Transforming Internal & External Communications

Client: US Army Engineer Research & Development Center

Since 2010, Mind & Media has provided ERDC with high-level strategic and tactical production support to improve their internal and external communications and tell their impressive story to stakeholders.

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Our video work for ERDC won Platinum Hermes and Gold MarCom awards!

US Army Engineer Research & Development Center’s vision is to become a premier, world-class research and development agency. As part of achieving this vision, ERDC sought Mind & Media’s support in transforming into a benchmark for excellence in internal and external communications.

Services Provided:

  • Branding
  • Graphic Design
  • Strategic Communication
  • Video Production
  • Web Design
  • Web-Based Training

Content Areas:

  • Civil Engineering
  • Military Engineering
  • Geospatial Sciences
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Water Resources
  • Information Technology

ERDC now has a consistent branded identity for all seven laboratories. The new public website uses a content management system that’s easy for non-programmers to update with the latest news, photos, and videos—removing the content bottleneck they had experienced for years.

The ERDC overview video won Platinum Hermes and Gold MarCom awards, and the Military Engineering video won a Bronze Telly. These and the other videos we’ve developed are providing a coherent “ERDC story” that helps the organization explain its work to external and internal audiences.

In phase one, we offered recommendations to improve internal and external communication and brand recognition. Mind & Media interviewed 150 stakeholders and surveyed materials at ERDC and competing organizations to determine what worked and where gaps existed between best practices and current efforts.

We presented three reports on our findings. Key recommendations were that ERDC should:

  • Establish a Strategic Communication Office as a nexus for internal and external communication
  • Craft the story conveying ERDC’s unique value proposition as a world-class R&D agency
  • Develop a unified branded identity for ERDC’s seven previously independent laboratories
  • Build a robust intranet and an excellent public website for current and potential employees and customers

In subsequent phases, we helped ERDC plan and resource the Strategic Communication Office and begin implementing our recommendations. To date we have:

  • Planned and organized the new internal and external communication campaigns
  • Developed a fresh branded identity that sets ERDC apart, yet dovetails with the parent US Army Corps of Engineers
  • Produced videos to tell ERDC’s story to current and potential employees and customers
  • Provided photo and video b-roll libraries to support Human Capital initiatives
  • Counseled executive leadership on how best to communicate key messages to employees
  • Trained engineering and scientific staff on how to communicate their vision, mission, and achievements to primarily lay audiences
  • Launched a redesigned public website with message-driven content that can be spun off for other uses
  • Developed a content gathering system and standard operating procedures to keep the website and other external communication channels and tools current
  • Developed a website/social media promotional campaign focused on key customer groups
  • Revamped ERDC’s web-based employee orientation and training series
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Discovery & Recommendations

In phase one, we offered recommendations to improve internal and external communication and brand recognition. Mind & Media interviewed 150 stakeholders and surveyed materials at ERDC and competing organizations to determine what worked and where gaps existed between best practices and current efforts.

We presented three reports on our findings. Key recommendations were that ERDC should:

  • Establish a Strategic Communication Office as a nexus for internal and external communication
  • Craft the story conveying ERDC’s unique value proposition as a world-class R&D agency
  • Develop a unified branded identity for ERDC’s seven previously independent laboratories
  • Build a robust intranet and an excellent public website for current and potential employees and customers
+
Implementation

In subsequent phases, we helped ERDC plan and resource the Strategic Communication Office and begin implementing our recommendations. To date we have:

  • Planned and organized the new internal and external communication campaigns
  • Developed a fresh branded identity that sets ERDC apart, yet dovetails with the parent US Army Corps of Engineers
  • Produced videos to tell ERDC’s story to current and potential employees and customers
  • Provided photo and video b-roll libraries to support Human Capital initiatives
  • Counseled executive leadership on how best to communicate key messages to employees
  • Trained engineering and scientific staff on how to communicate their vision, mission, and achievements to primarily lay audiences
  • Launched a redesigned public website with message-driven content that can be spun off for other uses
  • Developed a content gathering system and standard operating procedures to keep the website and other external communication channels and tools current
  • Developed a website/social media promotional campaign focused on key customer groups
  • Revamped ERDC’s web-based employee orientation and training series

Let us help you tell your story!