The Little Questions

After the roaring success of our October "chew through the topical comms cud" we're back again to cast a critical eye over what was November.

We are going to have a look at: enquiries, unexpected comebacks, codenames, northern supermarkets and AI. We'll attempt to distil a little insight which we professional communicators can take from how these events played out and what, with the magic of hindsight, we might have done differently.

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 Podcast Coach

Everyone loves a party don't they? A gathering where you can have a good catch up with those you haven't seen for ages. Make new friends, trade gossip, learn something new and perhaps even let your hair down. But not too much!

Parties, or events as we like to call them in the corporate world, come in all shapes and sizes - conferences, seminars, AGMs, award dinners, product launches, journalist trips, internal and external, virtual, hybrid or in person.

When you list the activities of "corporate communications", events rarely gets a mention. As many events professionals know, given the latitude to excel, they can create those critical moments of re-appraisal that genuinely change the way your stakeholders view your firm. Something that will be talked about and remembered for years.

Conversely, under resourced, and done half-arsed, your bash will still be remembered, but for all the wrong reasons. And we've all been to one or two events like that haven't we?

Do we simply see events as booking the venue and ensuring there's enough to drink? There's a little more to it than that, surely?

To discuss this often forgotten aspect of the corporate communications world are Apella Advisors partners Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

Andrew Brown is former Director of Communications and Public affairs at Ageas Insurance, Andrew has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global, listed, multifaceted firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors. He has considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management as well as reputation sentiment analysis and insight. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Matt Young has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group 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 was produced by The Podcast Coach.

We've decided to go all topical in this episode. What has been happening in our world of PR and comms? How has our profession been advising on some of the current issues? Would we have handled these differently?

Of course, we're conscious of commenting on current events as the horrific and tragic events unfold in Gaza and Israel. These are times when PR or comms seem inconsequential to what is happening around our world. However, it is at times like this when words matter, or, when the absence of words matter. Communications can bring people together, it can also divide. Getting your words right is critical. Too often, we've seen the consequences when we don't.

Chewing the topical cud (even with a little hindsight) and targeting HS2, Matt Hancock and even VAR are Apella Advisors partners, Matt Young and Andrew Brown.

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 Podcast Coach

This week's podcast episode was influenced by a chance remark about a haircut...

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, a CEO of a large corporation knew the corner office was theirs for as long as the shareholders, customers and maybe the government were happy.

Now, they have to delicately navigate a minefield of social norms. It used to be a pretty rare thing for a chief executive to lose their job over events that were the focus of society at large, rather than just the city. That was the politician's playbook. But times are changing.

A spate of high profile leaders have lost their jobs recently. Different reasons each time. But the common thread is that none of them went because of poor profits or a falling share price. Are we entering a new world, a world where the social cycle is driving the business, political and economic cycles?

This is a really, really tricky area. So it's with some trepidation that Jenny Scott and Anthony Silverman are wading into the debate on the role of comms and corporate values, purpose and social context and all of those issues that are driving so much of business life today.

This episode of the Little Questions is hosted by Apella Advisors partners Jenny Scott and Anthony Silverman.

Jenny Scott is the former Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and co-lead for Bank wide strategy. Advisor to the Governor, sat on the Bank's executive committee and risk committee. Formerly economics and politics correspondent for the BBC and presenter of the Daily Politics. Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.

Anthony Silverman has over 20 years advising global boards and executive teams with complex reputational needs. Recent clients include Atlas Merchant Capital, Selfridges Group, Deutsche Bank, Pension Insurance Corporation, RBS and Aquiline Capital. A significant client base in Europe and the US. Previously Senior Managing Director at Teneo.

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

This episode was produced by The Podcast Coach.

Apella Advisors Parter, Andrew Brown: "Early on in my comms career I was taught that conflict, strife, disagreement – that's fundamentally what people are interested in and what helps our journalist friends sell newspapers."

It is hard to get genuine cut through, where everyone knows and has heard of who you are and what you do, especially if you are a small firm trying to make it big. But, one tactic that has worked consistently well over the decades is the art of picking (and winning) a fight.

Having an enemy and picking a fight may seem overly combative, however it can be a mechanism to give you focus: something to push against – letting people know what you are against helps them understand what you are foe.

