Your work is good. What people hear about it should be, too.

The Storytelling, Systems & Standards consultation is a two-hour working session for organizations whose message has drifted from the quality of what they actually do. It costs $250, and the fee is credited in full toward whatever we build next. DH MEC LLC is an experiential marketing, events, and creative firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, and this is where every engagement with us begins.

---

What a storytelling consultation is, and what makes this one different

Most storytelling work stops at a message. You leave with a nice paragraph, and three months later the paragraph is on the website, nowhere else, and your team is back to describing the organization six different ways.

This session produces three things instead of one, which is where the name comes from:

Storytelling — the core narrative. What you’re building, who it’s for, and why now, in language a board member and a front-desk hire can both repeat without a script.

Systems — the mechanics that carry it. How the story moves through your site, your grant applications, your donor letters, your menus, your signage, your onboarding. Where the handoffs are, and where the message currently dies.

Standards — the boundaries. What you say yes to, what you decline, what your tone permits, and what falls outside the brand. Standards are what let you delegate storytelling without losing it.

Who books this

We work with experience-driven organizations: arts and cultural institutions, hospitality groups, food service brands, tourism and destination organizations, wellness and lifestyle companies, property management firms, and nonprofits with operating budgets of $250,000 and up.

The people who get the most out of this session are usually one of three:

• A founder or executive director whose organization has outgrown the story it launched with
• A team of two to fifteen where everyone describes the work differently and nobody has decided which version is right
• An organization about to launch something — a season, a venue, a program, a rebrand — that needs the message settled before the calendar starts moving

Who should skip it

If you need a logo, a color palette, or a website built, that’s a design engagement and this isn’t it. If you already have a documented narrative and standards your team follows and you simply need execution, book the 90-Day Launch Transformation or a retainer directly. And if you want someone to hand you a finished message you had no part in shaping, we’re the wrong firm — this is a working session, and your team does real work in it.

What you leave with:

• A two-hour facilitated session, with whoever needs to be in the room — including if that’s just you
• Your team’s Brand Authority Assessment results, showing where your story holds and where it breaks down
• A custom storytelling guide, written from the session and delivered within 72 hours
• A digital copy of Elevate Your Voice, our book on curatorial and editorial strategy
• Your $250 is credited in full toward a Signature or VIP engagement if you continue

---

How it works

1. Book the session. Choose a time and pay the $250.

2. Complete the intake form. About ten minutes, due at least 48 hours before we meet. Your answers set the agenda, so we spend the session on strategy instead of background.

3. Meet for two hours. Virtual or in person in the Charlotte region.

4. Receive your guide within 72 hours. Your narrative, your systems map, and your standards, written down and usable by anyone on your team.

What comes after

Nothing is required. Many clients take the guide and run with it. For those who want us to keep going, there are two paths: the 90-Day Launch Transformation, our signature engagement for organizations introducing something new, and monthly retainers for clients who have launched and want ongoing capability. Your consultation fee is credited toward either.

Questions we get

How long is the Storytelling, Systems & Standards consultation? About 1.5 to two hours, plus roughly ten minutes of intake beforehand and a written guide delivered within 72 hours after.

How much does it cost? $250, credited in full toward a Signature or VIP engagement if you decide to continue.

Who should attend? Whoever actually tells your story — that often means the executive director plus a communications lead, or a founder plus whoever runs the front of house. Bring up to five people. Bring one if one is who you have.

Do you build the website or the campaign? Not in this session. This is strategy and standards. Execution lives in our 90-day engagement and retainers.

Do you work outside Charlotte? Yes. Sessions are virtual by default; in-person sessions are available in the Charlotte region and by arrangement elsewhere.

Is there a free version? The Brand Authority Assessment on our site is free and takes a few minutes. The consultation is the paid, facilitated version of that diagnosis.