Develop a communications strategy
the richmond charities
"Action Planning really took on board what we were looking for in our communications strategy and carried out an in-depth study of the charity in a short space of time. They really ‘got’ us and that then formed the basis for making sensible recommendations that would work for us and our small team. Fiona delivered an excellent interactive workshop for our trustees, which got them thinking and enabled them to contribute. We were impressed with her wide-ranging expertise and experience and she was very easy to work with, providing us with a clear proposal at the start of the process and sticking to the timetable throughout.."
JULIET AMES-LEWIS, DIRECTOR, THE RICHMOND CHARITIES
Background:
The Richmond Charities is an almshouse charity, which provides housing to local elderly residents who need an improvement in their living conditions. Despite having been around for 400 years, the charity’s public profile was so low key that even other local charities were not aware of its existence. Having helped the charity with the establishment of strategic objectives, we were asked to work with them to improve their communications strategy.
Brief:
We were asked to provide expert guidance on how best to use communications to support the new strategic objectives, defining messages, audiences and channels, and identifying tactics for raising the charity’s profile.
Process:
We assigned the brief to communications specialist Fiona Lewis, who ran a workshop for Director Juliet Ames-Lewis and three of the trustees, exploring all the aspects included in the brief and defining what they meant by “wanting to raise our profile”? Fiona also provided insight on the use of social media, which the trustees had not considered suitable before, and submitted the conclusions and suggestions arising from the workshop in a very detailed report.
Outcomes:
The workshop identified a pressing need to revamp the charity’s website and written materials, along with other ideas. The implementation of the comms proposals will take time but Fiona’s report has already proven valuable in encouraging the trustees to focus on comms and why they’re important for what the charity wants to achieve.
Consultant's Insight:
Every organisation we ever speak to wants to ‘raise awareness’. A crucial underpinning of every communications strategy is to understand why. What exactly do we want to happen, or be different, as a result of this ‘raised awareness’? That enables the marketing strategy – and the marketing spend – to be much more focused on tangible outcomes.