George Odenyo Litunya's

Thought Leadership
A biologist, G.F. Gause of Moscow University, who experimented with two microorganisms, birthed the concept of strategy. By putting the two microorganisms in a controlled environment and introducing food, they were left to feed or die. His hypothesis was that for both of the two microorganisms to survive, one must belong to a different species. Otherwise, they would die. This illuminated the idea that, at the heart of every strategy is competition. That for any organism to survive through the competition, it must be different. This is true in business as well.

Flickr| Sean McEntee

Today, every member of the C-suite wants a strategy. The CEO wants a business strategy that will ensure his company not only survives during tough times, but also remains profitable. The CMO wants a marketing strategy to conquer the new markets. In all meetings all that matters is strategy. In addition, why is this; competition is closer than most corporates thought possible.

When Andrew Carnegie had conquered the Steel industry, he knew he was unstoppable. Not until John D., Rockefeller aimed at his industry. Rockefeller devised a scheme to take over Carnegie’s steel industry by producing iron ores-raw material needed for steel manufacturing. Despite Carnegie’s attempt not to consider Rockefeller a worthy competitor in the steel business, he was reminded of whom he was dealing with. Rockefeller wanted to penetrate the steel business. Carnegie wanted to continue monopolizing the steel business. A strategy was born. In order to keep his monopoly, Carnegie offered to buy the entire mine. Rockefeller agreed. It was a win-win. Clever strategy, I must say.

So what is strategy? According to Bruce D. Henderson, a strategy is the deliberate search of a plan of action that will develop a business’s competitive advantage and compound it. It is a plan that makes a corporation more competitive. Each department needs to embrace the whole concept of strategy and with it curve out a plan that promises to make the corporation better.

Those of us in the communications space need to apply this concept as well. Understanding and creating a communication strategy is one of the key functions of anyone dreaming of having a career in communications. Better yet, to those already in the profession it is a must have skill. Over the years, communications has become a strategic management function charged with counselling senior management, and guiding and managing the reputations and relationships with important stakeholder groups that may influence the organization’s operations.

Guy Murphy is his book, Communications Strategy, defines a communications strategy as a holistic planning approach, to engaging a brands audience to ensure greater effectiveness. These are tactics that the corporation will employ to ensure they keep their target audience talking and at the same time, drive the corporate vision and mission.

In its purest essence, our job has always been communication, shaping and moulding information to be consumed, passed on. What happens when you are called upon to yarn words into a communication strategy? Before you write that communications strategy, this are the phases that you need to think about. They are strategic analysis, strategic intent, strategic action, and evaluation.

Strategic Analysis
When conducting this analysis consider your organizational environment, market and competitors and stakeholders. This is about understanding what is going on outside and within a corporation. Most importantly, how they will affect the corporation.

What resources does the company have? What service or product is the corporation offering that is of superior value than all in the market? Understanding the stakeholders, where they want to go-their aspirations, and how this special interest group can affect the progress of the corporation. Taking a great deal of care to scan these sections, results in a solid understanding of the status of the corporation.

Strategic Intent
Once you have a clear understanding of the status of the corporation, it is time to proceed to the second phase. Strategic intent proceeds from this analysis and involves the formulation of a strategic vision, around which possible courses of action are formulated, evaluated, and eventually chosen. To imply that it is time to chart a way forward. During this phase, a clear direction is set and married with objectives with the execution of this communication strategy.

Strategic Action
 Time to act. Translating intent to action takes place during this phase. In the course of writing your communication strategy, figuring out what to do is key. At the end of the day, the strategy is written to meet certain objectives. Through diligent execution. Joep Cornelissen says, ‘various strategic programmes will emanate from the strategic intent, but the focus here is only on the sort of steps that are important in planning communications strategy implementation.’

Tracking and Evaluation
 It was the age of big oil and big tobacco. Time is coming for big data to take over. When everything has to be quantified. By religiously monitoring and evaluating the progress, during the execution is not only necessary but also beneficial. It is my knowing if a communications programme is meeting the intended need or not, and if so why? As Joep Cornelissen put it: ‘Here it is important to identify suitable impact measures (i.e. changes in awareness, attitude and reputation, or behaviour) rather than relying on interim measures of communications effects such as media coverage or simple exposure, and to evaluate the effects achieved against the target or benchmark set with the initial objectives of the communications programme.’

