Boosting team effectiveness
We helped the communications team at a large arts and education foundation plan and work more effectively.
It started with a questionCan our communications function do more to help us achieve our mission?
When our client first came to us, they thought the answer might lie in a new website. We advised them to step back and consider the needs of their audiences. To ask: how might we use our digital footprint to better meet these needs and provide more value?
A strategic shift
With this in mind, we set about creating a new content strategy. We started with audience research. We reviewed the competitive landscape. And we worked to understand their internal needs, mission and ambitions.
The new strategy
The resulting strategy became a north star for the entire communications team. It was built around mental models rather than audience segments. This helped them shape content to better match real user needs. The amount of time they had. The information they needed most. And what that information would be used for.
New ways of working
It also led to changes in when content is created. Instead of waiting until their research programs are complete, they began sharing updates along the way.
An ongoing partnership
Our work on the content strategy helped us forge a deep partnership that continues to this day. Since the content strategy, we’ve helped them optimize the structure of the communications team—and better convey that team’s work to the board. We've reimagined the content development process and introduced a new planning framework. And we helped them evolve the way they measure the impact of their communications work.
Continued momentum
Along the way they’ve gone through many changes. A new communications leader and a new CEO have come on board. But through it all, they’ve turned to us as a trusted partner. A team they can rely on to help them create forward momentum in a complicated stakeholder (and political) environment.