Joint Forces Command Challenge Thomas Wright was asked to work with Joint Forces Command leadership to develop the Communications Plan, or C-Plan, for Joint Forces. Our team was given a collection of documents that outlined concepts of operation, timelines and various presentations from Joint leadership. Our challenge was to develop a document that would speak to a number of target audiences, including combatant commanders, congressional leaders, business influencers and industry. The communications challenge was to clearly communicate the benefits of joint forces and the short and long-term process of achieving operational success. The key would be to gain acceptance and buy-in from these very different stakeholders. Approach The Thomas Wright team consisted of a creative team and strategists. Our first task was to cut through the acronyms and military speak to tell the story at a very basic level. We worked closely with a subject matter expert from Joint Forces to test this simplified, high-level story. We developed a message matrix to ensure that we addressed all stakeholder concerns and possible objections. Once the high level was in place, we roughed out a layout with cover and spread concepts that would communicate the joint forces story both visually and verbally to all target audiences. Boards were presented to leadership for approval. We then developed the story with more detail, explaining operational approaches, timelines and so forth. We learned during this process that our strategic communications approach was somewhat unique to our client. The idea of copy heads and artwork working in tandem to immediately deliver a message or point was not an approach familiar among military communicators. Strategy Copy and original artwork were created to deliver messages in an immediate, interesting manner. Recognizing that the C-Plan would be one of many documents sent to these busy target audiences, Thomas Wright used very arresting, attention-getting images to capture attention. Our strategy was to differentiate this document or booklet from all the other staid government documents that would cross these individuals and assistants desks. Headlines and subheads were quick and immediate. Knowing that this wouldn't be the last brochure developed at JFCOM, we developed the C-Plan as a standard for future brochures. The imagery and copy tone were set so that future communications materials could adopt the same look, feel and tone, thereby branding Joint Forces. The overarching theme was reflective of the task of "building or constructing a joint force". Thomas Wright's original artwork started with what was mostly DoD loaned images representing all branches of service. We then created another layer of art that looked similar to an architect's or engineer's blueprint sketches to convey the message of building or constructing joint forces. Deliverables •   C-Plan in high quality booklet. •   Imagery and core messages that communicates major themes •   Talking points to address target audiences or stakeholders •   Plan for distribution •   Guide for future publications •   Capabilities booklet for Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) Results The C-Plan was well received and used as a model for future updates. Within a few months, Joint National Training Capability (JNTC) contracted Thomas Wright to develop a booklet to tell the joint training story and the relevance of JNTC to Joint Forces and also to joint training of allies, including medical professionals, rescue workers, and homeland security teams.