What we offer
Audience Strategy & Insights
A common challenge our clients face is the need to weave together the plethora of data and facts they possess about their audiences into a strategic narrative. The challenge for some organisations is that they are not certain who their target audience(s) are in the first place.
At AKAS we help our clients to understand who their target audiences are and to develop their audience strategy. We achieve this by unearthing insights based on our analysis of audience data provided by the client, as well as freely available data we obtain online.
We typically answer three key questions: WHO is the audience we are analysing? WHAT are their characteristics and behaviours? And, perhaps most importantly, WHY are they behaving in this particular way?
Ultimately, the recommendations we provide for our client are always derived from the question: ‘So what does this mean for you?’ This is where AKAS applies its business acumen and multidisciplinary approach to ensure that the client gains new audience wisdom and fresh ideas. Through this process, we identify what they need to do more of, do less of, do differently or stop altogether, and what new things they need to start doing instead.
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European Bank for Reconstruction and Development testimonial
Luminate testimonial
Hromadske testimonial
Channel 4 testimonial
Children`s Investment Fund Foundation testimonial
London & Partners testimonial
Strategy Analytics testimonial
nfpSynergy testimonial
Schools in London Borough of Merton testimonial
Action for Children testimonial
Audience Strategy & Insights
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Impact Measurement
Many of our clients are struggling to capture the long-term impacts of their organisation’s outputs, communications or journalism.
AKAS’ Impacts Framework provides a logical and compelling way to record your impacts’ value chain by capturing your organisation’s inputs, outputs, short-term outcome, real world impacts and ultimate impacts.
Using AKAS’ Impacts Framework we help our clients to organise all their metrics and evaluation material, and more importantly, lead them towards a more strategic approach to increasing the impact of their organisation’s work.
Guardian News & Media testimonial
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Luminate testimonial
Hromadske testimonial
Impact Measurement
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Research
Sometimes clients are keen to delve deeper into understanding a particular audience or an aspect of their behaviours and attitudes than the available data sources allow.
In these instances, AKAS either commissions research on behalf of our clients or we conduct the research project ourselves. We are confident working with a range of quantitative, qualitative and hybrid methodologies. We design surveys and discussion guides for the public or the business and not-for-profit communities. We also conduct interviews and moderate sessions with senior stakeholders. At AKAS, we use methodologies which not only record post-rationalised behaviours and motivations, but also uncover unconscious drivers and emotions, both of which are vitally important in understanding human behaviours.
Our research work leads to meaningful, thorough and insightful reports which help our clients to understand their audiences’ needs infinitely better.
World Bank Group testimonial
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation testimonial
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development testimonial
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Inc. testimonial
Luminate testimonial
Channel 4 testimonial
Children`s Investment Fund Foundation testimonial
London & Partners testimonial
nfpSynergy testimonial
Schools in London Borough of Merton testimonial
Action for Children testimonial
Research
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Youth Insights
AKAS’ clients often realise that they need a better understanding of young audiences in order to be strategically prepared for the future.
AKAS has substantial expertise in understanding children in Key Stages 1 and 2 (aged 5-7 and 8-11 respectively) through the comprehensive Blossom pupil surveys that we have designed. We also regularly analyse the behaviours of young adults (aged 18-34) in the UK and internationally by using a wide range of methodologies including generational analysis as well as various other quantitative and qualitative techniques.
Time and time again, we find that youth audiences behave and think very differently to leaders in organisations. We therefore help our clients to connect with their younger audiences, often recommending how and when to communicate with young audiences most effectively, as well as providing advice on the types of initiatives to develop in order to engage them.
Guardian News & Media testimonial
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation testimonial
Channel 4 testimonial
Schools in London Borough of Merton testimonial
Youth Insights
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Mission, Vision & Corporate Narrative Development
Missions (why you exist) and Visions (what you want to be in the future) are often confused. This leads to a lack of alignment in teams and a missed opportunity for galvanising an organisation to move forward.
