Inclusion Scotland
Organisation Repositioning
Strategic Communications Advisory & Project Management
Inclusion Scotland is a national Disabled People’s Organisation working to advance disabled people’s rights, participation and influence across Scotland. Operating within a complex policy and stakeholder environment, the organisation requires a clear institutional identity, a compelling narrative and the communications infrastructure to support its advocacy, engagement and long-term ambitions.
Marriott Communications was appointed to lead a comprehensive organisational rebrand and repositioning, bringing together strategic counsel, narrative development, communications planning, creative direction and digital delivery under a single, coordinated programme.
The mandate required a considered reassessment of how Inclusion Scotland articulates its purpose, communicates its priorities and presents itself to the audiences whose understanding, engagement and support are essential to its work.
Our role was to establish the strategic foundations for a more coherent organisational presence: aligning the organisation’s narrative, messaging, leadership positioning and communications practices with its wider mission, while translating that direction into a refreshed digital experience and practical guidance for ongoing implementation.
The Challenge
For organisations operating at the intersection of public policy, advocacy and social change, reputation and influence are built through more than visibility. They depend on clarity of purpose, consistency of message and the ability to communicate complex issues in ways that resonate with different audiences without compromising the substance of the organisation’s work.
Inclusion Scotland’s repositioning therefore required a holistic approach. Its identity, narrative, communications and digital presence needed to work together as a coherent expression of the organisation, rather than as separate elements developed in isolation.
This involved navigating several interconnected challenges: establishing a clear and distinctive organisational narrative; articulating key messages that could be applied consistently across different audiences and channels; aligning communications with organisational priorities; and ensuring that leadership, stakeholders and the wider organisation had the guidance required to communicate with greater consistency and confidence.
Delivering this transformation required strategic oversight across multiple workstreams, careful stakeholder management and the integration of strategic, creative and operational decisions into one coordinated programme.
Institutional coherence and influence. We considered how the organisation presented itself to stakeholders and how its communications could better support its advocacy, engagement and wider institutional objectives. This included strategic counsel, stakeholder management, communications planning and executive positioning, ensuring that the repositioning extended beyond brand presentation into the way the organisation communicates and represents its work.
A sustainable communications infrastructure. We translated the strategic direction into practical tools and platforms that could support the organisation beyond the immediate project. This included the development of a refreshed website, creative design, communications guidelines and a social media policy, creating a more structured foundation for consistent communications over time.
Our Strategic Approach
Marriott Communications approached the engagement as an organisational repositioning exercise, placing strategic clarity ahead of individual communications outputs.
We began by establishing the narrative architecture underpinning the rebrand: defining the central story the organisation needed to tell, the messages required to communicate its purpose and priorities, and the principles that would guide how it presented itself across different audiences and environments.
This provided the foundation for a more integrated communications framework. Rather than treating messaging, digital presence, social media and leadership communications as independent activities, we brought them together within a coherent strategic direction.
Our approach centred on three priorities.
Strategic clarity and narrative alignment. We developed the core narrative and key messaging required to articulate Inclusion Scotland’s identity, purpose and work with greater clarity. The objective was to establish a consistent strategic foundation that could inform communications across channels, audiences and organisational activities.
Delivery
Marriott Communications led the rebrand and repositioning through an integrated programme spanning strategy, communications, creative development and digital implementation.
Our work encompassed:
Strategic counsel and project leadership
Narrative architecture and key messaging
Communications strategy
Website development and creative direction
Communications governance and guidelines
Stakeholder management and executive positioning
These activities were delivered as connected elements of a single repositioning programme. By integrating strategic development, stakeholder coordination and implementation, we ensured that the work addressed not only how Inclusion Scotland presents itself, but also the frameworks and guidance supporting its ongoing communications.
Impact
The engagement established a more integrated strategic foundation for Inclusion Scotland’s organisational identity, communications and digital presence.
By aligning narrative development, communications strategy, creative design and practical governance, the repositioning brought greater coherence to how the organisation articulates its purpose, communicates its priorities and presents its work to external audiences.
The engagement delivered a clearer organisational narrative, more consistent messaging, a refreshed website and practical communications frameworks to guide activity across channels. Together, these outputs equipped Inclusion Scotland with a more coherent approach to stakeholder engagement, stronger foundations for leadership communications and greater consistency in how its work is represented.
For an organisation advancing disabled people’s rights and influencing public policy, these foundations are essential. They help communicate complex priorities with clarity, strengthen understanding among stakeholders and ensure the organisation’s identity reflects the purpose and significance of its work.
The result was more than a refreshed identity. It was an integrated strategic and communications framework designed to support Inclusion Scotland’s advocacy, strengthen its external positioning and provide a sustainable foundation for future engagement and influence.