This week, Andrew and Matt chew the fat about the lessons learned after four years of creating the comms agency, Apella Advisors.

And it's after those four years, with a few clients under our belt, a slightly larger team, and perhaps most unexpectedly of all a podcast that people actually listen to! We must be doing something right. 

People occasionally ask us if creating this consultancy has changed the way we think about and do comms? Do we look wistfully back at our in-house days or thank our lucky stars that we got away? Would we recommend it as a good career route? And, as is often the case, we say "that’s a great question which would make a really good topic for the pod".

Ready yourself for some bare chested soul searching honesty about what we’ve learned, seen and thought after our four years as PR consultants.

The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

Matt Young is an Apella Advisors partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Andrew Brown is an Apella Advisors partner, a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This episode has been produced by The Podcast Coach

As Comms professionals who aim to provide clarity and understanding in everything, are we failing in that aim with certain generations? Is it time to learn the languages of different generations? Should we be smarter in thinking about the way different generations receive and respond to communications?

Matt Young and Andrew Brown from Apella Advisors discuss this little (big) question this week. However, having a couple of Gen X's ponder on this generational topic and come up with our usual answer “that everyone should just take our well considered advice”, we felt that deeper expertise and relevant erudition was required.

So we are delighted that we’re joined for this episode by Dr Eliza Philby. Eliza is an academic, a writer, speaker and consultant. She’s the author of “Mind the Gap: managing a multi-generational workforce in a post-pandemic age”; she’s spoken at  a House of Lords select committee on intergenerational unfairness and has written numerous articles for the likes of the FT and the Times on generational shifts.

In summary, she’s the most qualified person (probably anywhere) to help us consider communications and generational differences.

Matt Young is an Apella Advisors partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Andrew Brown is an Apella Advisors partner, a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected] and please consider leaving a review.

This episode was produced by The Podcast Coach.

Every now and again in the world of comms, the firewall you’ve thrown up around your organisation fails, and something you’d rather wasn’t “out there” gets through. Perhaps the CEO has said something she shouldn’t have in that profile interview that took months to set up. Or a sensitive email has ended up in the hands of a colleague in the media. 

If you’re in this game and you’ve not been there, you will. It’s as inevitable and irresistible a force as gravity.

So. What do you do? Can you stop the piece from appearing? Can you make it less damaging? Or do you just have to accept a bad day in the papers and hope for a better tomorrow?

All these questions and much, much more are answered in this week's episode. 

The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

Matt Young is an Apella Advisors partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Andrew Brown is an Apella Advisors partner, a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast is produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

The term ‘doyen’ is overused, but in the case of our guest today, it feels appropriate. For the last 25 years Danny Rogers has been a leading commentator and speaker on the comings and goings of the public relations industry. Now the editor-in-chief of PR Week, Danny started as a journalist with the FT’s Creative Business and the Guardian’s media section, and then he moved to Haymarket group as editor of PR Week magazine. 

An author, his book, ‘The campaigns that shook the world’ shone a light on the strategy behind some of the industry's most powerful work. He’s also the host of the beyond the noise podcast from PR Week. He’s a columnist for the i newspaper and importantly has championed the breaking down of barriers within public-relations. 

Returning to host this edition of the podcast is Apella Founder Partner James Acheson-Gray, who has acted as a long-term advisor to senior decision makers on the value of harnessing reputation to enhance commercial objectives. James has over 20 years’ experience running successful PR/PA firms and major client programmes in Europe and Asia. He was managing director of APCO Worldwide from 2012-2019 and is a former Board Director of the Queen’s Club.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

Much of the work done by the corporate communications function goes unnoticed. But there is one piece of activity you can be sure will grab people's attention… the set piece leader profile.

Get a full page spread in a Sunday paper with a cracking photo and you can be sure everyone in the organisation, and beyond, will read it. Get it right and you can have your CEO come across as a visionary, yet down to earth leader successfully delivering a great strategy. This can become a genuine moment whereby people sit up and take note. But get it wrong, have them come across as someone who is not quite on top of things and perhaps a little bit ‘unusual’, well those risks are amplified. 

Given these are not exercises in plumping Sir’s ego, what are the things you need to do to ensure success? How best should you prepare? How do you work out what story to tell? Where should you actually do the interview from? And in this digital age is the Sunday print still the right place? 

The Little Questions podcast is presented by Matt Young and Andrew Brown.