Writing a communication strategy is a task that can make or break a corporation. Everything tat happens in corporations borders on communication. Having a solid understanding of the tenets that make up a communication strategy will equip you with a strong foundation for which to write your communication strategy. Happy writing!





Image Source | Flickr

Times are changing. This change is affecting the way we communicate. Moreover, by communicate, I mean the way we tell the story.

Back in college, when learning about press releases: what they are and how to write, my lecturer would always insist on the story. He would argue that, before you deem it fit to write a release, vet if the story is actually worth telling. How right he was. A lot happens in corporations’ world over. The same theatrics we witness in governments are the same in corporations. Only that the president is the CEO or managing director. Amidst all these, we have a story to tell.

The question becomes how will I tell this story. Well, by writing! In communication, writing matters. It still does, even as we are deep in an era that glorifies citizen journalism. 

Sean Carney says, ‘Writing is as essential as air. We as PR professionals come from varied backgrounds, and while some nerds have a degree in public relations, I would argue the majority of us were history majors, English majors, journalism majors, and political science majors – thousands of abandoned law school applications left in our wake. However, all of us (hopefully) got into this gig because we had a passion for current events, news, and above all, communicating. We’re probably personable, we’re probably outspoken, we probably drink too much, – this is PR.’

Unfortunately, most communication professionals have a hard time telling the story, through writing. They would prefer an alternative. However, which one? Learning how to tell a story be it in that release, pitch or the annual plan, here are some tips to help you tell the story effectively. Remembering that we are professionals, entrusted with the brand of our client. Moreover, as in medicine, the guiding principle of PR is, “First, do no harm.” Here goes.

Break Down the Story
In reference to what my lecturer taught me ages ago, what is at the core of the would be story. Do you have anything new to tell the corporation’s audience? Is it something the stakeholders and shareholders will find genuinely worthy? If you do not have anything new to tell your audience, is there a related narrative, you can tie your story to. Sean Carney says, ‘if you don’t have a story, find one, and make it your own.’

Level the Announcement
Do you remember the inverted pyramid style, when writing a story? The essence was to have all the important facts come early in your writing. Just in case the publisher lacks space and decides to chunk out the last paragraphs. It applies in this scenario too. Order your story well.

Start with ‘The big news in a simple, direct fashion’
Add ‘More details’Give us a ‘Quote’Provide some ‘More Context’
Why Should I Care?
Says Who?
Why Should I Listen to Him?
What is He Got to Say?
What Do You Want Me to Do About It? 

Remember do not bury the lede.

Act like A Teen-Ager
Have you ever tried addressing a bunch of teenagers? Instead of paying attention to the message, they tend to focus on the medium (you). Your dressing, voice, phone, facial appearance (ugly, handsome, or beautiful). They are trying to see if you are worth listening to. Whether you match the message you are preaching. They are a lot like reporters – they do not trust you, they do not have time, and they think you are lame.

When thinking about your story, Sean Carney advises that we ask ourselves the same questions an uppity teenager would, and in the same order:

What is Going On?

Why Should I Care?
Says Who?
Why Should I Listen to Him?
What is He Got to Say?
What Do You Want Me to Do About It? 

Happy writing!
We live in an age when you must have a digital footprint to compete favourably. The advent of technology has bolstered the way we communicate. 

As communication practitioners, we keep exploring avenues for which to pass our messages to our target audiences. They include: employees, management, other businesses, or clients. For us to perform effectively, we need a well-established communication channel that will facilitate our communication endeavours.


Image Credit | OneFire Media

On that note: websites are part of the channels we use for communication. In all corporations, websites are the core channels or need to be (if not already) used for communication. Well, apart from emails. Corporate websites tell the world who you are and most importantly, what you do. However, not all these websites meet this goal.

Most people looking for a product and or service start by firing up their browsers and googling. Depending on what the search engine spits out, they then pick it up from there. The only factor that will drive this potential client from a website visitor to a walk-in is how your website will make them feel, at that very moment.

