Public relations and
corporate communications

Maximizing your visibility is not enough. It must be part of a communication strategy that will allow you to distinguish yourself from the competition with the target audiences that really matter to achieve your business objectives.

Our experts will help you position your company's communications in your sector and put forward your differentiating elements that determine your role with your stakeholders.

Whether it's to announce your latest product or service, or to propel your employer brand, we will examine every tool at our disposal to make your company and your projects shine. Every move is meticulously calculated to provide the best return on investment.

Reputation is an intangible but very valuable asset to your company that can have a positive or negative impact on your business objectives.

Participating in industry discussions while maintaining an active watch can help ensure, maintain or improve trust and reputation with consumers, customers, governments, and current or future employees. How can communication contribute to this?

• Complete a stakeholder analysis grid
• Conduct media monitoring to assess your positioning
• Establish a relationship with journalists
• Demonstrate transparency
• Maintain a presence (monitoring, publishing and discussing) on social media
• Establish an improvement strategy based on feedback evaluation

Capital-Image's experts are ready to support you in developing and deploying an issue management plan to respond quickly to situations that have a major impact on the organization.

Our experts will help you get the right messages across to external audiences, using a variety of communication tools. They will also help you disseminate the information needed to mobilize your employees during this troubled time.

The best way to get through a crisis is to avoid it. The management of issues specific to a company can be very beneficial since it allows you to avoid certain problematic situations by:

• Monitoring the company and its brands in the media and social media;
• Participating in discussions on social, political and environmental issues related to the company;
• Planning open communication for greater transparency;
• Developing relationships with key players in the company's various stakeholders.

No one is immune to a crisis within or affecting a company. They are unexpected events that interrupt the regular operations of a business. And, if poorly managed, a crisis can have very long-term repercussions.

The best way to manage a crisis is to be well prepared by defining an objective and identifying exactly what steps to take and who is responsible for them. Any crisis is a critical time for a company, but proper preparation can ensure that risks are mitigated and negative impacts are minimized.

A crisis simulation is used to put the participants (you and your employees) in a situation that is as realistic as possible to a real crisis. In order to test the crisis communication plan, prepare your employees and test its effectiveness, we develop hypothetical crisis situations. A good simulation should push your people to ask the right questions, to make decisions. A well-prepared team will be better able to respond if a difficult situation occurs.

Quebec has a rich and diverse culture that in many important ways is quite different from that of the rest of Canada, or other countries. Our experts are on the lookout for trends and business opportunities specific to Quebec and can help you develop or adapt your positioning and messages for this specific market.

An effective and credible spokesperson controls interactions with journalists and delivers key messages effectively and understandably.

A good spokesperson is in possession of all relevant information and understands the stakes of his or her interactions. This is why we offer rigorous and personalized training to people who wish to (or must) take on the role of spokesperson, depending on the sector and the potential issues involved.

These trainings are generally conducted as follows:

• Theoretical portion, where the concepts are covered and the key messages defined;
• Practical portion, where several interviews are simulated and each participant must learn how to convey the key messages;
• Feedback on the practical portion, where each participant is given comments on how to change or improve on his or her performance.

Our years of experience with the Quebec media have allowed us to establish privileged connections with the main media in several diversified sectors. Our clients therefore benefit from our network of contacts among all of Quebec's media. We suggest customized topics to journalists that are of interest to them and adequately prepare spokespersons so that interviews are relevant and well conducted. Media requests are managed quickly and efficiently to highlight your news.

The media landscape holds no secrets for us. We are able to provide you with a detailed status of your company's media mentions, almost in real time, as well as quantitative and qualitative reports on each publication so that you have the best possible overview of your communication efforts.

Every company has a variety of distinct audiences to communicate with, including customers, consumers, suppliers, shareholders, employees, governments, and more.

In addition to helping you identify the different tones and messages for each of these stakeholders, Capital-Image manages the planning, drafting of communications and feedback on your communication campaigns.

The importance of internal communications within a company is well known. It allows for the transmission of common values and the enrichment of the corporate culture, while circulating the information necessary for the company's operations between the various departments.

Internal communication is used to inform, convince, involve and motivate employees, reduce tensions and conflicts, support change management, promote collaboration, creativity, socialization and even to entertain.

Several communication tools can be put in place with the various internal stakeholders (managers or HR) to improve communication:

• Newsletter
• Memoranda
• Employee handbook
• Employee program brochure
• Word from the President
• Events
• From texts to visuals, including the format, we will guide you in your reflections to optimize the circulation of important information within your company.