resources
case studies
Our growing collection of case studies provide strategies and insights into some of Alchemy’s most successful campaigns and initiatives with clients across nearly every industry.
A recent client being a major player in the energy sector, recognized the growing importance of community engagement as an integral part of their corporate responsibility. The company sought to develop, implement, and promote a comprehensive community engagement strategy to strengthen relationships with local communities, mitigate environmental impact concerns, and enhance their corporate image.
With operations spanning across diverse regions, this organization faced challenges in establishing effective community engagement practices. The company acknowledged the need to develop a robust strategy that not only addressed community concerns but also promoted a proactive and transparent approach to community relations. The goal was to implement a strategy that could be effectively communicated both internally and externally.
A long time client, being a non profit in Southern Alberta, is a well-established entity dedicated to serving the housing needs of seniors through municipal tax funding. As a key player in seniors housing the organization recognized the need to review and align its Board of Directors' Strategic Objectives, business goals, and values to ensure a cohesive and effective approach to achieving its mission.
The Board of Directors identified a need to reassess its strategic objectives and business goals to adapt to the evolving landscape of seniors housing. There was a recognition that aligning the values of the organization with its strategic direction was crucial for fostering unity among the board members and ensuring the effective pursuit of their mission.
As a nonprofit foundation with the sole mission of large-scale fundraising, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions posed a direct threat to our client’s ability to raise money. Their annual fundraising events were their largest driver of donation revenues, and the possibility of meeting their annual fundraising goals was in serious jeopardy.
Alchemy Communications was initially brought in to help the organization pivot their largest holiday fundraiser into an online event and support a corresponding social media campaign that could raise awareness and engagement without high overhead costs.
The Ontario Psychological Association (OPA) provides leadership to promote the mental health and well-being of Ontarians and inspire excellence in psychology through research, education, clinical excellence, and advocacy.
As an organization engaged in advancing the profession of psychology, the OPA recognized that they needed to find a way to grow their audience and further the public discourse and understanding around the psychology profession. As a medium exploding in popularity, podcasting was an important space they knew they needed to be in.
The OPA asked Alchemy Communications to develop a strategy for what a podcast series might look like, covering everything from recommendations on podcast frequency, content and technical support.
Strata Health is a leading provider of intelligent, digital tools for resource allocation, patient transitions, and patient flow innovation across the healthcare continuum.
As a B2B business with a highly specialized product and a very specific audience, it was vital that Strata Health focused on marketing efforts that could help educate stakeholders on their products and services in a way that was straightforward and easy to understand.
Alchemy Communications was brought in to help Strata Health streamline its branding and messaging across regions, strategically connect with target audiences and facilitate education and awareness for its products and services.
Our client is a small, family-owned business looking to grow their reach by opening new locations in the Calgary market. Taking a significant step forward by opening a new location was a huge risk and a challenge for this client. As a small, family-owned business, the owners knew they couldn’t tackle their marketing and communications efforts alone. They needed help to get their products into a larger market.
Alchemy Communications was chosen to develop a comprehensive strategy, including web, social media and blogging, that would help them successfully launch their new store and grow their target audience.
Our client is a small business looking to expand brand awareness, build a customer list and grow their social media following. As a small business, the client required outside support to help develop and execute an advertising strategy that would expand their reach and drive sales – without breaking the bank.
Alchemy Communications was brought in to create a plan that could maximize impact even with a small budget.
As a small community directly threatened by future flooding due to climate change, our municipal client faced a massive, multi-pronged challenge. The provincial government had mandated the town to take proactive steps to reduce future flooding risks to protect lives and property. The very safety - and existence - of the community was at stake. Unsurprisingly, emotions were high. Furthermore, the town faced a very vocal minority of residents who expressed skepticism about the actual threat of flooding or even the existence of climate change. Alchemy Communications was brought in to ease resident tensions, which had reached a fever pitch, and to get critical communications out as quickly as possible.
As a business looking to expand from cleantech into the retail space, knowing how to break through a very competitive market was difficult for the CleanO2 team, especially as a small start-up. One of the biggest obstacles CleanO2 faced was differentiating the product (the soap) from their cleantech carbon-capture technology - they knew they needed to speak to different audiences. In short - CleanO2 needed help with its messaging. So, the team brought Alchemy Communications in to focus on their retail strategy. We needed to identify the right communications, branding and social media presence that could get consumers excited.
