Home and museum of Regency architect, Sir John Soane, it is an eclectic mix of his own work and drawings, and art and artefacts he collected from all over the world.

Once you visit the Soane, you’re drawn into the great man’s eccentric and magical world, in a building full of clever examples
of the most innovative, elegant – and sometimes quirky, design.

I fell in love with the Soane when I first visited it in 2003.

I got the chance to be part of it in October 2010 when I helped the Museum, on a voluntary basis, with its fundraising appeal for the Opening Up the Soane project – a £7m restoration programme.

My experience in developing communications strategy and taking an holistic approach to marketing specific initiatives led to the Soane commissioning my services.

As an under-resourced public organisation the Museum is unable to employ communications and marketing staff full-time.

I have enabled them to get the most from their media relations by developing an online media centre, as a one-stop-shop for press and broadcast journalists.

I am currently helping them take a more strategic approach to engaging the media, the public and potential benefactors with the different phases of the restoration project, and assisting with the marketing of the Museum.

“Philippa’s skills and experience as a marketer and communicator have made us look more closely, and strategically, at how we market the Museum and its component parts,” says Mike Nicholson, Director of Development.

“She is able to assess exactly what an organisation needs, in terms of its communications, and implement it with ano-nonsense but imaginative approach that appeals to all our key audiences.
We’re delighted to have her on board.”

UKCRC is a coalition of key decision makers in the world of Clinical Research including the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries, the Wellcome Trust, the Departments of Health for the four nations, and the Association of Medical Research Charities.

In 2009 the partners commissioned Straight talking communications to market the controversial issue of using our health records to unlock the causes of disease, find solutions and improve healthcare services. UKCRC needed a marketing strategy to position the routine use of anonymous data, and communications to counter bad press about ‘the database state’ and recent misuse and loss of confidential data.

I got to the heart of the issue through extensive desk and stakeholder research, using the findings to develop key messages and FAQS. From there I was able to create a strategy for bringing research using patient records into the mainstream.

I provided UKCRC with a marketing communications plan which would inform and involve GPs and researchers and educate the public about health record research.

I talked to journalists about how the issue resonates in the media, and experts and patients alike about what we really need to know. I made sure that all the key communications routes were part of the plan, from the care environment, to NHS Direct, to Doctors.net.

I steered UKCRC towards information-based communications campaigns and commissioned patient and GP focus groups to explore attitudes to and awareness of the issue, and road test our approach.

I wrote and managed design of patient information which will hit doctors surgeries in England, Scotland and Wales in the autumn of 2011 and Northern Ireland in 2012.

St Christopher’s has been around since 1870, providing services, homes, foster care and supported housing for children, young people and vulnerable adults. It is working in a volatile and competitive market, bidding for significant public sector contracts to provide vital services. The charity was missing significant opportunities through poor communications. It had no clear communications strategy resulting in inconsistent messages and communications collateral. St Christopher’s needed to start again from scratch but could not do so without the full picture of its current communications. I helped them establish a starting point by conducting a full communications audit:-

• Explored organisational operations, values and future strategy – through interviews with internal and external stakeholders
• Assessed front line communications through staff focus groups
• Researched  and evaluated competitor communications
• Analysed all external communications  and internal communications systems
• Provided an extensive report containing collateral and competitor analyses – with clear recommendations for the future.

St Christopher’s is moving ahead slowly within the constraints of their budget. They’ve made an excellent start by improving their overview materials (top of page) and exhibition collateral (above). They’re also reviewing and improving staff engagement policy.

I could help you do the same……

The Royal Society for the encouragement of arts, manufactures and commerce (RSA) was founded in the 18^th century coffee houses by an entrepreneurial drawing master, William Shipley, who wanted to encourage innovation for the good of society. It gave birth to initiatives as crucial as the penny post, improved education for women, the discovery and import of vital food stuffs and even the public lavatory.

The organisation felt its history was its story and it took some persuading to convince them that whilst this was its licence to operate, it was just one part of its narrative. People also wanted to know what the RSA is and what it does in today’s world.

