Showcase - Nelson Bostock

These are unique times. Unsettling, uncertain and completely unbelievable. And yet, according to research, the overwhelming majority of people want to avoid returning to ‘normal’ after lockdown. It’s human nature to look for ways of making positive change by adapting to unforeseen circumstances, and we’re seeing this on a daily basis.

For the first time ever our personal and professional lives have truly blurred – for most people the day to day reality is that they are one and the same. This has brought into focus the inherently circular nature of corporate communications and brand reputation. How organisations treat their staff and community at this time is just as important as the customer and investor communications they manage with great dexterity.

The role and value of communications has never been more in the spotlight. Businesses are on high alert, wanting to make sure employees are safe and protected, customers continue to spend money with them and that missteps are avoided at all costs.

Communications is playing a critical role in supporting beyond the often required and self-interested news cycle of businesses. Our clients are focused on their relationships, and so for them the foundational element of trust is a primary concern.

The trust that businesses are building or losing today will be the making and shaping of brands as we emerge into the next chapter.

The next chapter may not be completely certain, but in a world where trust can feel like a precious commodity, the value of communications has never been more evident.

– Nick Clark, CEO

In 2019, we consolidated our communications agency engagement and expanded the pre-existing remit for Nelson Bostock Unlimited to provide comms support across our corporate, B2B and consumer business areas. Nelson Bostock is a longstanding Canon partner and we have a strong working relationship built on trust, transparency, collaboration and continuous evolution.

– David Cook, Director of Corporate Communications, Canon EMEA

NBU is Apptio’s not-so-secret weapon. The team are true partners; helping to elevate our brand awareness and strategically position us within the global technology market.

– Sarah Vreugdenhil, Director of Corp Comms, Apptio

It’s hard to choose what I value the most about NBU. I think I most appreciate knowing that I can count on them to support me in my role – not only in times that I need it, but that they never rest on their laurels.

– Susan O’Brien, Sr. Director, Marketing Communications at ThousandEyes

BT Skills for Tomorrow

Since lockdown, we have been working with BT to raise awareness of its Skills for Tomorrow platform – a series of free digital skills resources designed to help families, businesses and communities across the UK.

We launched a campaign focussed on primary school teaching resources that had been adapted to be suitable for home-schooling. In addition to media engagement, and a media partnership with Mail Online (Femail).

To date, Skills for Tomorrow coverage has appeared in: MailOnline, Mirror, Star, Express, Standard, Wired, Forbes, BBC Radio Essex, Computer Weekly and others. Kate’s Instagram content received a total of 14,000+ likes. The influencer IGTV videos reached 18,000+, with over 200 comments.

Honest mum, mother and child sat at computer

Ocado Technology trials humanoid cobot

SecondHands is an EU funded project that Ocado Technology has been a key part of, alongside a number of European universities. The aim of the project has been to develop a ‘cobot’, a robot co-worker that can assist people, specifically in industrial maintenance tasks. Our role has been to secure briefings and coverage with top tier media on the culmination of the 5 year long-project. Coverage was picked up extensively within the tech media including a briefing with Ben Morris, Technology of Business editor at the BBC, comprising of a briefing with the engineers who ‘created’ the robot and with an Ocado Technology employee who worked ‘with’ SecondHands.

EE crisis management: 5G conspiracy theories and COVID-19

We worked closely with EE and BT to debunk 5G conspiracy theorists and ensure correct information was in the public domain, as anti-5G myths spreading on social media led to targeted arson attacks on mast infrastructure. This removed connectivity at a time when people needed it more than ever.

We ran the crisis comms response and worked with the media to prevent incorrect messaging spreading. We proactively outreached to press each day to ensure scientific information was included in articles and worked closely with national journalists to update on issues as they happened, landing messaging on the seriousness of the offence.

Over the course of three weeks, we corrected nearly 100 articles and managed more than 50 enquiries, positioning EE and BT as the leading voice on the topic, with the biggest share of voice across competitors; including over 30 articles with comments from BT Group CEO, Philip Jansen.

Eddie Stobart, Stay safe protect the NHS branded truck

Eddie Stobart: Keeping Britain Moving

In April, to support NHS Charities Together, Eddie Stobart branded one of its trailers with the coronavirus symbol of hope, a rainbow and the NHS logo, with all revenue from the trailer going to charity for the next three months. In addition, Eddie Stobart, in collaboration with Tesco, branded four trailers in support of the NHS. The team secured an opportunity to showcase the branded trucks in ‘Keeping Britain Moving’ a segment on prime-time BBC Breakfast just before 9AM, reaching seven million viewers. The programme looked at the extraordinary efforts Britain’s key workers are going to in order to keep the country running.

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