A one-two (or -three or -four) punch
"My epiphany about planning after more than 30 years as a professional librarian is that the line between a library's strategic plan and its marketing/ communications plan has begun to blur and merge. It's really all about connecting with people and building relationships built on real knowledge about each other."
-- Gina Millsap, executive director of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
Each strategic or communications plan or proposal I've written reflects this permeable character of communications. Look for how branding, executive or personal coaching, and marketing are fused within a plan's content.
These plans likewise demonstrate another fundamental challenge for communicators; namely, that you must often simultaneously educate your client about the underpinning value of a recommendation as you outline a specific course of action. For example, addressing branding basics is useful in just about every context, be it for an individual, a rock band, a corporation or a running shoe.
A brand within a brand
I wrote this 2011 plan for the board of directors in a large suburb of Los Angeles on the brink of re-branding the municipality's commu- nity arts foundation. Even though, as businesspersons, the sitting board understood that branding and a new direction was required to increase the foundation's effectiveness, the city's marketing manager and I sought to leverage this cautious buy-in into more vigorous board engagement by explaining branding fundamentals to guide the process of both creating, then launching a new brand compatible with the existing city brand.
Branding from the inside out
This is an example of personal branding (for a new CEO) within an established high-profile global organization. The stakes were especially high for this executive because he was voted in by the governing board in the wake of a scandal reported in the global press that hastened the exit of his predecessor. Again, branding, executive coaching and a cohesive communications strategy were all at play.
Branding from the ground up
To see retail brand-building in motion, please see the business plan
Executive Summary within the Business Communications section on
my Writing page and reference it against the Marketing Materials sec-
tion of the Design & Photography page.
Executive Summary within the Business Communications section on
my Writing page and reference it against the Marketing Materials sec-
tion of the Design & Photography page.