COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY “FORWARD

MOTION” ABC COMPANY

***3380: PR STRATEGY & TACTICS - NEIL MCCARTY***

BACKGROUND/SITUATIONAL ANALYSISAS IT STANDS, ABC IS FACING CRITICAL THREATS IN THAT THE COMPANY…

• IS LACKING COHESION THAT COULD HELP ALLEVIATE CONCERN OVER THE RECENT MERGE • IS EXPERIENCING AN ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP

THAT COULD GIVE EMPLOYEES A SENSE OF DIRECTION *FORWARD MOTION*• NEEDS TO INCREASE AND IMPROVE

COMMUNICATIONS AMONG EMPLOYEES WITH INNOVATIVE IDEAS• LACKS AN IDENTITY THAT ABC CAN ADOPT AND

MATURE INTO

BACKGROUND/SITUATIONAL ANALYSISTHE NECESSARY RESOURCES DEDICATED TO THIS CAMPAIGN WOULD INFLUENCE THE FOLLOWING…

• EMPLOYEE CONFIDENCE, ENGAGEMENT & FOCUS• LEADERSHIP SKILLS• COMPANY IDENTITY• DECISION MAKING• COMPANY COMMUNICATIONS• STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS• IMPROVED MEDIA STRATEGY

BACKGROUND/SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS HOW CAN WE INFLUENCE THE OUTCOMES THAT ARE NEEDED?• BEGIN BY KICKING OFF THE “FORWARD MOTION” CAMPAIGN WITH A COMPANY-WIDE EMAIL BLAST THAT WILL SHARE OUR VISION WITH ALL EMPLOYEES/SHAREHOLDERS/LEADERS.• THIS EMAIL BLAST WILL ALSO CONTAIN AN INTRODUCTORY VIDEO CLIP BY THE CEO HIMSELF THAT WILL SERVE AS A LAUNCHING POINT FROM WHICH TO START OUR JOURNEY.

AUDIENCESLeaders

LEADERS PLAY THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ROLE AS THEY

INFORM EMPLOYEES OF COMPANY CONCEPTS AND PLAY

AN ACTIVE ROLE IN SHAPING THE COMPANY IMAGE FOR THE

MEDIA. BY FURTHER DEVELOPING THIS ROLE WE

CAN SET LOFTY EXPECTATIONS.

Employees

EMPLOYEES WILL SERVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN TERMS OF BUILDING CONFIDENCE

AND A COMPANY-FIRST MENTALITY. THEIR

INVOLVEMENT WILL SET THE TONE AND INTENSITY THAT

CAN BE EXPECTED IN FUTURE UNDERTAKINGS.

Media Relations

THIS TEAM WILL BE TASKED WITH STRATEGICALLY

CRAFTING AND EXECUTING MEDIA BASED CONCEPTS

THAT HELP TO IMPROVE THE OVERALL IMAGE AND

INCREASE THE POTENTIAL FOR ADVANTAGE AMONG

COMPETITORS.

KEY MESSAGES-LEADERSWhat

to KNOW?

How to FEEL?

What to DO?

What NEXT?

• We want our leaders to KNOW how to communicate among themselves, what to expect from their counterparts and how to disseminate that information accordingly.

• We want our leaders to FEEL informed, confident and prepared for future challenges.

• DOING…All leaders will need to abide by the “One Voice” approach and communicate the same information across the entire organization.

• NEXT, leaders will need to continue to utilize forums and video conferencing along with delivering new concepts to engage employees and media.

KEY MESSAGES-EMPLOYEESWhat

to KNOW?

How to FEEL?

What to DO?

What NEXT?

• We want our employees to KNOW they are heard, that ABC is dedicated to providing the best work atmosphere and that ABC is making a change for the better.

• We want our employees to FEEL confident in their leaders, prized as employees and pride in the ABC brand.

• DOING…employees should engage with other co-workers within the company, direct questions/comments at their respective leaders and continue to make productivity a priority.

• NEXT, employees will need to take advantage of the available channels of communication. ex. Speak-n-Share, team events, etc. to spread the word about this new direction.

KEY MESSAGES-MEDIA RELATIONS What

to KNOW?

How to FEEL?

What to DO?

What NEXT?

• We want the media team to KNOW exactly which key messages apply to each initiative and why.

• We want the media team to FEEL included in the ABC team and buy in to the concept of “One Voice” & “One ID” as part of the “Forward Motion” initiative .

• DOING…the media team will need to creatively interact with media channels to generate hype and interest, both inside and outside of the company.

• NEXT, the media team will need to prove how they separated ABC from industry competition.

