Brief

To support their continued brand building in the UK and launch into new markets, Gate One wanted a thought leadership-led marketing and communications campaign that facilitated new client conversations and showcased their best-in-class capabilities.

Strategy and execution

H/Advisors developed a campaign alongside Gate One on the theme of consumer-centric business models. The campaign scope was focused on Gate One’s core markets by geography and sector. Key research themes included: corporate leadership and strategy; understanding customers, customer experience and feedback systems; empowering the frontline; and metrics and measurement.

We conducted a series of in-depth interviews with Gate One clients (at the C-suite level) to explore these issues alongside a survey of 500 business leaders across four countries. The business research was conducted in tandem with consumer research featuring 2,000 households in the same four countries to compare and contrast differences in opinion between the consumer and the C-suite. The findings were then incorporated into a report and marketing materials that were distributed at a launch event, to the media and through online channels.

Result

The campaign launched during Q4 2021 and provided the basis for brand-building and client engagement, including an in-person webinar for the business launch in France. Direct client outreach from Gate One consultants, alongside H/Advisors in the UK, US, France and Ireland, resulted in positive outcomes across multiple channels.

Brief

ThinCats is an alternative finance lender providing business loans to SMEs through investments from institutional and retail investors. H/Advisors Cicero was appointed to tell the story of how several companies have used funding from the ThinCats to significantly grow their businesses, told through a series of short documentaries.

Strategy & execution

To capture the heart of the individual business stories we storyboarded and mapped out the key moments in each business’ journey and interviewed senior representatives to tell their account of the organisation’s success. The videos were then edited into a series of documentary videos demonstrating ThinCats’ funding success and client achievements.

Results

• The final videos received high praise from existing ThinCats clients and prospective clients at a launch event.
• The videos were released across owned ThinCats channels and were syndicated into shorter edits for release on social media.
• Promotional activity has led to new business enquiries as a direct result of the campaign.
• H/Advisors Cicero is now employed to regularly tell the story of ThinCats’ clients through short documentaries.

Three of these client documentaries can be watched below:

Brief

HMC Schools, the professional Association of heads of the leading independent schools, wanted to explore how fit for the purpose the UK’s current education system, and whether it is appropriate for meeting the needs of future generations. They wanted to hear from teachers – working in both state and private schools – about how the framework could be improved to better serve the needs of all students to drive social mobility and purpose across the UK.

Strategy & Executive

We co-designed a survey for teachers with HMC Schools, looking into what they feel the purpose of education should be and how far the current education system is helping to deliver this. The survey was scripted and hosted in-house by H/Advisors Cicero, with the link shared organically to respondents though HMC Schools and teacher networks. We had 790 responses from teachers, educational leaders and academics to the survey, the first of its kind that HMC Schools has run.

H/Advisors Cicero presented the research findings back to a working group at HMC Schools, subsequently drafting a thought leadership report that set out the vision for educational reform, with clear calls to action on the change sought by the teaching profession.

Results

Following the HMC Conference in September 2021 where the initial findings were presented, the full report was launched in November 2021. The report was widely picked up across social media, with the campaign receiving Tier 1 coverage in the Times and the i-newspaper. The aim will be to continue the momentum for educational reform into 2022.

Brief

H/Advisors Cicero has been the retained public affairs provider for the Police Federation of England & Wales (PFEW) since 2017.

H/Advisors Cicero has since worked on a mandate to support PFEW’s Protect the Protectors campaign alongside the organisation’s overall stakeholder engagement with parliamentarians and Government. 

Strategy & Execution

The Protect the Protectors campaign sought to address the significant increase in attacks on emergency service workers. H/Advisors Cicero worked with the Federation to translate this campaign into a legislative ask, calling on the Government to double the custodial sentences for the crime. 

H/Advisors Cicero sought to recruit supportive backbench MPs and government ministers to enact this change. The campaign’s legislative objectives soon became a Private Member’s Bill following lobbying from Holly Lynch MP, a champion of the campaign, who was recruited by H/Advisors Cicero.

We then provided political engagement support and strategic counsel to the Federation, navigating the client through the legislative process and organising bilateral meetings with MPs and Government to build support for the Bill’s passage. 

Results

The Bill became law in September 2018, enacting the campaign’s primary objective. 

Since then, the campaign has sparked a wider conversation around support for the Police and their protection which culminated in the ‘Police Covenant’ campaign and a campaign for further harsher sentences for those who attack emergency service workers. 

Both campaigns have since been adopted by the Government and have been included into the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which is currently making its way through parliament. 

Brief

Social media has transformed the way that professional sports teams communicate, allowing players to engage directly with supporters and instigating the rise of influencers, digital-led fan channels and competitive eSports. For high-profile organisations, failing to properly embrace the digital revolution is simply not an option.

H/Advisors Cicero was appointed by the Football Association (FA) to provide deep insights into the character of players it is considering calling up to the international team, media figures (match day presenters and social media presenters) and eSports players, to analyse how they have previously conducted themselves online and to proactively identify any issues that could cause reputational harm.

Strategy & Execution

H/Advisors Cicero undertakes research to identify any social media activity that could be deemed inappropriate or offensive. We use social media data software to create a comprehensive report of activity including:

• Any historic “red flags”
• Handling of career milestones (reaction to successes, failures and attention)
• Lifestyle factors (social life, family life, other close associates, religious views, political views)
• Interactions with fans
• Interactions with other public figures

Result

We have provided a series of comprehensive reports to the FA which have revealed incriminating and potentially reputation-damaging behaviour, helping the organisation to avoid damaging headlines and allowing it to better prepare and mitigate potentially detrimental news stories. 

Brief

We were tasked with developing the firm’s profile globally across retail investor markets, both with end investors and intermediaries, via thought leadership-led marketing and PR campaigns.

Strategy & Execution

H/Advisors Cicero conducted surveys in 20 countries via an online survey containing up to 32,000 end investors and 1,000 investment intermediaries to provide a holistic market perspective on the issues shaping investment decision-making.

We worked closely with key international media outlets, including CBS News, to create exclusive content for media launch activities.

Result

H/Advisors Cicero produced the following materials for BlackRock:

• Over 50 marketing reports to be used by the country marketing teams.
• Thematic reports exploring the views of specific groups of investors, for example, the LGBT community. We also produced a report on investors across four Latin American markets.
• Extensive collateral for use in direct and intermediary channels including presentations for key institutional BlackRock clients (e.g. large banks and insurers).