Why Comms Threader
The tooling gap in communications strategy is total. Comms Threader fills it.
The Problem We Solve
Every existing PR and comms tool focuses on what happens after the strategy is set. Meltwater tracks media coverage. Cision manages journalist relationships. Roxhill finds contacts. CoverageBook reports results. They are all activation and measurement tools.
Nothing exists for the bit that comes first: developing the communications strategy itself. The diagnosis of the real challenge. The stakeholder mapping that goes beyond job titles. The message architecture that forces exclusions. The narrative framework that holds everything together.
That work still happens in workshops, Word documents, and PowerPoint decks, over days or weeks, with no structured methodology and no quality checks. Comms Threader compresses it into a focused session with embedded strategic discipline at every step.
Comms Threader vs ChatGPT
| Feature | ChatGPT | Comms Threader |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic methodology | Generic responses, no embedded discipline | Structured cascade with quality checks at every stage |
| Cascading context | No memory between conversations | Data flows: Story → Audience → Message → Plan → Frame |
| Forced decisions | Happily generates vague, all-things-to-all-people messaging | Will not continue without explicit exclusions, stakeholder priority, and message position |
| Quality assessment | No indication of output strength | Comms Readiness Check flags vulnerabilities. Strategic Confidence shows if adding detail helps or hurts |
| Stakeholder mapping | Lists stakeholder groups by title | Maps stakeholders by problem recognition and information-seeking behaviour |
| Narrative territories | N/A | Visual Perception Map: Stretch vs Believability with Sweet Spot identification |
| Client-ready exports | Copy-paste to PowerPoint | Professional PPTX with structured layouts and page numbers |
| Cost | £20/mo (ChatGPT Plus) | £49/mo (Lite), £149/mo (Pro with full cascade) |
Bottom line: ChatGPT will happily write you a communications strategy that says nothing and excludes no one. Comms Threader forces the hard decisions that make a strategy worth presenting.
Comms Threader vs Freelance Strategist
| Factor | Freelance Strategist | Comms Threader Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | £800–1,500/day | £149/month (unlimited projects) |
| Availability | Subject to schedule, may be booked | Instant access, 24/7 |
| Consistency | Varies by strategist | Same diagnostic discipline every time |
| Junior development | Requires supervision and feedback | Junior comms professionals productive faster with scaffolding |
| Speed | 1-2 weeks for full strategy development | 90-120 minutes for full cascade |
| Craft and judgment | High (experienced human) | Human judgment required (tools scaffold, not replace) |
| Stakeholder relationships | Can attend meetings, manage media | No client-facing role (internal strategy tool) |
Bottom line: Comms Threader does not replace strategists. It makes senior strategists faster and junior strategists productive sooner. Freelancers remain valuable for client relationships, media handling, and strategic craft. Comms Threader gives you the structured thinking in 90 minutes instead of 90 hours.
Comms Threader vs Existing PR/Comms Tools
vs Meltwater / Cision (Media Intelligence)
Complementary, not competing. Meltwater and Cision track what is being said about you. Comms Threader helps you decide what you should be saying and to whom. Use media intelligence as input to Comms Threader. Use Comms Threader output to guide what you measure.
vs Roxhill / Vuelio (Media Database)
Different stage of the process. Media databases help you reach journalists. Comms Threader helps you decide which story to tell them and why. Strategy comes before distribution.
vs CoverageBook / Propel (Reporting)
Different end of the pipeline. Reporting tools measure what happened. Comms Threader structures what should happen. The Comms Readiness Check is a pre-launch quality assessment, not a post-campaign report.
vs Miro / Workshop Tools
Different purpose. Workshop tools facilitate group discussion. Comms Threader structures individual strategic thinking with AI assistance. You might use Miro for a client workshop, then use Comms Threader to synthesise the outputs into a coherent communications framework.
When Comms Threader Is the Right Choice
- You develop communications strategies regularly. Multiple clients or campaigns per month? The time saving compounds immediately.
- You need speed without sacrificing rigour. A senior comms strategist could run the full cascade the night before a pitch. 90 minutes for what normally takes weeks.
- You want junior comms professionals productive faster. The cascade teaches structured strategic thinking by forcing it. Exclusions, stakeholder tensions, message hierarchies: the hard parts cannot be skipped.
- You need honest quality assessment. Comms Readiness Check flags vulnerabilities before you present. A 71% score with red flags on evidence is more useful than false confidence.
- You work across sectors. The convention-surfacing approach works whether you are in healthcare, financial services, technology, or public sector. The methodology adapts; the discipline stays constant.
When Comms Threader Might NOT Be Right
- You run one or two campaigns per year. The per-project economics may favour hiring a strategist directly.
- You have an established strategy process that works well. If your team already forces diagnostic discipline, exclusions, and stakeholder prioritisation consistently, Comms Threader may add speed but not rigour.
- You expect AI to replace strategic judgment. The tools scaffold thinking. They do not automate it. You still make every strategic decision.
- You need media monitoring or journalist contacts. Comms Threader is strategy, not activation. Use Meltwater, Cision, or Roxhill for those functions.
ROI Comparison
Scenario: Comms agency (12 people), 3 strategy projects per month
Option 1: Freelance strategist
3 projects × £1,200/day × 2 days per project = £7,200/month
Option 2: Comms Threader Pro
£149/month + senior strategist 1 day refinement per project = £149 + (3 × £800) = £2,549/month
Savings: £4,651/month (£55,812/year)
Reality check: You still need strategic talent. Comms Threader amplifies strategists, it does not replace them. But it makes the difference between a two-week strategy process and a two-hour one.
Integration with Your Existing Workflow
- Brief arrives → Upload to The Story
- Run cascade → Story → Audience → Message → Plan → Frame (90 min)
- Export to PowerPoint → Add agency branding, refine copy (30 min)
- Review with senior strategist → Validate strategic decisions (30 min)
- Generate channel concepts → Use The Channel for executional ideas (15 min)
- Finalise deck → Polish in PowerPoint, rehearse narrative (60 min)
Total: 3.5 hours from brief to presentation-ready strategy. Traditional process: 1-2 weeks.
For more on workflows, see Workflow Examples. For getting started, see Getting Started Guide.