Avocet Communications

Treating growth problems as trust problems

Avocet Communications is a strategic marketing agency in Colorado. It states that many growth problems are trust problems in disguise, and it opens client relationships with what it calls a trust review. That first step looks at brand awareness, perception and market position, and leads into a plan. The questions it invites clients to bring are blunt: low brand awareness, negative market perception, declining revenue, more competition or the wrong position in the market.

Strategy, media and creative in one team

Rather than separate departments, the agency says it has erased the lines between strategy, media and creative staff. Everyone on the team is expected to work across both analysis and ideas, so the same people who research the market also help make the campaign. Its service areas, as the site names them, are:

• Market strategy and vision, which starts with why a brand exists and why it is different, and relies on research into customer needs and competitive advantage before creative work begins.
• Creative and content, meant to inspire belief at each stage of the client journey and create demand.
• PR and media communications, using storytelling and relationships with the press to put a client on the map.
• Technology and optimization, covering the tools used to keep evolving a brand and improve results.

Who it wants to work with

The agency says it likes start-ups and scale-ups because they tend to share its rule-breaking mindset. It also works with incumbent businesses ready to grow and legacy brands wanting fresh perspective. Its older pages mention early-stage founders, slow-growth leaders and companies targeting expansion, acquisition or an IPO.

Podcast and newsletter

Avocet publishes the Integrate and Ignite podcast, along with blogs and ebooks. Its StrategyCast newsletter sends a weekly marketing podcast episode, clips and resources, and is pitched as a way to work on marketing strategy with a few minutes a week.