How I Beat the Odds

It’s hard to believe it’s been 22 years since I started CS-Effect (formerly Communication Strategies Group). I’m so proud of our team, and what we continue to create. Over the last three years alone, we have experienced 60 percent growth and our client retention continues at an average of six years. Our client partnerships are what drive us and make us successful. We gain as much from them as they do from us.

It wasn’t planned. I’m what you might call an Accidental Entrepreneur. When the agency I worked for was acquired by an international firm, I found myself unexpectedly laid off. But then, a client asked me to continue managing their public relations, and that was my ‘a-ha!’ moment. I decided to give it a go and I haven’t looked back since.

Always Learning

Our clients have taken us on some wild (and educational) journeys — from tackling longhorned beetles to promoting school nutrition innovations, motorcoach travel, civic leadership, and even root canals. Working with international, national, regional, and local organizations means we’re always learning something new.

I’m incredibly proud to be a woman business owner, especially knowing that only 25% of small businesses make it past the 15-year mark. This year, as we celebrate our 23rd anniversary, I’m more excited than ever about the future.

Some of our favorite memories over the years include:

• Launching The Confident Patient, authored by Beth Myers, CEO, and Wendy Benson, COO, of 2x2 Health, a healthcare concierge company. We developed a strategic campaign that secured media attention from Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, Becker’s Health, WGN, WLS, and other top outlets. 

• Successfully announcing the appointment of the new CEO for the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. 

• Positioning Carolyn Hendrickson, CEO of Tandem Group, a strategic consulting agency, as a thought leader in the manufacturing industry by securing her an ongoing guest column in Industry Week. 

• Garnering extensive media coverage in Chicago for Myetie Hamilton, CEO of Leadership Greater Chicago, the first Black woman to lead the organization, including features on WLS-TV, Chicago Defender, and a cover story in Chicago Citizen during Black History Month.

Looking Ahead

Like many industries, communications has and will continue to face major disruptions with the advent of new technologies. How we communicate continues to evolve. It seems like yesterday when clients demanded to be on the front page of the WSJ. Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and TikTok changed how we reach audiences in a much more personalized way.  As AI weaves its way into communications, we are ready to evolve with this latest technology.

However, no matter how advanced technology becomes, there will always be a need for us to craft and share our own stories in the most authentic way. I am looking forward to continuing to build our talented team and diversify our client base and take CS-Effect to the next level.

We can’t wait to see what the next 20 years will look like!

Mission of New Client, Beyond Hunger, Resonates with CS-Effect

CS-Effect recently caused the greatest effect alongside our new client, the Oak Park River Forest (OPRF) Food Pantry when we helped launch its new name – Beyond Hunger – and visual identity (www.gobeyondhunger.org).  We partnered with the organization to develop and implement a strategy to announce the new brand with widespread media coverage and engagement on social media. Highlights included segments on NBC Chicago and Oak Park.com .

We are proud to work alongside clients with missions that resonate with our own and align with our team’s personal interests. Several members of our team volunteer at food pantries with their families and believe in the power of volunteering to cause positive change in their communities. 

“For years, my daughters and I have volunteered for several pantries in nearby communities. It is important to me that my daughters understand that hunger is not something that just happens to those who are homeless, or those far away in other countries. Lives change. Things happen. Some of our friends and neighbors could be just a few paychecks away from needing help. Kindness and compassion will take them far in life,” said Lynda Baldwin.

“I am always thrilled to get behind a client who we really support like Beyond Hunger,” said Candice Warltier. “I’m passionate about their mission to feed the hungry and provide innovative solutions to solving hunger throughout their greater community. I’m equally committed to the issue on a personal level and want to instill those values in my family. My daughter and I help serve hot meals to the hungry and prepare take away lunches at St. James Cathedral Chicago.”

Listen Up!

CS-Effect Partner Candice Warltier had the opportunity to speak with a number of association executives about how they are modernizing often “stale” affinity programs for an article in the Association Forum’s Forum magazine.  Many executives agree that several factors are essential to ensuring a successful affinity program and leads to added value for membership and new revenue. From identifying valuable partners to really understanding your audiences, successful, revenue-boosting affinity programs require strategy to drive member value and retention.

Affinity programs are just one way in which organizations are listening to their audiences. At CS-Effect understanding our clients’ audiences leads to better strategies and thoughtful communications plans that ultimately cause the greatest effect. Knowing your audiences allows us to develop messages that resonate and move your audiences to change their behavior.  

A few tried and true ways we learn more about target audiences is by uncovering insights through focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and surveys. Communications audits are another point of insight, which include reviewing Google and social media analytics to determine audience behaviors. We then develop audience personas based on research to drive the strategic plan.

Beating the Odds and Launching Our New Brand

Communication Strategies Group is the New CS-Effect

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that less than 50 percent of small businesses successfully make it past four years of operation. As we beat these odds, Communication Strategies Group (CSG) has risen as one of the top boutique communications agencies in Chicago as we celebrate our 15th anniversary. As we recognize this tremendous success, we knew it was time to evolve alongside our ever-changing industry. Last month we announced our new brand, CS-Effect.

Our behavioral-driven approach along with our integrated communication and marketing services work to drive impact. The new brand represents our purpose: to drive change and cause an effect through communications. 

Read more on our exciting rebrand and the wide range of services offered to cause the greatest effect here.

Securing Partnerships for our Clients

Often the most effective ways we reach our client’s audience is through their membership organization or professional society. Identifying influencers and establishing relationships with potential partners adds a new dimension to audience reach.

One example we are proud to share is a monthly blog feature on brain health that we secured in AARP for our client NorthShore University HealthSystem’s Center for Brain Health. This guest blog post covers a variety of topics as it relates to their audience of Illinois residents age 50+. AARP Illinois has 1.7 million members in Illinois; 800,000 of those members are in the Chicago area. 

Here’s the latest blog post:

https://local.aarp.org/news/exercise-on-the-mind-by-dr-smita-patel-chicago-il-2019-04-01.html

Not only has the content developed  for the blog reached AARP members, the posts have been picked up by other organizations, extending the audience reach and positively influencing SEO.

Using Podcasts and Storytelling to Share the Impact of Regifting

Who’s up for a feel-good podcast just in time for the holidays? Digital marketing tools, such as podcasts, allow our clients to bring their stories to life. In our latest podcast project, we sat down with the team at 88 Brand Partners, along with one of our favorite shared clients, NorthShore University HealthSystem, as they share stories of their Regifting Program.

For the fourth year in a row, each 88 employee was given $500 to make a positive impact on the world. Their Regifting Program is not only about donating $500, but for the 88 Brand Partners team to get involved applying their passions to better their community . Through fun, meaningful interviews, the CSG team was able to capture the impact the program has on the greater community. 

Hear how 88 Brand Partners used their passions, talents and $500 to make the holidays even brighter.