How OTOT Unifies NDU's Strategic Messaging
The Problem
NDU required a unified and professional communications approach to reflect a new era of leadership, align internal voices, and strengthen its external presence.
The NDU is the premier Department of Defense (DOD) institution for joint professional military education, preparing senior leaders across the US military, federal government, and allied nations to navigate complex global challenges. In 2023, a change in university leadership brought in a new president with a fresh vision for NDU’s role in national security. However, the institution lacked the communications infrastructure to support that transition effectively.
The university faced several communication challenges:
- The new president needed a clear, consistent, and authentic voice to reflect his leadership style and strategic priorities.
- NDU’s value proposition—its joint interagency and international approach to educating strategic leaders—was not consistently or clearly communicated to key stakeholders.
- Messaging across colleges, events, and audiences was often fragmented, resulting in missed opportunities to reinforce mission and impact.
- The institution needed timely, mission-aligned communications for both planned events and fast-evolving developments.
The Approach
To meet these needs, OTOT provided strategic communications support to the NDU president and senior leadership. Our approach focuses on five key areas:
-
Message Development
OTOT built a messaging framework centered on themes like “Educating for Uncertainty,” “Joint Education for Joint Warfighters,” and “Why NDU?” We ensure consistency across platforms and audiences.
-
Voice Building
OTOT established a distinct, presidential voice aligned with the leader’s personality and priorities, while reinforcing institutional values and mission continuity.
-
Executive Speechwriting
OTOT drafts and refines speeches, talking points, and remarks for a wide range of high-profile events—including commencements, convocations, leadership forums, alumni engagements, and strategic roundtables—tailored for tone, audience, and purpose.
-
Audience-Centered Framing
Whether a keynote speech or a welcome message, OTOT shapes every communication product around the expectations, needs, and perspectives of its intended audience, from military officers and civilian officials to foreign partners and industry stakeholders.
-
Crisis and Change Communications
OTOT provides strategic support during sensitive periods, including leadership transitions, policy shifts, and high-stakes engagements with DOD and interagency partners.
The Outcomes
OTOT’s communications partnership with NDU produces significant, measurable results:
- Establish unified messaging across the university, bringing together its 5 colleges under a shared language of mission, leadership, and joint service.
- Establish a clear, confident, and consistent presidential voice, enabling the president to lead with authenticity and strategic focus.
- Elevate the president’s visibility and thought leadership across defense education and national security forums.
- On average, develop 115 enterprise communication deliverables per year, regularly preparing keynote speeches, publications, town halls, video scripts, webinars, and event materials for ceremonies, summits, and symposia.
- Strengthen stakeholder engagement, with compelling and accessible communications reaching senior DOD leaders, international allies, academic partners, and alumni.
- Enable responsive and professional communications during high-visibility events and sensitive institutional changes, supporting the university’s credibility and cohesion during critical transitions.
Browse more case studies to see how our customers turn vision into reality.
Military Health System
Using AI-augmented RPA to Accelerate Prescription Fulfillment
Military Health System (MHS) prescription processing depends on manual entry, delaying fulfillment and creating human errors that interfere with the military personnel tactical readiness.
US Coast Guard
Scalable UiPath Automation for the US Coast Guard
By integrating secure, scalable automations aligned with Coast Guard strategic priorities, OTOT enabled faster decision-making, improved data integrity, and a foundation for advanced agentic automation that strengthens readiness, workforce capacity, and mission execution.