Public Affairs
political and stakeholder engagement
Understanding the UK’s political and regulatory arena is a critical success factor in many successful PR and communications programmes. Brands2Life supports clients in engaging with the political process to drive reputation, brand and issue awareness; creating supportive campaigning networks and understanding how the political links to the media agenda.
Our integrated Public Affairs team helps influence the development of public policy and regulation to improve the business and consumer environment in which our clients operate.
With debate heating up around the effectiveness of the UK Feed-In Tariff (FIT), a scheme to encourage investment in renewable technology, Brands2Life developed a campaign to position Sharp as the industry voice on solar PV. With limited company news the campaign combined PR and public affairs to take the solar power message to key influencers, Government and media.
We made the case for solar over and above all other renewable sources by laser targeting key media and reacting swiftly to relevant news. This rapid response was underpinned with public affairs outreach targeting influential ministers in one-to-one briefings and by taking a leading role in PRASEG, the solar industry action group.
Our campaign led to over 10,000 customer enquiries and a 200% rise in sales – equivalent to almost 300,000 panels – and generated more than 220 pieces of coverage including 46 nationals and 12 broadcast interviews.
Brands2Life Public Affairs had extensive experience in lobbying for changes to the revised National Planning Policy Framework in 2011 for the UK’s leading specialist housing provider, McCarthy & Stone.
The campaign was successful in achieving greater recognition of the importance of housing for older people in the context of the ageing population and growing burden on care services and NHS budgets.
An intensive lobbying programme began in the run up to the election of the Coalition Government, targeted at CLG Minister engagement, House of Commons events, MPs briefing and coalition building with charities, social housing groups and planning groups.
The campaign ensured that despite the Localism agenda, central planning guidance recognized the need for housing for an ageing society and CLG agreed to facilitate best practice guidance for local authorities.
Brands2Life runs a lobby group of leading BPO providers including Capita, Unisys and Xchanging – the Intermediary Outsources Group (IOG). Our Public Affairs team orchestrates and manages a lobbying campaign targeted at UK and Brussels to achieve better tax treatment for outsourcing of exempt services in the financial services and insurance sectors.
Brands2Life has worked with key partners such as Volterra Consulting, E&Y and EU banking and insurance groups to promote the positive impact of outsourcing on the competitiveness of the EU financial sector. Brands2Life Public Affairs has supported the group in a pan-European campaign achieving meetings with HMT Ministers and officials, MPs, MEPs, EU presidency Member States and industry groups, the Commission and other EU tax authorities. The Group has secured the proactive support of UK ministers and officials in persuading more skeptical Member States during Ecofin negotiations.
