Make plans now to attend the 2023 Annual Meeting
in San Diego, California – August 13-16, 2023.

The planning task force is already working on programming that you asked for, with lots of time for networking with your state association and retailer colleagues.

NEW for 2023!
Up to three members of your association will receive complimentary registration. (Previously, just one member of the SRA was complimentary.)  We want to encourage you to bring more members of your team.

 

Telling the Retail Story

Changing the Narrative and Outcomes

 

The art of messaging has changed over the years with the growth of social media, influencers and a 24-hour news cycle.  Today messaging is less about advocating and more about a race for “clickbait” – trying to grab the headlines, even if only for a few moments, to move public opinion.  Activists have cornered the market on this practice and many times the private sector, including retail, is caught playing defense rather than offense – even when the retail story can be more relatable.

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How do retail associations transition from chasing the narrative to controlling the narrative?  What strategies are effective in getting the retail story above the noise – whether it is talking about how retail retains employees, retail’s commitment to environmental responsibility, how retail values our relationship with customers and their privacy? In a world that is driven by 30 second sound bites, how can retail associations be successful and turn the tables in getting their story and their message heard by policy makers?

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Many organizations struggle with communicating policy positions to the public, media, policymakers and even their own advocates and supporters. Storytelling is an important tool for distilling complex issues and relating them back to a person’s interests, values or experience. Professionals in advocacy and public affairs use stories to humanize priority issues to improve the success of their lobbying or advocacy campaigns and boost their organization’s reputation.

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Learn best practices on affecting the policy debate through storytelling. Understand how to inspire your team and grassroots advocates to be successful storytellers. Take a fresh look at identifying authentic stories that relate to the policy issues you are advocating on.  Understand how to distill your policy priorities down to the most important – and impactful – elements, through storytelling.

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This innovative approach to grassroots advocacy takes time but can be highly effective in ensuring successful deliverables on your policy agenda.  The 2023 CSRA Annual Meeting will give SRA teams concrete ideas and strategies on enhancing the storytelling acumen and provide a new skill set to enhance legislative and regulatory outcomes resulting in being more effective and impactful for your membership.