With globalization rampant as it is and competition becoming ever fiercer, coming up with the right positioning and subsequent messaging and carving out a distinctive place for oneself is undoubtedly a challenging exercise. In fact, differentiating oneself from the very beginning is the surest way to stand out and survive.

Right from the onset, S2C advises both public and private organizations on how to position themselves and their initiatives in a way that resonates with the desired audiences. S2C has accumulated extensive expertise in creating distinctive positioning for its clients based on which strategic messages, pertinent content and creative communication activities are developed. The uniqueness of S2C’s approach stems from its breadth of experience with all types of stakeholders, enabling it to recommend a tailored approach to strategic positioning and message design. Tailored sets of messages targeting various stakeholder groups are developed, ultimately culminating in the creation of genuine, swayed, and informed supporters.

Preserving a positive image and reputation and building healthy, sustainable relationships with stakeholders is essential to making any brand thrive.

S2C deploys its expertise to help brands navigate the overcrowded waters of the online and offline media scenes, sustainably build the desired image and preemptively thwart threats by immunizing their reputation. In addition to conducting a full audit and assessment of the brand’s current standing, S2C develops full-fledged image building and reputation management strategies in order to ensure that short-term gains are maintained in the long run.

In the private sector, these can include:
  • Higher brand value
  • Increased potential to attract investors and partners
  • Capacity to attract and retain talent
  • Boosted profit margins
  • Increased customer loyalty
In the public sector, they can mean:
  • Higher level of popular support and buy-in
  • Increased capacity to attract funding
  • Strong credibility amongst key stakeholders and/or constituents
  • International standing and repute.

An organization’s visual identity is the embodiment of its positioning and the visual expression of what it intrinsically stands for, amidst the ocean of visual stimuli assailing the public every day.

In order to ensure that an organization’s identity communicates its value system and is indeed reflective of what it stands for, S2C deploys its expertise to conduct an exhaustive brand audit and assessment, based on which it recommends ways to optimize the use of the brand. This entails the brand’s visual appearance and its manifestations in the spirit of the organization, its philosophy, as well as its culture. Furthermore, S2C provides its clients with complete brand strategies covering everything from corporate identity and brand architecture to brand creation, re-lifting, or revamping, and oversees implementation carried out by best-in-class partners.

Effective internal communication is one of the principal hallmarks of a well functioning organization and a healthy culture.

S2C specializes in developing complete internal communication strategies for its clients. The process begins with realigning a given organization’s vision, mission, and philosophy with the positioning it seeks to establish for itself, and culminates in rallying all internal stakeholders around this common vision through the implementation of the communication strategy.

The outcome is:
  • Synergetic teams working towards common goals
  • Projection of a united front
  • Coherent and consistent messages

Every environment is inescapably riddled with the latent threat of a communication crisis that can have dire consequences for an organization, no matter how large or small.

These threats can take the shape of any number of things, including:
  • Loss of brand value
  • Diminished reputation
  • Weakened shareholder confidence
  • Shrank market share
  • Loss of popular support
  • Diminished voter confidence

While unavoidable, the key is to be prepared for them by preemptively putting in place crisis communication response procedures, as opposed to scrambling to react after the fact.

S2C assists its private and public sector clients in dealing with crises by putting in place crisis communication response procedures that preemptively address the issue at hand through the use of a mix of defensive and offensive communication simultaneously aimed at protecting the image of the organization, responding to allegations and decredibilzing opponents when necessary, and adequately informing stakeholders of the situation. S2C has in-depth expertise in devising effective and comprehensive crisis communication frameworks that lay out procedures for optimally dealing with any type of crisis when it arises. Recommended actions are based on extensive, preemptive simulations of plausible potential threats an organization could face at any given time. Crisis communication workshops are then delivered to share the simulation scenarios and solutions with employees. In parallel, S2C also provides on-the-spot response strategies to unforeseen crises, helping to limit their negative impact and prevent their escalation into even bigger crises.

Corporate Social Responsibility has placed its mark and is here to stay, notwithstanding skepticism about its sincerity, whereby worthy initiatives are being dismissed as “image laundering” and mere PR stunts are being perceived as genuine initiatives.

S2C develops full-fledged CSR communication strategies that seek to create synergy between an organization’s CSR efforts and the way it communicates them, positively impacting its corporate image, strengthening its positioning, and bolstering the amount of goodwill it accrues. In order to do so, S2C develops communication strategies that maximize the exposure existing CSR efforts receive, while using them to further reinforce the organization’s reputation and appeal. S2C also recommends and develops complete CSR programs engineered to add real social value while yielding the desired returns on investment.

Any organization today, whether public or private, needs to be able to function within an environment wrought with constant change, whereby communication plays a critical role in “making or breaking” any successful transition.

Over the years, S2C has cultivated its expertise on a large number of assignments pertaining to change communication, allowing it to quickly and thoroughly understand its clients’ needs in trying times of change. As such, S2C develops and implements customized internal and external change management strategies for its corporate and public sector clients, guiding them through every step of the process of communicating change to the relevant audiences and ultimately effecting long-term behavioral change.

Private corporations could find themselves in the need of responding to developments such as:
  • Changes in management
  • Modernization of production processes
  • Decision to outsource
  • Change in consumers’ mindset
On the public level, changes that arise could include:
  • Introduction of political reforms
  • Establishment of new taxes
  • Expropriations
  • Development agendas
  • Governmental austerity measures

Digital media, as a powerful medium, has irreversibly transformed the communication landscape and revolutionized the way people connect and share, consequently blurring the boundaries between the virtual and real existence of a company or public entity.

S2C develops comprehensive digital and social media strategies for its clients, making it a point to ensure that their online presence reflects and reinforces their objectives and that special attention is given to content and messaging. It determines the right discourse and optimal level of engagement, puts in place the needed processes for responding to and containing negative criticism when necessary and, more importantly, ensures that all generated messages fit the “brand story” and positioning while inciting online communities to engage and connect with the brand.