Reframe your narrative, revolutionize your impact.

by Kevin Smith

We’ve helped 300+ organizations advance their causes. Each was determined to serve more people or cultivate more advocates. Most shared a history of prior messaging that didn’t deliver. And many anticipated a future initiative where stakes were high. If you can relate, you can also benefit from our Core Narrative Reframe.

Core Narrative Reframe

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Leverage

Behavioral Science

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Apply

Present Casting

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Spark

Audience Action

Here's how it works:

  1. We identify the behavioral science behind the decisions people make. We study your issue and audience to identify biases and heuristics that are impacting the outcomes you want to improve.

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This involves a series of listening sessions with you and key members of your team, an audit of current, prior and peer communications, as well as a comprehensive review of secondary research related to your cause and your audience’s barriers to change.

  1. We use that science to reframe downstream consequences and make them relevant RIGHT NOW. Our term for this is present casting — making the future consequences feel immediate for your audience without pandering or talking down to them.

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This approach triggers an emotional response to the here and now, which the science shows is essential to any change in behavior.

  1. We build a narrative framework (and sense of urgency) that sparks the first action toward change. Behavioral economics and present-casted consequences allow us to present the issue through a new lens — one specifically framed to incite action from your audience.

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This new framework anchors all your communications. It includes a value proposition, central messaging strategy, core concept and call to action.

Achieve greater scale.

Our customary time frame for the engagement is 90 days, and our fee is $30,000. To learn if your nonprofit, foundation or governmental program is a good candidate, email or schedule a time for us to meet by video chat.

Select Issues

Early Childhood Development
Educational Attainment
Environmental Protection
Financial Literary
Foster Care
Gun Safety
Homelessness
Mental Health
Preventative Screenings

Affordable Housing
Aging Services
Animal Welfare
Arts and Culture
Autism
Childhood Drowning
Disability Rights
Domestic Violence
Driving Safety

Public Television/Radio
Reproductive Health
Restorative Justice
Recidivism
Substance Misuse
Vaccine Uptake
Workforce Development

Services

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Communications Implementation
Website Development
Digital Marketing and Advertising
Social Media Strategy
Content Marketing
Collateral/Graphic Design
Mass Media Advertising
Environmental Graphics

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Communications Strategy
Narrative Reframing/Messaging Strategy
Audience Research and Analysis
Communications Planning
Brand Identity/System Design
Initiative Program Design

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Public Relations
Stakeholder Engagement
Advocacy Communications
Fundraising Communications
Media Relations
Misinformation Issues
Crisis Communications

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Organizational Development
Strategic Planning
Organizational Culture
Operational Planning Frameworks

  • “We worked for decades to reduce unintended pregnancies in our state. Then we were awarded a game-changing grant. The funding window was tight, so we needed to get to market quickly – without taking undue risks. Kevin and his team saw us through it, creating a multi-year campaign that connected women to contraceptive services and ultimately helped reduce unwanted births by 58%.”


    Bonnie Kapp
    CEO, New Morning

  • “We struggled with stereotypes around mental health and homelessness for a long time. We worked with the FGS team to change the narrative from ‘something that happens to other people’ to one that demonstrates how environmental, genetic or biological factors can impact anyone’s ability to be OK, on any given day. This positioning has brought a new sense of clarity to our work.”


    Julie Ann Avin
    Executive Director, MIRCI

  • “Distracted driving remains an obstinate and deadly problem. Recognizing that scare tactics don’t work for our target audience, we are thrilled with the innovative approach introduced by the FGS team. Their strategy centered on trusted messengers, emphasizing that our loved ones don’t want us to text them while driving. We are proud to include this out-of-home campaign in our portfolio.”


    Dzu Bui
    SVP - Campaign Development, Ad Council

FAQs

  • We will share a presentation that includes:

    • Behavioral science biases and heuristics specifically affecting your issue

    • Present casting strategy that makes downstream consequences real

    • A new narrative framework comprised of:

      • Value proposition

      • Central messaging strategy

      • Messaging matrix that organizes key communications for different audience segments, e.g., internal, external, funders, beneficiaries

      • Demonstration of core concept

  • Yes, we can be retained to create and produce comprehensive campaigns, design integrated program experiences, develop engagement and demand generation programs, and evaluate campaign performance.

  • Our definition of success is informed by your organization’s mission. Social impact work is what we do, so our values are aligned from the outset. Our work is also governed by regular check-ins during the initial phase of our work, so there are built-in checkpoints for all parties.

  • Although the overarching message strategy is universal, there are distinctions between different audiences. We use a messaging matrix to organize key messages for different audience segments, e.g., internal, external, funders, beneficiaries.

  • We can be retained to advise and/or execute the messaging strategy across all platforms, but this isn’t included in the 90-day scope. We can provide an estimate based on your needs upon delivery of the messaging strategy.

  • The narrative framework’s value proposition is foundational and supports communications across all platforms, including website, social media, etc. Variations for funders and beneficiaries are also covered by the messaging matrix.

  • Yes, we can be retained to support your in-house team or serve as your outsourced communications partner.

  • We are a full-service firm, and our initial engagement is typically handled in-house. In situations involving complex research needs or where secondary research is limited, we partner with a select group of independent market researchers who share expertise in behavioral science.

  • We’ve found that 90% of our assignments can be handled virtually. Still, we’re happy to come to you. When our clients prefer to meet face-to-face, we provide an estimate for travel expenses in advance and bill these expenses at cost.

  • Having worked with more than 300 nonprofits and foundations, we see common struggles, but no two solutions look alike. We’re wary of off-the-shelf solutions because the barriers to change typically have subtle differences from one scenario to the next. That being said, if we believe we have work in hand that will succeed for you, we’re happy to adjust our scope, schedule and fee accordingly.