What, Who and Why?
After my post about the relaunch of The Second Row a few weeks ago I was humbled by the encouraging reactions from a wide range of friends and colleagues, which included lots of kind words, thoughtful advice and numerous offers to collaborate with partners for the past. It was a loud and definitive endorsement of the path that I have chosen for The Second Row that it is not only the right one for myself, but it also has real promise and potential.
In addition to the affirmation of my decision, I received some form of the same three questions about the relaunch:
WHAT would you say you do here at The Second Row?
WHO in the mental health and wellness space do you want to work with?
WHY do clients want to work with The Second Row and what are the benefits?
I’m going to tackle all three questions in order, so let’s go!
1. “WHAT would you say you do here at The Second Row…?
- Bob Slydell (played by John C. McGinley) in 1994’s classic workplace comedy Office Space
This is a consistent question that I have had to answer hundreds of times during my career in marketing and public relations. I admit that this is a bit of a paradox for a professional communicator, but think I finally have cracked the code, here it goes:
At The Second Row we identify, craft and tell great stories that increase awareness and persuade people to action.
To break it down, I approach the development and delivery of great stories into four phases:
The initial ‘identify’ phase is all about the discussions, research, brainstorming and thinking that goes into figuring out the kernel(s) and general themes of an interesting story. That narrative could be about a person, a cause, a business or an important event or occasion.
Then comes the hard part, the creative ‘craft’ segment. This includes words, concepts, pictures, feelings and colors required to tell those stories, which involves the strategic, creative, design and writing skills needed to bring compelling and memorable stories to life.
The next part of the story development process is how you tell your story, which many call the ’campaign’ or the ‘program.’ These components include website design, copy generation, social media and blog posts, press releases, brochures, educational and background pieces, presentations, infographics, short and long-form video and so much more.
The final component is selecting the ‘channels’ that will deliver your story directly to the audiences you want to reach. There is a massive amount of content available today, which includes social media, old-school and modern media outlets, digital and mobile environments, websites, blogs, SEO (Search Engine Optimization)/SEM (Search Engine Marketing), online and traditional advertising and on and on.
2. WHO in the mental health and wellness space do you want work with?
The Second Row collaborates with people, organizations and companies that are contributing to the overall mental health and wellness of the communities that they serve, including those involved in the burgeoning legal cannabis industry, as well as providers of mindfulness practices and techniques for individuals and groups. Admittingly, this is a very open, far-reaching definition, but that is by design. We don’t want to be too specific about the kind of people or providers that we work with. We intentionally want to collaborate and partner with a range of people and organizations, because we believe that a diverse client roster leads to distinctive collaborations that result in unique opportunities for both our partners and our team.
An ideal client of The Second Row could be a growing full-service family therapy group practice, a virtual coaching practice focused on men and fatherhood created by an experienced Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), an inventor of a new, innovative meditation app, or a non-profit focused on a clinical application or a public policy initiative.
While we fully understand that wellness is a broad topic, at The Second Row we also want to collaborate with corporate communications and human resources professionals and departments who need to explain the benefits and culture of their organization to those who work there now, while simultaneously attracting talented candidates to help the company grow and evolve into the future.
3. WHY do clients want to work with The Second Row and what are the benefits?
For those involved in mental health and wellness, there is a real need for quality storytelling and the results that come from a well-executed marketing communications campaign done right and done well. A few of the many benefits of working with The Second Row, include:
More Awareness = Increased Growth: Letting the world know about something or someone can take many forms. The tricky part is raising awareness with the right audiences that you want to reach. It is very simple. The more people that know what you do, and the services or products that you provide will result in more clients or users as well as additional revenue. Increased brand awareness will also grow and enrich your network which often leads to new clinical connections and professional growth opportunities.
Clarity Saves Time: If your marketing footprint, which includes your website, social media platforms, collateral (brochures, explainers) clearly explains and effectively communicates what you do, it will increase incoming inquiries from the right clients, while reducing the volume of misguided questions.
Understanding Speeds Impact: If your brand messaging is on point, you will get to the important issues faster, because your audience understands what you do, how you do it and your areas of expertise. That is where your valuable time and resources should be spent.
If you’d like to learn more about what we are doing at The Second Row, or you have something that you’d like to brainstorm on… drop me a line at matt@thesecondrow.net or shoot me a txt at 617.699.7205.
Cheers,
Matt