Communications Strategy Group

Communications Strategy Group A marketing and PR firm turning intent into action with strategic communications. Both a teacher and a student of industry nuance and human behavior.

Communications Strategy Group (CSG) is a strategic communications and marketing agency that provides public relations, content marketing, brand communications, corporate communications, social media and design services for Fortune 500 companies and challenger brands across financial and professional services, health and wellness, education, technology, aviation and consumer industries.

Rejection: not just for middle school dances anymore. In CSG's Behavior Design approach, Rejection is one of six core mo...
05/26/2026

Rejection: not just for middle school dances anymore. In CSG's Behavior Design approach, Rejection is one of six core motivators, tapping into some urgent impulses at the very center of the human condition.

Here's how it works. The pair of motivators we group under Belonging drive human behavior either as Acceptance (the warm glow of being "in") or Rejection (the cold 😱 feeling of being left out). Most brands tend to lean toward Acceptance. "Join the community! Be part of something!" Very wholesome. Very effective on its day. But not right every day. Rejection, meanwhile, says, "Everyone else already did this. But you didn't. Interesting choice."

That's why "Only 3 spots left" may outperform "Spots available," and why "10,000 businesses already switched" may outperform "Consider switching."

These messages tend to draw us in whether we know why they work or not. We all want to stay where people are and where things are happening rather than wandering the wilderness alone. Welcome to being human.

As strategic communicators, we have an obvious stake in keeping up with changes to the language and the culture in which...
05/20/2026

As strategic communicators, we have an obvious stake in keeping up with changes to the language and the culture in which we work. CSG copywriter Jason has some thoughts on how those processes unfold (among other things), and he put them all in a brand-new article on our blog. Check it out, you might have fun!

The breach of Instructure (Canvas's parent company) potentially exposed data on 275 million people and touched nearly ha...
05/18/2026

The breach of Instructure (Canvas's parent company) potentially exposed data on 275 million people and touched nearly half of all higher education institutions in North America. In the hours that followed, some institutions communicated clearly. Those caught unprepared had to go silent or swap the ransom note for a "scheduled maintenance" message before any real statement had gone out.

In a new article, CSG VP Brianna Schmitz uses the Canvas situation as a lens for what crisis readiness actually looks like in education, and how much it costs not to prepare. She walks through CSG's CLEAR framework: a structured approach to calculating scope, leveling up your crisis team, engaging stakeholders from the inside out, monitoring in real time and reviewing after the fact.

The question is when a crisis will happen, not if. And the organizations that respond with clarity are the ones that built their plan before they needed it.

CSGer Emily has a literary streak, and all the proof you need is the spectacular multi-book report she wrote for our blo...
05/15/2026

CSGer Emily has a literary streak, and all the proof you need is the spectacular multi-book report she wrote for our blog. Get an in-depth look at her faves (and anti-faves) from Goodreads now, so you can start stockpiling stories to keep you company by the pool this summer! 😎

Many busy people are stretched thin by the routine demands of life, to the point that two appliances breaking in the sam...
05/11/2026

Many busy people are stretched thin by the routine demands of life, to the point that two appliances breaking in the same week can seem like persecution by the gods. One way to deal with this is to improve your work environment so that it begins to feel calm and predictable. This gives you a break from the outside chaos and lets you enjoy the positive parts of your job all the more.

CSG's COO Molly has descended on the CSG blog to argue in favor of process (good process, that is) as a means to achieve this goal. She says process has an image problem, but it's actually the key to removing stress that drains your energy all day without you noticing. Read her article now and start building, in her words, "one corner of sanity."

What actually drives purchase decisions? More often than we admit, it's identity as opposed to features or price. People...
05/05/2026

What actually drives purchase decisions? More often than we admit, it's identity as opposed to features or price. People want to belong to groups they admire, and they're drawn to brands that signal membership in those groups. Acceptance-based marketing works by positioning a product or service as an essential marker of belonging to an expert community, a successful demographic or a forward-thinking industry.

For our clients, finding that angle might mean spotlighting the thought leaders who rely on their product, leaning into category dominance or identifying the cultural moment where their brand fits naturally. The specific strategy varies by client, but the underlying psychology is remarkably consistent across industries and audiences. It's one of the most reliable tools in CSG's behavior design toolkit.

"Higher education audiences are among the most sales-resistant audiences in any sector" writes CSG's Higher Education Di...
05/01/2026

"Higher education audiences are among the most sales-resistant audiences in any sector" writes CSG's Higher Education Director Abby. To succeed in what she dubs higher ed's "trust ecosystem," marketing teams have to lead with peer reviews and positive outcomes from within academia. To read why trust is the new currency in this space and how you can seize opportunities to build it, read Abby's article on the CSG blog.

Sometimes it's fun to turn on subtitles when you're watching something and pay attention to all the ways they enhance or...
04/29/2026

Sometimes it's fun to turn on subtitles when you're watching something and pay attention to all the ways they enhance or steer the production. Did that character really "growl" at their adversary? Is that music actually "tense and intriguing"? CSG copywriter Haley has some thoughts on the power of subtitles that you can read now on the CSG blog! 🔤 👀

We all try to put on a brave face most of the time, but here are situations when it's good to be super upfront about you...
04/24/2026

We all try to put on a brave face most of the time, but here are situations when it's good to be super upfront about your pain:

1. When your friend asks you to move a couch
2. Marketing campaigns

The human brain is wired to avoid discomfort, and that instinct is one of the most powerful forces a marketer can harness. When your messaging speaks directly to an audience's frustrations or struggles, you'd be surprised how quickly it can create a bond that grows into brand loyalty.

At CSG, we build communications strategies that meet people where they are. Sometimes that means leading with the problem before we ever get to the solution, because empathy earns attention, and attention is where everything else begins.

Pain is universal. Used thoughtfully, it's also one of the most honest tools in a communicator's kit. Visit our site to find out how we put it to work.

Maybe you, like us, were not aware that a person could finish the NYT crossword in under three minutes. But it's possibl...
04/22/2026

Maybe you, like us, were not aware that a person could finish the NYT crossword in under three minutes. But it's possible! How do we know? Because our dear PR leader Courtney does the puzzle every morning, times herself and agonizes over any score that's not up to her usual standard. Want to get all her hard-won tips and tricks for setting your next personal record? Read her crossword hyperfixation article now on the CSG blog!

Where does creativity come from? Is it a mystery, a cosmic accident or blessing channelled through one person at a time ...
04/16/2026

Where does creativity come from? Is it a mystery, a cosmic accident or blessing channelled through one person at a time and impossible to control? Or is it something we can develop through collaboration and promote by astute leadership? CSG Creative Director Kristie has a lifetime of experience with tapping into sources of creative energy, and she has some thoughts on how we can encourage big ideas to take shape in professional settings. Read her article on the CSG blog now!

Address

44 Cook Street, Ste 710
Denver, CO
80206

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 5:30pm
Thursday 8am - 5:30pm
Friday 8am - 5:30pm

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+13034337020

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