are you addressing the aspirations of your audience?
You know your audience.
But does your message speak to their desire to:
OVERCOME BARRIERS
DISSOLVE TENSIONS
RESOLVE CONFLICTS
FIX LONGSTANDING PROBLEMS
to achieve their dreams for the future?
If not, we can define and refine your story to:
Better connect with your audience
Deepen community relationships
Galvanize support for your ideas
Change set trajectories and old approaches
Grow economic value and opportunities
Create better social outcomes
Shape your positive difference in the world
Our Work
VALUES + VIEW + VISION = STORY
Your story is your guiding set of values. Your compelling point of view. Your long-term vision that captures the imagination and traces an arc toward a better tomorrow. We undertake a deep discovery process to learn your authentic voice, where you've been, and where you're headed. And we use rich, people-centered language to develop the enduring narrative, resonant messages, and focused materials to bring your story to life.
STRATEGY: MAPPING YOUR DESTINY
Just getting your message out is never enough. Why only be heard when you can educate, motivate, and activate your audience toward tangible goals? Our strategic plans help draw the four corners of the conversation with your colleagues, customers, constituents, or community, and are optimized to deliver the right message, from the right messengers, to the right audience, at the right moment in time. And, we manage your project each step of the way.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS: THE FOUR P's
When your plans depend upon government approval, the landscape between you and success can be scattered with landmines. Effective navigation of the Four Ps -- politics, policy, process, and the press -- can shape perception and build support for your goals, whether they include legislation, a permit, a lease, funding, or regulatory approval. We set the table and help you convene with the supporters, reporters, validators, and decision-makers to get your goal to yes.
THE MEDIA AND THE MESSAGE
When your organization's name appears in the press, context matters -- and so does characterization. Media coverage is a risk-reward play for any organization. We provide an honest assessment of both, and help you decide when and how to best engage -- either to maximize opportunity or minimize liability. We calibrate the message and prepare your spokespeople to convey it effectively, while working with reporters to best understand their interests and needs.
Our Difference
When you hire Reading Communications...
. . . you're not hiring a vendor to provide one-way support disconnected from your larger objectives, or to develop plans for your organization that go no further than your inbox.
Rather, you're hiring a thought partner who goes beyond awaiting your instructions and instead provides proactive, two-way strategic support and counsel laser-focused on bringing your desired outcome to life.
After all, a communications project is most effective not when it is conducted for communication’s sake but when it is practiced in support of discrete goals –- and we'll be right there with you to implement and manage your project to realize those goals.
We’re highly literate both in organizational issues and in organization structure and will quickly endeavor to understand your organization and its mission, vision, and values to make sure our work works for you.
Our ability to make complex issues simple and easily understandable helps us to define problems, identify needs, locate solutions, and forge paths forward.
And while we can provide your organization our counsel, vision, and leadership at the 30,000-foot level, we will never shy away from putting our heads down at the tactical level as energetic generators of high-quality work product -- and quickly.
We’ve orchestrated strategic communications efforts large and small, high profile and under the radar for a broad and diverse range of clients, including tribal governments, Fortune 100 corporations, developers, foundations, non-profits, associations, coalitions, start-ups, institutions of higher education, state and local agencies, and statewide and local elected officials.
We are based in Oregon and work with clients in the Pacific Northwest, up and down the West Coast, and throughout the country.
Our Clients
Reading Communications is proud to work a diverse array of dynamic organizations and leading companies. Here are a few.
Amgen
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Ceasefire Oregon
Children’s Institute
Eli Lilly
Exelon
Friends of Family Farmers
Graduate Tacoma
Humana
Janssen
Johnson & Johnson MedTech
Merck Vaccines
Meta Platforms
Microsoft
Novartis
Ohana Biosciences
Oregon REALTORS
Oregon District Attorneys Association
Oregon Academy of Family Physicians
Pear Therapeutics
Portland State University
Starbucks
Washington Department of Corrections
Washington Hospitality Association
Washington REALTORS
Washington State Association of Counties
About Us
Niki Reading
Niki Reading
Niki Reading
Niki brings 15 years of experience in journalism and communications consulting. She has a proven ability to write about complex public policy and process in a way that's engaging and easy to understand. She has worked with clients ranging from large public institutions to a nationally syndicated television show to help them effectively t
Niki brings 15 years of experience in journalism and communications consulting. She has a proven ability to write about complex public policy and process in a way that's engaging and easy to understand. She has worked with clients ranging from large public institutions to a nationally syndicated television show to help them effectively tell compelling stories. She has covered state government in Washington and Oregon for newspapers and television, and her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal. Contact her at niki@readingcomms.com or 541.980.1498.
Jeff Reading
Niki Reading
Niki Reading
Jeff brings over two decades of strategic communications experience in the private sector and in the public sector at the local, state and federal levels. Jeff has been senior vice president at a public affairs firm, communications director for a metropolitan mayor, public relations lead for public policy at Microsoft, deputy chief of st
Jeff brings over two decades of strategic communications experience in the private sector and in the public sector at the local, state and federal levels. Jeff has been senior vice president at a public affairs firm, communications director for a metropolitan mayor, public relations lead for public policy at Microsoft, deputy chief of staff and communications director for the Washington Senate. He has also managed government affairs for a statewide trade association, and staffed a member of Congress. He can be reached at jeff@readingcomms.com or 360.888.9520.