Power Station

Think about this: messaging campaigns about complex issues, from climate change to drug pricing, have 280 characters in a tweet (up from 140) and less then 20 seconds of audio, to inform and persuade. Celinda Lake, renowned pollster and political strategist, helps labor unions, nonprofit advocates and political hopefuls to craft messaging based on research gained from focus groups, surveys and message testing. In a conversation with Power Station, Celinda says that Lake Research Partners approaches its work with two core values, the importance of government and the imperative of inclusivity, in advancing progressive social change. When issues are reframed based on these values and information gained from testing, the resulting messages change how issues, organizations and politicians are perceived. It turns out that empathy, not fear, motivates people to respond with an open mind. And because we are all operating in the context of a global pandemic, Celinda raises the opportunities and risks of advocacy there