Communications strategy for organisations whose work depends on being understood.
Communications strategy for NZ Crown entities, councils, and organisations whose work depends on how clearly it is communicated.
A communications strategy is the difference between an organisation that puts a lot of words into the world and an organisation that actually changes what people think and do. Obvious builds communications strategy for New Zealand Crown entities, councils, peak bodies, member organisations, and the kinds of businesses whose commercial outcomes are gated by how clearly they communicate. The work is upstream of campaigns, content calendars, and press releases. It is the strategy layer that decides what those outputs are for in the first place.
What communications strategy actually is
Communications strategy is a written set of decisions about who the organisation needs to reach, what those audiences need to understand and believe, what the organisation will say to make that happen, and how those messages will reach each audience consistently.
It includes audience definition (specifically who, not just demographically), message hierarchy (the primary message and the supporting proof points), channel strategy (which platforms, in what order, for which audience), tone of voice (how the organisation sounds when it speaks), and a measurement framework (how you know whether the work is actually moving the audience).
It is not a content calendar. A content calendar is the operational execution. The strategy is the question that the calendar answers.
Why NZ public-sector organisations need communications strategy especially
The Crown entity, council, and government-supplier comms environment has constraints that most commercial organisations do not face. Te Tiriti partnership obligations. Multi-stakeholder accountability (Ministers, boards, audit, community). Procurement language conventions. Plain-language requirements. OIA-aware drafting discipline. Bicultural translation requirements.
A communications strategy built for one of those environments has to navigate all of those constraints without losing clarity. Most agency comms-strategy work in New Zealand is built for the commercial environment and translated awkwardly into public-sector use. Obvious builds public-sector comms strategy natively, because most of our work is in this domain. Our communications strategy engagements for Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, MSQ Health, and Playcentre Aotearoa all sat inside this environment.
What a typical Obvious communications strategy engagement includes
Audience definition (named segments, what they currently believe, what they need to believe). Message architecture (primary message, supporting proof points, message variants for each audience). Channel strategy (which channels reach each audience, in what order). Tone of voice and writing guide (how the organisation sounds when it speaks). Plus a measurement framework that names how success will be assessed.
The deliverable is usually a written communications strategy document, a one-page summary for executive sign-off, and a thirty-to-sixty-day rollout plan that translates the strategy into specific operational decisions for the in-house comms team. Foundation tier engagements run six to eight weeks. Programme tier engagements with deeper stakeholder consultation run ten to fourteen weeks.
Communications strategy at the depth level
The full engagement details, deliverables, and process structure live at /solutions/strategy/messaging-and-communication/. Communications strategy work is the highest-volume engagement type within the Obvious strategic discipline for public-sector clients.
Right fit if you are
- A Crown entity, council, or government organisation launching a new policy, programme, or service
- A peak body or member organisation whose national office needs to communicate consistently across local centres or chapters
- A scale-stage business whose product is sophisticated but whose external story is not yet matching it
- A health, education, or social-impact organisation whose audience is making high-stakes decisions and needs clarity, not noise
- A marketing or comms director frustrated by content output that does not connect to a strategic objective
Frequently asked questions
What is communications strategy?
Communications strategy is the written, defensible set of decisions about who an organisation needs to reach, what those audiences need to understand and believe, what the organisation will say to make that happen, and how those messages will reach each audience consistently. It sits upstream of content, campaigns, and press work.
How is communications strategy different from brand strategy?
Brand strategy is about what the organisation stands for and who it stands for. Communications strategy is about how that brand position reaches its audiences in operational terms. Brand strategy is the input; communications strategy is the translation layer.
Do you work with NZ Crown entities and councils?
Yes. The majority of Obvious communications strategy work is in the public sector. Existing engagements include Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, MSQ Health, Playcentre Aotearoa, and Curriculum Insights NMSSA/EARU.
How long does a communications strategy take to develop?
Foundation tier: six to eight weeks. Programme tier (deeper stakeholder consultation, multi-audience strategy): ten to fourteen weeks. Crown engagements often run longer because of formal stakeholder review cycles.
What does the deliverable look like?
A written strategy document covering audiences, message architecture, channel strategy, voice guide, and measurement framework. Plus a one-page executive summary and a thirty-to-sixty-day rollout plan. We also provide a writing-guide working document for the in-house comms team to use day to day.