Clinton Foundation chief communications & marketing officer Craig Minassian talks about how non-profit organizations can connect with audiences in this week’s “PR’s Top Pros Talk” with D S Simon Media’s Doug Simon.

Minassian says that successful communications in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and the increasing importance of social justice issues need to be additive, supportive and collaborative.

To be additive, he says, an organization’s communications need to make a unique contribution to the discussion of the issues it works on. Being supportive extends past the message itself to encompass a concern for an organization’s beneficiaries, partners, staff and all the other people affected by its work. And effective collaboration requires really listening to your partners to gain an understanding of all sides of an issue.

Minassian also says that organizations need to keep their messaging focused on their work and mission—and not on themselves. “You have to generate understanding of your work,” he says, “but I think you have to do it in a way that doesn’t feel self-promotional and not cognizant of the conversation that’s happening.”

Some of the Clinton Foundation’s current initiatives—from a program addressing gaps in early childhood education to the continuing work of the Clinton Presidential Center and Library—are also part of Minassian and Simon’s talk.

All of the interviews in the “PR's Top Pros Talk” series can be seen here.

Interested in taking part? Contact Doug Simon at [email protected]

D S Simon Media helps clients get their stories on television through satellite media tours and by producing and distributing content to the media. The company also produces live social media events.