Clear and consistent communications — both inside and outside an organization — are critical to business success. Developing and adhering to an integrated communication strategy keeps key stakeholders engaged, aligned, and committed to driving results. A strategic, multi-channel approach shares the message, maximizes awareness and engagement opportunities, mitigates risk, bolsters reputation, and pushes the business closer to its goals.
We offer comprehensive audits of existing communications, examining channels, messaging, tactics, and results. This informs our recommended strategy and roll-out plan, which includes key messaging, necessary functions and capabilities, goal alignment (around brand rehabilitation, revenue drives, or new locations and products), a blueprint for infrastructure, staffing, messaging, and editorial calendars, and customized dashboards and other digital tools to measure results.
Communications Function
Communications is a demanding discipline that requires strong team members to serve as singular points of contact and maintain efficient and effective messaging both inside and outside the organization. We evaluate the current strategy and team, if in place, examining tactics and results and performing SWOT analysis. Our insights and recommendations help grow or restructure the communications function to best meet the company’s needs, supporting roll out and execution of the new or revitalized communications strategy.
If no team is in place, we will work with senior leadership to find the most efficient and impactful allocation of resources based on current staff or recruitment plans with a focus on core capabilities. In the interim, we provide support across all communications functions as embedded or remote staff.
Culture Manifesto
Every company stands for something, and that principle becomes the connective tissue between the C-suite and the staff.
Mission, vision, and values need to be clearly articulated and codified so that internal stakeholders can embrace and bring to life the company and the brand. We help clarify an organization’s culture, mission, vision, and values, developing a plan to communicate and sustain these critical components and weave them throughout day-to-day operations. The culture manifesto we cowrite with clients serves as the “North Star” — the guiding light to look to when determining strategy, policy, messaging, staff, and structure.
C-suite Thought Leadership
A compelling leadership narrative canenhance a company’sreputation,attract customers,investors, and media, and helpmitigate risk.Weconductcomprehensive auditsof existing leadership communications, including messaging,channels, andimpact,then recommendnewstrategyalignment, sustainablemulti-channel editorialcalendars,speaking engagements, anddashboards.
Public and Media Relations
Public relations is a vital and effective tool for communicating with external audiences. Using third party traditional and digital press to showcase or endorse an organization and its impact on an industry, trend, or community can drive greater, more targeted outreach and impact than paid TV spots, advertorials, or billboards. We begin with an extensive audit of press coverage to date before creating a proactive media relations strategy aligned with the company’s priorities. We also offer a media training program for current and potential company spokespeople.
Internal Communications
Often overlooked but equally critical, regular and transparent communication is essential to engaging staff, vendors, and investors in a company’s mission. Strong internal messaging increases retention and leverages internal stakeholders as advocates for the brand. Following an in-depth study of existing strategy and focus groups with select stakeholders, we provide clients with sustainable multi-channel editorial calendars, get-it-at-a-glance dashboards, andwriting and editing support.
Crisis Management
Crisis management is the only strategy built with the hope to never use. Evaluating areas vulnerable to crisis, such as compromised product or staff misconduct, we create comprehensive and tailor-made crisis management blueprints that ensure swift alignment across the organization, rapid and succinct responses to internal and external inquiries, and clear next steps on how to survive the storm. Our approach helps mitigate the impact inside and outside the company while opening a clear line of sight for action and recovery.
Change Management
For companies undertaking mergers and acquisitions, going from private to public, or pivoting priorities in any significant way, change management is fundamental to maintaining order and engagement among internal stakeholders and achieving the desired outcomes. We work with senior leaders to develop a crisp narrative aligned with their company’s vision and devise strategy for clearly communicating with internal and external groups.
Content Strategy
Every company has a story to tell, one that can — and should — draw in customers, reporters, investors, and influencers to help bolster the brand, revenue, and overall enterprise value. Working together with C-suite leadership, we help articulate the company’s story and develop a multi-channel strategy to share it with key audiences to achieve measurable results.
Social Media
Communicating about a brand on social media is imperative— expected, in fact. And, when managed properly, social media can amplify a message, drive sales, build customer loyalty and advocacy, and helpmitigate crisis. After a thorough discovery session, we evaluate the current process and approach, analyze the competitive set, refine target audience, define ideal content generation process, recommend procedures for data collection, efficiency, and engagement, and present a blueprint for a social media publishing.