The Kellogg Foundation’s Strategic Communications guidebook points out that communications have the ability to:

• Show the importance, urgency, or magnitude of the issue
• Show the relevance of the issue
• Put a “face” on the issue
• Be tied to specific audience values, beliefs, or interests of the audience
• Reflect an understanding of what would motivate the audience to think, feel, or act
• Be culturally relevant and sensitive
• Be Memorable (“Template for Strategic Communications Plan,” n.d.).

Melcrum, a best practice insight and technology company whose purpose is to transform Internal Communication into the driver of employee, team and business success, suggests that questions like “Where to start?”, “What does it take?”, “How do I drive the process? And, “How will I measure success?” are common and give strategic communication planning a reputation for complexity and challenge that often far exceeds reality (“Communication Strategy,” 2012).

Over my 40 year career in marketing and advertising has taught me that all of these are critical to any business or products success. This final week's creative practice asked us to create using the theme(s) of Program Implementation: Boots on the Ground & the Bird's Eye View; Advocacy and Visibility. Again, going back to my previous career, my process was to first look at the program or product from a high level view (as if a bird flying overhead), then begin to really look into all the details, even to the point of having to get deep into the muck to suss out the essence of what made that item so special that it would compel someone to purchase it or participate in it if it were a program. Without this critical piece, any amount of advertising, marketing and PR would achieve less than hoped for results.


Communication Strategy: 9 steps to effective strategic planning. (2012, December 18). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from https://www.melcrum.com/research/strategy-planning-tactics/9-steps-effective-strategic-planning

Template for Strategic Communications Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2016, from https://www.wkkf.org:443/resource-directory/resource/2006/01/template-for-strategic-communications-plan