Corporate Communications Agency

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY WORKSHOPS

Communicating without a strategy and messaging is like setting out on foot, without a map, wearing a blindfold to find someone with no name or address. Likely to be slightly all over the place.

You might get lucky, bump into someone useful on the road and win them over with your charismatic chat.  They might even tell a few other people how great you are, but unless you want to become the company’s wandering bard, you’ll need to get a plan together.

It’s also worth stretching the analogy to acknowledge how busy and noisy the routes are out there. If you want to make a lasting impression through all that hustle and distraction, you’re going to need to speak clearly and make sure to say something that’ll get noticed.

Our communications strategy workshop is designed to help you get off to a great start by answering several important questions:

• What precisely are we saying and why should anyone believe us?

• What is the context into which we are communicating our message?

• Who else is in this space and how are they showing up? What are they saying?

• How differentiated and memorable is our positioning? Does it need more focus?

• Which audiences matter most and do they need slightly different things?

• Which channels are best to reach those audiences?

• Are there any key moments we need to take into consideration in our comms planning such as a launch or event?

The workshop process takes around 3 days from start to finish but you and your team only need to be in the room for half a day. The outputs will be a comms strategy on a page, a key message house and a blueprint from which to develop a rollout and activation plan.

This workshop is suited for a group of up to 6 people and can be delivered in person or remotely.

MESSAGE DEVELOPMENT & DELIVERY

​People typically recall two or three things when they consume media in all of its forms, written, audio or visual.  That’s why it’s a really good idea to be clear about the messages you want to convey and develop good stories, anecdotes and evidence that help them land well and stick.

We have a tried and tested methodology to help discern which are your hardest working or ‘key’ messages that should always be included every time you communicate. We will help you figure out who are your best spokespeople (without any politics or ego getting in the way) and we rehearse and hone their ability to get the message across in an engaging and entertaining way. There’s nothing worse than a spokesperson talking explicitly about their message, it needs to be delivered as part of an attractive overall package, not hammered home without subtlety or it won’t land as intended.

PRESS OFFICE SERVICES

Working with media can be a time consuming and time critical activity, which is why many organisations outsource press office services.  We offer a comprehensive service that covers everything from press release creation and distribution to media monitoring and handling in-bound media requests. Working effectively with media to increase coverage means taking the time to build relationships and thinking creatively about news and feature angles to increase traction. Where news is in short supply, we develop campaigns typically using research or case studies to create a focus. We also develop thought leadership and opinion pieces and handle all of the copy drafting and development.

For our multi-national clients, we often run a  strategic media hub, taking the lead on campaign and asset development for other agencies to localise and deliver materials locally, or we can serve as a UK office working into another lead agency or client department.

CRISIS PREPAREDNESS

Our team has many years of experience handling all kinds of crises from terrorist threats to shortseller attacks, from workplace fatalities to preparing responses to publication of critical NGO reports.

Our expertise extends to working in a variety of cultures and regions handling situations that attract local to global news. We can also help with crisis preparedness as part of a broader reputation risk strategy that will identify potential threats and develop systems and processes in response.

SPOKESPERSON MEDIA & PRESENTATION TRAINING

All too often we see high profile speaking and presentation opportunities squandered when spokespeople are either not very good at delivering their content or the content itself fails to impress. On the flip side, a strong presentation can take a company from obscurity to talking point. Paid keynote opportunities demand even more consideration to generate the right return on the investment, but even these are no guarantee of quality. As well as securing speaking opportunities, we can help put presenters through their paces or recommend coaches as needed to make the most of these platforms.

For media interviews, we offer media training that builds confidence and skills to be able to navigate even the toughest of reporters. An organisation that has media ready subject matter experts who can jump on the news agenda to provide comment has a major advantage over its rivals. Beyond confidence and charisma, it’s important to be able to stay on message to make the most of each opportunity for the business.

ISSUES MANAGEMENT

There are two sides to every story – or so the old adage goes. When it comes to reputation, businesses often need to set out their position on a variety of related issues. We are adept at developing assets and approaches to promote positive issues or help mitigate reputational risks. Issues that we have helped clients address by clearly setting out their policies and values include modern slavery, indigenous land rights and use, empowerment of female workers, diversity and inclusion and the war in Ukraine.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS & EMPLOYER BRAND

What do the people inside your organisation think about it as a place to work? How do they view and experience the culture? Are they proud, longsuffering or just indifferent? Would they recommend working there to someone else?  Workforce sentiment post COVID is more widely understood as a competitive differentiator.  Happy people are more productive; inclusive cultures more innovative; this attracts more talent and churn is lower (as are associated recruitment costs).

While communications alone aren’t the answer to a happy workplace, it has an intrinsic part to play.  There are particular moments when you may want to bring us in to support, during an acquisition, a merger or a restructure for example, when there is a new leader who wants to shift the internal culture or promote equality, diversity and inclusion, or to celebrate a B Corp certification journey or other key milestone achievement.  Our team is hugely experienced in delivering campaigns at the company and the sector level, working in one country or globally.

Or we can focus in on specific tactics such as stakeholder workplace reports, internal podcasts, elearning modules or user generated content for internal social channels.  

If you are interested in working with a corporate communications agency based in the UK operating globally, please get in touch with us hello@thewilful.com.