Matt Young is an Apella founder partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by the www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

The climate crisis 'is a communication problem', says academic and environmentalist Roc Sandford. Involved with Extinction Rebellion before it started, including a chaining or two, Roc’s thinking has featured in pretty much every major media outlet. From the UN to Davos and ministers and boards, Roc delivers an uncompromising message of emergency and the need for rapid climate and biodiversity repair.

Roc is also the very essence of the change he wants to see living an almost hermit-like zero carbon life on a remote Scottish island.

Join Jenny and Andrew from Apella Advisors, as they chat in depth to Roc on this latest episode.

We’d love to hear what you think. Get in touch on social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown and Jenny Scott.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Apella partner Jenny Scott joins us again on The Little Questions podcast. Jenny has worked as Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and co-lead for Bank wide strategy. She was also Advisor to the Governor, and sat on the Bank’s executive committee and risk committee. Formerly Economics and Politics Correspondent for the BBC and Presenter of the Daily Politics, she is now Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by The Podcast Coach.

We are big fans of words, they have real, genuine power. But, in the form of a speech, in rhetoric, do they soar to their greatest heights? Are speeches our most powerful form of verbal communication? Do we put as much effort into them as we should, or did? And how can we write better speeches?

When one blends masterful, rich language, with the oratorical techniques of rhythm repetition and silence, uttered by a sonorous, powerful voice you have the means to inspire, to unite, to resist and to change. Be that racism, apartheid, civil war, Mrs Thatcher or even nervy King Philip and his powerful Armada.

So, join us as we explore this fascinating world of words. 

Please leave us a 5 star review if you enjoyed this episode or let us know what your favourite speech is via social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young is an Apella partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing podcast@apellaadvisors.com

This podcast was produced by The Podcast Coach.

Sitting at the heart of their industry, trade associations are the ‘official voice’ looking to put forward the collective view and position of its members. Not only do they speak on behalf of their members to government, agencies, regulators, the media and other opinion formers, but they self-regulate and police, deliver training and development, conduct research and organise conferences and events.  

With more than 1,250 to choose from, there’s a body out there for everyone.

But are they worth it? Are the benefits of membership worth the often significant fees and all the additional contributions of time and expertise? How do you actually measure that value? If you are a member, how can you make sure you are extracting every last drop of worth? Put simply, are trade associations worth it?

To help answer these questions and more, Apella Advisors Partner Andrew Brown is joined by two former titans of the trade association firmament. Huw Evans who was, for seven years, Director General of the Association of British Insurers and Ian Wright, seven years CEO of the Food and Drink Federation.  Ian was also Corporate Relations Director of Diageo plc for 14 years.

Please leave us a 5 star review if you enjoyed this episode or let us know what you think via social media or email[email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.  

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

An interview with Paul Drechsler, International Chamber of Commerce UK Chairman.

For this episode we are joined by Paul Drechsler, the Renaissance man of business.

Paul has been at the centre of the interface between business, politics and society for many years. To say he’s done a lot in his time would be a gross understatement: 24 years with ICI; Chair and Chief Executive of the family owned construction firm the Wates Group; Chair of the shipping and marine firm Bibby Line. 

And then there is his work as Chair of some of the foremost business organisations. He was President of the CBI in the lead up to and aftermath of the Brexit Referendum; and most recently Chair of Business London and the International Chamber of Commerce. He’s sat on the Board of Teach First and Business in the Community. Oh and he was, for a number of years, Chancellor of Teesside University.

Please leave us a 5 star review if you enjoyed this episode or let us know what you think via social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown and Liz Lynch.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Liz Lynch is experienced in corporate communications; public affairs and policy; regulatory affairs and risk; industrial relations; crisis and complex issues management; reputation turnarounds; campaigns, competition; and ESG. Lizi is the former Head of Public Affairs and Public Policy at TSB Bank. She was previously a Partner at a global communications agency and has worked in the media and politics.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This episode has been produced by The Podcast Coach.

There’s no right or wrong way to define success - it looks different for everyone. What matters is that you're able to define it for yourself.

So, what does it take to get on and succeed in corporate affairs? What should you look to define and focus on, and what (and who) should you avoid? Do professional qualifications help or is it all about learning at the knee of a master? 

When we started thinking about this episode I had the words of Baz Lurman ringing in my ears - that offering advice is a form of nostalgia, fished from the past, where you paint over the ugly bits and recycle it for more than its worth. Ouch.

We’ll try not to do that.

Please leave us a 5 star review if you enjoyed this episode or let us know what you think via social media or email [email protected]

This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young is an Apella partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This episode has been produced by The Podcast Coach.