But how do you make your fight noble and just? How do you decide who, or what, to target? Are their rules to such a fight? If so, how do you play them? And, what do you do if you, unwittingly, find out you are the enemy?

All of these questions and more are discussed on this edition of The Little Questions with Apella Advisors.

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 Podcast Coach.

Do companies and organisations really get value from attending the party conference? As Corporate Affairs Director, one of Matt Young's tasks every year was to set the departmental budget. That would include the annual discussion about whether to attend the political party conferences. Would it prove good value, in both time and money? Will the cost be worth it for the hotel, the travel, that expensive bar bill? Well, it was more fundamental. Why would we subsidise the Westminster Village on tour? To build relationships with people we could meet with them on home ground during the rest of the year? That said, Matt always signed off the budget. Members of the team would disappear to towns and cities around the UK for large parts of the year. Now Matt no longer has to devote time, energy and budget to party conferences. He can contemplate things with a certain detached mindset with the benefit of hindsight and experience. To dicuss how to get the best out of conference season and if the cost is really worth it, Apella's Matt Young is joined by Liz Lynch (previous Head of Public Affairs at TSB) and James Kirkup. James has joined Apella very recently, but he has attended many party conferences in his previous incarnations as Director of the Social Market Foundation and as the Political Editor of the Telegraph. This episode of the Little Questions Podcast is hosted by Matt Young. Matt has 25 years of experience across media relations, public affairs, regulatory development, employee engagement, brand development, competition and CSR. Group 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. 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. Former Head of Public Affairs and Public Policy at TSB Bank. Previously a Partner at a global communications agency and has worked in the media and politics. New to Apella Advisors, James Kirkup has over 20 years in high-profile Westminster roles including Political Editor of the Daily Telegraph and Director of the Social Market Foundation. Extensive experience of thought leadership and advocacy work, with a particular focus on the relationship between business, politics and public policy. Continues to contribute regularly to national media outlets as a columnist at the Times and Spectator. Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected] This episode was produced by The Podcast Coach.

Recorded at the Royal Society of Arts in London, in front of a live audience, Little Questions Live 2 asks 'How do you communicate through times of uncertainty and change?'. To tackle this not so little question, Apella Advisors Partner Jenny Scott is joined by a panel of industry experts: - Steve Hawkes - Reputation and External Affairs at Flutter UK, former journalist at the Times, The Mirror and Political and Business Editor at the Sun - Rachel Hopcroft - Corporate Affairs Director at KPMG and former Director at the Cabinet Office - Amy Lawson - Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Sage You can hear Little Questions Live 1, here. Apella Advisors is a business advisory firm that helps organisations grow and succeed by making changes for the better. Apella Partner Jenny Scott has worked as Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and Advisor to the Governor. Jenny sat on the Bank's executive committee and risk committee. Formerly Economics Correspondent for the BBC and Presenter of 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 is produced by The Podcast Coach.

On this episode of The Little Questions, we are joined by one of our industry's most respected practitioners, Basil Towers. Basil has been advising organisations on how to be trusted for 40 years. He's researched it, he's taught it at Oxford Saïd Business School, he's advised FTSE 100 CEOs on it and one thing he has found in that time is that not all trust is of equal value.

Join Jenny Scott and Andrew Brown from Apella Advisors, as they chat in depth about trust with Basil Towers 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 Advisor to the Governor. Jenny sat on the Bank's executive committee and risk committee. Formerly Economics 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 episode was produced by The Podcast Coach.

Admin. Forms. Process. Dull, dull, dull.

It's what gets in the way of doing the actual job that we all love, right?

Talking to journalists, coming up with that clever policy idea, pulling together a brilliant new social campaign or perfectly nailing the messaging in a complicated sequence of regulated announcements. The bureaucracy, be it functional or corporate, just slows us down. Or does it?

Is your comms grid really used to plan and activate in a co-ordinated manner or has it become a bureaucratic chore? One that you get the most junior members of the team to fill out each week and then promptly ignore? When was the last time you actually updated your stakeholder map based on your latest interactions? Have you even got a stakeholder map? Are you still religiously logging and tracking all of the conversations you and the media team have with journalists, proactive or reactive?

These questions answered, pondered over and more on this edition of The Little Questions Podcast from Apella Advisors.

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

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