In the mood for a tasty lesson on doing #advocacy right? Check out the Boston Globe’s “Food” section’s inspired campaign, #ProjectTakeout. https://bit.ly/3M9egTd
#Project Takeout’s goal is to spur readers’ support for local independent restaurants during this second crushing pandemic winter. My favorite part is the feature “Three Places We Supported This Week.” https://bit.ly/3Hst1x5 Each weekly segment features three or four informal restaurant reviews by Globe staff.
Why is this great advocacy?
It’s a compelling issue. And the Globe has educated its audience.
The Globe has diligently educated readers on the plight of local restaurants for two years. Plus we all need to eat.
Segments are brief and feature one restaurant per writer.
Each writer gets about 500 words to work with. And although writers might wish to promote several restaurant favorites, each writer’s segment discusses just one.
Sentiments are authentic.
The views are heart-felt. The authors just describe in lovely detail what they liked and did not like about the dishes they tried.
These Globe writers’ “day jobs” are reporting on business. Or art. Or corruption on Beacon Hill. In a world of hyper-specialization, you can hear the fun and camaraderie in this assignment.
It makes an emotional connection.
Am I driving out to the Pioneer Valley for pie? Or down to Plymouth for pizza? Um, no. Truth be told, I don’t do much takeout.
But I love hearing how one writer’s kid spilled her pumpkin soup on the restaurant table and mopped it up with crunchy bread. Or how another writer found a hidden local restaurant down a side-alley he’d passed by for years without a thought.
Each week I read every word.
Pass around the dumplings and let’s make our advocacy paper as tasty as this.
