Communications planning
Establishing clarity of purpose
An army marches on its stomach. That needs advance planning. Similarly, communications and marketing work best when the basics are in place.
Those basics might be simple to set up. Or doing so may be an exercise in itself.
The most effective campaigns begin with a clear understanding of the issues, the audiences to reach, and how best to move forward.
We get under the skin of the target audience and go deeper. We look at how to encourage a certain behaviour and normalising it. We know when to appeal to hearts and when to minds.
We do all of this with a laser focus on the needs of the business, while also considering vital questions around inequality, conflict, and sustainability.
Bringing this all together starts with brilliant questions, and the gravitas to bring people together behind the answers.
Integrated campaigning
No plan survives first contact
“Everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth” was what champion boxer Mike Tyson thought of the suggestion that his opponent would outthink him.
In other words, no matter how good the plan, it counts for nothing if it’s not practical, able to be put into practice and, crucially, adaptable along the way.
Too many communications plans look great on paper but fall apart as campaigns in practice.
They need to be strategically strong and tactically sound. The best campaigns must be coordinated across communications channels and adapted for different audiences.
One of the advantages of working with experienced consultants like us is that we’ve been through it time and again. We know what works and we know what doesn’t.
We get to quicker answers, better results and are not flapped when circumstances demand adaption.
Within our team we can deliver across most disciplines to most audiences, and we have a wealth of experience working with agencies that cover the areas we don’t.
As the Chinese general Sun Tsu said, “strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat”.
Fourteen Forty Communications 