This happens a lot in our work. Clients  want to do something. We ask, why? Or, more pointedly, what is it, exactly, that you are trying to accomplish?

Asking and unpacking all the elements of what you are trying to accomplish has a way of concentrating the mind, clearing the extraneous and getting everyone in the discussion on the same page. It seems simple, but it is easy to forget and then you find yourself well down a path in a marketing tactic, communication outreach, some other initiative – even an argument – without the astringent that the answer to what we are trying to accomplish provides.

Look to your inner toddler. Ask the golden question. What am I trying to accomplish? Does it drive an existing plan? Is it consistent with well-stated goals? To whom does it matter? What are its implications? What is required? I am going to keep asking it. And next time in Children’s Ministry, I’m going to see if I can get that kid to reframe his question. Don’t ask me why. Ask me what I am trying to accomplish?

She also brings Sunflower (or Sunny), the service/guide puppy in training.

Terri began her career as an award-winning reporter and editor, holding leadership roles with the Kansas City area’s two largest newspaper publishers, Sun Publications and the Kansas City Star, for more than a decade.

Sunny was born into her career on June 21 at Kansas Specialty Service Dogs in Washington, Kansas. KSDS is a non-profit organization that promotes independence of people who are visually impaired or physical handicapped by providing highly-trained canine assistance and support.

In 2003, Terri joined another strategic communications firm where she served as Director of Client services.  In that role she was responsible for oversight and management of the client service function and was accountable for the long-term health of the firm’s client relationships. Terri has expertise in an array of communications activities, including strategic planning, branding, media relations and issues management.

Sunny’s expertise includes sit, off, no, down, no, shake, leave it, drop it and no.

In 2006, one of Terri’s largest CCG clients hired her as their Vice President of Marketing. She was responsible for all aspects of marketing and communications for this $1 billion asset bank and its 10 banking locations.

Terri is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the winner of PRSA Prism Awards for media relations and special events.

Sunny will soon be winning the heart of every client, delivery person, and maintenance worker who walks through our front door. Treats are welcome.

Though a native of St. Louis, Mo., Terri has lived most of her adult life in Kansas City. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Management and Human Relations at Mid-America Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas.

Sunny will graduate and earn the right to become a life partner for a blind or disabled person … if Terri does her second job well.  And though success means giving up Sunny at the age of 20-24 months, we’ll all be proud, even as we shed some inevitable tears.

The firm was honored in the categories of Public Affairs/Lobbying/Issues Management, Internet Communications, and Newsletters.

In addition to the awards, Sturges Word Communications Account Manager Justin LaBerge was nominated as PRSA president-elect for the 2012 year.

Sturges Word Communications is a strategic design and public relations firm with special expertise in the public involvement/government, utility/infrastructure, development/real estate, financial/professional services, retail/hospitality sectors. The agency helps clients get results with experience and creativity applied to the right mix of communications tools including advertising, branding, community engagement, creative, crisis communications, event planning, public relations, social media strategy, and Web design. The firm’s work does what matters to clients – builds brands, moves product and manages reputations. Sturges Word is a member of the Worldcom Group, the largest network of independent integrated and public relations firms in the world.

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Sturges Word was happy to support the center’s grand opening with the Insider’s Guide to Parking — a clearly illustrated parking and driving map of the area around the Kauffman Center. It is hoped that the map, which is available as a full color PDF download, will help the 20,000 anticipated grand-opening visitors find parking, shuttles, trolleys and other transportation to ensure that they not only experience the new Kauffman Center, but enjoy their visit to Downtown Kansas City.

Designed and illustrated by the team at Sturges Word, the map shows surface and underground parking lots, trolley and shuttle stops and the Max bus route, as well as the many other attractions near the Kauffman Center. It is an excerpt of a larger printed parking map that Sturges Word designed for the Downtown Council of Kansas City, Missouri. That larger map shows parking and attractions in all of the districts that comprise downtown Kansas City.

