Marketing Communications

Think of Sterling Communications as an extension of your marketing department (if you have one) or as a on-call marketing department (if you don’t). As part of our 360º Communications approach, Sterling works with PR clients to hone and align marketing messages, craft and manage marketing campaigns, and integrate social media and web design as appropriate.

Sterling marcom services are designed to help ensure that internal marketing functions are leveraging each other’s work, that customers are actively engaged with company brands, and that results are tracked back to corporate objectives. We can serve as a trusted advisor, a creative consultant, or a program manager. In fact, our CEO has even served as the acting CMO for Juniper Networks and the acting head of communications for a division of BT (formerly British Telecom) for extended engagements.

Here’s a small sample of work Sterling’s professionals have done for high-tech, cleantech, media, and government clients:

HR Communications Collateral

Taking inspiration from the award-winning Pixar/Disney movie “Toy Story,” “401k Story” was a premier piece of collateral designed to capture the attention of hard-working Disney employees, clearly communicate changes to the company’s matching policies and fund choices, and encourage greater participation in the plan. As copywriter for the piece, Sterling’s creative director Kawika Holbrook made sure the content not only met Disney standards, but engaged its employees. The piece worked. Enrollment increased. And Disney returned for a benefits communication booklet, “A Whole New World,” based on titles to hit songs from years of animated classics.

Employee Recruitment Collateral

Fireman’s Fund was struggling to recruit qualified personnel to its Marin County headquarters. It was too far from San Francisco’s hotbed of activity and it couldn’t match the compensation offered by Silicon Valley tech companies. Plus, it was a company operating in the less-than-sexy insurance industry. How could Fireman’s Fund reach out effectively to top-flight talent? The answer was to confront the truths of the market, appeal to the long-term interests of applicants, and — most importantly — kick competitors to the curb. The “Make Your Old Job Jealous,” the campaign created by Sterling’s creative director Kawika Holbrook, became more than copy. The phrase became a rallying cry for the company’s recruiting and human resource efforts. It paid off. Applications doubled and Fireman’s Fund returned for additional strategic communications campaigns.

Cleantech Marketing Collateral

One of the world’s largest environmental services firms, Paris-headquartered Veolia turned to Sterling when it wanted quality marketing collateral developed for use in the United States. As Veolia’s ‘one stop’ communications partner in the US, Sterling’s team crafted copy that delivered the strategic messaging effectively in the U.S.. Sterling also drove the marketing efforts to brand and launch a new program, the Veolia Innovation Accelerator (VIA), working in close partnership with another Sterling client, the Cleantech Group. This 2010 launch was a success. Veolia’s brand and its VIA initiative are quickly gaining mind share with key media influencers in the US.

Outdoor Advertising

The image problem facing San Francisco’s Department of Parking and Traffic can be summed up in two words: “meter maids.” The City has never been kind to car owners looking for a place to park. Unfortunately, The City’s residents weren’t being too kind to the people charged with keeping order on the streets. DPT needed more than simply to change the public’s perception of its role; DPT needed empathy from the public in order to improve parking and traffic problems.

“On the Streets,” the theme created by Sterling’s creative director Kawika Holbrook, was the outdoor campaign to showcase the hard work DPT’s staff does for the public.

The campaign succeeded. Post-campaign studies showed department personnel winning newfound respect from motorists. The campaign itself won an Addy award from the Bay Area Advertising Federation and accolades from the Mayor as well.