Page 21 Q Drop COIN:
fluence activities (actions and messages) can be proactive or reactive. Being proactive gives a significant influence advantage, since the first impression or report of an event that reaches a population will often receive the widest expo-sure and will subsequently be most resistant to alternative accounts. The insur-gents that are most effective in this field design whole operations to support their influence themes. Successful COIN requires an approach to influence which is similarly proactive, entrepreneurial and prolific in ‘selling’ messages.