• How can strategic communications expand an organization’s mission and impact?
• What are the consequences to an organization that is not strategic about communicating its brand? 

Strategic communications ensures that an organization’s mission is clearly, appropriately, and effectively conveyed to its stakeholders as well as target population. The core message in strategic communications is closely linked with the mission, so without embedding a core message, the organization would not be able to have the target audience of its communications understand its mission, let alone supporting it. Since the mission guides an organization’s strategic decision-making, strategically communicating the mission would empower the organization to work effectively with its stakeholders, reach its target population, and ensure that its program decisions are aligned with the mission statement.

In terms of impact, strategic communications would generate clarity in an organization’s messaging of its objective and also pathos which speaks directly to the audience and connects with them on an emotional level. This in turn leads to effective understanding of what the organization does and its values and principles, which is crucial for the organization to exert its influence on its target population. Coca-Cola is a great example of strategically communicating its brand to its target population, which contributes to its success in remote areas of the world.

If an organization is not strategic about communicating its brand, like in the case of Susan G. Komen, the consequences are both philosophical and financial. The organization would lose support from its stakeholders, funding from donors and funders, as well as the image that it’s worked so hard to build and maintain. Lack of strategy in communications could stem from a failure to identify the target audience, unspecific objective, inconsistent or lack of a core message, use of an ineffective or ill-fitted messenger, or the use of an inadequate form of communication. As we’ve learned from Susan G. Komen, these five elements must be strategically selected and deployed; otherwise, communications would end up disastrous and detrimental to the organization from the micro to macro level: it would lose support and/or funding for its programs, and its brand or image would be negatively impacted, possibly requiring years to rebuild.