Building one corporate narrative for a multi-company group

Groups made up of companies operating in different sectors face an interesting question in their communication: while each company speaks to its own customers in its own language, how does the group tell a single story?

A balance between two extremes

At one extreme is a structure where each company speaks independently and the group is barely visible. At the other is a structure where all the companies are described in a uniform language and lose their own identities. Neither fully reflects the value the group carries.

A good corporate narrative strikes a balance between these two extremes: the companies keep their own identities while also showing that they are part of a shared roof.

A layered message architecture

One way to build this balance is to think of messages in layers:

• Group layer: The group’s story, shared values and why it exists.
• Shared messages: A few key messages that all companies share and that carry the group’s assurance.
• Company layer: The messages each company gives its own customers, in the language of its own sector.

Once this architecture is clear, every tool, from the website to corporate presentations, from press releases to recruitment communication, can move forward within the same framework.

Starting the narrative inside the organisation

A corporate narrative is not only something said to the outside world. When the managers and employees of the group companies first embrace this story as their own, it also reaches the outside world convincingly. That is why involving managers early in the narrative work is so valuable.

A good corporate narrative is like a choir: each voice keeps its own tone, but they all sing the same song.

Related page: Marketing consulting