CASCADE COMMUNICATIONS · THE CASCADE COMPASS
4
ENGAGEMENT TIERS
30-60
DAYS TO CLARITY
360°
INTEGRATED VIEW
1
CLEAR DIRECTION FORWARD
Before strategy. Before branding. Before anything else.
The Cascade Compass is a paid discovery engagement that maps exactly where your brand stands, where the gaps are, and precisely how to close them — so every dollar you invest in marketing after this works harder.
THE CASE FOR STRATEGY FIRST
Most businesses invest in marketing before they know what story they're telling.
A new website that says the wrong thing. A PR campaign built on messaging that doesn't match what the market actually needs to hear. A logo refresh that looks modern but doesn't move the needle. These aren't failures of execution — they're failures of sequence.
The Cascade Compass fixes the sequence. In 30 to 60 days, we give you a complete picture of where your brand stands competitively, where the opportunities are, and a roadmap that tells you — with real specificity — what to do next and why it will work.
This isn't strategy in the abstract. It's your business, your market, and your path forward — mapped with precision before a single dollar goes toward execution.
The Compass delivers answers to questions most businesses never stop to ask.
How does your brand compare to competitors in your actual market right now?
What story are you telling — and is it the story your best customers need to hear?
Where are the gaps between how you present and what you're capable of?
What marketing investments will generate the strongest return in the next 90 days?
What's the one message your brand needs to own before it can grow?
What would make the right customer choose you without hesitation?
CHOOSE YOUR COMPASS
Four tiers. One proprietary process.
A roadmap built exactly for where you are.
Every Cascade Compass is a customized discovery engagement — not a template, not a checklist. The tier you choose reflects the complexity of your business, the depth of the analysis needed, and the scope of what you're ready to build next.
01
FOR STARTUPS & EARLY STAGE BRANDS
Launchpad Compass
$3,500 – $5,000
30-day Engagement
You've built something real — now you need to know how to tell the world about it. The Launchpad Compass maps your competitive position, sharpens your message, and gives you a clear 90-day plan to build visibility from the ground up.
Competitive positioning map in your category
Messaging framework built around your strongest differentiator
Digital presence baseline audit across brand, web, and SEO
90-day priority roadmap with sequenced recommendations
Bridge-to-retainer engagement plan
02
FOR GROWING SMALL BUSINESSES
Growth Compass
$5,000 – $7,500
30–45 Day Engagement
You've built something real — now you need to know how to tell the world about it. The Launchpad Compass maps your competitive position, sharpens your message, and gives you a clear 90-day plan to build visibility from the ground up.
Brand identity and messaging audit with gap analysis
Website and SEO presence assessment
PR and media visibility review — who's talking and who should be
Content performance and opportunity analysis
Full competitive landscape mapping
90-day integrated growth roadmap
03
FOR SMALL BUSINESS & SCALING COMPANIES
Market Compass
$10,000 – $15,000
45–60 Day Engagement
When the business is complex, the strategy has to be too. The Market Compass goes deep — stakeholder interviews, full competitive intelligence, multi-channel analysis — and delivers a six-month integrated roadmap plus an executive presentation built for your leadership team.
Stakeholder and leadership interviews
Full competitive intelligence report
Integrated brand, web, PR, and SEO audit
Audience and customer experience mapping
Six-month integrated marketing roadmap
Executive presentation delivered to your leadership team
Priority investment recommendations by channel
04
FOR FAMILY BUSINESS & NEW OWNERS
Legacy Compass
$7,500 – $12,000
45–60 Day Engagement
Whether you've inherited a legacy or acquired a platform, the challenge is the same: the brand was built for a different moment. The Legacy Compass is the only tier in the Compass family designed specifically for businesses in transition — honoring what was built while mapping what comes next.
Heritage and brand legacy assessments
Generational gap analysis — where the brand has drifted from the market
New audience and buyer mapping for the next chapter
Competitive positioning in the current market, not the legacy one
Brand evolution roadmap — refresh vs. full transformation recommendation
Leadership transition narrative for internal and external audiences
Bridge-to-retainer transformation plan
DISCOVERY • ANAYLSIS • ROADMAP • BRIDGE TO GROWTH
HOW IT WORKS
From where you are to exactly
where you need to go.