Whether you are a small business, a large organization, a municipality, or a non-profit, you will want to dedicate either time for yourself or have a team of people in your operation conduct regular social media monitoring. But how do they know what to look for? A vital component of media monitoring is identifying the type of comment and the threat level it poses to your organization. Once you have identified it, you can take the proper steps to rectify the issue before it damages your reputation.
The Alberta Association of Midwives needed a strategic partner who could develop and execute a marketing plan that refreshed and strengthened their brand, increased public awareness of the practice and profession and improved the member experience.
Their website was outdated, difficult to use and no longer reflected who they were. In addition to needing updated copy and imagery that better met public and membership needs, their website platform was difficult to navigate, had limited metrics, lacked integration capabilities for social accounts and was not optimized for mobile.
Whether you are a small business, a large organization, a municipality, or a non-profit, you want to be aware of your brand’s outward reputation. A strong, positive online reputation means that your organization can continue to attract new business, securing stakeholders and sponsors will be easier, and enticing donors for your organization will be a cinch.
In March 2020, uncertainty was all around us as the novel coronavirus infiltrated Alberta. In one short month, the WHO declared a global pandemic, the provincial government ordered all non-essential businesses to close, and the City of Calgary announced a local state of emergency leaving students, faculty, staff at a leading Canadian post-secondary institution with many pressing questions and concerns.
Once you have completed a sponsorship valuation to determine what your event is truly worth and what you can offer to your potential sponsors, it is time to build your sponsorship package and sell your event.
Gaining sponsorship for your event is only half the battle. Now that your event has come and gone, you need to perform a sponsorship report to provide to your sponsors. This report is the tool that will help you not only retain the sponsors that you have, but prepare your organization with valuable information to recruit new sponsors for your future events.
The Brenda Strafford Centre serves people at risk of family violence through providing a safe housing environment and comprehensive support services for its residents so that they can live safely in the community upon their departure from the Centre.
Alchemy Communications was asked by a large water utility company in Alberta, an organization that provides water and wastewater treatment, garbage and recycling, bulk water, and engineering and development services for local governments, businesses and communities, to conduct senior media and crisis communications training.
Corporate sponsorships are critical to sustaining nonprofit organizations and charitable events, but it’s not enough to simply sell your mission. Sponsorship is a business deal, not a donation. To attract corporate interest, you must present the business benefits, convey your unique value when compared to similar events or causes, and price and present your sponsorship inventory with conviction.
Alchemy Communications is a proud advocate of Alberta's small and medium-sized villages, towns, and cities. We understand that increasing the profiles of these dynamic municipalities is vital to improving the trust in our local governments and laying the foundation for Alberta's economy to thrive and prosper. Through conducting strategic communications planning, crisis and reputation management, and cost-effectively strengthening their brands and identities, Alchemy's partnership with these organizations can drive them to thrive in an uncertain future.
Alchemy Communications conducted a full-day training workshop and provided recommendations to inform and improve the client’s risk management and crisis communication planning.
Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta is a non-profit institution located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This organization is one of the largest childhood cancer research funders in Canada, and one of the few organizations in North America that provides programs and supports for children who are affected by cancer and their families, from diagnosis, to treatment, along with education supports and post-secondary scholarships.
Corporate sponsorships are critical to sustaining nonprofit organizations and charitable events, but it’s not enough to simply sell your mission. Sponsorship is a business deal, not a donation. To attract corporate interest, you must present the business benefits, convey your unique value when compared to similar events or causes, and price and present your sponsorship inventory with conviction.
A leading Canadian post-secondary institution faced significant budgetary constraints with long-term implications for operating and capital expenses along with general revenues and reserves. This organization was seeking to bolster its communications activities and communicate more effectively with its external stakeholders in light of a substantive reduction in its workforce. Like most academic institutions, this organization had a decentralized approach to communications. It required a solution where their communications could be streamlined, communications processes could be refined, and strategic and operational efforts of the organization could be improved upon despite its financial uncertainty and human resource capital decline.
Resources Library
Building meaningful and long-term relationships with sponsors is critical for any sustainable nonprofit fund development strategy.
