H/Advisors Cicero has been supporting Europe’s leading refurbished technology provider, Swappie with their corporate communications in Ireland since 2001. Swappie’s aim was to increase their brand awareness in the market, placing them as a leader in the circular economy space. Our brief also includes increasing awareness around the concept and benefits to the environment of refurbished technology in general and supporting Swappie’s Country Manager in Ireland to build profile in the media.

Strategy & Execution

Our strategic corporate communications plan involved a full media audit, the creation of a bespoke target media list for Swappie, introductory meetings with journalists in the business, technology, environment and consumer space, quarterly targeted press releases covering both global announcements and Irish specific activity like consumer trends. We also supported Swappie with the opening of its first pop up store outside of Helsinki in Dublin and the global release of its first sustainability report. H/Advisors Cicero has also media trained Swappie’s leadership team in Dublin.

Swappie’s awareness in Ireland was low, so achieving cut through with a consistent and engagement message was a priority. The team at H/Advisors Cicero have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with Swappie to define its story in the Irish market, and run some creative campaigns that have provided ‘above brand’ benefits

Susan Keogh, Director Ireland Corporate Communications

Results

Our support for Swappie has resulted in a huge increase in both awareness and interest around Swappie with searches for Swappie refurbished iPhones increasing exponentially since 2001. We have supported Swappie’s senior leadership team in developing contacts with key business and technology journalists. We have also secured extensive media coverage for all Swappie announcements and Swappie’s Country Manager has appeared on a number of Tier 1 media outlets including RTE and Newstalk.

If you wish to discuss any of the issues mentioned in this article, please contact Susan in H/Advisors Cicero’s UK Corporate Communications team on susan.keogh@h-advisors.global

In January 2018, Royal Mail Group (RMG) and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced a ground-breaking agreement on matters including pay, pensions and operational change.

Following the decision to close RMG’s Defined Benefit pension scheme, RMG and the CWU agreed to implement a new Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) scheme combined with a guaranteed lump sum at retirement to deliver the best pension arrangement for RMG’s c.143,000 UK employees. However, this required primary legislative change, which the Government and officials were initially sceptical about implementing for just one company.

Strategy & Execution

This long-term campaign began in November 2017, with RMG and CWU called to appear in front of the Work and Pensions Select Committee to contribute to its inquiry into CDC pension schemes. The Committee’s report, published in July 2018, recommended that the Government move quickly to enable the creation of the UK’s first CDC scheme; the Government subsequently consulted on the issue and stated in March 2019 it would bring forward legislation for CDC schemes as soon as possible, also backed by the Shadow Pensions Minister.

As other major political developments – including the change of Prime Minister, turmoil over Brexit, the 2019 election and the COVID-19 outbreak – took centre stage, RMG worked to maintain momentum with senior stakeholders across Westminster. Through the pandemic, RMG updated previous evidence, including extensive actuarial modelling, and informing stakeholders about the impact of COVID-19 on the financial markets and RMG’s proposed scheme.

Our work with the Royal Mail Group and Communication Workers Union really was about making history and shows how strong stakeholder engagement over a sustained period can bring about real world change that makes a difference to the lives of thousands of people.

Results

The Pensions Schemes Act 2021 was given Royal Assent on 11 February 2021. 

The campaign aimed to build cross-party support, see the smooth passage of the Bill, and ensure the Bill was compatible with RMG’s scheme design.

If you wish to discuss any of the issues mentioned in this article, please contact Mairi in H/Advisors Cicero’s UK Public Affairs team on mairi.maclennan@h-advisors.global

Brief

H/Advisors Cicero was appointed to support the creation of a thought leadership programme and long-term media engagement for Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) and Liberty Mutual Reinsurance (LM Re), the overseas specialty insurance and reinsurance arms, respectively, of established US risk carrier Liberty Mutual. H/Advisors Cicero provides outsourced press office and thought leadership support to drive brand recognition and awareness in the UK and EU markets.  

From the outset, the ambition was to provide bolder and broader content and develop LSM’s flagship Unique Perspectives programme – creating thought leadership based on the industry-leading broker engagement event series.  