That cumulative feeling, as a result of how your corporate colours are mixed to match, logo placement, navigability all these ladies and gentlemen is what we call branding. For a moment, loosen your academic understanding of the term branding. A term people often associate with logos, colours, taglines etc. And substitute it with a feeling.

Branding is the mood; the feeling, the impression that is left on anyone who comes to your website. As they say, first impressions count. If the first impression is one of a lack of professionalism, potential clients will flee. However, if the impression is friendly and professional then you have a client for life.

If you fall on the side of the fence that has not been paying close attention to branding your corporate website-here are basics that you need to know. Allison Wright- branding strategist, website designer, and owner of Dapper Fox shares five basic website branding best practices, which I highlight.

Identify and master the purpose of the corporation and thus your website: What is it that you do? What is your mission? Due to time and distance constraints, the website is the pathway to the corporate soul. If the website can succinctly tell the whole world what your company does from the onset is a great way to accommodate your would-be client.

For example, simply saying, “My website is about health and fitness” will not cut it. With so many subcategories under health and fitness, you need to figure out exactly whom you are targeting. Is it the vegan crowd? Body builders? Paleo fanatics? Your goal is to get people to associate that category with you. {Sic}

If it is a real estate company, are you in buying, selling, rentals, property management and in what area are you specialized in. Make it clear for your target audience.

Taglines: What is your most memorable tagline? If you are in Kenya, Safaricom’s The better option is by far the best that we have. Here's a little vignette of how the tagline was birthed.

Michael Joseph the then CEO, while Safaricom was still in its early stages called upon his members to come up with a tagline. However, every time they would convene to assess progress, he would send them back by simply saying ‘that is not the better option.’ This went on and on and it seemed like an exercise in futility. One day, as they were about to toss around ideas, before he could utter his magic word, one creative paused and said that he had the tagline all along. He suggested they use ‘the better option’ as their tagline. Interesting, right.

This tagline is short and to the point, allowing my potential readers to understand the mission of Dapper Fox Design. Your tagline is not something that you should be changing up from time to time. Choose a solid tagline that accurately represents your mission, and stick to it. Your tagline becomes part of your brand, so maintaining consistency will reinforce this brand to your audience. {Sic}

Create an about page that speaks to your audience: Let us do an exercise. Go to your website and load your about page. Got it. (Waiting). Read it and get the feeling. Is it speaking to you? The about page is supposed to shake the hands and introduce your client to your corporation. As we know in business and the networking world, a firm-handshake is always a winner. So, does your page give a firm and steady handshake: or it is weak and ‘dead’?

Having a well-written 'About' page and bio will give readers an opportunity to feel as if they know you, giving insight into your background, credibility and personality. Since you cannot personally explain your objectives, goals and offerings to each individual that visits your website, make sure your branding does it for you. {Sic}

In his TED talk, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, says, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room.” Give them something great to talk about.

Create harmony in your visuals: In this section, consider these all your visuals. Your favicons, images and fonts. A favicon is that little icon at the top of your browser next to the title of the web page. Using a custom favicon allows viewers to see a bit of your brand even when they are in a different browser tab. It is seen alongside your title and URL, as well as when readers bookmark your site.

About fonts: Maintain a consistent brand feeling throughout your website by using no more than two or three fonts. Specify which fonts will be used for headers, paragraphs, and accents and stick with it. Colour choices should be decided upon before you begin the website design so that the mood and consistency of your site is maintained throughout new pages and blog posts.

Have the design match your content: This is more like dressing. What are you wearing to the party? If you are invited to a ball, bow ties are the thing. If you decide to be in a fire-fighters suit, nobody will judge you only that you will be in the right costume but in the wrong party. The same applies to branding a corporate website.

The colours, font choices, and overall look and feeling of your design needs to match the content you are offering. {Sic} For instance, if you are a real estate corporation, choose a property like theme.

Identify who your target market will be. What will appeal to them? Younger crowds tend to appreciate bolder, brighter visuals, while older populations and professional fields lean toward a calmer, muted palette. Merge this insight about your ideal audience with elements from your own personality to create an effective brand identity. {Sic}


Using this as a checklist, on a scale of 1-10, how do you fair? Let me know.
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