The pilcrow symbol has been embedded in texts since the Middle Ages. It is synonymous with new ideas, content and thinking.
Look in any document and you’ll find us.
How we can help you
From communications strategy, to influencer campaigns based on carefully crafted content and flawless execution, our comprehensive communications services offering will help protect your reputation and differentiate your brand.
Communications strategy
Influencer relations
From press releases, to case studies, web copy, white papers, blogs and by-lined articles, we are passionate about creating original content that will get you noticed and engage your audience.
Whether it’s a video, infographic, website or microsite, our digital experts will help you to create digital content that tells your story in the most engaging, creative and cost effective way.
Billions of people globally use social media, but with so many channels available how can you choose the right one to get your message across to a receptive audience? We will help you to choose the right channel for your messages and create compelling content to reach your target audience every time.
Once damaged, reputation is difficult to repair. You never know when a crisis will hit, so preparation is key. Our experts will evaluate risks to your reputation and create crisis management strategies designed to protect you before, during and after a crisis.
Connecting with your audience can be a challenge as we wrestle with a new normal. Our events experts will help you to create engaging virtual and live events with a powerful draw designed to connect directly with your audience.
Whether you’re a novice or an experienced spokesperson, our media experts will equip you with the skills and advice needed to maximise print and broadcast media opportunities. Training sessions are led by seasoned professionals who will guide you through proven techniques to help you deliver your messages clearly, concisely and consistently.
Seamus Oates CBE
Chief Executive Officer
TBAP Trust
Heraclitus
Socrates
Communications strategy
Our approach to communications strategy is based around robust planning, supported by research, messaging, positioning and thought leadership designed to unlock knowledge in your organisation. We then use a range of techniques to communicate your unique story via integrated campaigns, influencer relations, content creation or digital and social media programmes.
Each of our campaigns is planned in fine detail. Objectives, tactics and desired outcomes are recorded in a comprehensive campaign planning phase. Resources and collateral are then carefully assembled to prepare for flawless implementation.
Every organisation has original thinking waiting to be discovered and communicated. We help to position your senior experts at the head of industry debate on key issues and trends. We create thought leadership material so you can populate traditional and digital channels with new original content that engages your audiences.
Thoroughly well-researched messaging is invaluable, particularly if you’re operating internationally where variation and inconsistency can cloud customers’ perception of your business.
- Clarity ensures your messages won’t be misinterpreted
- Consistency is key when communication channels are diverse and widespread
- Concise messages help you to communicate quickly
Our messaging methodology will help you to get your messages right first time. We’ll also help you to articulate and repeat them, frequently and consistently, because there will always be people hearing them for the first time.
Our competitor snapshots help you to keep up to date on your closest competitors. Our market intelligence and analysis service ensures that you are prepared for the latest trends.
Influencer relations
National and trade media outlets, analyst houses, think tanks and niche analyst agencies, are important influencers. Their news coverage, market reports and analysis are valued and trusted by businesses globally.
We believe media and analyst relations are vital to building brand awareness and an in depth understanding of your offering.
We've got you covered on media relations. Our service includes:
- Corporate announcements
- Press Office
- Media research and list building
- Media monitoring and evaluation
- Media relations campaign development and implementation
Our analyst relations programme includes:
- Research to identify relevant analysts and forthcoming market reports
- Proactive distribution of company information to target analysts
- Analyst briefings
- Responses to analyst requests for information
Who do we help?
We specialise in the following sectors
Financial services, Technology (Tech/Fintech, Medtech and IT), Education, Property services
Client experience
Pilcrow pointers
Here are three reasons why getting your messages straight has never been more essential.
Consistency - business-to-business companies with strong and consistent branding are 20 per cent more successful than those that are weak or inconsistent.
Differentiation – research has shown top global business-to-business companies stick to remarkably similar brand themes, following the herd rather than differentiating. Messages must set you apart.
Resonance - your messages need to chime with your audience and you’re much more likely to produce the right messages if they’ve been thoroughly researched.
Contact us for more information about our unique, bespoke approach to identifying your most powerful messages.
For more pointers subscribe here
Use high quality research - the marketplace has a voracious appetite for new information, so keep feeding it with a fresh supply of facts, figures and analysis.
Engage people with thought leadership - intelligent debate engages customers and prospects alike. Engage them repeatedly with illuminating perspectives and original thinking from your experts.
Is it real or is it fake news? Could it damage your brand?
Update your crisis plans and messages - be ready to respond quickly, consistently and decisively to fake news.
Be truthful and set the record straight - fake news can be an opportunity to reinforce positive messages about your brand among key stakeholders and influencers.
Communicate with your employees - make sure they have the latest messages and evidence to combat any fake news about your brand, so they have the tools to correct falsehoods.
Contact us for more information about how real news can play a role in your integrated communications strategy.
For more pointers subscribe here
Know your journalist - find out all you can about the journalist who will be interviewing you (look them up on LinkedIn), the publication(s) they write for and the most recent stories they have covered. This will help you to understand the journalist’s current interests.
Have facts and figures to hand - illustrate your answers with well researched facts and figures (from credible third party sources). This information not only provides credible evidence to back up your comments, it also saves time for the journalist who will appreciate the effort that has been spent on research.
Stay on message - you should go to every briefing equipped with key messages about your business and offering. Get them out early. By keeping to your message you will be communicating concisely and effectively when time is limited. This will help you to avoid going off topic into areas that do not add value to your media opportunity, or into areas you would rather avoid.
For more pointers subscribe here
Prepare - preparation and planning for crises may be overlooked when it’s business as usual, but preparation to identify reputational risks is invaluable when a crisis strikes. So, plan for a crisis, update your plan regularly and monitor potential risks.
Respond well - you will be judged by how well you respond to a crisis, so take CARE when communicating:
Concern – articulate this clearly to stakeholders
Action – show you have taken control e.g. we are looking into this. Use a holding statement
Reassurance – reassure your stakeholders, but ensure you have first shown concern and are taking action
Engagement – maintain an ongoing dialogue with internal and external stakeholders
Review - learn from what worked well and what could be improved, feed these learnings into your ongoing crisis planning
Crises are unpredictable by nature, but how you prepare and respond gives you an element of control, so when a crisis strikes you can act with confidence.
For more pointers subscribe here
If you don’t know say so - if you are asked a question and you’re unsure of the answer do not be tempted to guess or worse, lie. Say you will get back promptly with an answer after the briefing. This will ensure you build a reputation as an accurate and reliable source.
Off the record? - such briefings can be a useful way of bringing a journalist into your confidence for background purposes. Long established media relationships often rely on briefings of this kind. However, where relations are less established, information may make its way into the public domain. This can happen if the information is deemed to be in the public interest, although the source will be closely guarded. So always be on your guard and use the tactic with extreme caution and only with established contacts.
Do not ask for copy approval - editorial integrity is of paramount importance, so do not ask to see copy before it is published. It is acceptable to ask the journalist to come back to you if they would like to verify any facts. Asking to approve copy is likely to offend and will damage your future working relationship.
For more pointers subscribe here
Enjoyed our Pilcrow pointers?