“Sturges Word has been located in downtown Kansas City for almost 20 years,” says Linda Word, principal and creative director. “We are so pleased with all of the recent development, and we hope this PDF will help visitors enjoy not only their visit to the Kauffman Center, but their visit downtown. It’s an area rich with culture, and with additions like the center, it’s only getting richer.”

Click here to download the Kauffman Center Parking Map.

“Sturges Word is a strong advocate for the Arts Council,” says Linda Word, Sturges Word creative director and principal. “We support their mission and enjoyed being a part of the Art/Work program. It was inspiring to see the work of so many creative Kansas Citians from so many different companies.”

Art/Work is a city-wide corporate arts challenge that encourages people in the Kansas City work force to share their personal creative talents in the literary, visual and performing arts. A panel of local professionals evaluates the entries and awards “Best in Show” honors at an awards program. The general public is also invited to vote for “People’s Choice” award winners.

Art/Work is one of many programs that the Arts Council provides that enables Kansas City area companies to actively engage in the arts. The council also offers a variety of programs and services that support area artists and arts organizations.

After working with Sturges Word on its marketing brochure and materials for its annual luncheon, the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City further engaged the firm on internal marketing initiatives, creative direction and strategic planning.

Hovey Williams LLP, an intellectual property law firm focusing exclusively on patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and IP litigation, has engaged Sturges Word to assist with media relations, marketing, social media, and website support.

Kaua`i Island Utility Cooperative, the electric utility serving the Hawaiian island of Kaua`i, is the sixth electric utility across the nation to partner with Sturges Word for strategic communication counsel. The firm is assisting KIUC with stakeholder engagement and community outreach for a series of renewable energy projects proposed on the island. These projects are part of a larger program to generate 50 percent of the island’s energy from renewable sources including small hydro, biofuels, biomass, and photovoltaic solar by 2023.

Kipp Endeavor Academy selected Sturges Word to promote its fifth grade program, update its branded materials and messaging, and redesign its website.

The city of Leavenworth, Kan., has engaged Sturges Word to conduct an assessment of the city’s communication tools and practices. The project includes a survey of residents and other stakeholders, an evaluation of current communication efforts, and recommendations for the future.

In addition to these new clients, the agency has expanded its relationship with Overland Park-based Ash Grove Cement Company, providing more comprehensive communications services throughout the company.

Sturges Word Communications is a full-service integrated marketing communications agency with special expertise in the development, financial/professional services, public involvement/government, place marketing, and utility sectors. The agency helps clients get results with experience and creativity applied to the right mix of communications tools including advertising, branding, community engagement, creative, crisis communications, event planning, public relations, social media strategy, and Web design. The firm’s work does what matters to clients – builds brands, moves product and manages reputations. Sturges Word is a member of the Worldcom Group, the largest network of independent integrated and public relations firms in the world.

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What can you expect if you go through the branding process? You will learn a few definitions, of brand, brand awareness / identity / position / management and, value proposition. Just think, you can skip Reader’s Digest “Word Power” that month and delight friends and co-workers with your newly expanded vocabulary.

There’s a bit of a research phase, which clever people usually foist off on the consultants, that involves several steps of an internal assessment, a competitive analysis and assessment by third parties. The next step, brand building, does require a bit of your attention as it gets into positioning statements, key differentiators, value proposition, and brand essence. The conversations get quite colorful as you discuss how, or if, the positioning ties to the corporate directions and, more tellingly, if your internal teams are committed.

Everybody likes validation and your brand is no exception. Once you have an idea of the positioning get out of your head, jump out of your ivory tower, take whatever exit is handiest and test it out there among the objective. Are you just kidding yourself or does it really resonate with your key market segments?

At the end, with your rock solid brand in hand, you have a road map to guide you through creating and implementing the marketing communication plan. Now, your public relations, advertising, direct programs, website, internal communications, social media, and the rest are deeply rooted. You’re done, almost. You still have to manage your brand; tend to it like you would the golden goose. In so doing, you make sure your brand, the promise that exists in the mind of the consumer, is moot.

We’ve seen this happen with brands. A brand, a promise that exists in the mind of the consumer, can present itself as one thing, winning positive mental real estate in how we perceive and experience it and yet, undermine that position when it behaves in opposition to the promise.

