By Michael Grimm, Senior Vice President, Reputation Partners
Eight months ago on Halloween, my son George was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. As a communications professional, I’ve spent years helping brands tell their stories, navigate crises, and build meaningful connections with their audiences. But nothing prepared me for the moment when I needed to use those same skills for something infinitely more personal – advocating for my son’s future.
What followed was a journey that reinforced a fundamental truth about our industry: the most powerful communications campaigns aren’t just about selling products or services. They’re about connecting human experiences to meaningful impact and action.
From Diagnosis to Action
The statistics around cystic fibrosis are sobering. This rare, incurable genetic disease affects approximately 40,000 people in the United States, with the median life expectancy hovering around 47 years, although miraculous medical advancements have increased the expectancy to 65 or older for individuals born after 2020. When George received his diagnosis, I faced a choice that many parents confront: I could retreat into private worry, or I could leverage my professional skills to make a difference.
I chose action.
Within months, our fundraising team, ‘George’s Gang,’ had raised over $30,000 to find a cure with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and found myself on CBS Milwaukee, sharing George’s story as part of the Milwaukee’s Finest campaign. Perhaps the most powerful moment came when more than 15 of my Reputation Partners colleagues, along with family and friends, showed up to walk a 5K with us in pursuit of a cure. They didn’t just show up, they donated and fully embraced the mission as their own. This kind of unwavering support isn’t just reserved for moments like these, it’s woven into the very fabric of our culture. It’s the same passion and commitment we bring to every client challenge, day in and day out.
The Authenticity Advantage
During my TV appearance, I wasn’t just another spokesperson delivering talking points. I was a father fighting for his son’s future. That authenticity translated into something money can’t buy – a genuine connection with the audience. Viewers could hear the urgency in my voice, see the determination in my eyes, and understand that this wasn’t just another fundraising campaign – it was a mission.
This experience highlighted a critical lesson for brands: authenticity isn’t a marketing strategy; it’s a communication imperative. When organizations align themselves with causes that genuinely reflect their values and involve leaders who have personal stakes in the outcomes, their messaging becomes inherently more powerful and persuasive.
Strategic Storytelling with Stakes
Raising awareness for cystic fibrosis required me to apply every communications principle we use with clients, but with one crucial difference: failure wasn’t just about missing KPIs or disappointing stakeholders. It was about potentially limiting my son’s access to life-saving treatments and research.
This high-stakes environment forced me to be increasingly strategic, creative, and relentless. I leveraged media relations to broadcast my story, social media to build community, used data storytelling to illustrate the urgent need for research funding, public relations to raise awareness and rally a team to walk in visible support for a cure, and employed crisis communications techniques to address misconceptions about the disease. Every post, every interview, every conversation was carefully crafted to maximize impact.
The result? Not only did we exceed our fundraising goals, but we also created a network of advocates who continue to support cystic fibrosis research long after the initial campaign ended.
The Business Case for Cause-Driven Communications
My experience with George’s campaign reinforced several key principles that apply directly to brand communications:
- Purpose-driven messaging resonates deeper. When your communications stem from genuine conviction rather than market research alone, audiences respond more authentically. The most successful brand campaigns RP has worked on have always had a clear “why” that extends beyond profit margins.
- Personal stories scale into universal truths. George’s individual story became a vehicle for discussing broader issues around rare disease research, healthcare access and the power of community support. Similarly, brands that can connect their individual narratives to larger societal themes create more meaningful connections with their audiences.
- Stakeholder engagement intensifies with authentic purpose. When I shared our family’s story, people didn’t just donate money – they became advocates, sharing our content, volunteering their time and bringing their own networks into the cause. This level of engagement is what every brand seeks but few achieve because they lack the authentic purpose that compels deep involvement.
- Crisis communications skills are amplified by personal investment. Managing a rare disease diagnosis and public fundraising campaign simultaneously required rapid response capabilities, clear messaging under pressure and stakeholder management across multiple constituencies. These same skills, when applied to brand challenges, become more effective when communicators have genuine skin in the game.
The Competitive Advantage of Authentic Advocacy
In today’s crowded marketplace, brands are constantly searching for differentiators. The most sustainable competitive advantage doesn’t come from superior products or clever marketing alone – it comes from authentic commitment to causes that matter to real people.
When communications professionals can point to their own advocacy work, their own causes, and their own authentic engagement with issues beyond their day jobs, they bring a different level of credibility to their professional practice. Clients recognize that you’re not just talking about purpose-driven communications – you’re living it.
Moving Forward with Purpose
The communications landscape continues to evolve rapidly, but one constant remains: people connect with authentic purpose. Whether you’re raising funds for cystic fibrosis research or launching a new product campaign, the principles remain the same. Lead with genuine conviction, tell stories that matter, and never underestimate the power of personal investment in the outcomes you’re seeking to achieve.
As we continue our fight for George and the thousands of other families affected by cystic fibrosis, I’m reminded daily that the best communications aren’t just about what we say – they’re about why we say it and how much we’re willing to invest in making sure our messages create real change.
When personal purpose meets professional practice, that’s when communications becomes more than just a job. It becomes a calling.
To learn more about cystic fibrosis or to support research efforts, visit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at cff.org.