ASK FOUNDATION

Strategy Streamlines a Multitude of Messages

Challenge

ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation’s mission is to make life easier for children with pediatric cancer and their families in Virginia.

As an established and thriving organization, they offer many services and programs—so many that it wasn’t always easy to explain their unique expertise concisely.

Additionally, their large team all had different tenure with the organization and different communication styles. Ahead of an update of their communications tools across all touchpoints, the leadership team wanted to institute a more consistent approach to how key messages are shared.

Solution

I led their team through my 4-stage process to clarify their core messages and move them toward their goal.

Through interactive sessions together, we audited their current communication highlighting gaps and inconsistencies.

We discovered that they were communicating every aspect of their offering to every audience segment, rather than targeting the most compelling messages to each according to their needs.

Next I led the team through a series of focused exercises mapping ASK’s various messages through the lens of each audience.

We clarified the organization’s distinctives, prioritized which messages spoke most directly to their audience’s needs, and developed more personalized, engaging messaging.

From that core alignment, I provided a user-friendly Messaging Guide and hands-on training that equips the ASK team to communicate with consistent voice and language.

I continue to mentor ASK’s communication team as they update their messaging across channels (including this brochure for new families).

“Erin was paramount in allowing us to successfully organize our messages for each of our key audiences in a concise and effective way.

[That work] was so critical in articulating the key points in our vision of impact and connecting how funding would generate that impact.”

– Matt Gordon, Communications Mgr, ASK Foundation

“We’re more cognizant of how much info we put in our communications, and…

we’re always running things through the filter of “what’s in it for them [our audience]?” …as well as the brand voice [guide].”