AKAS’ Mission, Vision & Corporate Narrative Development offer takes clients through a rigorous step-by-step process involving: understanding the 7 different types of missions; understanding the 3 elements of a vision; assessing comparator and competitor missions and vision statements; and clarifying what is needed to develop a corporate narrative.
Once implemented, this offer enables clients to tell their company story to audiences, employees and external stakeholders, and to develop their current and future market position with confidence.
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Luminate testimonial
Hromadske testimonial
Children`s Investment Fund Foundation testimonial
Mission, Vision & Corporate Narrative Development
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Corporate & Brand Strategy Consultancy
Clients often fail to develop all the elements needed to have a compelling strategic approach within their organisations. Sometimes we find that the corporate strategy is not linked directly with the organisation’s brand.
AKAS' Corporate & Brand Strategy offer supports clients in working through the 11 elements of a powerful strategy, including strategic choices, competitor analyses and strategic challenges. We ensure that the strategic direction of an organisation is reflected both in its brand essence and in its brand equity.
Once clients adopt this approach, they benefit from having a blueprint for success across all their operations as well as being clear about their future direction.
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Corporate & Brand Strategy Consultancy
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Strategic Communications, Business Storytelling & Presentation Design
Organisations often lack a systematic approach to strategic communications and business storytelling. In addition, when they develop data-heavy presentations, the key messages tend to be lost in cluttered slides which lack enough “white space”.
At AKAS, we have developed a number of products in response to the strategic communications challenges faced by our clients. With these, we help provide clarity around what they want to communicate, to whom, how, when and where.
We offer a business storytelling programme which identifies a variety of storytelling structures that can be applied to business stories. We also offer a presentation design programme which focuses on how to achieve the three key elements of impactful presentations: clarity, simplicity and consistency.
Our client feedback reveals that they judge their communications to be sharper, and more strategic, targeted and impactful as a result of their engagement with AKAS.
Guardian News & Media testimonial
Strategy Analytics testimonial
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Strategic Communications, Business Storytelling & Presentation Design
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Executive Facilitation
Badly-structured off-site strategy meetings for senior executives and boards often waste time and significant sums of money. Executives leave these events frustrated that their valuable time has not been used effectively to address their organisations’ challenges.
AKAS’ Executive Facilitation offer comprises 4 elements which provide a structured approach to a facilitation programme: understanding the needs of the client and the session attendees; researching and preparing for the session; running the session; and completing the programme.
Clients who have used this offer have described their meetings as their best ever facilitation experience, due to the creative and structured approach applied to problem solving and idea generation.
Guardian News & Media testimonial
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation testimonial
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development testimonial
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Inc. testimonial
Luminate testimonial
Hromadske testimonial
Channel 4 testimonial
Children`s Investment Fund Foundation testimonial
London & Partners testimonial
Action for Children testimonial
Executive Facilitation
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Multinational & Cross-cultural Communications
We live in an increasingly multicultural world and organisations frequently operate in multinational contexts. Often, however, our clients impose their own cultural “filter” onto their teams and stakeholders, oblivious to their different cultural behaviours. This often leads to cultural misunderstandings at best or stalled business effectiveness at worst.
Surprisingly, there are very few consultancies who offer their clients cross-cultural communications assistance. Consequently, at AKAS we have developed a programme to help our clients engage more effectively with stakeholders and audiences across different cultures.
Our clients have made lasting changes to their communications practices as a result of the practical tips and recommendations made by AKAS. These have included expanded awareness of cultural differences and culturally sensitive solutions to various challenges.
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Inc. testimonial
Multinational & Cross-cultural Communications
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Business Modelling & Foresight Analysis
We are living in a period of unprecedented global uncertainty with economic threats and shifts in international relationships leaving many organisations struggling to plan for the future.
AKAS’ Business Modelling and Foresight Analysis offers a range of techniques to address this challenge, including building business models which produce projections, trends analysis using over 150 sources, and scenario planning.
With these techniques, clients are able to develop strategies based on sound and plausible models and assumptions as well as being able to spot opportunities that may arise in times of change.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation testimonial
Luminate testimonial
Hromadske testimonial
London & Partners testimonial