"She was genuinely and thoroughly engaged with our organization and we came away with a concise understanding of who we are, who we are trying to reach, and tactics on how we can reach them from where we are. In other words, Comms Noire gets us!" Project Lead: LaTroya Hester
The Road to a Rebrand
Who: The Reginald & Dionne Smith Foundation (RDSF) is committed to improving total wellness for families affected by HIV and addictions.
The Challenge: Internally, the team wanted to develop a fundable communications strategy that would attract new dollars for their growing digital community. Externally, they wanted to spotlight an holistic (mind, body, spirit) approach to healthy living for the men they serve.
Where we came in: We workshopped with the board (2 half days) to develop a comprehensive strategy that encouraged a logo and website refresh, and informed more creative storytelling in their social media content.
Result: A dramatic increase in social media engagement and clear growth in their digital wellness and recovery network.
OUR WORK
At the intersection of advocacy, social justice, and wellness, Comms Noire specializes in crafting impactful communication strategies to support the work of Black public health organizations. With a commitment to fostering positive change, we leverage the power of effective message construction to elevate health awareness and empower communications teams to do their best work. Here is a snapshot of the work we* have done.
Focused on Community
Who: Focused Community Strategies partners with under-resourced neighborhoods to provide innovative and holistic community development.
The Challenge: As FCS experienced rapid growth and identified new opportunities to expand core programs, questions arose about how to effectively communicate these changes internally to staff and externally to the surrounding community.
What we did: We developed a neighbor-first communications strategy. This involved unifying brand identities, establishing clear messaging for key audiences, and providing non-communications staff with the resources to effectively engage their respective audiences.
Result: A turn-key communications strategic plan that offered a comprehensive framework for effectively assessing priorities and streamlining the comms implementation process.
"LaTroya immersed herself within our fairly large team in such a way that she had a clear understanding of the overall strengths, challenges, and opportunities for growth related to both external messaging and internal systems that help to deliver that messaging. She provided a comprehensive strategic communications plan, with tools to support the implementation, that felt like it fit us well and prepared us for our next season of our comms journey as an organization. As a consultant LaTroya is winsome, engaging, strategic, thorough and creative. She has an eye for equity, messaging congruent with values and supporting clients to get to implementation."
Zero Puffs
Who: Black Women's Health Imperative is the first and only national non-profit solely dedicated to achieving health equity for Black women in America.
The Challenge: Catch the eye of key college women who would be ready to lead a campus movement against tobacco use, then spend the day educating them and facilitating conversation. And make it fire.
What we did: We handled every detail including recruiting students, curating the speaker lineup, setting environment--and procuring incredible swag. Plus, we were sure to showcase the best of Atlanta's Black-owned delectables like Tassili's Raw Reality for lunch and Just Add Honey for our tea tasting. We sip, not puff.
Result: An event that ran like butter without the nasty nicotine aftertaste. The women left inspired, equipped, and prepared to carry on the momentum.
"I would recommend working with Comms Noire again, and again, and again! She cares about her work, her clients, and the outcome of your project.The event wouldn’t have been possible without her, and we are eternally grateful for all that she provided."
"LaTroya Hester of Comms Noire has an amazing gift to curate and take your social impact vision and visibility to the next level. She educates, elevates, and provide an experience as you walk the journey to bring your vision and mission to life. She is professional, extremely pleasant, and goes above and beyond on her deliverables. She is also honest and will let you know if you need more work to refine your ideas. As an expert in her craft, I learned so much through working with her but also by her example. The deck and communication strategy she delivered has landed my team grants and bought needed attention to our work. Trust me you are in excellent hands and I look forward to working with her again:)"
The Founders' Story
Who: Listen to Me is a documentary featuring four women who stand on the front lines of the Black maternal health struggle while navigating racism and birth in the U.S.
The Challenge: As the two founding documentarians were preparing to preview their film at Martha's Vineyard, they needed to share a unified narrative about how the film contributes to, but is distinct from, the current maternal health conversations happening nationally.
How we helped: We worked with the founders to develop a cohesive messaging strategy around their project. We ensured they were equipped with talking points that translated beautifully on stage and persuaded potential film funders to get involved.
Result: A hit panel presentation at Martha's Vineyard that led to $100K award. Turns out a little confidence goes a long way.
No Objections
Who: The Public Health Law Center supports policy change that leads to health equity for all.
The Challenge: As the communications team began working on their annual communications plan, they wanted to ensure their activities would be reflective of their value for equity.
Our contribution: We spent several weeks getting to know the team through in-depth interviews and surveys. After facilitating a full day strategic planning session, we complied key insights, refined their stakeholder profiles, and developed a health equity plan to support their external engagement activities. The process revealed a need to add fresh internal processes to support a year of streamlined execution. We introduced the use of frameworks to validate and create buy-in for the internal changes.
Result: A comprehensive communications blueprint that reinvigorated the team's excitement for the year ahead.
"You have no idea how great contracting with Comms Noire has been for our team and will be for the Center as a whole. I know I’m learning a lot and ready to do the work."