December 9, 2024
December 10, 2024
The stakes are high for communications programs right now. This year, the reality of shrinking newsrooms has been all too clear, marked by mass layoffs and the shuttering of local newspapers.
Meanwhile, marketing and integrated communications budgets are shrinking. Nearly half of PR professionals say having enough resources is their company's top PR/comms challenge today, while marketing budgets have dropped to 7.7% of overall company revenue.
In other words, integrated communications programs have to do more with less. Reaching audiences is harder than ever, yet there are fewer resources to do so.
The good news? Communications is also more measurable— and as a result, more impactful— than ever before. Gone are the days when our industry relied on more art than science. With this has come a growing awareness of the business case for comms.
‘Brand Navigator’: A Proven, Scalable Process
Against this backdrop, fueled by decades of experience and our research into the pain points and needs across the markets we serve, Mission North has codified its strategic approach. The result is The Mission North Brand Navigator, a proven and scalable process that maps integrated communications programs back to concrete stages of company growth.
Our goal is to provide companies with a guide to what’s most important—reputation management, thought leadership, content marketing, digital marketing, and beyond—to help them navigate significant inflection points.
Here’s a closer look at the five categories and the measurable integrated communications outcomes that are most crucial for each.
Build Stage
Rally People Around an Audacious Vision and Category-Defining Opportunity
Companies in the Build Stage are battling low market awareness and competing for mindshare with larger brands. A strategic communications program should elevate the problem these companies solve and prove why they’re best positioned to solve it. The key is building credibility, overcoming skepticism, and establishing a compelling brand story.
Measurable integrated communications outcomes for Build-Stage companies:
- Market awareness: Share-of-voice, media mentions, website traffic
- Customer growth: Customer acquisition
- Fundraising and valuation milestones: Investor inquiries and term sheets
- Talent acquisition: Inbound interest for key roles
Scale Stage
Grow From Idea to IPO With an Undeniable Performance Narrative
Scale-stage companies are focused on scaling their brand as they prepare to go public. An integrated communications program should broaden market awareness, drive a strong performance narrative, and adapt your communications for an IPO. That comes down to spotlighting what makes your company uniquely valuable via broad awareness campaigns and targeted communications to key audiences.
Measurable integrated communications outcomes for Scale-Stage companies:
- Investor and market awareness: Increase competitor share-of-voice
- Category leadership: Influencer recognition as a market leader
- Analyst validation: Positive movement in analyst rankings and reports
- Fundraising and valuation milestones
- Revenue growth & retention
- Issue ownership & message penetration
<split-lines>"[This] comes down to spotlighting what makes your company uniquely valuable via broad awareness campaigns and targeted communications..."<split-lines>
Lead Stage
Own the Category and Become the Industry Standard for Your Peers
Top-of-mind for Lead-Stage companies is earning and keeping their license to lead. This means becoming the standard against which their peers are compared and being seen as indispensable by both key stakeholders and society. The foundation of an integrated communications program should include concrete initiatives and corporate commitments that map to your mission and values and prioritize action before words.
Measurable integrated communications outcomes for Lead-Stage companies:
- Brand trust: Net Promoter Score and sentiment analysis
- Issue ownership & message penetration
- Broad market awareness: Share-of-voice, unaided awareness
- Growth: Customer acquisition, revenue growth
- Market cap
- Analyst validation: Positive movement in analyst rankings and reports
Protect Stage
Defend Your License to Operate While Managing Increased Risk and Stakeholder Complexity
Many companies will navigate the Protect inflection point and other categories. Strategic communications can help manage increased stakeholder complexity in their business, category, and societal expectations. We prioritize proactive risk and issues management, crisis preparedness, and ensuring business decisions are aligned with ideal reputational outcomes.
Measurable integrated communications outcomes for Protect-Stage companies:
- Brand trust: Net Promoter Score and sentiment analysis
- Issue ownership & message penetration
- Broad market awareness: Share-of-voice
- Customer loyalty: Retention rates, brand loyalty indicators, and Net Promoter Score
- Crisis mitigation: Recovery in brand sentiment post-crisis, limited negative media coverage
- Employer brand health: Employee retention and Net Promoter Score
<split-lines>"We prioritize proactive risk and issues management, crisis preparedness, and ensuring business decisions are aligned with ideal reputational outcomes."<split-lines>
Renew Stage
Reclaim the Lead and Offer New Reasons to Believe Your Best Days Are Still Ahead
Companies in the Renew Stage often face brand and reputational challenges and must reaffirm what makes them unique, innovative, and valuable to stakeholders and shareholders. When key audiences may have tuned out or moved on, a smart integrated communications program can give them new reasons to believe.
Measurable integrated communications outcomes for Renew-Stage companies:
- Brand trust: Net Promoter Score and sentiment analysis
- Issue ownership & message penetration
- Customer satisfaction: Customer acquisition, retention, and engagement
- Product success: New product adoption and interest
- Employer brand health: Employee retention and Net Promoter Score
By focusing on these critical company moments and milestones, we can provide the customized strategic support our clients need as they navigate their brand journeys through challenging markets and shifting media landscapes. Brand Navigator allows us to tie our success to the outcomes that drive their business, ensuring we make the most impact possible. After all, that is what gets us out of bed each and every morning!
