assuming that any act of communication of development programmes aims to influence attitudes and behaviours that will foster better living conditions for communities or a more sustainable future, communication should be viewed less as an isolated task and more as a tool to promote effective change. It is not sufficient to launch information campaigns or create awareness about a specific topic. It is necessary to identify what kind of reaction is intended and set corresponding behavioural objectives. Setting concrete, delimited, and measurable objectives is one of the mandatory variables of strategic communication planning in many fields and must underpin social change strategies. Strategic communication is also characterised by the attention given to situation analysis, making it possible to obtain objective data and an overview of the context, in order to support strategic decisions. This is a traditional practice in activities that are pursued by private organisations and should always remain top of mind in contexts of societal development. Strategic communication must also increase interdisciplinarity, as has been pointed out by academic experts. Revisiting the associated arguments inspires us to create a strategic communication matrix for social change, based on a cross-disciplinary perspective. As an ultimate goal, this chapter defends the transposition, with the necessary adaptations, of consolidated practices in other field, to the arena of social change. On this basis, a working model will be proposed that articulates the contributions of the various aforementioned disciplines to be adopted, for instance, in the communication strategies of sustainable development goals.This work is supported by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UIDB/00736/2020

Publicidade de carácter social: graus de pureza

Novos campos de actuação desafiam a publicidade. Às tradicionais funções decorrentes das sociedades industrializadas, expressas na publicidade comercial, junta-se, mais recentemente, a tarefa de agir em prol da mudança social, interpelando o indíviduo enquanto cidadão. Estamos no domínio da chamada publicidade de carácter social. Uma pesquisa levada a cabo no âmbito de um projecto de investigação (Balonas, 2007) procurou caracterizar este tipo de publicidade em Portugal e revelou existirem diferenças significativas, ao nível dos derradeiros propósitos. Verificaram-se situações em que as empresas estão manifestamente implicadas, quanto à fusão dos objectivos sociais e comerciais, mas também casos em que as campanhas têm como fim a causa em si mesmo (sendo promovidas sobretudo por organismos não governamentais ou organismos ligados ao Estado). No primeiro caso, em que se verifica apelo a uma causa e apelo a um produto ou marca, estamos perante campanhas de publicidade no quadro da responsabilidade social das empresas. No caso de campanhas onde só se faz referência à situação social, estamos perante publicidade a favor de causas sociais. São situações em que a intenção de lucro ou do retorno não é visível e, geralmente, são desenvolvidas numa atmosfera de boa vontade “contagiante” na medida em que cada interveniente chamado para o processo de criação, produção e difusão, oferece o seu contributo. Ou seja, são campanhas pro bono. Esta é, no nosso ponto de vista, a forma mais pura de agir na área social, quando falamos de publicidade de carácter social, num contexto de cidadania. E a que gera mais questões paradoxais

The awakening of advertising for citizenship

Comummente entendida como ferramenta de apologia ao consumo e, muitas vezes, num sentido pejorativo, a publicidade está historicamente ligada à área da economia. Contudo, sempre foi muito mais do que um instrumento de vendas. O seu discurso fascina, envolve, emociona. É socialmente integrador. Compreender esta força persuasiva é uma premissa fundamental para se entender o alargamento da esfera da publicidade, do consumo para a intervenção na esfera social, quer numa perspectiva de responsabilidade social das empresas, quer numa perspectiva de cidadania, em muitos casos, sem intuitos comerciais. Com efeito, a publicidade também é, e cada vez mais, um meio de informação e sensibilização para problemas que afectam os cidadãos e a sociedade, desde as questões ambientais (escassez de água, camada do ozono, espécies em vias de extinção, poluição, separação de lixos) às questões sociais (violência doméstica, racismo, fome, abandono, maus tratos, vítimas de catástrofes ou de conflitos). É um facto: a publicidade tem vindo a ser resgatada para fins sociais. Compreender a sua efectiva contribuição passa por abordar outro tipo de problemáticas, desde logo, a relação entre o cidadão e a publicidade. Mas também a relação entre os publicitários e o conceito de cidadão. Ou ainda a credibilidade da publicidade enquanto discurso persuasivo que pode ir para além da valorização do consumo. Ou, por fim, e mais paradoxal ainda, a publicidade sem fins lucrativos, inserida num sistema em que a causa social é um fim em sim mesmo, por contraponto à publicidade ao serviço da responsabilidade social empresarial, igualmente válida. São vários os ângulos a debater em torno deste novo atributo da publicidade. O presente artigo procura contribuir para um debate que vai muito para além da comunicação, tocando nos valores e tendências das sociedades, na actualidade

Para uma reconfiguração da publicidade na sociedade

Olhemos para a publicidade como um meio de organizar o social. Temas como a sustentabilidade e a responsabilidade social, na ordem do dia, entram nesta equação, desafiando-nos a pensar no papel da comunicação e da publicidade no processo de transformação das mentalidades. O desafio pressupõe um outro: a urgência da reconfiguração do papel da publicidade na sociedade, reconhecendo-lhe, em definitivo, novas funções. Em concreto, propomos olhar a publicidade como meio de exercer cidadania e de promover a sustentabilidade ambiental e social. Valorizar o seu potencial de persuasão e criatividade a favor da mudança social. Porém, esta não é tarefa de constatação óbvia. Historicamente, a publicidade tem carregado um fardo pejorativo, sendo apontada como manipuladora e causadora do desejo de consumo, o que nos parece uma menorização do discernimento do cidadão. Lipovetsky considera mesmo ser esta uma ideia falsa. “A publicidade não consegue que se deseje o indesejável” (2000: 7). Confrontar o instituído, perspetivando o contributo da comunicação na promoção e consolidação de estratégias sustentáveis é a presente proposta

Public Relations strategies in Social Media: Campaigning for social change in the education sector

In this paper we will discuss the use of social media when campaigning for social change in the education sector, thought the analysis of the PR strategy in use: the collection of real testimonials and the development of storytelling, as contents that enhance affinity and engagement towards social change. In order to do this analysis, we developed two case studies that discuss the social campaigns of two NGOs in the educational sector, developed via social media: «#LeonorDejaLaEscuela» by Fundación Secretariado Gitano in Spain, from 2015, and «#Amigo-Bagos-Douro» by Bagos de Ouro in Portugal, from 2017. The first one was implemented mainly on Twitter, one of the most well-known social network in use today, and the other one used WhatsApp, the most popular mobile messenger, as means for campaigning to broaden education access. This study looked to answer the following research question: what is the role of social media in nonprofit organizations PR strategies? This equation expressed two scientific objectives: (1st) to deepen the knowledge on the ability of social media to produce communicative interaction; and (2sd) to (re)frame Public Relations within communication for development strategies. The analysis demonstrates that social media have greatly contributed to the way Public Relations strategies within the third sector are conducted. Social media can have a key role in nonprofit communication: to lobby for social causes, to create alliances, to raised money, to mobilized volunteers, to engaged traditional media and community relations, or to advocated for policy reform.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech