Managing communications programs is a delicate exercise. Rigor and agility with the ability to anticipate everything and be nimble towards last minute changes, news-of-the-day, or sudden brilliant ideas is needed to succeed.
When it comes to large communications and public relations programs running simultaneously across the country, involving all materials to be simultaneously launched in English and French while integrating a wide range of communications tactics, things tend to become complex. These programs often have legal and regulatory aspects to consider, agency teams split across the country, and multiple languages to integrate, thus requiring a very different project management approach. From running national bilingual mandates involving opinion research, media relations, social media, influencer engagement, design and videos, web content development, spokesperson preparation, event planning, and stakeholder engagement all at once, we developed a few tips and tricks that helped us meet success.
Not a one-size-fits-all approach
Integrated communications campaigns, by nature, are designed as customized solutions that will answer either a very unique need (bilingualism, many audiences, large scope, etc.) or help solve a complex business problem that has heavy implications on a company’s reputational assets.
- Approaching complex and integrated campaigns as a problem to solve (with creativity) rather than a one-size-fits-all templated approach is essential for the early planning stages, whether it’s about developing the strategy or budget. What are we trying to achieve?
- Then, proceed to conduct market research to truly inform your strategic thinking. What is the industry/the media/the client saying? Where is the blank space?
- Once you have decided on an impactful strategy (your north star) that you believe will help solve your core issue, that’s when, and only when, you can develop your tactics: they all stem from your strategy. Don’t limit yourself at that stage: you want to have as much creativity as possible to truly think outside the box.
- After having established all the tactics that will serve your strategy (satellites revolving around your north star), you can “menu-out” a budget and think of an overall timeline for things to unfold. The menu approach will give you wiggle room to add more recommendations down the road and for clients to select their favorite options too.
Delegating is key: create “an agency within the agency”
When client mandates require a range of expertise in different languages and markets, approval processes need to be adapted and synchronized. While smaller mandates typically have a very clean repartition of tasks and usually more of a bottom-up approach (coordinators working on the base work, managers revising, and leads approving), not everything can be reviewed by the account lead on large mandates. Rather, you need to think of things in a more circular way and empower each team member to understand their exact role and operate with more autonomy:
- Identify which approvals can be delegated by naming program expert leads: team members that excel in an expertise that is needed on your mandate and who will own the content production and deployment of this side of the program (e.g., a social media lead and a media relations lead). This will allow the account lead to set the standard for quality-control and focus on final approvals of key documents.
- Create a customed organizational chart of your client team and communicate it with your team for them to clearly understand their respective roles and how they will contribute to the overall success. Ideally, you also want to create backups. While you have appointed experts, people on your team should be able to support other areas if needed and have sufficient knowledge levels to ensure business continuity at all times.
- Educate your clients on communicating with various team members based on their expertise. While a day-to-day lead and client report is still necessary, each of the program’s expert leads can and should respond to the client when they have questions related to their area of expertise.
- Discuss the overall strategy and goals with all program expert leads and let them delegate the execution to other members of your team. Empower your team!
Plan ahead
What languages do you need to simultaneously launch in? What’s the ideal timeline between research and media dissemination? Have you listed every deliverable you need? The best will always be to ask your team—or, as we say, several brains are always better than one!
- This is especially true for bilingual mandates. At the outset of the project, determine what materials need to be adapted or translated and establish the appropriate approval process.
- While a workback plan is your friend that helps listing every possible element you’ll need to have a clear vision of the whole puzzle, for recurring projects, you should create and capitalize on the team’s experience and ownership rather than relying too much on rigid processes. Remember, large projects also require flexibility.
- Keep in mind that you want to create momentum. Nothing can be missed or forgotten. Launch days are when everything you have worked so hard for finally unfold: map your embargo days and your day of launch and run through a few scenarios with your teams.
Internal communication should be constant: no gatekeeping
Large programs have several moving parts, last minute client edits, or hard news cycle changes. Success lies in the quality and consistency of the team’s internal communications, and account managers play a key role in incentivizing workflows.
- Set up internal communications tools with your team and ask what works best for them. This can include regular internal meetings, constant chats, task emails, or calendar reminders. Always ask for confirmation from the team that the information is clear and actionable.
- The constant chatter also allows the team to remain flexible when last-minute changes are required. If the client sends a small edit in English, how does that edit impact existing materials? Do you also need to reflect that edit in the French materials (hint: the answer is always yes).
- The safety net: developing a culture of checking in on each other is key, but this is especially true on complex accounts. Collectively, it ensures that nothing is missed. Additionally, it is also essential to carve out bonding time and celebrations time for that specific project team to ensure they are both recognized and happy to work together.
Finally, always leave room for ideas! While you want to split the ownership of the overall communication program to expert leads, you also want to ensure every line of communication is open, inviting and create an environment that will stimulate brainstorming and creative chatters. The best ideas often come from people who have a fresh set of eyes on a specific piece of content, tactic, etc.