Branding for the Public Sector: Creating, Building and Managing Brands People Will Value

Chapter 7 Brand Communications Strategy

One of the most commonly-used parts of the public sector brand implementation and management activities is communications, which can take many forms and be both strategic and tactical in nature.

Brand communications is particularly important as it seeks to impart the key messages of the brand internally and externally and if not carefully constructed can be very inconsistent at times. Over-emphasizing communications and the wrong choice of channels can sometimes lead to intra-brand competition.

There are numerous areas of communications that need to be addressed when implementing a brand strategy for a public sector organization, and tactically these can include advertising, promotion, design and visual identity, physical outlets, the Internet, and public relations. However, before diving in to use any communications channels, the first and foremost task is to develop a communications strategy using the brand strategy.

What is a brand communications strategy?

A brand communications strategy is a comprehensive blueprint document that is used to drive all communications initiatives at every touchpoint the brand has with its target audiences. Essentially it demonstrates how the brand vision, personality and positioning statements can be most effectively and memorably communicated, and it identifies the best possible approaches in communicating key messages to those audiences. This means it must elicit key messages from the brand and direct ...