Planning what to say - and when.

Communication strategy is about making deliberate decisions before expending time or resources on your campaign.

Many organisations communicate reactively - posting when something happens or issuing a press release when they remember.

Strategy changes that. It gives you a framework for who you need to reach, what they need to hear, where they go for their information, and how you know it is landing.

1284 builds communications strategies for East Midlands innovators using the OASIS framework. It means grounding every comms campaign in your business goals - and making results measurable from the start. We work with:

Spinouts
R&D-led SMEs
Local authorities
Business Representative Organisations (BROs)
Research clusters
Social enterprises & charities

What comms strategy involves.

A 1284 comms strategy gives you a structured, usable plan. It sets out clearly what you are trying to achieve and how you will get there.

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Situation analysis

A detailed interview with us, leading to a frank assessment of your current comms, reputation, and position in your market - including what’s working and what’s not.

Audience mapping

Identifying the specific people and groups whose behaviour or opinion you need to influence - and what each of them needs to hear from you and your campaign.

Objectives and KPIs

Agreeing what success looks like in precise, measurable terms, benchmarking from the start and linking performance data directly to your business plan.

Narrative and messaging

Developing a core narrative for your organisation and the key messages for each audience, keeping your communications consistent and credible across every channel.

Tactical channel planning

Recommending activities will most efficiently persuade your audiences, whether it be earned media, content, events, socials, stakeholder engagement - or something else.

CommsTally® integration

Building your strategic pillars and KPIs into our own CommsTally® campaign platform from the outset, so progress is tracked and reported transparently throughout.

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CASE STUDY

Creating a brand for CI Group.

Our work with Composites Innovation Group created a new brand for a holding company, uniting four innovation companies.

1284 used its CommsTally® platform to interview directors about their aims, clarify audiences and messaging, develop a Composites Innovation Group brand, and secure domain assets.

We then wrote a GEO-friendly brochure website that signposts users to each specialist business. A business growth grant -identified and secured by 1284 - funded half of project costs.

Read in full

Who comms strategy is for.

Our strategy work is best for organisations at a transition point - launching something new, entering a new market, approaching a funding decision. 1284 typically works alongside:

Founders and MDs who know their organisation's story but have never had the time or framework to articulate it consistently.
Comms and marketing leads who need a senior-level external perspective to challenge their current approach and prioritise activity to budget.
Funded programmes and public teams who need a comprehensive strategy they can present to board, a grant funder, or procurement panel as evidence of planning.

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'George and his team have an extensive network and bring direct, senior-level media experience.'

Andy Reed OBE
Chair
Leicester & Leicestershire Business and Skills Parternship

'1284's strategic insight and approach has transformed our comms and continues to do so.'

Niall Clark
Managing Director
Rykneld Homes

'The team's understanding of the complex political and economical landscape of the region sets them apart.'

Rick Blackmore
Director of Policy and Insight
East Midlands Chamber

What you gain.

A communications strategy is the document that makes everything else more efficient. Without it, budget gets spent on tactics that do not connect. With it, every piece of content, media engagement, or stakeholder interaction has a purpose.

By working with 1284 on your communications strategy, you can expect:

A clear narrative that travels - consistent messages you and your team can use in every conversation, pitch, or application without needing to improvise.
Audiences ranked by priority and influence, so you stop broadcasting generally and start communicating specifically.
Measurable objectives and KPIs built into CommsTally® from day one, giving you evidence of progress that you can report upwards or outwards with confidence.
A plan that is proportionate to your capacity - realistic about what your organisation can sustain, rather than aspirationally lengthy and practically useless.

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Why choose 1284

1284 is a Chartered PR and marketing communications consultancy specialising in telling the story of East Midlands IP. As well well as our decades of newsroom experience, we are Chartered PR Practitioners and hold a number of postgraduate strategy qualifications.

We use the OASIS framework as a consistent, evidence-based planning structure, and we build every strategy directly into CommsTally® - keeping it as a live and responsive campaign plan.

Our approach saw us recognised as Midlands Small PR Agency of the Year by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. We hold ISO 9001 certification for quality management and a place on the UK Government's Crown Commercial Supplier list.

More about us

“1284 bring professional brilliance, as well as real warmth and humanity, to everything they do”

Robert Martin
Chief Executive
Menphys

FAQs.

‍See how it works for you.

If a comms strategy sounds like the right starting point for you, let's have a 20-minute conversation about where you are and what you are trying to achieve.

We'll give you an honest view of whether our approach is right for you and what a strategy engagement would entail.

Thank you

We'll be in touch very soon!

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Marketing communication strategy for East Midlands innovation.

Planning what to say - and when.

A TRUSTED PARTNER.

What comms strategy involves.

Situation analysis

Audience mapping

Objectives and KPIs

Narrative and messaging

Tactical channel planning

CommsTally® integration

CASE STUDY

Creating a brand for CI Group.

Who comms strategy is for.

What you gain.

Why choose 1284

“1284 bring professional brilliance, as well as real warmth and humanity, to everything they do”

FAQs.

WORKING WITH.

‍See how it works for you.

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TELLING THE STORY OF EAST MIDLANDS Ip.

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