STRATEGIES• THE MAIN GOAL: CREATE A UNIFIED PRESENCE THAT COMPLIMENTS

ORGANIZED LEADERSHIP THROUGH FOCUSED EMPLOYEE

ENGAGEMENT AND COMPREHENSIVE MEDIA CHANNELS

• THE GAIN: EMPLOYEE CONFIDENCE & ENGAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP

SKILLS, SHAPING & MAINTAINING A COMPANY IDENTITY, DECISION

MAKING, COMPANY COMMUNICATIONS, STAKEHOLDER

RELATIONSHIPS AND IMPROVED MEDIA STRATEGY

• DOWN THE ROAD: WHEN THESE GOALS ARE ACCOMPLISHED, ABC

WILL SEE IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY, ORGANIZATION CONSISTENCY

AND ENHANCED FUNCTIONALITY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

OBJECTIVES• INTEGRATE CONSISTENT MESSAGING ACROSS ENTIRE ORGANIZATION•DESIGN FOCUSED EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT TECHNIQUES TO

ENCOURAGE FEEDBACK AND BOOST PRODUCTIVITY•CREATE A POSITIVE AND DYNAMIC COMPANY CULTURE•REDUCE CONFUSION BY ESTABLISHING KEY MESSAGES•LEVERAGE NEW MEDIA PRACTICES

GOALSCONSTRUCT 5 TEAM LEAD FORUMS (100 LEADERS

IN TOTAL) AT RANDOM TO INCREASE VISIBILITY IN ALL DEPARTMENTS. TO BE COMPLETED BY 1/9/17.

INCREASE EMPLOYEE FOCUS BY 25% IN YEAR ONE BY ESTABLISHING SPEAK-N-SHARE, SKYPE SESSIONS, CHATTER, FORWARD MOTION CAMPAIGN, COMPANY OUTINGS, ETC.

ENSURE THE “FORWARD MOTION” CAMPAIGN LOOK AND FEEL IS SPREAD COMPANY WIDE WITH MENTIONS ACROSS ALL MEDIA PLATFORMS

SURVEY SPEAK-N-SHARE’S TO DETERMINE IF LEADERS ARE PERFORMING ABOVE AVERAGE

GENERATE 10% GROWTH IN VOLUNTEERISM COMPANY WIDE TO BOOST MORALE AND ENCOURAGE DRIVEN EMPLOYEES TO STRIVE FOR MORE RESPONSIBILITY

RAISE ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS OF EMPLOYEES AND LEADERS BY 25% (FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER)

TACTICSOn

e Vo

ice Ensuring our entire organization knows what our key messages are and focus in general. A means to establishing the company motive.

One

ID 3 step approach and motto used to grow confidence and trust among the company. A “this is who we are” attitude. Sk

ype

Sess

ions

w/

CEO Another method

to keep CEO in touch with employees is to offer a quarterly Skype session. This will further drive One Voice and One ID.

Employees, Leaders, Media Team

Employees, Leaders, Media Team

Media Team

UNITING OUR TEAM LEADERS TOGETHER IN “ONE VOICE”THE “ONE VOICE” INITIATIVE WILL BRING THE COMPANY UNDER THE SAME UMBRELLA OF COMMUNICATION. ABC INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BE ALIGNED WITH THE SAME INFORMATION FROM THE TOP DOWN AND ALL AROUND.

IDENTIFYING OURSELVES AND LIVING

IT!

COMPANY ABC NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND A FUNDAMENTAL APPROACH THAT WILL HELP FOSTER EMPLOYEE CONFIDENCE AS WELL AS POSITION ITSELF FOR THE ONE VOICE APPROACH. 3 SIMPLE STEPS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS ARE …

•SUPPORT •GROW •REPEAT

TACTICSEm

ail B

last 1st thread of

communication between CEO, leaders & employees.

Empl

oyee

Foc

us Achievements, competition & incentives that will encourage productivity.

Cock

tails

Ove

r Co

nver

satio

n An ideal scenario for employees to mix and mingle outside of company walls.

Employees, Leaders, Media Team

Employees Employees, Media Team

IMPROVING EMPLOYEE FOCUSNOW THAT ABC HAS DEVELOPED A SINGULAR VOICE AND IDENTIFIED

ITSELF, WE CAN FOCUS ON NURTURING THE FOLKS THAT HAVE BROUGHT

US THIS FAR THROUGH ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT. THIS TACTIC WILL DRAW

ATTENTION TO PERFORMANCE STANDARDS WHILE ALLOWING FOR TRUST

TO BE CULTIVATED DURING COMPANY EVENTS AND COMPETITIONS.

