Carter Price Rennie is a strategic public relations consultancy with a national reputation for excellence and a passion for producing results.
Our team helps you integrate a communication strategy into your business planning.
We work with senior managers and governance groups assisting them to communicate effectively with their stakeholders. To do this, we also identify, then help to manage, risks of any strategic business decision.
Over the past 20 years years we’ve learned through experience that effective communications has a number of key elements. For a communication strategy to meet its objectives, all of these key elements need to be addressed.
The Carter Price Rennie head office is located in Christchurch, and we opened a central Auckland office in November 2011. Our existing Auckland clients desired our presence there, and in addition, Auckland companies wanting to participate in the $30 billion rebuild of Christchurch and Canterbury were asking us for advice and help.
Planning Ahead
Clients get the most value out of our support when we are involved in their planning process. A good rule of thumb is that if you are seeking the advice of your accountancy or legal firm, its also sensible to talk to your communications experts.
Every major business decision that you make will have an effect on how your organisation is perceived both internally and externally. Carter Price Rennie will help you identify and mitigate any risks, then provide you with a strategy that assists you to achieve your objectives.
Our strategic support and advice includes the following areas:
Infrastructure Communications (including Resource Consents)
Carter Price Rennie has a national reputation for providing strategic communications advice in this area. Over the last few years we have been key to assisting more than a billion dollars of projects being completed.
Owing to proactive, well planned and implemented communcications strategies, some projects have even gone through the consenting and consultation process without objection. This has meant significant savings for our clients in terms of legal, planning and consent fees. It has also enabled each project to be completed in an efficient and timely manner.
Community and Stakeholder Engagement
Identifying who you need to communicate with is an important step. Carter Price Rennie excels in this area. We take a helicopter view of the project and often spot stakeholders that, while not directly affected, can play an important role.
We also have the advantage of having a broadly experienced team. Our consultants have a wide experience of backgrounds including journalism and senior roles within corporates, governmental and charitable organisations. This experience gives us the knowledge to know the “when, what, where and how” of talking to stakeholders.
Internal Communication (including Organisational Change)
In times of growth or cutbacks it is essential to keep your staff informed and feeling valued.
Timing of such announcements is key in this modern media era. Staff should always be the first to hear company news and it should be directly from the organisation – not from the media.
Carter Price Rennie has successfully worked on many projects in this area including relocations of production offshore, decreasing staff numbers, company takeovers and mergers.
Crisis / Reputation Management
Managing your good name and reputation in difficult times is an area of specialist expertise for Carter Price Rennie. We can guide you step by step through situations where you have to communicate complex and often emotive messages.
Carter Price Rennie can also help you in the development of strategies to ensure business continuity in preparation for those tricky situations. Additionally we’ve worked with a number of entities testing their Crisis Communication Plans for effectiveness.
Brand Building & Protection
Developing a brand is more than just marketing and pretty pictures. It is public relations that makes your brand familiar and ensures that your target audience actually understands what it is you offer. This includes effective communication with your clients and staff, consistent messaging and stimulating word-of-mouth.
Carter Price Rennie can assist you to ensure that internally and externally (including relevant media) your stakeholders are aware of what your unique selling point is and any other key information.
Protecting you brand is also important. Carter Price Rennie will ensure your brand messages are consistent and understood at every interaction with your key audiences.
The $30 billion Recovery and Rebuild of Canterbury
The devastating Christchurch earthquake of 22 February 2011 saw Carter Price Rennie step up to the plate in helping our clients with crisis, emergency, and now, business recovery communications.
Canterbury is, and always has been, its own market. With a national staff entirely comprised of Cantabrians, Carter Price Rennie understands the different ways in which companies based outside of the region need to talk to the people of Canterbury, and what kind of communications will be most effective.
After the emergency post-earthquake communications requirements were dealt with, we positioned ourselves as a team able to assist in investment in the region. About $30 billion will be dedicated to the renewal and rebuild of Christchurch and Canterbury in the coming years. It’ll be where dozens of industries flourish in New Zealand and Carter Price Rennie is ready, on the ground in both Christchurch and Auckland, to help you effectively enter this market.
Getting the best for your investment
Over the years, we’ve gained plenty of insight into producing proactive communications strategies that are the cornerstone of an organisation’s success – whether the organisation is big or small, a multi-national or a local not-for-profit.
The better we know your organisation, the more value we are able to add. Our biggest insights are gained by taking the time to understand all that we can about your organisation. Additionally we focus on hearing and identifying both the internal and external perceptions.
Defining the objectives you want to achieve from any communication strategy is vital. This not only assists us to provide you with a strategy that will achieve these objectives, it also provides you with a way of measuring if it has worked. Prior to starting work, Carter Price Rennie will meet with you and help you clearly define your objectives. We’re happy to come to you wherever you are. Carter Price Rennie assigns two consultants to every client. This ensures that, if one of our team should be unavailable, someone is always fully briefed and ready to assist.
Carter Price Rennie is pleased to be able to offer our clients with a diverse range of skills, backgrounds and ages within our team. Per consultant, we average 15 years in professional communication management and working with the media, and this enables us to match the consultant with the project to optimise your outcomes.