6-page media feature for sharing economy startup
We’re thrilled to have helped land a glowing, six-page media feature for sharing economy startup God's Own Guitars - the only business to hire out instruments owned and made famous by the world's legendary guitarists. God's Own Guitars offers a stunning collection of iconic instruments, amps and effects - including guitars previously owned by ...
Brewer hounded by reputational crisis
Maverick Scottish brewer BrewDog found itself under fire earlier this month as more than 100 ex-employees sent a blistering open letter to its founders – condemning them for fostering a "toxic" culture and wrecking employees’ mental health. The signatories have since grown, now numbering more than 300.
The craft beer firm is no stranger to controversy: it has a habit of ...
Public consultation for 144 Birmingham homes
We’re pleased to be running a community consultation exercise for MIA Property Group, one of Birmingham’s most established family-owned developers.
MIA is planning to redevelop the rundown site of a disused community centre in the Ladywood district, close to Birmingham city centre. The company is proposing 144 one, two and three bedroom apartments to breathe new life into the area, in line with Birmingham City Council’s policy – given the scarcity of vacant land - to build ...
Crisis talk at charity conference
I enjoyed talking at Fundraising Intelligence Conference 2021 last week about how to manage your reputation in times of crisis.
Charities, social enterprises, non-profits and public bodies are, of course, just as susceptible to reputational disasters as private companies. The sector was rocked last year by a large-scale ....
Charity in “toxic culture” crisis
I see NCVO – the hundred-year-old charity supporting Britain’s non-profits – has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. With a damning investigation uncovering a deeply “toxic culture” and its board bluntly admitting it’s all true, there are several curious points that strike me from its reputational crisis. The independent investigation was carried out last year, with its findings revealed at that point only to NCVO staff. But it's all come to the fore as the report has just been leaked to charity publication Third Sector, which has run a blistering ...
Law firm in reputational saga
A London law firm has just won £25,000 from High Court action against a client who posted a negative review online - and is seemingly now battling the repercussions. The court found the client's TrustPilot review defamatory, and the firm said it lost business. But how much might it lose now its client management 'technique' has hit national headlines - headlines that will forever come up when anyone searches for ...
Marketing drive for startup with world-first software
We’re running a wide-ranging marketing programme for innovative tech startup Tradecraft Tools, which has developed the world’s first app enabling trade professionals to manage their business via their smartphones. Freeing up four hours or more a week for fee-earning work, it can help users add at least 20% to their income. We're launching the product this week. It’s the only ...
“Our product is gonna sell itself”
I do a lot of work with startups and hear a variation of this surprisingly often: “We’ve budgeted very little for marketing because our product’s gonna sell itself.” I’m always taken aback. And it’s signified a complacency that’s ultimately proved commercially fatal every time. Of course, entrepreneurs need bucket loads of vision and self-belief to get a new venture off the ground and keep pushing forward. And, if a product is truly ...
All change for community engagement?
The recently-published white paper – Planning for the Future – sets out the government’s plans to overhaul town planning, with implications for how local councils and property developers will need to consult communities.
There’s a strong emphasis on the need for local authorities “radically and profoundly to re-invent the ambition, depth and breadth with which they engage communities as they consult on Local Plans,” giving them “an earlier ...
Does size really matter?
This article, ‘Thinking Big Matters in Marketing’ by LinkedIn’s Keith Browning, argues the bigger your company is, the more successful it will become … and so on in a virtuous circle. Browning sets out a robust case and attempts to explain it. Big businesses grow faster because their products or services are more available and they're more likely to spring ...