A student communications plan for ZEISS Vision’s rural India eye care initiative won a global GlobCom pitch by building measurement in from the start. Four pillars carried it: collaboration, strategy tied to SMART objectives, creativity with purpose, and data. The same principle applies to small business marketing today.
Yesterday, I jumped on a podcast to chat about a uni project from over a decade ago, and what I thought would be a bit of fun turned into a seriously grounding reminder of why I do what I do today.
In my final year of uni, in my International PR Unit, I participated in a project called GlobCom. GlobCom is an international communications initiative that brings together students from 15 countries around the world. I was the Co-Team Leader of our team, which consisted of 30+ students from across 13 countries, and every timezone you could imagine (and this was back in the Skype days… pre-Zoom!).
Side note, I somehow managed to find our final comms plan (in an old Facebook group… 😂). Below are some fun screen shots from the comms strategy.
Our task was to develop a global and local communications strategy for ZEISS Vision to support a vision care initiative across 600 rural villages across India.
Because this wasn’t just about selling glasses, it was about creating long-term change. Better vision = better education, better jobs, stronger economies.
The problem we were trying to help solve was real, urgent, and complex. ZEISS’s initiative aimed to solve one of the world’s most overlooked health issues, vision impairment in developing countries. With millions of people unable to access basic eye care, the impacts went far beyond poor vision. It impacts literacy, employment, economic output and overall quality of life. The goal was to position ZEISS as a socially responsible leader, building global partnerships and breaking down local barriers to access in India’s rural villages.
The brief required us to:
- Globally: Build awareness, inform stakeholder perceptions, and position ZEISS as a socially responsible business through strategic communications and global partnerships.
- Locally: Raise awareness in rural India, address negative perceptions of eyewear, and attract local partners and vendors who could help bring the vision care initiative to life.
There were dozens of teams across the world working on the same brief. Ours was selected as one of the top 3. I flew to Boston to pitch alongside 11 of my team mates, and our Communication Plan was selected as the winning pitch. It was such an incredible experience.
But for me, it wasn’t the pitch that stuck with me the most.
It was the process.
Being part of that project, and helping lead such a large, culturally diverse team taught me what real collaboration looked like. It taught me to listen. To lean into different perspectives. To let structure fuel creativity. To define clear goals before diving into the strategy development and the tactics. And to never forget the power of measuring what matters.
Every single person on our team brought a different lens (pun intended 😅). And while that meant more complexity, it also meant more depth. Our strongest ideas came from the places we didn’t expect, the conversations we took time to have, the assumptions we challenged, the stories we heard.
The more I reflected on it, the more I realised… The same four pillars I live and breathe in my work today. They were all there as re-read our original Communitation Plan, even back then:
Collaboration
We created a safe space where ideas could be shared without judgment. We used polls, team leads, structured workflows and open chats to make sure everyone could contribute, even across different time zones. And it was those diverse perspectives that unlocked our most creative thinking.
Strategy
Everything was built on a clear goal and SMART objectives. We aligned every tactic to those objectives, ensuring our ideas weren’t just exciting, they were purposeful. This made decision-making easier and gave our comms plan and strategy real direction.
Creativity
From partnering with 20/20 Cricket (yes, really!) to bold, multi-sensorial pop-up activations, we pushed boundaries with ideas that could resonate globally and locally. But the creativity was never random, it was always tied to the goal, the objectives, insights from research undertaken, and a clearly defined audience it needed to connect with.
Data
The most overlooked area in most comms plans. But not ours. We made sure every idea had a measurable outcome. From global partnerships to awareness benchmarks, we mapped out exactly how we’d measure success. We didn’t just tell a good story, we backed it with ways to inform, understand, and prove it worked.
This is the same approach I take with clients today, and this all got me thinking even more…
How many businesses skip this process entirely? How often do business owners rely on guesswork, assumptions, or gut feel, without:
setting clear goals
defining the right metrics
taking time to collaborate on strategy
It’s not just student projects that struggle with data-driven insights. I see it in business all the time. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
When you get your foundations right, when you take time to really collaborate, get strategic, go bold with your creative, and build in measurement from the start, that’s when your comms plans and your marketing efforts actually work.
So, what can business owners take away from all this?
If you’re a small business owner, marketing specialist, or someone trying to get clearer on what’s actually working in your marketing, here’s what reflecting upon this project reminded me, and what might help you too:
- Set the goal before you build the strategy.
It sounds simple, but most comms or marketing plans start with the tactics (e.g. “let’s run a campaign!”) before setting the goal. Define exactly what you want to achieve, and set SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) to enable measurement and track progress.
Tip: If you can’t measure it, it’s not a goal. You’re simply hoping it will work. - Research is everything.
Don’t skip the research. Whether it’s customer interviews, competitor reviews, or just digging into your website data, insights inform a smarter strategy and sharper messaging, and targeting.
Tip: You don’t need fancy tools to get started. Ask questions. Look at what’s already working. Use what you find to shape what you do next. Build measurement in from the start.
Measurement isn’t just something you look at at the end. It should shape your strategy and your tactics. What do you need to track to know if it’s working? What does success look like?
Tip: Set 1–2 SMART objectives per campaign, strategy or channel. Focus on clarity over complexity.Creativity should have purpose.
Creativity without strategy is just noise. But when bold ideas are backed by clear insight and tied to objectives, that’s when they make an impact.
Tip: Let your strategy be the brief. Then go bold with the ideas.- Real collaboration creates better outcomes.
Whether it’s your internal team, your copywriter, your strategist, or your customers, listen to different perspectives. You’ll uncover new angles, ideas, and approaches that wouldn’t surface if you were working in a silo.
Tip: If you’re stuck, ask someone outside your business how they see your brand or offer. Their answer might surprise you.
Strategy and data are often viewed as the “boring” parts of comms and marketing. But in reality, they’re the parts that give your creativity teeth. They’re what make sure your work is positioned correctly, meaningful, and measurable.
If you’re craving a clearer plan, more efficient marketing, or want to finally understand what’s working and why, let’s chat.
Oh, and the podcast episode will be out next week. I’ll share the link in next week’s email, and here as soon as it’s up. I just couldn’t wait to share the reflections with you first!
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