Every Cascade Compass follows a four-phase process. Each phase is designed to build on the last — so by the time you receive your roadmap, every recommendation is grounded in real intelligence about your business, your market, and your best opportunity.
01
PHASE ONE
Deep Discovery
We go deep into your business — your history, your market, your customers, your competitive environment, and the gaps that are quietly costing you. This isn't a questionnaire. It's a real conversation with someone who knows how to ask the questions that reveal the right answers.
02
PHASE TWO
Competitive Analysis
We map exactly where your brand stands relative to competitors across every relevant front — brand story, digital presence, PR visibility, SEO position, and messaging. You'll see the market the way your best customers see it, and exactly where you stand in it.
03
PHASE THREE
Your Roadmap
You receive a sequenced, prioritized roadmap — not a list of vague recommendations, but a specific plan that tells you what to do first, what to do next, what it will take, and what it will generate. Every recommendation is tied to a real outcome for your business.
04
PHASE FOUR
The Bridge to Growth
The Compass is designed to be the beginning, not the end. When you're ready to move from roadmap to execution, Cascade is built to carry you there — from brand design and website to PR, SEO, and the ongoing content that keeps everything moving forward.
"Strategy without discovery is guesswork. The Compass was built because every business deserves to know exactly where it stands and exactly what to do about it — before spending a dollar on execution."
JENNIFER FORTNEY• FOUNDER • CASCADE
WHO THE COMPASS IS FOR
Built for businesses at the moment of decision.
The Cascade Compass was designed for leaders who know something needs to change — but want to invest in marketing with confidence, not guesswork. If any of these describes where you are, it's time for a Compass.
You're ready to grow — but you're not sure where to focus first.
You have a marketing budget and real ambitions. But every agency you talk to wants to sell you what they do — not what you actually need. The Compass gives you an independent, integrated view before you commit to anything.
You've invested in marketing before and didn't get the results you expected.
A website that didn't generate leads. A PR campaign that faded fast. An SEO investment that never ranked. Before you invest again, the Compass tells you what was missing and exactly what needs to be different this time.
Your business has changed — but your brand hasn't caught up.
New leadership. New ownership. New market. The brand your business carries was built for a different moment. The Compass maps the gap between where you are now and where your brand needs to go — so transformation starts with strategy, not assumptions.
FROM DISCOVERY TO EXECUTION
The Compass opens the door. What's behind it is entirely yours to build.
For businesses ready to move from roadmap to action, Cascade provides full-service execution across every discipline the Compass identifies — brand design, website development, PR and media relations, SEO strategy, and ongoing content. Everything is built in harmony, so every piece of your brand tells the same story.
For businesses that aren't ready for a full retainer, the Compass stands alone — a complete, actionable deliverable you can take in any direction you choose. There is no pressure and no pitch. The Compass is valuable on its own. Everything after it is an invitation, not an obligation.
"The Compass isn't a sales tool — it's a thinking tool. But the businesses that come out of it with a clear plan almost always want to build it together."
JENNIFER FORTNEY• FOUNDER • CASCADE
JENNIFER FORTNEY, FOUNDER
ABOUT YOUR STRATEGIST
25+ years of turning brave decisions into brands that last.
I created the Cascade Compass because I kept watching the same expensive mistake play out: businesses investing in execution before they understood the problem. A beautiful website that said the wrong thing. PR that generated coverage without generating customers. Rebrands that changed the look but didn't change the perception.
The Compass was built to change the sequence — and to make sure that every business I work with has the clarity it needs before it spends a dollar on building something new.
I've spent 25+ years building communications strategy for household names like Jim Beam, SC Johnson, Red Bull, and Maytag — and then brought every lesson from that work into the service of startups, family businesses, and founder-led companies that deserve the same level of strategic thinking. That's what the Compass delivers.
COMMON QUESTIONS