Case Studies : Message Development

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

The Strategy
In 2004, CommCore helped to create the Ambassador Program which has become one of the AICPA’s most successful outreach programs for the organization in the past 10 years.
It is a multi-pronged persuasive communications, reputation management and public relations initiative which “certifies” CPAs to become speakers or Ambassadors for the industry. 

The topics they speak on include recruitment, financial literacy, the importance of aiding small businesses and working in the public interest. The venues in which the Ambassadors “sell” the accounting industry include local/national broadcast and print media, town hall meetings, regulatory panels, and key note speeches.

The Ambassador program is designed to enhance each presenter’s ability to educate peer audiences on the four key message quadrants: student recruitment, financial literacy, working in the public interest, and partnering with small business for success.

The Results
For the past four years, CommCore has delivered over 100 workshops in nearly 50 states with over 1,200 CPA Ambassadors trained. 
We have also provided communication counsel to AICPA Chairmen, special committees and conducted media pitching workshops at their large conference, Interchange.

Services Provided

Media Skills Training

Presentation Skills Training

Media Pitching

Media Relations

Message Development

Leadership Skills

Industry:  Association

Architect of the Capitol

This case study illustrates senior official presentation evaluation, message development, coaching, and rigorous question and answer training for Congressional testimony.

CommCore Consulting Group was retained to coach the Architect of the Capitol for testimony regarding budgets and specific items for remodeling of the Capitol building. This assignment was particularly complex due to budget constraints in Congress while at the same time a compelling need to overhaul the very building congress worked in every day.

CommCore assisted the official to develop a metaphor to help explain the delicate issues of cost overruns and delays.  The Architect began his five minute statement comparing the Capitol building with a vintage Ford Thunderbird auto that needed to install a catalytic converter.  It’s much easier to buy a new car with all the emissions technology, but it may not look as nice, the official explained.

This opening statement helped set a better tone in what was a difficult hearing.

Services Provided:
Presentation Training
Message Development
Witness Preparation Training

Industry: Government

Leading E-Commerce Company (blinded)

The Challenge
One of the Internet’s and technology’s leading e-commerce companies approached CommCore over 8 years ago to train some of their top management including the CEO.  This CEO was very media-savvy and the initial challenge was finding a media and speaker skills coach that has the coaching experience and insights to improve on these already advanced skills.   Beyond top management, this company’s marketing team was charged with creating and implementing a strategic communications plan that included key message development and large-scope media and presentation skills training.

The Strategy
CommCore’s impressive depth in industry and media experience proved to be the right fit for the CEO on down.  With this “pilot” coaching session successfully accomplished, the CEO and other leaders in the firm declared a mandate that virtually every person that was asked to speak publicly on behalf of the company MUST go through coaching with CommCore. 

Our proven message development technique and delivery tools had to be taught in a consistent manner and embraced by all participants.   We sought out to train literally thousands of spokespersons and to date have done just that and we continue to train and re-train more each month and year.  We have prepared executives and subject/industry experts for media interviews, trade shows, analyst meetings, earnings calls, internal talks, external keynote speeches, testimony, how-to-do workshops, and much more.

The Results
CommCore successfully conducted several hundred workshops for this leading Internet/e-commerce company.  

• Spokespeople deliver more compelling and consistent talks and media interviews
• The company has enjoyed record growth through high exposure and has emerged as a stand-alone industry leader
• Participants attribute much of their advancement and success in leadership to CommCore’s coaching and counsel.

Services Provided:

Media Skills Coaching

Message Development

Presentation Skills Training

Facilitation Skills Training

Executive Leadership Skills

Industry:  Technology

Aerospace & US Defense Contractor (blinded)

The Challenge
An Aerospace & US Defense Contractor had a self-prescribed 1 in 10 chanceof unseating a long-term incumbent contractor for a six-year, $180 million contract with the US Navy. The client sought assistance in delivering a critical presentation in the final stage of the proposal review process.
 
The Strategy
CommCore assembled the presentation team and identified clear, concise and compelling key messages & themes that would resonate with the Navy. We transformed a dense, multi-volume technical proposal into a captivating presentation that demonstrated the superiority of the technical solutions and also gave a sense of the team. After all, the NAVY would be working with the selected contractor for the next six years. The presentation team needed to prove they could build a trusting, compatible partnership.

After creating the general presentation theme and framework, CommCore worked with each of the six individual presenters. After crafting and practicing the individual segments, CommCore brought the entire team back together for intensive orals coaching and on-camera rehearsals of all aspects of the team’s message delivery. CommCore also developed and practiced Q&A strategies with the team.  These practice sessions reflected the constraints of the panel review process, but underscored the importance of responding directly and succinctly to panel questions.  Within a few short weeks, the ACME team created an engaging presentation that allowed its technical solution and its management team to shine. 

The Results
Our client beat the odds and won the contract. In awarding the contract, the Navy said that the quality and consistency of the oral presentation was a major factor in the decision.

Services Provided:
Message Development
Presentation Skills Training

Development of Sound Bites

Q & A Preparation

On-Camera Rehearsals and Critique

Image Consulting
Orals Coaching

Industry:  Aerospace

Qualcomm

The Challenge
One of the world’s largest wireless communication solution providers found its engineers and scientists running into difficulty during presentation.  Qualcomm sought CommCore’s help in meeting several objectives:

• Train the group on efficiently speaking to the company’s three key messages in a media interactive setting
• Train company engineers to speak with greater ease to a non-technical / non-academic audience
• Educate telecommunications industry analysts 

The Strategy
CommCore met with the Marketing and Public Relations Manager to determine the team’s baseline presentation skill and delivery style.  CommCore then developed specific recommendations and learning objectives based on this analysis.  In addition to the challenge of meeting the learning objectives, the scope of the training presented another challenge.  Several dozen executives needed to complete the training, none of whom had much time to dedicate to it.

