Frequently Asked Questions
What are the usual deliverables for a Communications and Perception Analysis?
At its fullest, analysis can involve sensory analysis, goals analysis, trends analysis and one of many other Communications and Perception Analysis tools. At its simplest, clients might need a very focussed, concise answer to a specific problem.
For situations that call for in-depth and quantified analysis with extensive breakdowns to be consumed by a multitude of internal and/or external stakeholders, we generally deliver comprehensive reporting, so you can expect to receive an extensive document, a thorough presentation and ancillary visual aids that expose the wealth of acquired data and conclusions. For those analyses that are highly focussed efforts to resolve a single critical issue, clients can expect concision sometimes in the form of an urgent phone call with the proverbial: “we found the problem.” In either case — the full package or the brief solution — our goal is to provide the right information to the right people. We believe we are being paid to decipher the problem, not to overwhelm clients with majestic reporting.
In most scenarios, the presentation is divided into raw findings and a comprehensibly written interpretation. Most analyses also come with a confidential upper management or board-oriented executive summary.
What are the usual deliverables for an optimization?
Unlike an analysis, optimization results in a set of actionable steps and phases. Optimization is, therefore, more of a roadmap to increasing impact while rationalizing resources. In addition to written documentation, optimization can be accompanied by recommendation videos or in-person presentations to staff and relevant stakeholders. This approach provides a broader understanding of the decisions; inclusiveness fosters adoption.
Do you have international experience?
Our principals have literally worked or lived in over 150 countries. We have analyzed, optimized, produced, strategized or otherwise delivered tangible output in Tajikistan, Chechnya, Yemen, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, Singapore, Namibia, Mali, Norway, Ireland, Albania… you get the picture. What’s more, we are a multilingual, multicultural team with heightened sensitivities to diverse cultures, governance and faiths. You need only look at our client list and you will quickly see the extent of our international portfolio.
Do you provide agency, creative or production services?
We do not. Our principals come from very creative backgrounds, actually award-winning creative backgrounds, but Excess Noise insists on separating itself from the creative process in order to keep complete objectivity when providing analysis or optimization recommendations. If we were to provide creative or production services, one could argue that we would be tempted to steer our clients towards a service we offered. Clients, in fact, hire us as the impartial counterweight to their agency and agencies hire us as the neutral third party to show their own clients a commitment to objective quality control.
Do you deliver communications strategies or provide strategic counsel?
As part of both our optimization services, we are called upon to generate strategies. We are able and willing to go as far as the work plan. However, we do not implement. As with creativity, implementing the strategy implies becoming involved with the process thereby, once again, negating our analytical objectivity.
Can you point to some major success stories?
There are several, but some stand out as sources of pride either because they were especially challenging or because the outcome made a clear difference both to the client and to their stakeholders. Among them, our work for the International Organization for Migration, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the World YWCA, the World Urban Campaign, the World AIDS Campaign, multiple United Nations agencies, BMW, Sanofi-Pasteur MSD, the International Herald Tribune, the International Prevention Research Institute and several other organizations and corporations. If you would like to know more about these projects or other clients we have worked for (client list available here) please do not hesitate to ask us. This said, please note that our work is bound by confidentiality agreements so we will not share findings and conclusions.
We are a small company, will Excess Noise work with us?
The answer is an honest maybe. The main issue for us is time. If we are engaged in too many projects, we may not have time to inject a smaller contract into the workflow and we do not expect you — nor should you — wait for us to be available. Running a small business or organization is, we understand, time-critical. However the answer as to whether we want to work with you is an unequivocal yes. We, in fact, have a special pricing policy for clients who are unable to meet our regular fee schedule.
We are a small NGO, will you work with us?
As with small companies, maybe and yes. For some contracts, we will go as far as paying our own travel expenses to the farthest lands. We are grateful for the trust smaller organizations have placed in our abilities over the years and believe that the best way we can repay this trust is to share our accumulated knowledge with those who are at the front lines of change.
In which countries do you work?
Our head office is in the Washington DC area – in Bethesda. Our principals are in the United States, Canada and Switzerland. We service both large and subsidized clients on all continents.
Is Excess Noise looking for additional analysts?
We are a boutique firm with a specific skill set. We are interested in recruiting new analysts but only those who have a keen grasp of Communications and Perception Analysis. If you are fascinated by and knowledgeable in human perception, image and optimization, we’d love to talk to you.
We’ve heard that Excess Noise likes to share its gained knowledge, is that true?
Our Overview of Communications and Perception Analysis is in the public domain. It contains a wealth of information and knowledge about our ideas, theories and practices. We challenge other companies to do as much.