Client Services July Spotlight: Shoulder to Shoulder
“We’re grateful for ReThink Media’s thought partnership, from investing in creating important and timely resources such as their new 9/11 25th Anniversary Narrative Strategy Guide, to co-hosting webinars and workshops that help leaders adapt and apply messaging recommendations and explore current polling data to better reach our audiences in our own authentic voice. Their work and insights influences our team at the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign as we continue to find ways to equip faith leaders in our network, to more effectively communicate our work on multiple platforms, and to continue creating new content such as our newly released resource, “Moving Beyond the ‘Sharia Scare,’ A Guide for Faith Leaders and Allies”. We have a long way to go in the work of building a more pluralistic U.S. where all people, regardless of their faith or cultural background, are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect; and we’re thankful to have ReThink Media along with us all in that journey.”
— Nina Fernando, Executive Director (Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign)
This year, Shoulder to Shoulder came to ReThink, as a client, with the goal of amplifying their voice, and the unique voices of the faith leaders in their network, in countering anti-Muslim racism and Islamophobia.
One of the most important ways that Shoulder to Shoulder leads its network is through tailored message guidance: framing and phrasing that can be delivered by people of faith and goodwill to congregants, community members, and media outlets looking to them for moral, principled leadership. Shoulder to Shoulder equips these leaders with the tools to navigate some of the hardest conversations in our society, and this is where ReThink stepped in to help.
To start, we built a foundation by developing a content calendar and social media templates they could use to streamline their content development and plan ahead—crucial for a small staff. Then we moved to bolster their reactive communications strategy, including drafting and disseminating statements in response to the devastating San Diego Islamic Center shooting and the rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric from members of Congress. When Shoulder to Shoulder hosted a panel on the weaponization of the word “sharia” from political figures, we helped position them as a visible leader on this issue.
ReThink then shifted to proactively strengthen Shoulder to Shoulder’s spokesperson network, hosting a messaging workshop for their network partners in preparation for the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a moment when Islamophobic rhetoric often re-surfaces. Shoulder to Shoulder’s strength is that they create a unified platform and messaging for a broad range of faith leaders. However, a key challenge that comes with this is tailoring that language to individual voices to ensure that communications are authentic while still remaining consistent. We addressed this by creating a tailored messaging guide and training over 20 faith leaders from Shoulder to Shoulder’s network to adapt field-wide messaging to their own voices and contexts. Following that workshop, we hosted Q&A session a week later to address additional questions and help faith leaders strategize around tough conversations.
Across our work with clients, we share one common goal: deepening their capacity to communicate with authenticity and impact. By equipping its network with both guidance and training, Shoulder to Shoulder can ensure that faith leaders use messaging that is aligned with the broader movement and is true to their own voice.
If your organization is grappling with how to adapt message guidance for the field to your own voice, strengthen your positioning in critical moments, or communicate with clarity and impact, we’d love to talk. ReThink’s Client Services team specializes in exactly this kind of work—strategy, messaging, and hands-on comms execution tailored to your movement and your voice.
