Communicating for social development
Friday August 07, 2009 , 2 min Read
Messaging and communications is an important part of any social mission, but can also be a very difficult given time and cost restraints. INSEAD covers a consultancy, Spatial Access Communications (SAC), that focuses on working with NGOs and social enterprises to develop cost-effective and socially relevant communication strategies.
Given the fact that they have a very different clientele list than typical communications firms would, SAC and its leaders, Meenakshi Bhalla and Meenakshi Madhvani, also has a different approach:
Its team of account managers and planners then go into the field and live with the villagers, spending time with them in order to understand their goals and dreams. They allow time for this to “sink in” and plan strategies to help social enterprises improve their business plans and overcome their challenges – with or without a communications focus.
“Consulting pro-bono for NGOs goes beyond our assigned tasks – it’s our contribution to them,” says Bhalla. “With every media opportunity, we keep costs low and the accounting totally transparent. We are, after all, the antithesis of an advertising agency.”
Examples of organizations that SAC has worked with include Laadli, Watershed Organization Trust, Vanashakti, and Janaagraha. SAC’s solutions include hard-hitting commercials, communications frameworks, and briefing toolkits. In the effort to cast a wider net of awareness, SAC can work with organizations to better achieve their overall mission.