• COMPANY OUTINGS/EVENTS

• EMPLOYEE METRICS

• >COMPETITION

• >>INCENTIVES

• >>>PROMOTIONS

TACTICSSp

eak-

n-Sh

are A custom forum

for employees to share and create ideas, opinions, etc. Co

mpa

ny

Outin

gs Dinners, events, fundraisers that allows employees to bond. Te

am L

ead

Foru

ms 5 groups (20

leaders each) in charge of discussion, key messages, quarterly themes, & overall employee satisfaction.

Employees, Media Team

Employees, Leaders, Media Team

Leaders, Media Team

SPEAK-N-SHARE•OUR ONE-OF-A-KIND TOWN HALL MEETINGS

WILL ALLOW EACH INDIVIDUAL THE

OPPORTUNITY TO POSE QUESTIONS AND

ENGAGE ON A DEEPER LEVEL WITH THEIR

ASSIGNED TEAM LEADERS. SKYPE FOR

BUSINESS WILL ALSO BE A POSSIBILITY TO

SHARE INFORMATION BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS

TEAM LEAD FORUMS• TEAM LEADERS SHOULD BE BEACONS OF KNOWLEDGE, INSIGHT AND

COHESIVENESS AMONG OUR PEERS. HOW DO YOU FOLLOW THRU ON THAT PROMISE? WE ARE TAKING OUR TOP 100 LEADERS AND 25 YEARS OF INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE TO CONSTRUCT FIVE TEAM LEAD FORUMS. • THIS WILL MARK AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE ALL UPPER LEVEL

MANAGEMENT TIERS AS A MEANS TO DISCUSS AND NURTURE OUR COMPANY IDENTITY WHILE ALSO PAYING FOCUS TO EACH TEAMS INDIVIDUAL SUCCESSES. THESE FORUMS WILL BE OPEN TO DISCUSSION AT ALL TIMES, HIGHLIGHTED BY QUARTERLY THEMES AND ALSO PROVIDE CHANCES TO GIVE PRAISE TO YOUR MOST DEDICATED EMPLOYEES FOR ALL TO SEE.

TACTICSFr

om To

p Do

wn &

Al

l Aro

und Information

being passed up, down & across organization for uniformity.

Med

ia: O

ne V

oice Media team will

be tasked with social media placement, awareness, logos and ensuring themes intertwine.

Med

ia: O

ne ID This key

messaging will need to be found throughout company literature, website, events, etc. The branding starts and ends here.

Employees, Leaders, Media Team

Media Team Media Team

FROM THE TOP DOWN & ALL AROUNDTHINK PONZI SCHEME, BUT NOT ILLEGAL AND

ACTUALLY BENEFICIAL!

EACH TEAM LEADER WILL DISSEMINATE THE INFO

DOWN THE CHAIN OF COMMAND (TYPICALLY BY

MEANS OF THE TEAM FORUMS) EVENTUALLY

MAKING IT TO THE SPEAK-N- SHARE MEETUPS.

TACTICSVi

deo

Conf

. & S

kype

Se

ssio

ns Media team will be charged with scheduling all CEO media appointments as well as determine best methods. Vo

lunt

eeris

m D

rives

th

ru S

ocia

l Med

ia

Pres

ence Media team will

be driving the volunteerism efforts thru social media presence, community activities and coordinated VTO.

Com

pany

Cha

tter This internal

strategy is designed to save time and keep employees connected thru company chat portals.

Leaders, Media Team Employees, Media Team

Employees, Media Team

BEST PRACTICES

RETREATWHAT BETTER WAY TO KEEP THE MESSAGING

CONSISTENT THAN TO ARRANGE A LEADERSHIP RETREAT? THIS SKILLS BUILDING TECHNIQUE WILL FILTER DOWN TO EMPLOYEES VIA “TOP DOWN AND

ALL AROUND”

Q&AALLOWING THE CEO/LEADERS TO BE HEARD

AND SEEN IS INVALUABLE. THE Q&A APPROACH KEEP EMPLOYEES INFORMED AND CONFIDENT

THAT ABC IS HEADED FOR SUCCESS

VIDEO CONFERENCESINCE ABC IS A GLOBAL COMPANY, VIDEO

CONFERENCE TECHNIQUES COULD GREATLY REDUCE TRAVEL COSTS AS WELL AS ESTABLISH

ONE TIME/PLACE FOR ALL TO GATHER THUS SAVING TIME, EFFORT & MONEY

MEASUREMENTQUARTERLY

CHECKPOINTSTHIS WILL INCLUDE INTERVIEWS OF

LEADERS AND EMPLOYEES AT RANDOM TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TACTICS. TIMELINE MILESTONES ARE

STRATEGICALLY PLACED FOR OPTIMUM RESULTS. THESE

CHECKPOINTS WILL ENSURE THE CAMPAIGN IS ON SCHEDULE AND GAUGE EFFECTIVENESS OF EACH

INITIATIVE.

