THE OBJECTIVE

• Develop an updated messaging framework for the Port of Seattle’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OEDI) to serve as a functional, usable tool that staff would reference on a normal basis. OEDI wanted the framework to accurately reflect its theory of change and equity work to date, as well as use messaging that felt accessible, relatable, and true to its users.
• Develop a 2-year Communications Strategy.
• Develop and design a 5-year Impact Report.

THE IDEATION PROCESS

• Review existing materials and the original messaging framework.
• Lead a client ideation session with a live Mural board activity.
• Coordinate interviews with internal employees and external partners to assess the effectiveness of OEDI’s communications, level of trust among audiences, and opportunities to increase usability of the messaging framework.

THE EXECUTION

• Prioritized plain language, clear content structure, and user-friendly design.
• Created a comprehensive tool that was navigable and adaptable for a wide range of needs, from developing a deeper understanding of equity principles to simply copying and pasting talking points.
• Developed a high-level 2-year Communications Strategy for OEDI, including communications goals, strategies and tactics, guidance on channels and cadence, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Created a comprehensive, highly visual, public-facing impact report summarizing OEDI’s first five years of operations through personal quotes and anecdotes, metrics, and engaging graphics.

Since launching these materials, OEDI has increased their messaging about their workforce development programs, experied a heightened interest in and celebration of their work, and successfully received approval for an expanded program budget.

THE OBJECTIVE

• Design, implement, and evaluate a five-month community-based social marketing campaign to increase the number of Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah in Washington state) coffee shops accepting reusable cups; increase the number of people using reusable cups; and increase the consistency and frequency among people already using reusable cups.

THE IDEATION PROCESS

• Conducted initial research via a business and a resident survey to understand the motivators, benefits, and barriers to “Bring Your Own Cup” adoption.
• Developed a campaign approach informed by this research and CBSM best practices.
• Launched development of unique campaign branding via ideation with the client team and program partners.
• Conducted outreach to identify partner coffee shops.
• Developed messaging and collateral, including: customer “passports” and custom stamps that encourage customers to visit participating coffee shops to earn points toward high value rewards; campaign pledge; incentives prize pack; interactive map of participating locations; outreach flyers and rack cards; and a campaign website.

THE EXECUTION

• Secured paid media promotion to launch the campaign.
• Delivered promotion packages to each participating location.
• Planned, promoted, and hosted in-person events.

Data from post-campaign engagement surveys showed that residents increased, in one way or another, their engagement with BYOC by 54% after taking the pledge. In total, our team supported 14 outreach events across the four cities, including five at partnership coffee shop locations, and directly reached around 1,000 residents. We collected 686 pledges through this outreach. The media click-through rate exceeded the industry standard of 0.30%.

THE OBJECTIVE

• Develop communications materials for Washington’s statewide Priority and Comprehensive Climate Action Plan development processes (PCAP and CCAP processes) through the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, including branding, a messaging framework, and a statewide communications strategy.

THE IDEATION PROCESS

For branding

• Facilitated an ideation process with all participating partners
• Prepared and populated an interactive Mural board with prompts and initial ideas to support collatorative brainstorming

For messaging framework

• Used outcomes from the ideation session to identify key statewide audiences, core program topics, and critical program messages within each topic.

For statewide communications strategy

• Working with the partnership team, identified the key communicators working on behalf of the program, along with the key communication channels.

THE EXECUTION

For branding

• Used outcomes from the ideation session to iterate on a brand identity, including a logo, tagline, color palette, typography, and style guidelines

For messaging framework

• Developed a living messaging matrix that aligned messages and audiences to enable each message to be tailored to each audience for maximum communication effectiveness.
• Supported the partnership team in keeping the messaging matrix updated and active throughout the course of each plan development process.

For statewide communications strategy

• Developed an implementation approach that paired audiences, topics, communicators, and channels in a strategic approach to ensure that critical messages were being delivered to key audiences at ideal times by appropriate messengers using the best available channels.
• Incorporated paid “Community Connectors,” representatives of local community organizations with close ties to under-represented communities, as a critical component to ensure inclusivity in outreach and engagement.
• Supported the partnership in working through the communications strategy and making modifications as needed.