No Drama Strategieberatung

Agitation and outrage, anger and fear, perceived truths and false expectations provide fertile ground for bad ideas and even worse decisions. Sound research is the basis for smart strategies and innovative ideas. Lowering the pulse, exploring the status quo, working on the best solution with calmness and a cool head – that is what No Drama is about.

Numbers require explanations:

52 per cent – this is quite often the ‘majority of those surveyed’. But this leaves out statistical margins of error, which, depending on the sample, can be as much as +/–4 per cent. Numbers need to be read correctly and not wildly dramatised.

1,000 people – that is the magic number for surveys. Surveys with fewer interviews are not considered representative. It is true that the size of the sample influences the precision of the results. However, 1,000 is not a scientifically supported limit, but a matter of belief.

132 seconds – that is how long Lionel Messi was on the ball in the match against Marseille. Not much? Marseille’s best player was on the ball for 100 seconds, and the average Bundesliga forward often only manages 45–50 seconds on the ball per match. Some numbers only make sense in relation to others.

We are No Drama. Calm, but passionate. Placid and precise. Analytical and creative. We believe in the connection between progress and facts. We like to work on the foundation of conversations, interviews and surveys, because we like to know what moves target groups. In times of top-speed communication and decreasing background knowledge, we represent an offer that goes beyond outrage to emphatic listening and smart action. Three people of conviction who, even in stormy times, do not get flustered.

Dr. Thomas Wind has a doctorate in social sciences and is a founder of the Heidelberger Institut für Zielgruppenkommunikation (Heidelberg institute for target group communication) and No Drama. He has worked on applied market, opinion and social research for over 25 years, both for companies and in the public sector (ministries, parties, associations, foundations, NGOs). He is particularly focused on the development and testing of innovative methods and sensible linking of qualitative and quantitative research. This is because successful strategy and campaign development requires deep and varied insights into the lives of the target groups, flanked by data and benchmarks. Thomas Wind comes from Heidelberg and is not an avowed football fan – a small cause for drama.

+49 176 811 75 813

Heiko Wiese, a founder and managing director of No Drama, is a strategist, consultant and manager. He has been advising politicians and business, umbrella organisations and trade associations, brands and people for years. He moved from the Bonn representation of the EU Commission via media and PR agencies in the Rhineland to Berlin, where he has been living for over 15 years. Ministries, associations and companies put their faith in his expertise and strategic recommendations. In recent years, Thomas Wind and Heiko Wiese have been able to successfully implement a strategic alliance in joint projects relating to brand and organisation development and location marketing – from management surveys and their evaluation to strategic derivations for new and effective communication approaches. Heiko Wiese is from the Sauerland and supports HSV – drama is guaranteed.

+49 177 276 56 24

Klaus Harbers, a founder and managing director of No Drama, is a PR consultant, an editor and a former press spokesperson. He studied political science, modern history and journalism in Münster, began his career in the office of a member of German parliament, moved into the agency scene and was then the press spokesperson of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) for three years and Public Affairs Manager at 365 Sherpas for four years. For years, Klaus Harbers has advised ministries, companies and institutions on subjects ranging from the analysis of strategic challenges to political consultation in communicative crisis situations and the development of communication strategies and campaigns. He is from East Frisia and is a Schalke fan – which too often means drama.

+49 162 707 25 36

Mischka Walten is a strategy consultant at No Drama. She studied Public Governance across Borders in Münster and Enschede. Before and during her studies, Mischka Walten gained work experience in the communications industry. First in advertising and public relations before then working at 365 Sherpas as an associate. Her focus lies in the areas of institutional actors from politics and business as well as in strategic consulting and positioning of associations and companies. Mischka Walten is from Cologne – no drama, either.