Sponsors are your champions and partners, and when you build a strong sponsorship portfolio, you’ll be well-positioned to connect your organization with resources (both financial and in-kind), enthusiastic volunteers, and vital visibility and credibility within the community.
Let’s take an in-depth look at building your nonprofit’s sponsorship toolkit.
Whether you’re dealing with a climate emergency, a social media scandal or a contentious project, chances are it’s only a matter of time before your municipality faces a crisis. However, how much the crisis impacts your residents, your community, and your staff is largely a function of how well you communicate through crisis.
While you may not avoid a crisis from hitting, good communication will keep your community safe, allow your staff to stay focused on solutions and keep your municipality functioning well. Let’s look at some of the key ways your municipality can strategically manage a crisis and how good communication is the key to leading with confidence.
The Edelman Trust Barometer is an international study conducted in 28 countries among both the general public and informed experts, focusing on measuring public perceptions of trust in business, government, media, and NGOs.
The report can help businesses, non-profits, and government understand what causes trust to be lost or created and how brands can work to build, leverage or repair public trust.
Loving a brand and understanding how it can make your life better has now been surpassed by the importance of trusting a brand and understanding how it makes the world better. That’s a pretty seismic shift in conventional marketing strategy and one that organizations cannot afford to ignore. At Alchemy Communications, we also think that’s a change worth embracing.
Let’s take a look at some of the key findings from the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer and what businesses, government and non-profits can learn from it.
This eBook includes:
What is the Edelman Trust Barometer?
Why Trust Matters
Brands & Trust
How Brands Can Build Trust
At Alchemy Communications, we have worked with many non-profit partners venturing into the world of podcasting.
As a medium ideal for story-telling, podcasts offer a unique and important opportunity for non-profit organizations looking for remarkable new ways to tell their story and build their audience.
Starting a new podcast can feel intimidating, but the good news is that you don't need to be an experienced sound engineer or own expensive state-of-the-art equipment to start your podcast. In fact, the power of the podcast lies in its accessibility – with some good planning, a few basic items of equipment and a little bit of creativity and hard work, podcasting is within reach for any organization.
This eBook includes:
Is Podcasting Right for You?
Choosing Your Format
Leveraging Your Podcasting Potential
Gathering Your Resources
At Alchemy Communications, we know that non-profits focus their investment, energy and passion on making the biggest difference possible within the communities they serve.
Too often, nonprofits make the mistake of forgetting to think about user experience in the donation process. But donors aren't different from customers - flexibility, simplicity, and clarity are still important. When you're in the business of selling impact, creating a flawless user experience is a critical component of any successful fundraising strategy.
This eBook includes:
Understanding the Donor Experience
Donor Trends and Opportunities
Leading with Values
How to Utilize Your Tools
There is no question that in today’s hyper-connected world, information travels at exceptional speed. For municipalities facing an emergency or crisis communications situation, understanding how to effectively use social media in a high-pressure, rapidly evolving or potentially dangerous period is a critical component of a responsible communications strategy. Download our free eBook to learn some of the ways we recommend your municipality leverage the power of social media in a crisis.
This eBook includes:
Laying the Groundwork for an Emergency
How to Prepare for a Crisis
How to React When a Crisis Does Strike
How to Utilize Your Tools
Does your organization have a policy on equity, diversity and inclusion? While your EDI work will be ongoing and require direct action, it's essential to know how to clearly communicate your commitments with staff, stakeholders, and clients.
This eBook includes:
What is Equity, Diversity and Inclusion?
Why Your Organization Needs an EDI Statement
Things to Consider as You Draft Your Own Statement
Land Acknowledgements & Pronouns
Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth is
This free download includes tips that will help employers and employees make the shift to remote work.
Tools and tips for maintaining communication and connection amongst teams
Must-have technology for remote work
Tips for overcoming isolation, loneliness and burnout
An overview of company collaboration technologies
This free download includes tips that will help employers and employees make the shift to remote work.
