In today’s globally competitive landscape, it is hard to stand out from the pack without investing copious amounts of money in communications, marketing and advertising. Undoubtedly, this negatively impacts the ability of many start-ups, small businesses, and emerging markets to grow either at home or abroad — which is why having a strategic approach to communications is so important. To ethically build brands, protect reputations, and achieve successful outcomes, businesses, public figures, and nations in search of foreign direct investment or FDI, must take a strategic, proactive, and ongoing approach to communications.