Growing? Going public? Downsizing? Planning a major move, or an expansion in a community that’s not really sure it wants you there? If you’ve got major issues to announce – and serious expectations to manage – then you need skilled help.We’ve got extensive experience managing campaigns focusing on complex community relations challenges. and non-candidate political challenges. We have experience
Reputation Strategies offers strategic communications counsel and execution of communications plans. We help you identify – and communicate with – every stakeholder. We can script and produce the video for your staff, help you write and edit the vanity publication, create the ad, draft the letter – even prep your team for public meetings and interviews.
About our process:
Every case we handle is different, presenting its own demands. We start by gaining a thorough understanding of the client and the communities that it impacts. In some cases, we recommend market/public opinion polling as a starting point (and sometimes recommend subsequent polling to evaluate how the campaign is impacting local opinion).
Once up to speed with the issues faced by the client, we create a client brief that spells out recommended strategy (messaging) and tactics (the channels used to deliver that messaging), along with recommended timelines for specific activities and events. In most campaigns of this sort, there are occasions in which what we call Opportunity Tactical Messaging can be used. These allow clients to react quickly if an unexpected event – positive or negative – appears. Opportunity Tactical Messaging is bundled into these client relationships.
In some cases, there’s an event deadline – such as a referendum, or the approval of permits. In other cases, things are more open-ended.
In our experience, few such campaigns are necessary because of a single issue or situational challenge. We usually find that these campaigns are necessary either because of sudden changes in the community landscape, or because the client organization has taken its community for granted for too long, and needs the campaign to sway local opinion back in its favor.
Having met the initial target, we go one of two ways. If the client has the in-house capability to keep a regular flow of information going to stakeholders, we create a closing brief recommending strategies and tactics going forward. Alternatively, we offer retained services agreements to manage these efforts for clients going forward.