Setting the Stage: Some of the biggest issues chemical companies face today are in the areas of Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S), and Ethics and Compliance. Being that Dow is in a growth phase with a well-defined strategy for transformation, they were looking to reinforce their code of conduct, prevention pyramid, cost allocation, and strategy with the 240 business executives in attendance at their 2011 Dow Global Leadership Meeting. Not only are these areas difficult to define, but they are also a challenge to communicate to employees in a fresh way that actually captures their attention.

Dow is a company that combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. So, bringing in a comedy theatre to help communicate their messaging was a perfect fit – our ability to help audiences make an emotional connection to presentations always makes us feel more human.

Playing the Part: Instead of allowing the audience to endure an endless parade of PowerPoint slides, Second City Communications developed a more unique approach to the delivery of Dow’s key messages. We believe in promoting dialogue rather than monologue, so some of Dow’s executive team members were interviewed by a Second City actor in a late night talk show format. We opened with a custom-written musical number to grab attention, and then peppered the interviews with sketches written to support key messages. These sketches not only covered important messaging and added humorous commentary, but they also served to break up the energy and pacing of the show, much like commercial breaks do on television. They even aligned with Dow’s four key message areas: A scene called “Code Read” highlighted the perils of not following a company’s code of conduct, for instance.