I helped Scotland's agency for social entrepreneurs become known as a responsible social investor, without losing the warmth founders trust.
Firstport had a strong reputation for supporting social enterprises, but few people saw it as a social investor. Its audiences ranged from ambitious founders ready to scale to cautious first-timers, community organisations and policymakers. It needed one story that worked for all of them, and turned into more applications and enquiries to the Catalyst Fund.
Positioning and audiences. Collaborative workshops agreed Firstport's position as a social investor and three personas defined by mindset and needs, not demographics. Working with the team, I set a shared North Star and three strategic pillars: transparency, responsibility and support.
Go-to-ecosystem strategy. An approach that connects communications, partnerships, advocacy and community engagement, built around one measure: growth in Catalyst Fund applications and enquiries.
Resources for the network. The Advocate Hub gives staff, partners and awardees one place for key messages, ready-to-use copy, stories and imagery. I also co-created The Entrepreneurs' Guide to Social Investment with contributors from across the ecosystem, with a plan for partners to share it.
A content engine. The Catalyst, a podcast series on investment, readiness and impact, plus more than 50 short video clips centring the voices of founders, awardees and staff.
Coaching and handover. Team coaching and a marketing and business development playbook, so Firstport can run the strategy in-house.
I designed and ran four in-person workshops, backed by stakeholder interviews and competitor research, to turn Mocean Energy’s purpose, audience insight and identity into a brand strategy and messaging guide.
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I helped Indeed Innovation clarify who it is for, what makes it different and how to communicate that position, bringing market research, messaging and client validation together.
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