Media Consulting for Organizations in Ottawa and Across Canada

Our Four-Step Consulting Engagement Process

1. 01

   Discovery and Situation Assessment

   Every consulting engagement begins with a discovery conversation — typically 60-90 minutes — in which we ask the questions a journalist would ask about your organization, your issue, and your current communications posture. What has been reported about you before? What do you want the media narrative to say? What vulnerabilities exist in your current messaging or public record? What is your spokesperson's baseline experience with media? The output is a written situation assessment you receive at the end of the first engagement block, which grounds all subsequent consulting in a shared diagnosis of where you are starting from.

2. 02

   Strategy Development or Training Design

   For media strategy engagements, we develop a written communications plan: target outlets and journalists, messaging architecture (key message, supporting points, evidence layer), a pitching calendar, and protocols for reactive media handling. For spokesperson training, we design a tailored session plan based on the discovery assessment: which interview formats to practice (broadcast scrums, print one-on-ones, parliamentary committee testimony, hostile editorial board meetings), which topics carry the highest risk, and which communication habits need to be built or corrected. For crisis work, this phase is compressed — often a single working session — and focused on immediate response options.

3. 03

   Delivery — Session, Training, or Real-Time Advisory

   Strategy sessions are conducted in-person at your Ottawa office or facility, or by video for remote clients. Spokesperson training sessions include mock interviews with a working journalist playing the questioner — not a simulation, but an actual unscripted interview conducted with full journalistic intent, recorded for review. Crisis communications advisory is available by phone or video within two hours of first contact during standard business hours, and within four hours after hours for retainer clients. All sessions are documented with written notes and action items delivered the same day.

4. 04

   Follow-Up and Documentation

   Every consulting session ends with a written debrief: what was covered, what was decided, what actions are assigned to whom, and what the next engagement should address. For spokesperson training, we deliver a performance note for each participant — specific, private, and constructive — within 24 hours of the session. For strategy engagements, we deliver the written communications plan within two business days of the final session. All materials are archived for 24 months and available to your team via our secure portal.

Who This Service Is For

• National associations and industry groups that engage regularly with federal regulators and parliamentary committees
• Federally regulated businesses preparing for regulatory announcements, consultations, or investigations that will attract media attention
• Non-profit and civil-society organizations seeking to raise the profile of a policy issue or respond to scrutiny
• Crown corporations and federal public bodies navigating access-to-information requests or proactive disclosure obligations
• Professional services firms — law, accounting, engineering — whose partners occasionally face media inquiries on matters of public interest
• Political staff and communications directors at newly formed ministerial offices needing an outside perspective on media strategy
• Organizations facing a communications crisis and needing experienced counsel within hours, not days

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Our consulting practice draws on direct experience across the following areas. We tell you frankly if a topic falls outside our depth:

• Canadian media landscape: how editorial decisions are made at major national outlets (Globe, Star, CBC/Radio-Canada, National Post, CTV), regional outlets, and trade and specialty publications; what journalists are looking for and what makes a story publishable
• Federal public affairs: the Ottawa communications environment, parliamentary cycle, committee dynamics, proactive disclosure obligations, ATIP response strategy
• Spokesperson training: broadcast and print interview technique, message discipline, bridging, handling hostile questions, committee testimony, media scrums
• Crisis communications: first-hour response protocols, holding statements, media monitoring escalation, stakeholder notification sequencing, post-crisis review
• Bilingual communications: managing messaging across English and French media simultaneously, including francophone-market-specific considerations
• Investigative preparedness: what to do when you learn a reporter is working on a story about your organization; right-of-reply best practices; what not to do

What to Prepare Before We Start

• A brief description of the communications challenge, opportunity, or issue you are facing
• Any recent or anticipated media coverage of your organization, issue, or sector
• The names and roles of the spokespeople who will participate in training, if applicable
• Copies of your current key messaging documents, if you have them
• Any specific journalists, outlets, or beats you are trying to reach or respond to
• Your timeline: is this a standing strategic engagement or is there an event (announcement, report release, regulatory decision) in the near future driving the timeline?

Deliverables

• Written situation assessment following the discovery session
• Written communications plan or spokesperson session design (depending on engagement type)
• Mock interview recording(s) for spokesperson training participants
• Individual performance notes for each training participant (private, delivered within 24 hours)
• Same-day written debrief note after each session with action items
• Crisis response documentation where applicable: holding statement draft, media monitoring protocol, stakeholder notification sequence
• 24-month archive access to all session materials and documents

Timeline and Availability

Consulting engagements are scheduled by appointment. For strategic and training work, we typically confirm availability and a session schedule within two business days of first contact. For crisis situations, we offer response within two hours during business hours (9am-6pm Eastern) and four hours outside those hours for clients under a standing retainer agreement. Half-day and full-day sessions must be booked at least 48 hours in advance; for same-day crisis advisory, contact us directly by phone.

What Is NOT Included

• Public relations execution — media pitching, press release distribution, or media list building (advisory only; execution is your team's responsibility)
• Legal advice on communications obligations or regulatory disclosure requirements
• Lobbying or government-relations work (distinct from media strategy and subject to separate registration requirements)
• Social media management or digital communications strategy (limited guidance offered; full-service digital PR is not within our scope)
• Polling or market research to test messaging (we advise on strategy; primary research is an external cost)
• Travel outside the National Capital Region unless quoted separately as an additional cost

How Pricing Works

Consulting is billed by time. All rates in Canadian dollars; HST 13% (Ontario) applied to all invoices. Net 30 B2B; net 15 otherwise. 40% deposit required to book a half-day or full-day session; single hours invoiced in arrears. Free cancellation 72 hours before confirmed session time; cancellations within 72 hours charged at 50% of the session fee. BN: 732918456 RC0001 — HST: 732918456 RT0001.

Monthly retainer arrangements available for organizations requiring ongoing advisory access and priority crisis response. Contact us for retainer pricing. See Terms of Service.