Titus Blome recherchiert, analysiert und schreibt für No Drama. In Bayreuth absolvierte er seinen Bachelor in Philosophy & Economics und studiert jetzt im Master Politikwissenschaften an der Universität Leipzig. In der Beratungsbranche erhielt er Einblicke ins politische Tagesgeschäft, Erfahrungen im Journalismus sammelte er bei Tageszeitungen und in der Redaktion der TV-Sendung „Maischberger“. Er kommt aus Kleinmachnow, unmittelbar vor den Toren der Hauptstadt – aus Berliner Sicht ein ständiges Drama.

Those who listen can ask the right questions.
Those who ask the right questions will understand better.
Those who understand can develop an appropriate strategy.
Those who have a strategy also need to implement it and make it simple.

TOPICLABORATORY

Speech is silver, but listening is golden

Effective communication requires topics and images that are attractive, relevant, convincing and motivational. Those who listen have a clear advantage in that context. In order to develop the right messages, suitable language, convincing images and a good story, you need to listen to the people who matter – young and old, singles and families, entrepreneurs and employees, managers and assistants, women and men. And the listening must have a methodical basis. In the topic laboratory, we systematically capture the described life and apply tested methods of qualitative research. From the collated stories and images, we distil relevant and attractive topics and messages, which we package in a consistent story.

TEXTSENSOR

The appropriate word, the right tone

Thanks to Paul Watzlawick, we know that we cannot not communicate. Therefore, we should do it the right way, and that also applies for companies and institutions. Language is first and foremost in this. The recurring challenge of communication is in finding the clear message, the appropriate tone and the right form of address – simple and comprehensible, clear and concise, catchy and convincing. The text sensor helps discover and develop the terms, argumentation lines and tones that reach and convincingly portray the values, needs and interests of the target groups.

IMAGEANALYSIS

Perception forms truth

An image is never the truth, but it influences it. Images are formed through the perception and evaluation of people, companies, institutions, cities or entire countries. They are based on existing knowledge, emotions, attitudes and stereotypes. They are holistic phenomena, because they combine everything that an observer knows, thinks and feels about the image bearer in question. Images are not uniform and homogeneous; they vary depending on individual perspective. They simplify, bundle information and reduce complexity. Our image analyses are characterised by this understanding of image. They include the cognitive and affective elements of which images are composed. We illuminate them from different perspectives and also focus on the potential development dynamic of images in future.

STRATEGY

The acid test of reality

Where am I, where would I like to be and how do I get there? – Analysis, target and strategy. That is what it comes down to when companies and institutions have decided to take action, and communication always plays a central role in it. With whom does communication need to take place, with what tone and which messages, loudly or quietly, when and via which channel? We answer these questions in continuous exchange with our clients. Research specially tailored to the relevant questions forms the basis of the strategy development. In the process, we stay alert and flexible, because every strategy, idea and concept has to prove itself in reality. Not only Prussian generals, but also American world champion boxers have recognised that plans are only helpful until the first collision with reality.

MEDIAWORK

New channels, old rules

Bloggers, influencers, company-internal newsrooms – classic media now have strong competition. At the same time, they find themselves in crisis – editorial departments are shrinking and being merged. On top of this, fake-news attacks are undermining their credibility. And yet: the classic media remain our most important companion when it comes to reliable information, explanation and classification. Professional journalism remains indispensable and the rules by which it works are unchanged: topicality, accuracy and relevance, proximity, emotion and conflict, provided in comprehensible language, whether in text, images or video – that is still the recipe for a good story. This has been our métier for 20 years and we help clients to avoid the errors in media work that we ourselves have made in the past.

CAMPAIGN

Now Drama

Communication is a means to an end. If you have nothing to say, it’s fine to stay quiet. Nobody needs tweets in which politicians or managers report on positive discussions, without at least hinting at their content. We help clients find the right communication path for their target groups and to fill targeted campaigns with the core messages. We develop communication and campaign ideas, as well as the corresponding dramatic composition, in order to achieve maximum effect in terms of the strategic aim. In the process, we rely on a dense network of strong partners that includes all communication trades. And if it is sensible and expedient to cut down communication or avoid a campaign, then that is exactly the strategic recommendation we give our clients.