By interviewing staff, RSA fellows and key stakeholders I identified what it had to sell from its current portfolio and how this related back to its history. As a focus I used the Coffee House Challenge – an RSA debating programme in Starbucks coffee shops which results in innovative community projects. This brought history and current work together and created a platform for showcasing the RSA’s bigger projects. I brought a story telling approach to the organisations communications based on 4 key components:-

• The ‘RSA story’ – explaining who we are
• Shop window – showing what we do through our work
• Showcase – key campaigns
• Plan, review and measure impact

And clear outcomes:-

• one cohesive story with associated tools, targeted media and public affairs
• a programme of targeted proactive/reactive day to day media/parliamentary contact, an expert spokesperson base to establish credibility
• highlights which generate quality coverage and profile and sustain them with story spin-offs and follow-ups
• a joined up, planned approach to RSA communications across the organisation

The RSA still uses this approach to communications. Its story as a key influencer is much clearer and agencies are brought in to promote key projects while the inhouse team run an ongoing programme of pr and promotion. Giving the past its rightful place in an organisation’s story doesn’t happen over night but, by focusing on the present and future more clearly the RSA now has a much better chance of survival in today’s world. You only have to see Matthew Taylor’s video introduction to the organisation to see how it works in practice.

I could do that for you……

Microload Ltd was a small IT support provider, ideally placed right in the centre of London. It prided itself on supplying bespoke support, with a human face, to small, medium and large businesses within the M25. Microload had been ticking over nicely for fifteen years but times got harder and more and more competitors appeared – all jostling for position in terms of price, promotion and place. Microload knew it had to up its game and bring a marketing approach into the organisation.

Straight talking communications was commissioned to develop Microload’s marketing strategy.

I conducted a marketing audit and helped the company define and refine its offer to meet clients needs and adapt to the changes in the IT world.

Having researched Microload’s potential market I developed marketing to help put the organisation get in front of the people it wanted to influence and grow its business.

Microload really needed to stand out in the market place so I encouraged and assisted them to rebrand – changing from Microload Ltd to IT Plus. I brought in a designer to develop a new look and feel for the organisation and revised its messages, personality and tone of voice to give it a new, and powerful, lease of life. To help IT plus communicate its new brand effectively I developed new communications collateral and completely rewrote its website – generating new business as well as a website that really works for the company.

Visit www.itplusit.com

National Asthma Campaign didn’t really know what it wanted to be. It funded research and supported those with asthma through publications, holidays for children with acute asthma and a much-needed telephone help line. This was all great stuff but there was no coherent brand pulling it together. Communications materials were inconsistent and could’ve been from anyone. There was no unifying tone of voice and the charity was hugely unconfident about its position as the asthma expert.

To address these issues, I led the re-brand of the charity from National Asthma Campaign to Asthma UK.

After getting buy-in from the Board and leadership, I conducted extensive internal and external stakeholder research and competitor analysis to inform the charity’s values, offer and positioning. I translated this into brand values, vision, mission and position as the asthma experts and developed brand communications strategy.

I worked with designers on visual identity and tested this with audience focus groups. All communications collateral was redeveloped to reflect the new tone of voice, look and feel and Asthma UK  is now in doctors surgeries, homes and information outlets throughout the UK.

I could do that for you…….

pfeg was a successful but tiny charity before funding from the Financial Services Authority enabled it to grow to a staff of 60 – in 5 regional offices throughout England.

It had no designated communications staff and had been doing its best to market its services with reactive media relations, an unwieldy website and basic corporate literature.

My initial communications audit and stakeholder research revealed that pfeg’s communications were not doing it justice and were holding it back in terms of marketing valuable and much-needed services.

After talking to pfeg’s key audiences I devised both national and regional communications strategies.

It now has everything in place to maintain an ongoing communications programme:-

• I devised key messages and a media strategy which enable pfeg to feel confident about talking to the right regional journalists and use pr agencies for national launches.
• I helped the charity audit and exploit the whole wealth of exhibitions and conferences in the market place to make its presence felt.
• I refreshed the charity’s brand, look and feel and tone of voice revising its collateral to give pfeg a modern, business-like image whilst maintaining its charitable ethos.

All pfeg’s materials now look and sound as if they belong to the same family, including pfeg’s website, where I’ve tamed the vast array of text to create a fresh, new site which works intuitively for its users.

To ensure consistency I’ve provided brand guidelines and house style to keep pfeg on track.

To help pfeg raise its game I’ve introduced new communications channels like corporate video and podcasts and the charity now has a fresh, modern and professional approach to communicating with its audiences.

I could do that for you……