Strategic Communications
New York - Los Angeles - San Francisco
Our
Approach
to
Communications
- Communications must produce
business results:
Communications programs are tools, not goals. Communication is not an end in itself. Great headlines mean nothing if they do not help achieve business objectives. - Strategies
that work don’t come off the shelf:
No two situations are ever quite the same; one size does not fit all. Specific communications plans, proposals, and solutions must be crafted based on substantial firsthand knowledge of individual situations. - A small group
shapes perceptions:
Twenty, perhaps thirty, opinion leaders establish the prevailing public attitudes on almost any topic. Identifying these individuals is central to the preparation of any communications program; reaching them early is central to its execution. - Research works:
People deeply involved in a situation don’t always see it clearly. And the conventional wisdom is as often wrong as right. Fresh, dispassionate research into the needs and attitudes of target audiences is often critical to effective planning. - Short and simple is what's
remembered:
People tend to recall, and act on, only three sentences’ worth of content. Reducing complex issues to simple themes isn’t easy. But it can be done. And it works. - The best way
to persuade is still one-on-one, face-to-face:
Getting your message out in the mass media is often useful and sometimes necessary. But people are most responsive to direct personal contact. Highly personalized communication may not be cost-efficient. But it is effective. - Audiences are interconnected:
Investors. Employees. Customers. Competitors. Regulators. Communities. Media. What happens with any one usually affects the others. Good communications programs address the needs of all affected constituencies. - Taking the initiative
is normally the winning strategy:
People are most likely to believe the first account they hear about any situation. When there are differing positions, the first participant to act or speak has the advantage in credibility and in setting the terms of the debate that follows.