3 Use cases for adopting strategic communications

Recent additions to the strategic communications repertoire from a functional and outcome perspective has provided the discipline with renewed interest from management in helping brands navigate. We share 3 cases and how strategic communications would support.

It is somewhat inevitable that most new outreach and awareness tools, especially in the current cycle of digital, VR and AR, find their way into the scope and deployment of either the marketing or the PR function. This is a somewhat easy delegation to get teams dealing with brand, perception and reputation to find ways to incorporate them into operations.

As we continue to find new means of connecting with audiences, profiling and segmenting them, brands will find that it might be simpler (and more effective) to consider an integrated approach crossing disciplines and functions instead of sending the tool straight to execution.

Strategic communications is about creating and executing against a master plan. This involves coordinating the various channels of communications an organisation has to support its outreach to decision makers and stakeholders and influence, promote or defend against outcomes.

Instead of looking at how a tool can help based on what the tool’s current use pattern is, a strategic communications team would look at crossing fields such as branding, public relations, marketing and policy to think of ways the tool can help build, protect and enhance the value of your brand and reputation.

We consider 3 use cases for brands to consider using strategic communications.

SMEs and start-ups building brand and positioning and launching products

Some SMEs are looking at ensuring they remain relevant to their customer base during recovery, and usually do so by continuing to introduce new features to existing products or run sales activities. Some are ‘trapped’ by production timelines to ship product, and are ‘obligated’ especially if they tapped on venture capital to fund their earlier growth. Many question whether it is appropriate to launch new products during the recovery period, or would a better move be to hunker down and just deliver to customers.

The point here is, there is no right move from a menu to select from, that will only provide positive outcomes without the risk of negative impact from some area. To think so, and to pressure internal teams or contractors to deliver to that type of brief borders on delusion.

As with many brand building activities, the initial step is not a PR or marketing evaluation; it should start from a business perspective. Run a SWOT and a Gap analysis to determine what possible steps are. From a leadership position, pick a viable direction that maps to management’s risk tolerance profile. Based on the direction and profile, determine if it involves activity that requires outreach to external audiences, for example, customers, partners, investors, media or early adopter-influencers.

If it does, assemble a strategic communications team preferably with an operations team member that can provide realistic updates and contributions to product roadmap, timelines, customer issues, etc. The team would build on existing positioning to create key messages specific to the project, or campaign (for e.g. launching a new feature, or announcing a partnership etc). They would team up with their marketing colleague to ensure that messages map to audiences (if there are different profiles) and also if the activity aligns with the profile type. For example, subjecting media to a 3-hour technical walk-through of the latest features does nothing to endear them to your brand.

These campaigns or activities can be stacked into layers, such that your brand has a touch-point with as many audience profiles as possible. Remember, it is not about size of budget, but about being realistic as to what can be done with limited resources. Some profiles might have to wait to a later period to be introduced to the new product or update.

Established brands diversifying or moving into adjacent areas that require fresh positioning and messages

Many brands are taking the opportunity during recovery whether to establish new revenue streams or operations in connected or adjacent areas to their core. This can be due to perceived lower barriers of entry, or a sense that the right M&A action now can result in a stronger state post-integration.

For some brands that are considering tapping on their strong brand to move, chances are it will require fresh positioning and messages to explain the rationale or the move to customers and the market, especially if the brand is listed or has a suite of investors.

A strategic communications approach would be to select a senior management representative (or the internal champion for this action) to lead a the communications team. A new set of positioning and messages that clearly explains the opportunity, rationale, benefits and value to the brand and customers would be created. Activities such as roadshows, launches, sit-downs with early adopters and influencers, that have impact on existing and newly-acquired customer databases would form a large part of the project. New outcomes and measurements different from the parent brand will also be established. There should also be a milestone planned for, with a ‘handover’ to the new leadership and operations team as the series of activities led by the internal champion concludes.

Internal communications and change/culture management

In an earlier article about strategic communications observations for 2021, we pointed out that remote-preferred working arrangements, high dependency on communications apps and the lack of a central ‘offline’ or hybrid sharing or gathering hub might result in organisation cultures fragmenting or diluting from a pre-pandemic level of cohesion and integration. The truth is, no organisation has a game plan yet from how the workforce environment will be after recovery. What everyone has is a best guess at this moment.

This is precisely the reason an inter-function team with a strategic communications representative and a HR partner can serve to be the culture or change champions as well as a guidepost to help fellow employees better navigate uncertainty and ambiguity.

Such a team and process would set up a baseline set of environmental factors and determine the future state (likely short-term, 3 – 6 months for each series of steps) of where the internal culture can be. They would position these steps from gap to future as a way to improve the current situation and also set outcomes to arrive at a future ‘stronger’ state for having completed the steps. The workforce is provided with messages, steps, information, activities and reviews (for e.g. through surveys, focus groups) that will serve to provide clarity.

We are Brand Utility is a business consultancy. We work with brands in the corporate, professional services, retail, travel and technology spaces.

Our principal founder is a registered management consultant, certified and recognised by the Institute of Management Consultants Singapore.

We offer strategy and tactics to support growth outcomes - revenue, scale, regional expansion and market entry – for our clients.

Areas of support include:

· Strategic communications: Approach to market, brand concept and map, positioning, messaging, story and narrative, thought leadership

· Marketing: Campaign/programme planning, story-based marketing execution, digital marketing, community amplification, content planning and production, go-to-market execution

· Lead generation: Digital advertising, social media advertising, social commerce, e-commerce

· Integration of marketing with business operations: We plan and execute as a seconded marketing and/or PR lead for your brand

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