Lucinda Watt, Author at Cavendish Advocacy

PRCA National Awards shortlist announced

by Lucinda Watt | Sep 23, 2022 | Blog, News

BECG Group are delighted to have been shortlisted in two categories at this year’s PRCA National Awards.

As current holders of the Specialist Consultancy of the Year title, for their work in the built environment, BECG are really pleased to have made the list of finalists once again. With clients drawn from across the sector including property, infrastructure, transport and energy, their work takes in the full spectrum of issues and challenges facing those operating within it and touches the whole development lifecycle. As a result, they have an unrivaled understanding of the built environment landscape, enabling them to provide their clients with a combination of insight and influence that helps them effect real change.

The work of our specialist crisis management team has been recognised with a shortlisting in the Crisis and Issues Management category. When a national housebuilder found high levels of contamination in the soil of one of its undeveloped sites, our team was brought in to lead the communications response to local residents, stakeholders, and the media. Our work not only built trust and confidence with residents, but it also transformed relationships with the Council.

Stephen Pomeroy, BECG Group CEO, said:

I’m really pleased we’re finalists in two categories and it’s great to have the high quality of our work recognised yet again by our industry body. I am so proud of our teams. To have both our consultancy as a whole and one of our specialist teams shortlisted demonstrates both the breadth and depth of the BECG Group’s reach. I look forward to what I hope will be a very successful awards ceremony!

For more information about the PRCA National Awards, click here.

Social Media Trends for Christmas 2021

by Lucinda Watt | Dec 16, 2021 | Blog

Christmas brings with it plenty of opportunity to have a bit of fun on your social channels, with the obligatory Christmas jumper day post and votes for your favourite festive treat, but our colleagues at SoCrowd have noticed a much more interesting trend emerge over the past couple of years.

From charitable donations to raising awareness of the most vulnerable, our customers are communicating with their communities about how we can bring a bit more festive cheer to the vulnerable and those in need this Christmas.

We’ve collated a list of our favourite social media campaigns that will be enhancing people’s lives and corporate reputations over the Christmas period:

1) Donating to charity

For most of us, Christmas is all about spending time with family and friends but for many less fortunate it is a difficult time. So we were pleased to see Caledonian Sleeper donating the December proceeds from their signature restaurant dish to Rail Aid 2021 – a charity helping children that find themselves living on the streets.

The healthy drinks giant Innocent is renowned for placing CSR at the heart of their business with “helping our fellow humans” a key part of that ethos. Their Big Knit campaign, running since 2003, has raised over £2.5 million for Age UK by donating 25p for every bottle topped with a knitted hat sold. And this year the drinks manufacturer is going to be granting Christmas wishes for its followers. We can’t wait to see what wishes they will be granting.

Meanwhile, the University of Greenwich is calling for donations to its Christmas Food and Essentials Parcels campaign which will see their events team distribute parcels to families and individuals in need within their local community. And the University of the West of Scotland, Richmond upon Thames College, and Lothian Buses are all getting involved in the #12DaysOfKindness campaign with different acts of kindness being posted to social during the first 12 days of December.

2) Wellbeing

Over two in five Brits have felt stressed during the festive season (YouGov) so advocating wellbeing at Christmas on your social channels is another great idea.

Virgin Active have gone all out with their #VirginActiveHappyHolidays campaign which is a social advent calendar with wellbeing prizes to be won and festive workout ideas to help boost those endorphins in the run up to Christmas.

Our customer Redrow is also getting into the spirit of Christmas with a festive bake-off and Christmas craft workshop at their Gloucester Glevum Green housing development – what better way to bring the community together and engage in some mindful activities.

3) Raising Awareness of Scams during the Festive Period

Scams affect the lives of millions of people across the UK on a daily basis and cost UK consumers between £5 and £10 billion a year, and unfortunately they don’t stop for Christmas.

Notts Police is raising awareness of the types of frauds to watch out for over the Christmas period by joining Action Fraud’s #12Frauds of Christmas campaign along with Shropshire Council, the Financial Conduct Authority, Dorset Police, and Northamptonshire Police.

Cadent Gas has also joined forces with utility companies across the UK as part of the Utilities Against Scams campaign to raise awareness around scams and highlight the signs to look for, as well as how to report them.

4) Helping the vulnerable

In the run up to Christmas, councils, emergency services, healthcare, and housing associations across the UK are joining the #WinterReady campaign to communicate with their communities about the risks that the winter weather brings and what they are doing to keep us all safe.

Greatwell Homes is promoting the Household Support Fund a national scheme providing financial support to households who may struggle with the cost of living as higher utilities bills and Christmas shopping hits our pockets. And Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council are asking their community to report rough sleepers so that they can get help.

We hope you have a great Christmas and if you are looking for inspiration for social media campaigns in 2022 then look no further than SoCrowd‘s 2022 Hashtag Calendar.

Download here

BECG Group UK Consultancy of the Year at the PRCA Public Affairs Awards

by Lucinda Watt | Dec 16, 2020 | Blog, News

During a year unlike any other, Cavendish Advocacy’s parent company, BECG, has won UK Consultancy of the Year at the PRCA Public Affairs Awards  after being nominated ten times  by judges from the PRCA National Awards, PRCA Public Affairs Awards, ICCO Global Awards and PR Week Awards.

At the PRCA Public Affairs Awards ceremony, which was held virtually via Zoom, the Group also won trade body campaign of the year for the delivery of a campaign that successfully secured employment support initiatives from the Government.

The awards don’t stop there, earlier this week, the Group also won the Crisis and Issues Management Award at the ICCO Global Awards for our successful delivery of reputation management and a comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy following a large fire incident.

And it was announced, that the Group has been shortlisted at the upcoming PR Week Corporate, City and Public Affairs Awards, for two further awards. As a contender for the Best Campaign to Actively Form or Shift Government Policy and Best Crisis Comms (excluding the coronavirus) category.

Managing Director of Cavendish Advocacy, Alex Challoner commented:

“We are delighted our parent group BECG has been named the consultancy of the year, which is a huge achievement, and Cavendish Advocacy’s own award for Best Trade Campaign which together made the year end on a high note. Without a doubt, the year 2020 has been one of the most challenging years for all of us owning to the global pandemic and Brexit.

Just like businesses of all nature and size across the globe, we had to overcome a number of hurdles this year such as adjusting to the working from home environment and financial pressure. I pay tribute to the hard work of my colleagues and look forward to the day when we can celebrate all these successes with our BECG colleagues in proper face-to-face style.”