Communications Strategy & Planning
Communications isn’t an afterthought in your business plan, it is integral to how your organization operates. Everything you do in the public eye should come from a strategy that reflects your goals and objectives – whether it’s an integrated consultation strategy, a media campaign, or even a tweet.
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).
Writing & Editing
We are experts with words, and sticklers for plain language writing. We can help with all your writing needs, including social media posts, blogs, media materials, website copy, articles, newsletters, annual reports, speeches, technical reports and more.
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.
Media Relations
You know media 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. Media pitching is an art, and requires a lot more than just sending out a news release.
We can help plan and execute your media relations campaigns, including compiling targeted media lists, (etc as is currently), 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.
Spokesperson Media Training
Media training enables a good speaker to become more media savvy, to better understand how to convey key messages in any media interview, and how to present yourself to best represent your organization. Media training teaches how to speak in quotable answers, how to keep the interview on your terms, and what you need to know before a reporter calls.
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.
Brand Journalism
As trusted journalists become fewer in number, many organizations are turning to ‘brand journalism’, where you become the publisher of news about your group, your industry, and your trends. Their news site becomes the primary way you tell all your stories, not just the good news ones. As the publisher of your news, you select what to publish with a mindset like that of a news editor. You’ll look for visual aspects, people profiles, video, interesting facts and lists, and will write it all in journalistic style, but with your brand front and centre.
With brand journalism, you use storytelling to connect with your audiences through emotion, make an impression with empathy, and share information that can be processed and remembered. Your brand journalism site is more than just a blog – it is a news source, and a mindset for how you tell stories and communicate. An overall strategy will help drive audiences to your news site to read, share and comment, increasing engagement with your stories and your brand. Ask how we can help you adopt brand journalism and deliver it meaningfully.
Issues Management
Being prepared is the best way to manage any problems or crises. In our 24/7 era of engagement, being ready to deal with issues or crises before they explode is a critical feature of communications and reputation 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.
Speech Writing
Why hire a speechwriter? If you have a speech or a presentation to give, you know the topic requires research, and you know you need to deliver certain messages while capturing the attention of your audience, you need a speechwriter. A good speechwriter takes all those worries away from you.
What makes a good speechwriter? You need a talented writer and researcher to craft your words, but you need 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. A good speechwriter is an intelligent, well-read person able to 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.
Why is Carla Shore a good speechwriter? Carla has a gift for crafting words into compelling stories, no matter what the subject. She is an experienced speechwriter, with more than 20 years experience drafting speeches for politicians, bureaucrats, executives, and her personal favourite, a nervous groom. To her, 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
Our connected world offers exciting means of creating community and engaging with your target audiences. We can help you understand the possibilities and work with you to create a community where your audiences want to join in. The public also wants to be involved in decision-making around the issues that are important to them, and your organization’s social license can sometimes depend on engaging with those people. We can help you create an effective program for stakeholder and community relations, employee engagement, consultation, and First Nations engagement, using in-person meetings or discussions, surveys, social media or other engagement tools.
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
I continue to be impressed with the way Carla understands how communications fits in to our organization, and the ways she helps us achieve our goals using a variety of communications techniques. Her leadership skills in working with other members of our team are also a big asset to our organization.
Carla’s communications background coupled with her writing skills proved to be an invaluable asset as the VSB worked through several very critical issues directly impacting the school district. Carla’s ability to manage the complexity of the VSB communications demonstrates a proven skill set.
Carla Shore has really helped us focus our thinking on communications. Her strategic thinking and advice have guided us towards more and better communications and media coverage, and her passion about our business really shows.
We were so impressed with the organization, writing and advice we got to promote BC Buy Local Week. Carla and her team ensured our news conference went smoothly, and the media coverage of the week was a huge success.
Carla did an outstanding job managing communications for the commission in a difficult role. I benefited from her issues management and skills at media relations, as well as her media training as we prepared for our final news conference. She brought a valued communications viewpoint to all the commission’s activities, including pubic events, evidentiary hearings, legal issues and the release of our final report. She also served as the commission’s bilingual spokesperson and her professionalism in this role was evident.
I was very impressed by how quickly Carla brought herself up to speed on my business and was able to articulate in written material recommendations for my audience. She was also on time and on budget. What more can anyone ask for!
Carla Shore put together our BC launch event and it was incredibly successful. Every detail was taken care of in a professional manner, and she and her team did a super job making the event run smoothly. She also handled speech writing and media relations for the event, and we were thrilled with all the resulting media coverage. I look forward to another opportunity to work with Carla again.
Wonderful job, Carla. Thank heavens we had you on this project. You are more than an asset.
Carla’s ability to manage issues and balance the interests of multiple parties is impressive as is her absolute commitment to detail. We have great confidence in her ability to generate results.
Some of Our Clients
Work With C-Shore Communications Inc
Ask us how we can help you to develop an effective communications program.