What We Offer
We are a change agency with a unique skill-set. Our services are designed to move the needle and create a lasting impact. From powerful media campaigns to reform, to fundraising initiatives, we offer solutions to drive progress. With a proven track record, our team delivers results that transform.
Media and communications
It’s not always the best organisations in a sector that win government reform, philanthropic funding, or public recognition. It’s organisations that have used media to frame the debate and won public and key decision-makers to the importance of their work.
We build the profile and influence of your organisation so it can become an industry leader, impact policy settings, and attract funding that will help you help more people.
To get media traction, your ideas, insights, and programs have to be presented and ‘packaged’ the right way to get picked up and run in flagship media. Traditional media is still the most cost-effective and trusted avenue to secure mass influence and political leverage.
Before you pitch to the world, it’s useful to do some communications housekeeping. We love to help you get your communications in line internally so that your entire organisation is telling the same story.
Our key building block for your external communications is a ‘Key Messages’ document which you can then use to inform pitches, funding requests, web copy, speeches or any external presentations. Our goal is to help simplify the work of creating the collateral which raises your profile; secures funding and wins policy reform.
Lobbying and campaigning
There are two main ways to lobby for political change: inside and outside campaigns. For those sectors and organisations that have been unable to move the needle on policy reform and funding, an outside campaign is invaluable and a great investment in influencing outcomes.
First Tier Principal – and Media & Lobbying Consultant – David Latham, has successfully engaged in inside lobbying and outside campaigns in the pathology, aquaculture, arts, screen, and disability sectors. David has helped secure commitments of $200mn in additional funding for the pathology sector; ran a single seat campaign in South Australia that achieved a 24% swing, and designed and managed a national campaign to fund the arts which shaped the policies of several parliamentarians and which secured government commitments on local content quotas on streaming services.
Fundraising & philanthropy
We are available to support you across the spectrum from high-level fundraising strategy to hands-on support with donor identification, stewardship plans and outreach. We can support you with making the case for support - both with pitch preparation and written funding proposals.
The goal of a good philanthropic plan is to match the right doers with the right donors, and it should be a happy experience for all involved. We work with you to design strategic fundraising plans with a particular focus on finding high-net-worth individuals who want to back your vision. Typically this strategy will map out a 12-24 month fundraising calendar; donor pipeline and stewardship plans.
Media training
Media training helps leaders, campaign ambassadors, and case studies to nail messages and deliver impactful interviews. When you nail an interview, you go into journalists, editors, and producers lists as good talent.
But media training is about more than distilling campaign messages and making a call to action, it’s about technique. How do you calm your nerves? Does your story have emotional heft? What is of essence and what language can convey that? Do you know how to bring the message back into your terrain? How do you deal with curly questions?
First Tier media trainers are former journalists who have vast experience in handling media and training not-for-profits on how to nail media and get what you want out of the opportunity.
Crisis Media
We live in a digital age where anyone with an axe to grind can ruin your reputation. An organisation can spend decades building its reputation only to have it destroyed in a matter of months, weeks, and days through the media.
Operating without a crisis media plan in place is like putting a vehicle on the road without insurance. First Tier will audit your risks and develop a staff and stakeholder communication strategy, enabling you to kill or shape damaging stories, and help you get your processes in order to avoid a crisis in the first place.
FTM has worked with organisations and industries under intense media and public scrutiny. Our staff have helped peak bodies, CEOs, & senior federal politicians to prepare for Royal Commissions and media scrutiny by providing crisis media strategy documents, holding statements, media training, and acting as a media counsel and liaison with media to handle potentially damaging stories.