Carefully designed, ongoing and proactive media relations establish and maintain relationships between organisations and representatives of various media, providing long-term benefits for the client. The Consensus team advises and assists in the planning and implementation of all activities within media relations. Our work is based on profound understanding of general and specialised journalists and editors, as well as careful preparation of press conferences and other forms of organised meetings with journalists, press releases, written interpretative materials, company profiles, FAQ manuals, a journalist cooperation manuals and crisis management manuals.

We design content for websites and work together with a permanent group of external staff to implement our solutions. When conceptualising a website, we focus on end users in relation to the organisation’s business goals. Nowadays, users increasingly access websites on mobile phones and tablets; this needs to be kept in mind when designing a site.

In the world of two-way communication, a website alone is not enough to get your message across, which is why we also support and manage social media communications.

We possess the knowledge required to implement the global integrated reporting initiative led by a group of major global companies and coordinated by the IIRC (International Integrated Reporting Council, www.theiirc.org). This makes us the first in Slovenia to have developed an integrated reporting model that utilises unified methodology in describing the economic and social impacts of a company to the environment. Integrated reporting integrates financial and non-financial data (i.e. environmental, social and managerial business results).

Our integrated reporting service includes consulting and implementation activities related to business reporting and management. This reporting style provides a transparent way to present the relationship between business strategy, management and business model, while also displaying the impact and interconnectedness of important opportunities, risks and performance across the value chain.

Each market has its peculiarities, many of which are unwritten, microcultural and microlocal. Consensus provides foreign companies with an insight into the region they are about to enter while operationalising – on our own or with expert partners – the requirements that must be satisfied. The one important condition that must be met before entering a market is to establish a firm connection between formal (legal and administrative) requirements and informal business practices.

Business models propel not only commercial companies, but also every organisation, individual, city, region and country. Consensus excels in making content plans while also achieving consensus among key stakeholders, regardless of the organisation type. Regional development centres are not the only ones that lack the leverage to impose their business models on the residents; even commercial companies can only succeed if the employees both understand and, more importantly, live the business model in question.

Consensus has developed and repeatedly used a method that includes key stakeholders of regional development. The method connects situation analysis with the planning of development ideas and idea operationalisation to form a strategic plan. The final result is not merely a plan, but foremost a motivated group of plan implementers.

Consensus’ main goal has always been activating potentials. The standard branding model – a foundation for identifying and activating potentials of each organisation, be it a commercial company, non-profit organisation, city, region or a country – is made possible by a well-defined and controlled process of determining the identity, or rather the essence, of a product, service, organisation, city, region or a country. Our extensive experience in these fields provides a strong support for anyone striving to shape the future together with us.

Be it when developing new products or services, upgrading existing potentials or designing new ones for new investors... with this simple and repeatable model Consensus is able to provide a unique service.

Each event – be it a business meeting, a round-table talk, workshop, business conference, lecture, or an award ceremony – is a complex process that requires careful planning, organisation and implementation.

Consensus draws on extensive experience in designing, organising and implementing such events for various occasions and audiences. We do not plan events for their own sake; we plan them because they are closely related to our clients’ business goals. Together with the client, we define the objectives of the event and the target audience. We set up a timeline, provide advice on schedules and content, prepare a programme and script for the event, write invitations and thank-you letters, provide support in choosing an appropriate venue, handle correspondence with participants and lecturers, prepare speeches and presentation materials, and work with external staff to prepare the venue.

Executive and legislative authorities on state or local levels can provide opportunities, but sometimes they can be an obstacle to a company striving to achieve its business plans, or to any other type of organisation trying to fulfil its vision.

Consensus’ experts have nearly 20 years of experience in lobbying, and more than 20 years of experience in government sector relations and related issue management. There is hardly any sector where clients would not benefit from our help in overcoming the obstacles posed by state or local communities. Recently, our focus has been providing support to companies entering the Slovene market and dealing with administrative and cultural barriers.

There are two registered lobbyists working with Consensus: Andrej Drapal and Darinka Pek Drapal.

Local communities are one of the key audiences of every organisation; especially of organisations that have a major impact on their immediate environment or society.

This does not include only local residents living near plants or other facilities affecting the environment, but also other audiences operating in a specific geographical area (e.g. local stakeholders, local media, local decision-makers, expert organisations, etc.).

As part of our local community relations services we advise and support our clients when researching the local community (its structure, activities, how the community representatives perceive the organisation and its projects, etc.); planning and implementing community relations programmes and choosing the appropriate tools; carrying out negotiations and coordinating with local stakeholders; participating in mediation processes and measuring the effectiveness of community relations programmes.

It is well known that members of the public often refuse to listen to what you have to say, yet wish to participate in matters concerning their lives. Participatory democracy is laid down in the Aarhus Convention, which has also been ratified by Slovenia, but it is hard to move from words to actions without consensus/Consensus.

When establishing a proper participatory process, our work includes:

• environmental analysis (general and specific features of the social environment, identification of stakeholders and their communication skills, identification of needs, problems and issues, acquaintance with the normative frameworks of public participation etc.);
• providing arguments to decide when and how to involve the public in the decision-making process;
• on-site active management of participatory processes

In collaboration with experts from the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Consensus has developed a social acceptance measurement model. The model can be used in all projects that may provoke opposition by the immediate and broader social environment.

The best form of crisis communication is the one which is not needed. Continuing consensus greatly reduces the possibility of crisis, and as our name suggests, Consensus’ motto has been to establish conflict-free relationships. If a client is already facing crisis, Consensus sets up a crisis communication plan while providing advice on how to reduce direct business losses and maintain the company reputation.

There are different types of crises. They may be related to finance or law, may be caused by an accident or even the environment’s hostility towards the organisation. All types of crisis have in common that they require effective management, quick response and effective communication with both internal and external audiences as well as all stakeholders.

When developing risk communication strategies, we advise our clients on:

• how to clearly define communication processes (early stakeholder involvement, effective pre- and post-risk communication etc.);
• establishing an effective communication infrastructure;
• choosing the most appropriate communication tools under the circumstances.