Strategy & Execution

We provided numerous thought leadership articles, blogs and social media posts, which span from the future of aviation, to the European fine art & specie market, to lessons learnt from a Unique Perspectives event with Dame Joanna Lumley. We also created a series of opinion pieces for LSM’s Latin American operations.

H/Advisors Cicero smoothly established itself as the outsourced press office function for LSM and LM Re, successfully pitching LSM into the FT for the first time within weeks of appointment.  

We also reformulated Liberty Specialty Markets’ ESG messaging, working closely with the US-based ESG leadership team to equip LSM and LM Re executives with the tools to engage on a global stage on the topic, including at COP27.

Liberty Specialty Markets have demonstrated the power of effective thought leadership in taking complex industry concepts and translating them into engaging and media friendly concepts. This thought leadership programme has provided LSM with a platform to enter into industry-critical discussions they previously avoided, securing a thought leadership position on relevant forward looking topics.

Kuba Stawiski, Director of European Communications

Result

LSM has a steady stream of quality, engaging content either published or awaiting its turn as a Unique Perspective. They are ready and willing to engage with national and global publications, and have the messaging and tools to respond rapidly and flexibly across a range of topics they previously avoided, including ESG and environmental liability.  

LM Re is in the process of publishing an engaging and unusual series of perspectives on the European reinsurance markets, and LSM and LM Re are now well-placed to assume their role as thought leaders for the London, European and Latin American markets.

If you wish to discuss any of the issues mentioned in this article, please contact Adam in H/Advisors Cicero’s UK Corporate Communications team on adam.taylor@h-advisors.global

NOW: Pensions were looking for retained support across their public affairs and communications agenda. This included campaign support across the launch of a hard-hitting report on the “underpensioned”, designed to facilitate amendments to policy.

Strategy & Execution

H/Advisors Cicero form a seamless extension to the NOW: Pensions communications and public affairs team. Contact is frequent and the reporting line is straightforward and near instantaneous, with single sign-off provided by the policy lead on each space. NOW: Pensions and Cicero maintain both regular email and phone contact for day-to-day activity and communicate through WhatsApp to react to immediate crises, urgent events or time-sensitive actions. When several NOW: Pensions communications staff left the business, account executives from Cicero swiftly stepped in on a secondment basis to help fulfil needs.

With a deep understanding of every ongoing workstream., H/Advisors Cicero was able to apply our significant experience of pensions policy and related media knowledge to plan and execute the launch of the “underpensioned” report.

NOW: Pensions have demonstrated how to engage media and policymakers effectively under the remit of a single campaign. Whilst it is not everyday people consider their pensions, the topic has a considerable impact on the welfare of millions of people, and is best addressed at the legislative and regulatory level. That does not mean that you cannot make the topic engaging. Our approach has always centred around making pension jargon digestible and accessible, which in turn, makes it more palatable to news readers.

Adam Taylor, Managing Director, Corporate Communications

Results

NOW: Pensions has significantly increased its profile as a business. The “underpensioned” report was a stunning success. Now: Pensions exceeded all objectives set by the campaign, with 183 pieces of coverage (a 186% over-delivery), 11 of which were national (83% over-delivery), 36 pieces of trade coverage (500% over-delivery), 127 pieces of online coverage (154% over-delivery) and nine broadcast interviews (a 350% over-delivery).

The campaign as a whole generated 4.7 million social media impressions across owned and partnership content, an 840% increase on KPIs.

NOW: Pensions then went on to present two policies to HM Revenue and the Minister for Pensions. If introduced, these policies would generate an additional £1.2bn in annual pension contributions and see an extra 2.5 million people access a workplace pension.

The term “underpensioned”, promoted by H/Advisors Cicero to policymakers and the media, has entered industry parlance and prompted the launch of multiple Government consultations on policy change.

The campaign as a whole generated 4.7 million social media impressions across owned and partnership content, an 840% increase on KPIs.

NOW: Pensions then went on to present two policies to HM Revenue and the minister for pensions. If introduced, these policies would generate an additional £1.2bn in annual pension contributions and see an extra 2.5 million people access a workplace pension.

The term “underpensioned”, promoted by H/Advisors Cicero to policymakers and the media, has entered industry parlance and prompted the launch of multiple Government consultations on policy change.

