Smile Train LATAM

Smile Train LATAM — Communications Strategy

Smile Train is the world's largest cleft-focused nonprofit, providing free cleft surgery and comprehensive care to children in need across more than 90 countries. Despite a strong global presence, the organization's Latin American operations had never had a dedicated communications strategy to reflect the region's specific context and support their long-term ambition to become a driver of regional policy and societal change.

I was brought in by Ludus Comunicação e Impacto to build that strategy from scratch.

The Challenge

Smile Train LATAM needed more than a content calendar or a set of brand guidelines. They needed a foundational communications framework that could align the team around a shared voice, guide editorial decisions, and support a long-term strategic shift.

The Process

The project unfolded over two months in two distinct phases.

The first phase was research and audit. I conducted a thorough review of Smile Train's existing communications — assessing brand consistency, messaging gaps, audience alignment, and positioning relative to their stated goals. I also conducted interviews with relevant members of the LATAM team, ensuring the strategy would reflect internal knowledge and organizational realities rather than being imposed from the outside. Findings were presented to the Regional Director and Communications Manager in a formal audit presentation, which shaped the strategic priorities that followed.

The second phase was strategy development. Working from the audit findings and incorporating two rounds of client feedback and new information, I built a comprehensive communications framework designed to be practical and immediately usable.

The Deliverable

The final strategy document covered:

• Brand positioning and archetypes

• Audience strategy

• Editorial guidelines and tone of voice

• Content pillars

• Social media strategy

• Team structure, governance, and org flows

The document was presented to leadership and is currently in the process of being adopted as the foundation for Smile Train LATAM's 2026 communications planning.

What This Project Required

Building a communications strategy for a global nonprofit operating across a linguistically and culturally diverse region demanded more than strong writing. It required the ability to ask the right questions, synthesize complex organizational input, and translate strategic ambition into practical, executable guidance while developing a voice that could work across LATAM's many contexts and still remain distinctly Smile Train.