The most prominent, recent example of that is Toyota. Long associated with reliability, the Toyota brand took a hit in 2010 with multiple recalls involving more than 7 million of its vehicles, lawsuits alleging culpability in accidents and management reticence in addressing the issues. All this conspired to plant a question in consumers’ minds as to the reliability, if not safety, of this brand.

Is your organization at war with its brand? Do you know the promise that it makes, or you intend for it to make, in the minds of your consumers?

For some of you, this can be a quick gut check: What is the impression we intend to make, what are we doing to make it and is the attending experience by our consumer / shareholder / employee / community member consistent with that intended impression?

Every organization has, or should have, an intentional vision of who they are to their constituencies. What is yours?

For emerging organizations, or those in transition, going through a branding discipline is solid strategy that gives your entity a clear picture of who you are, informing how you engage your publics and go to market. If you are among those who don’t love process, cling to fact that at the end of a reasonable timeframe, you will know exactly who you are as an organization, and what direction that suggests in terms of strategic marketing and communication.

In my next blog entry, I will walk through the steps that take you from brand cramp to brand smart – what the work looks like when you build your brand right, and manage it once you have. For now, I will leave you with thoughts on a few misconceptions:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Dec. 20, 2010) – Linda Word recently joined the board of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, making a commitment to work with the organization on strategic communications planning over the next year.

In addition to board service, Word anticipates supporting the Shakespeare Festival with graphic design, social media and public relations counsel and services, particularly in promotion of the coming February 12, 2011, gala benefiting the organization’s many programs and, the Festival’s annual production in Southmoreland Park, featuring “Macbeth,” June 14 – July 3, 2011.

Founded in 1991, the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival produces a Shakespeare play each year, free to the public. Macbeth will be the festival’s 24th production. In addition to its annual professional production, the organization delivers year ’round educational programs enjoyed by those between the ages of five and 18.

For more information about the Shakespeare Festival, visit www.kcshakes.org.

Sturges Word Communications is a full-service integrated marketing communications agency with special expertise in the public involvement/government, utility/infrastructure, development/real estate, financial/professional services, retail/hospitality sectors. The agency helps clients get results with experience and creativity applied to the right mix of communications tools including advertising, branding, community engagement, creative, crisis communications, event planning, public relations, social media strategy, and Web design. The firm’s work does what matters to clients – builds brands, moves product and manages reputations. Sturges Word is a member of the Worldcom Group, the largest network of independent integrated and public relations firms in the world.

The late Phil Hartman plays Gene, the titular chef, who announces his intention to make pepper steak and in less than four minutes he has, instead, pointed out that the flavor from green peppers comes not from the cooking of them but how evenly diced they are, demonstrated the proper way to dispose of unwanted (unevenly chopped) peppers (two sheets of paper towels, still joined, folded over the offending peppers, wrapped in aluminum foil folded with equal care, carefully placed in a brown paper sandwich bag which, if torn, is carefully taped and then pleated and taped to cover the unnerving tear), given a thorough lecture on how to hand sew a tape dispenser cozy and, addressed the proper way to clean a kitchen surface.

Chef Gene’s lack of focus popped into my head as my home looked like an explosion at Santa Land and I found myself, instead of hanging ornaments or fussing with garland, putting new shoelaces in my workout skips.

There is, absolutely, a logical thread that connects one to the other but I am not ready to be that transparent and, who has the time? What I can say is that I, like Chef Gene, was not focused on what I was trying to accomplish.

What are you trying to accomplish? In your organization, as in the rest of your life, having a clear grasp on that is the first step in creating a rock solid strategic plan to get you from here to there without losing focus. However, getting to a well-stated goal can be a trial for some of us. A few tips for the focus challenged:

Thinking through what you want to accomplish and maintaining your focus on it is key to workplace happiness. Everyday we work with organizations that would like help with some communication tool – social media, a printed piece, media relations, website design or campaign but, are not always clear what, exactly, they want to accomplish; what, when all is said and done, success looks like. Start with a measurable objective and you, too, will get to taste that pepper steak.