In truth it all comes down to how good the plan is - how thought-through it is, how workable it is and how well ambition is matched by realism.
We have devised a fully comprehensive, proprietary planning process - The Communications Flight Plan - that draws on three particular areas of expertise. Run as a 30 or 60-day project at the start of a client relationship, elephant's Communication Flight Plan with transform a client's communication strategy and produce an exciting, workable and tangible plan that will deliver a measurable step-change on communications output and brand reputation.
We always start with the market context and the client's customer. Drawing on elephant's extensive research data archive and analytical tools, we will create an honest view of your market landscape. Often this process helps clients look beyond what they know and will identify opportunities they had not previously considered. This evidence-based deep-dive results in collaborative discussion and agreement on the key issues that need to be tackled in the planning process.
Following the insight project, we then run one of our strategy workshops with a client team - a proven process that for more than a decade has helped hundreds of brands to sharpen or totally redefine the definition of a clear plan that delivers leadership. Run over two or four sessions, we work with a client team to define the objectives, measures, issues, channels and audience segments that will define a sustainable PR plan. More than a series of gentle brainstorms, the workshop team will work through stretching exercises and challenging road tests - a process that produces strong, risk-managed ideas that will work for the long-term.
Once the strategy workshop has defined the clear tramlines for a plan, we then bring in our creatives to come up a range of compelling campaign creatives that will work across a wide range of media and stakeholders. The focus from the strategy gives us a framework within which to come up with exciting and brave ideas. When the client has chosen the creatives they like, the programme is ready to go.