Tools and tips for maintaining communication and connection amongst teams
Must-have technology for remote work
Tips for overcoming isolation, loneliness and burnout
An overview of company collaboration technologies
This free download will give you the essential steps to manage a Pandemic Communications Strategy, including:
The role of the Communications Coordinator
Choosing a Spokesperson
Identifying your Communications Needs and Goals
Identifying Materials Needed
Preparing Your First Announcement
Monitoring the Media Responses
Alchemy’s eBook helps you build infographics that will communicate your message:
Data-Backed Characteristics of the Best Infographics
Planning for Success
Deciding Which Visual Elements to Employ
20 Websites to Promote Your Infographic
Putting it In Practice: 10 Top-Notch Infographic Examples
Your free eBook will include:
10 Steps to Develop a Nonprofit Communications Strategy
How to Create a Media Plan
Why You Need a Social Media Policy and How to Implement One
Crisis Communications Planning
Critical Components of A Communications and Marketing Calendar
Your free download will include a content and delivery plan so you always have a fresh content stream, and can plan ahead for seasonal business, special events, and busy seasons when you're just too busy to be developing fresh content:
Creating a Content Culture
Getting Past Writer's Block and Finding Your Rhythm
Increasing Speed, Ease and Efficiency
Refining Your Content Creating Processes
Iterating, Improving and Experimenting
Is your organization prepared to handle a communications crisis?
In a world where outrage travels fast, and the list of brands and individuals facing a 'cancel culture' backlash grows longer, a crisis is likely no longer a matter of if - but when. By being prepared, you can move your organization from a place of reaction towards a mindset of accountability, avoiding missteps, mitigating damage, and rebuilding trust more quickly.
In this workshop, we will lead you through common crisis or 'cancellation' scenarios your organization could face and help you build a plan and sharpen the tools you need to navigate a crisis confidently and authentically.
In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:
• Craft holding statements and key messages
• Control the narrative
• Designate roles and responsibilities
• Succeed in crisis and ‘cancellation’ scenarios
If getting cancelled isn't part of your crisis planning, it needs to be. In a world where outrage travels fast and missteps lead to mob mentality, the list of organizations and individuals facing 'cancel culture' backlash grows longer by the day. Clients are demanding more transparency and social purpose from organizations and leaders than ever before but getting it wrong (or doing nothing) can have serious consequences. And while managing a nonprofit, municipality, business, post-secondary or other organization in the age of cancel culture is uncharted territory, addressing calls for accountability has become mission-critical for any public relations strategy to succeed.
In this workshop, you will learn:
• The rise of cancel culture – online and in the real world
• The dangers of 'woke-washing' and tone-deaf activism
• How nonprofits can protect themselves from being cancelled
• Reputation management strategies in the age of cancel culture
• The way forward: shifting from a cancel culture to an accountable culture
• Further resources and next steps
Traditionally, marketing has been most often associated as a private-sector tool, with a primary objective of driving sales and business growth.
But for municipalities navigating the challenges of diverse priorities, projects, and communities, the public sector is increasingly recognizing the need for effective marketing strategies to help communities achieve their most important goals.
Crafting and executing compelling marketing strategies offers municipalities a range of tools, and municipal governments can no longer afford to ignore the role their communications plans play in effective change management, citizen engagement, or even dealing with an emergency.
In this workshop, you’ll learn about:
• Managing change
• Community engagement & public participation
• Crisis communications
• Creating community champions
Unfortunately, as with any business in the private sector, it's becoming increasingly difficult for municipalities to anticipate when or where they might face a crisis.
Whether it be a dangerous natural disaster, a political scandal or a contentious development project, every municipality needs to be prepared to conduct urgent and effective communications to rise to the challenges a crisis will inevitably bring.
When you factor in our increasingly interconnected world, it's become clear that traditional approaches to crisis communications will no longer be enough to protect people and property and keep communities united in the midst of growing societal polarization.
In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:
• Keep your lines of communication open
• Acquire the tools and resources needed
• Not speak – just listen
• Be prepared to speak to the media
• Craft key messages
“Media is no longer passively consumed – it’s created, shared, liked, commented on, attacked and defended by millions of people. And the algorithms used by the most powerful tech companies are brilliantly designed to personalize and tailor these services to each user’s profile.”
– Hugh Linehan
In this workshop, you’ll learn:
The state of media in 2022
Why fake news spreads so rapidly
What to do when fake news strikes
Is your organization prepared to handle a communications crisis?