PULSE SURVEYSALONG WITH QUARTERLY CHECKPOINTS, RANDOM PULSE SURVEYS WILL BE

EMAILED TO EMPLOYEES WITH A BRIEF SURVEY TO MEASURE EFFICIENCY AND WILL ALSO

INCLUDE AN ADDITIONAL COMMENTS SECTION FOR FUTURE ENHANCEMENT.

SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS

MEDIA METRICS WILL BE MEASURED AND COMPARED BY THE MEDIA TEAM THROUGHOUT THE CAMPAIGN. THIS METHOD WILL DETERMINE IF THE GOALS ARE BEING MET OR EXCEEDED.

RANDOM EVALUATIONS WILL ALSO DEFINE WHICH SOCIAL

MEDIA PLATFORMS NEED ADDITIONAL ATTENTION.

BUDGETTactic Estimated Budget

Email Blast  n/aOne Voice  $20k+One ID  $20k+Team Lead Forums  $5k-$10kFrom Top Down…  n/aSpeak n Share  $25k-$50kChatter  $80kVolunteerism Drive  $15-$20kSkype/Office 365 $65kEmployee Focus  $10k-$15kCocktails n Conversation  $225kCompany Outing (2x) and Final Presentation  $450kProgress Report  $5k

2016 2017

Today

Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct

Company Wide Email Blast10/07/2016

One Voice Kickoff10/10/2016

One ID Kickoff10/10/2016

Skype w/ CEO11/14/2016

Team Lead Forums01/09/2017

From Top Down & All Around01/23/2017

Employee Focus02/01/2017

Cocktails n Conversation03/03/2017

Speak n Share03/06/2017

Company Outing04/14/2017

Skype w/ CEO05/16/2017

Chatter06/01/2017

Volunteerism Drive07/14/2017

Company Outing08/16/2017

Skype w/CEO 09/01/2017

Prezi w/ CEO @ Theater10/29/2017

10/07/2016 - 10/10/2016Email Blast

10/10/2016 - 11/11/2016One Voice

10/10/2016 - 11/11/2016One ID

01/09/2017 - 10/06/2017Team Lead Forum

01/23/2017 - 10/06/2017From Top Down & All Around

03/06/2017 - 10/06/2017Speak n Share

06/01/2017 - 10/06/2017Chatter

07/14/2017 - 10/06/2017Volunteerism Drive

Timeline

PROGRESS REPORT & RESULTSDOCUMENTED RESULTSTHE VOLUNTEERISM DRIVE WILL HAVE INCLUDED APPOINTING A COMMITTEE FOR DRILLING INTO RESULTS TO FIND POINTS OF INTEREST AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE ASSEMBLED INTO AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TO BE PRESENTED TO COMPANY HEADS, CIO AND CEO. FINALLY, A TRACK RECORD OF SURVEYS AND QUESTIONNAIRES (NAMES NOT INCLUDED) WILL BE COMPILED, FILTERED AND PRESENTED COMPANY WIDE AT THE FINAL PRESENTATION IN LATE OCTOBER.

WHO SHOULD KNOW AND WHENTRANSPARENCY IS ESSENTIAL IN THIS CASE WITH THE RESULTS BEING MADE AVAILABLE BY THE END OF OCTOBER 2017. THE VOLUNTEER TEAM WILL ALREADY HAVE A GRASP OF THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE BY EXAMINING RESULTS AHEAD OF TIME. IT IS RECOMMENDED TO BEGIN WITH THE CEO AND ABIDE BY THE CONCEPT “FROM TOP DOWN & ALL AROUND” WHEN REVEALING THE CAMPAIGN RESULTS.

PROGRESS REPORT & RESULTSPLAN FOR DELIVERINGABC WILL HOST A FINAL PRESENTATION AT THE END OF OCTOBER 2017 TO SERVE AS A CAMPAIGN WRAP UP. THE FINALE WILL FEATURE A CEO-LED PRESENTATION TO TAKE PLACE AT AN EXCLUSIVE THEATER FOR AN ALL INCLUSIVE VIEWING PARTY VIA LIVE BROADCAST.

PLAN FOR CHECKPOINTSTHERE ARE 4 SCHEDULED SKYPE INTERVIEWS WITH THE CEO THAT WILL SERVE AS INTERNAL CHECKPOINTS BY WHICH TO MEASURE. ADDITIONALLY, ONCE THE TEAM LEAD FORUMS KICK OFF IN JANUARY OF 2017, THERE WILL BE MULTIPLE POINTS FROM WHICH TO BASE PROGRESS AND RESULTS.