Ethridge & Associates, L.L.C., has a proven, consistent track record of consulting organizations and individuals on how to dramatically improve the return on marketing/communication investment.
How do we do this? We use a unique consulting approach to helping clients develop effective communication campaigns. The steps in this process are:
- Fact-Finding Meeting -- Having a “fact-finding” meeting helps you to understand your vision, mission, values, objectives, preliminary goals and priorities. It also stimulates discussion of the vast range of ways in which we can help.
- Communication Audit -- Auditing existing communication (ads, press releases, bios, etc.) for you and competitors, as well as reviewing existing secondary research (both internal and external to your organization) will help you to identify any gaps in information needed (whether that may be additional research needed or additional training needed).
- Primary Research-- Designing and conducting any additional primary research may be needed to help you identify problems, opportunities, and alternative strategies (for external or internal communication) that will best work.
- Recommendations & Facilitation -- Based on the steps above, we make very specific recommendations about how to improve the effectiveness of your communication efforts. Again, these may include strategies for external communications (e.g., sales, advertising, public relations, publicity) or internal communications (employee training or other employee communication campaigns). Then we facilitate with you, the client, to help you effectively plan and implement those recommendations.
- Measurement of Effectiveness -- Once recommendations are implemented, we provide on-going or periodic follow-up evaluation to measure the success of the communication campaign, and provide feedback on how to enhance and “fine-tune” the campaign over time.
We have worked with many ad agencies, public relations, fund raising agencies, corporate brands and individuals to provide them with the research that results in winning campaign messages.
Our research techniques reveal the winning, unique branding/selling proposition (umbrella theme) and supporting themes (copy points), including the exact words, phrases and visual symbols, that the research has proven to be the most persuasive.
This enhances your reputation for powerful advertising and makes the creative director’s job easier. No longer will they have to present concepts to clients until they pick the one they like best. Instead, our research provides the critical input needed to make the output of the creative process the most effective it can be.
Thus, creative staff can now develop and present creative ideas more confidently about how to convey the message that is proven by research to be more critical to success. This makes both the agency and the client look good, and enables them to be more successful.
Once concepts are developed based on the research, clients typically send us drafts of creative executions (TV ads, radio ads, print ads, press releases, media packets, etc.) and ask us to review and critique them.
This ensures that they are “on message” with what the research says will work. Thus, we serve as the “keeper of the message” to make sure that your campaign stays “on message.”