In a world where outrage travels fast, and the list of brands and individuals facing a 'cancel culture' backlash grows longer, a crisis is likely no longer a matter of if - but when. By being prepared, you can move your organization from a place of reaction towards a mindset of accountability, avoiding missteps, mitigating damage, and rebuilding trust more quickly.
In this workshop, Alchemy Communications CEO Kathryn Kolaczek will lead you through common crisis or 'cancellation' scenarios your organization could face and help you build a plan and sharpen the tools you need to navigate a crisis confidently and authentically.
As COVID-19 impacts the world of work, every organization needs a pandemic contingency plan.
Attendees will leave with the essential steps to manage a Pandemic Communications Strategy and will also be provided with an understanding of how to:
Define the role of the Communications Coordinator
Choose a Spokesperson
Identify communications needs and goals
Identify materials needed
Prepare and deliver an announcement
Monitor the media responses
Distributing a press release to break company news and announcements can help your organization grow, but crafting a release that gets noticed, read and picked up requires specific components. While the media landscape continues to evolve, the press release format remains the same.
To learn how to write a comprehensive, easy-to-follow press release, download our template today.
Your free download will cover the basics of starting, launching, and editing your podcast, as well as a few tips and tricks on how to market your podcast once you are ready for release. This will include:
Planning your podcast
Planning your episodes
Recording your podcast
Editing and producing your podcast
Publishing your podcast
Promoting your podcast
Your free download will include:
Well Handled: What You Can Learn From 3 Businesses That Successfully Managed a Crisis
Prevention: The Best Crisis Management Strategy
When to Hire a PR Team
How To Not Panic During a Crisis
Crisis Communications Checklist
Protecting Your Business: Risk Mitigation & Sexual Harassment
7 Quick Tips for Managing Social Media in a Crisis
Your free Social Media Pressure Points Identification Chart includes:
A list of the risks that threaten your organization
A crisis scoring matrix
An outline of how to respond and resolve those risks
Tactics for handling different types of commenters
Words Aren't Enough
How Cancel Culture is Changing Communications
If you work in marketing & communications, you likely know the "cancellation architecture" well.
It starts online (almost exclusively on social media). Within minutes, it's gone viral. Maybe it gets picked up by the media. Next comes the fallout. Boycotts and protests. Public statements and backlash. The ending of careers and businesses.
Whatever your stance on cancel culture, as marketing, communications and PR professionals, we will be called on to navigate the intricacies (and sometimes the damage) for the clients we represent and work with.
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In Words Aren't Enough, we examine the origins of our modern understanding of cancel culture and its impact on businesses, governments, non-profits, celebrities and even so-called "regular people."
Using real-world case studies, we'll uncover the anatomy of apologies and public statements of accountability. We'll examine the dangers of woke-washing and why good intentions are not enough. And we'll offer practical recommendations you can act on today.
Steering through the storm of cancel culture confidently, compassionately and ethically is possible, though it will not be easy. In Words Aren't Enough, we offer a roadmap for communications professionals to lean into the grey area that cancel culture creates.
What Readers Can Expect
Insight into Cancel Culture
Understand the dynamics of the "cancellation architecture" that begins online, goes viral, and leads to real-world consequences, particularly in the realm of marketing and communications.
Case Studies in Accountability
Delve into real-world case studies to dissect the anatomy of apologies and public statements of accountability, gaining practical insights into handling crises effectively.
Professional Navigation
As marketing, communications, and PR professionals, learn how to navigate the intricacies and fallout of cancel culture for the clients you represent, regardless of your personal stance on the phenomenon.
Avoiding Woke-Washing Pitfalls
Examine the dangers of "woke-washing" and understand why good intentions alone may not be sufficient, providing a nuanced perspective on navigating these complexities.
Confident and Ethical Navigation
Despite the challenges, discover a roadmap for confidently, compassionately, and ethically steering through the storm of cancel culture, emphasizing the importance of embracing the grey areas it presents.
Analyzing Modern Cancel Culture
Explore the origins of contemporary cancel culture and its far-reaching impact on various entities, including businesses, governments, non-profits, celebrities, and everyday individuals.
Practical Recommendations
Receive actionable recommendations that can be implemented immediately to manage and mitigate the repercussions of cancel culture, allowing communication professionals to respond effectively.