Communications Strategy & Planning
We work with you to understand your organization’s communications needs, and develop a plan with you to guide your tactics. We follow the RACE framework for communications planning: Research (review current materials, benchmark/review best practices from competitors, related organizations, etc., media scan to see what others are saying about the issues), Analysis (identification of target audiences, key messages, communications goal and measurable objectives), Communications (tactics, priorities, timelines, budget) and Evaluation (a means to ensure we do as we said we would).
Communications Audits
A communications audit is an external review that assess how effectively your messages are being heard and understood by your target audiences. An audit reviews how well an organization communicates internally and externally, evaluates tools used to send and receive messages to and from interested parties, assesses the perceptions from interested parties (internal and external), engages interested parties and demonstrates inclusion in the process and guides future communications efforts in a strategic way.
We have extensive experience conducting communications audits for public and private organizations. We know what we’re doing and have a proven record of providing expert evaluation of your current communications methods, resources and channels to determine how well they are meeting your organization’s needs. Doing regular communications audits is a best practice in communications, and provides opportunities to ensure that your team, along with your additional resources, can continue to meet your needs into the future.
Writing & Editing
We are also strong editors, with an eye to detail for grammar, style, and proper punctuation. We have edited short articles and 1000+ page reports, and can even help match French copy to English.
Spokesperson Media Training
Spokesperson/media training enables a good speaker to become more confident, media savvy, to better understand how to convey key messages and how to present yourself to best represent your organization. This training teaches how to speak in quotable answers, how to keep the interview on your terms, and what you need to know before you get a call to speak.
We can train your spokespeople in one-on-one or group sessions, including key message development, feedback on image, style, and practice interviews, as well as pre- and post-interview follow up.
Education in Communications and Presentation Skills
Do your staff need guidance on writing concise and effective materials? We can teach them about Plain Languange writing and how to write for your audience to inspire action. We can help them learn about key message development, what makes an effective slide deck, how to be a confident public speaker and how to deliver a concise and persuasive presentation. We can custome create a participatory workshop for your organziation that will embolden your staff to be confident writers and to create and present effective presentations with conviction and clarity.
Facilitation
We bring our educational and communications expertise when facilitating discussions, market soundings, focus groups and public engagement sessions. We know how to drive discussion in an organized way, to make participants feel safe and that their input is valued. We can help design a session or step in to facilitate when you know it’s important to have a smoothly run discussion.
Issues Management
We can help you understand some of the key issues confronting your organization, how they could impact your operations and affect your business, your public relations or marketing programs, and how to get in front of issues before they get ahead of you. Our experience in policy, government, high profile stories, non-profit and corporate crises has given us the expertise to help you avoid crises, or negotiate them when they hit.
Media/Influencer Relations
You know media/influencers can be a strong, credible force for helping tell your stories to your audiences. We can help you create effective, innovative campaigns that use what’s newsworthy about your organization or project to get the attention of the right editors, writers and bloggers. Pitching is an art, and requires a lot more than just sending out a news release.
We can help plan and execute your campaigns, including compiling targeted media/influencer lists, writing media materials, seeking out op-ed and other editorial opportunities, building up your spokespeople as experts in their fields, coordinating media tours, and of course, pitching your story.
Speech Writing
If you have a big speech to make, you need a talented writer and researcher to craft your words, someone who is a good storyteller. A good speechwriter can put themselves into the head of the speaker, even someone they’ve never met, and bring the words into the speaker’s voice. We can help draw in sources and understand policies to bring together a presentation that engages the audience and delivers the right messages so they are not just heard, but understood.
We bring a talent for crafting words into compelling stories, no matter what the subject. To us, words were meant to be heard, even in the head of the reader, and speeches are storytelling opportunities, whether the story is about a new policy, new product or a romance.
Community Building, Public Engagement & Corporate Social Responsibility
You also know that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is about more than just giving to charity. It’s about engaging employees, participating in the fabric of your community, and tying your company to the good things that flow to and from the people you help. Doing corporate social responsibility well can bring growth and enhancement to your operations and your organization. We can help you understand how to fit a sustainable CSR strategy into your operations, and can identify partners or projects to help you achieve your CSR goals.
What Our Customers Are Saying
Some of Our Clients