CommCore devised a plan, including an on-going training schedule for all participants.

The Results
The participants reported greater level of ease speaking to non-technical and non-academic audiences.  The organization was grateful for the valuable coaching CommCore provided.
 
Ancillary benefits of the training included:

• More confidence in presenting and communicating with clients and prospects
• More clear, concise and focused communication

Services Provided:

Message Development

Presentation Skills Training

Industry:  Technology

National Aeronautical and Space Administration

This case study is an example of message development, high-profile media relations and senior level presentation skills.

CommCore consultants have worked with the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA).  Our challenge was to train senior NASA engineers to testify in Congress, as well as meet the media, to explain in plain English how they planned to fix the Hubble Telescope when it was sending back unclear photos.  Our best work was helping to translate “At 23:50 we’re going to effect an EVA and recalibrate the module.”

The testimony and interviews were sufficiently compelling to sway Congress to authorize additional funds for the repair of the telescope.  The media events surrounding these presentations were favorable in large part due to the persuasive and understandable language we helped craft for the technicians.

Services Provided:
Media Training
Message Development
Presentation Training

Industry:  Aerospace

Consumer Electronics Company (blinded)

The Challenge
In 2005, Company ABC was recognized as a world leader in consumer electronics and appliances.  They needed to ready divisional leaders across the world to speak primarily to the Western media about their technical expertise, business forecasts, and their ability to make returns to investors.  At the time, Company ABC had a 10-year relationship with a Top 5 Public Relations Firm.  This PR firm recommended CommCore based on our capability and experience writing and executing multi-faceted programs for media skills, presentation skills and message development. 

The Strategy
The program required training of several executives in South Korea. The program had to capture company feedback, recommendations, benchmarks, and reporting from CommCore that would then be communicated through the ranks at Company ABC to Senior Management.  We kicked off the engagement with a pilot program for the Global Marketing team, Division Presidents and CEOs that focused on enhancing media skills.  Refresher sessions where scheduled for those executives selected for press activities. These follow-up sessions provided in-depth training and strategy for the specific media outlets and spokespeople involved.

The Results
Company ABC found CommCore’s programming so valuable and robust that they made it part of their annual reviews of company executives.  To date, CommCore has worked with Company ABC’s two Vice Chairmen, all five division CEOs and 70 division managers.  We also prepared a Vice Chairman for a keynote speech at EFA, the European equivalent of the COMDEX meeting.  CommCore’s approach and proven curricula continues to impress Company ABC and their PR agency.  The initial media training assignment in Seoul, South Korea has grown to include media, presentation and message development programs in Korea, India, Singapore, Japan, Canada and across Europe.

Services Provided:

Media Training

Presentation Training

Message Development

Industry:  Electronics

Parke-Davis

The Challenge
Launching a new drug into a crowded market is always a challenge.  In 1999, Parke-Davis (Warner Lambert) were ready to launch what we now refer to as the largest selling medicine for treating high cholesterol.

Yet, when approved by the FDA, it was not the first drug in the “statin” category. Therefore, the public relations and communications efforts had to include an extensive and creative outreach and education campaign to reach both lay and scientific audiences across the globe.   

The Strategy
With messages to develop and refine, and hundreds of spokespeople to train, CommCore worked with the clients to provide a deep bench of experienced consultants to deliver consistent advice and coaching in scores of locations throughout the U.S. and abroad.

CommCore was tasked with collaborating with the public relations agencies, product managers, in-house corporate communication specialists, management, as well as logistics companies and investor relations firms to implement this large-scale training initiative.  We were able to coach internal and external spokespeople, clinical trial investigators, key opinion leaders and even celebrities and athletes.

The Results
CommCore was part of the launch and ongoing communications team, successfully conducting workshops over several years.   

• Key opinion leaders spoke in consistent and understandable terms to reach the millions of potential patients who suffer from high cholesterol and related heart ailments
• Lipitor remains the most successful selling pharmaceutical in history
• Since its launch, CommCore has continued to coach counsel and advise spokespeople and scientists to speak to issues, advancements and patent status
• CommCore has coached spokespeople throughout the U.S. and in most countries where the drug is marketed
• By 2008, revenues were more than $13 billion with 26 million Americans prescribed to the drug.

Services Provided:

Media Training

Presentation Skills Training

Message Development

Industry: Healthcare / Pharmaceutical

General Motors

CommCore’s experience at General Motors is as diverse as the automaker’s product line.  For 20 years, we have worked with divisions from every continent (except Antarctica) for:

• Message Development
• Media Training
• Crisis Simulations and Response
• Senior Executive Communications Coaching
• Auto Show Preparation

We have worked with Cadillac, Saab, Pontiac, Buick, Saturn, Opel, Hummer, Holden brands, and just about every type of vehicle including the electric powered Volt, sports cars, sedans, SUVs and crossovers. 

GM asked CommCore to assist on Crisis Response during the CK-Pickup Truck controversy.  We have conducted crisis simulations for “Ride and Drive” events. CommCore provided counsel related to labor/management negotiations. 

Our favorite GM assignment: Driving a Corvette on a race track in Germany.

Service Provided:
Media Traning
Messaging
Presentation
Crisis

Industry Related:  Automotive