If you wish to discuss any of the issues mentioned in this article, please contact Adam in H/Advisors Cicero’s UK Corporate Communications team on adam.taylor@h-advisors.global

H/Advisors Cicero has been the retained Government Affairs provider to Wales & West Utilities (WWU) since 2018. We have been tasked with providing insight and analysis on policy matters as well as increasing Wales & West’s profile with Parliamentarians and policymakers. This includes building a clearer understanding of WWU’s importance to Wales and the South West, as well as the importance of gas in the regions’ future energy mix. Support also includes public affairs engagement during potential crisis scenarios, highlighting WWU’s role as the gas emergency service for the region.

Strategy & Execution

Through a regular meeting programme, H/Advisors Cicero has raised Wales & West Utilities’ profile among MPs, Members of the Welsh Parliament and key regulatory stakeholders, highlighting their positive role in the region. This included profiling their thought leadership on the importance of gas in the future energy mix and their involvement in future energy solutions such as hybrid heating systems and hydrogen gas.

We also supported WWU’s corporate strategy by providing regular and timely advice and analysis on relevant Government policy and political change. As a utilities provider, WWU has found itself at the centre of major policy priorities during a time of turbulence in UK politics. H/Advisors Cicero’s advice and analysis is considered invaluable in shaping the future company strategy.

Wales and West Utilities have successfully demonstrated the importance of simultaneously increasing regional and UK-wide policymaker engagement to allow better engagement in local conversations about the future energy mix and sustainability agenda that affect local people.

Tom Wilkins, Director UK Public Affairs

Results

The project was challenging given Wales & West Utilities was not very well-known amongst politicians and regulatory stakeholders. However, the project has demonstrated our ability to raise our client’s profile amongst their key stakeholders as well as allow them to feed into key debates that will define the future energy mix in Wales and the South West.

WWU now holds a profile with MPs and ministers that enables them to engage in constructive conversations that help WWU support its customers during in a complex and ever-changing political and industry landscape.

If you wish to discuss any of the issues mentioned in this article, please contact Tom in H/Advisors Cicero’s UK Public Affairs team on tom.wilkins@h-advisors.global

We have worked with LINK, the UK’s main ATM network for almost five years. We were brought on originally to support a reputational issue regarding interchange, which is the fee paid between card issuers and ATM operators. This created a significant debate among policymakers and media. However, LINK’s view was that this debate drew attention away from the fact that as consumers use less cash, there was no defined strategy on the UK becoming cashless and a digital future.

The Independent Access to Cash Review, led by Natalie Ceeney, was launched as a response to this debate and wanted to set out the current trends, issues and solutions. We were tasked to support this campaign across policy, media relations and research.

Strategy & Execution

We constructed a research platform including: a survey on 2,000 consumers and 14 focus groups in the UK, to understand consumers’ relationship with cash. We invited businesses, charities and trade bodies to attend the groups and issued a Call for Evidence in July which closed at the end of September. There were almost 70 responses from a wide range of organisations.

Using the above, we devised a strategic campaign message around the need for cash in the UK, highlighting a number of vulnerable groups, with the aim of influencing existing policy. We built all brand guidelines, campaign logo and content platforms and were responsible for the end-to-end design process of the formal Access to Cash report. We also created all infographic and video content to support brand awareness throughout the process.

Throughout the course of our relationship with LINK we have utilised the entire H/Advisors Cicero toolkit to achieve strong media, legislative and brand outcomes. The Access to Cash Review is right at the forefront of the debate on how the UK develops a strategy for a cashless and more digital future.

Adam Taylor – Managing Director Corporate Communications

Result

The Access to Cash Review continues to be seen as the gold standard on this debate. The Review on the launch received over 2,000 media hits including every single national newspaper, several opinion pieces and widespread broadcast media. This report has led to further work through the Community Access to Cash Pilots and more recently, banking hubs. This work has also contributed to the UK Government introducing legislation to protect access to cash.

If you wish to discuss any of the issues mentioned in this article, please contact Adam in H/Advisors Cicero’s corporate communications team on adam.taylor@h-advisors.global