Public Sector Communication and Strategic Communication Campaigns

Today's information society requires that public sector organizations move beyond their role as objective information providers and adopt a strategic approach to communication. This chapter examines strategic communication as the fundamental process through which public sector actors influence public opinion, and it examines the strategic communication campaign as the method for producing societal change. The context in which strategic communication campaigns occur is explored, and a review of theoretical perspectives relevant to the study of campaigns is provided. In addition, the aspects of the communication process important to public sector communication are presented and challenges to the enactment of public sector communication campaigns are discussed. Finally, areas for future research are proposed.