M&C Saatchi World Services

M&C Saatchi World Services are proud to have supported the creation of the new “UK Afghanistan Veterans Community” with research and analysis into the thoughts and feelings of veterans, civilian contractors and civil servants who served in Afghanistan. If this includes you, then please help us shape how the new charity serves the community by filling in this survey: https://lnkd.in/e8xqMvvM The UK Afghanistan Veterans Community (HQ Page) UK Ministry of Defence Zac Stenning Matthew M. Jonny Ball VR Katie Dodd

𝗠&𝗖 𝗦𝗮𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗞 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁. M&C Saatchi World Services has been recognised with a prestigious Gold award for its work in supporting the UK Armed Forces community, through the Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS). The award comes in light of World Services' enduring commitment and proactive work as a forces-friendly employer, and in supporting defence people issues. 𝗠&𝗖 𝗦𝗮𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱: “We’re honoured that we have earned Gold, and proud of all the efforts the staff have made to support the wider Armed Forces community. This has included volunteering work with military charities and organisations as well as supporting Service Leavers, Reservists and Veterans within and outside of our business. Our values as an organisation strongly align with UK Defence and this award is a wonderful recognition that we have – and will continue – to serve in the interests of the UK. We also support our other reservists and veterans across the US and Australia and are proud of our international support for staff who have served and are still serving their respective countries.” The ERS encourages employers to support defence and we hope to inspire other organisations to step forward and do the same. The schemes’ top award is made to employer organisations that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to defence and the Armed Forces community, as well as align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant. At present, our business has 20 Reservists and 16 Veterans working for the agency globally, including in the US and Australia. In the UK this includes Ali de Jasay who complements her work as a Senior Strategist in our business alongside being a Combat Medical Technician within the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗱𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱: “I’m very grateful to World Services for their generous reserve leave policy, which allowed me to quickly complete my basic training and to embark on my medical training. Being able to develop the skills the army offers alongside doing a motivating and rewarding job at WS is brilliant and I'm very happy the company has received this award." Since World Services signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant, the agency has selflessly contributed to the wider Armed Forces community (pictured). This includes providing reservists with an additional 10 days of paid leave to undertake their annual camp commitments and a “Military Bridge Scheme” for selected Service Leavers to undertake a paid work placement as part of their transition into civilian life. You can find out more about the Employer Recognition Scheme via: https://lnkd.in/dpzx994 #GoldERS24

World Services is a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, through which we support UK service personnel, veterans, reservists and the wider military-affiliated community. As part of this enduring commitment, we are pleased to be working with the Army Cadet Force (AFC). This week, our Chief Business Officer Paul Smyth MBE VR and Project Director Jay Singh-Sohal VR visited Greater London SE Sector in Blackheath to see the Cadets in action during their annual training camp. They had the opportunity to see the teenagers learn navigation skills and first aid training during the Visitor Day, spoke to boys and girls about their experiences and future plans, as well as met ACF leaders including Honorary Colonel AVM Ranald Munro and Deputy Commandant Dionne Konstantinious. WS Armed Forces Champion Paul Smyth said: “It’s clear from their confidence just how much of a positive impact the Cadets has in the lives of young people from such diverse walks of life. We at WS are thrilled to be supporting their future development, as part of our commitment through the Armed Forces Covenant.” There are more than 138,000 Cadets across the UK, supported by around 28,000 adult volunteers. The Cadets prepare young people to be better citizens, giving them resilience as well as improving their performance at schools. If you would like to find out more about the Army Cadet Force visit: armycadets.com Pictured: Paul, Jay alongside host Dep Commandant Lt Col Dionne Konstantinious (left) & with AFC Hon Col AVM Ranald Munro and the Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major (right).

We’re excited to be part of bringing a world-leading event to Australia. Working on global information issues, we understand the complex challenges the world faces and the need to come together to collaborate on innovative solutions. Learn more about the Global Information Conference Australia 2024 – Phoenix Challenge: www.ipia.au/events

As a proud Platinum Partner for the Global Information Conference Australia 2024 – Phoenix Challenge, we look forward to welcoming experts in government, industry and academia from around the world to our home ground Down Under.   It’s the first time the event series will be held in the southern hemisphere, and its theme is ‘Innovating for deterrence and readiness in the Indo-Pacific’. The four-day conference in June will focus on advancing solutions to complex information challenges through keynote speaker and working group sessions.    Find out more information and secure your tickets before registrations close: www.ipia.au/events

We are proud of our very own Isabelle Bale MIPA, who was selected as an IPA iList2024 Champion of Inclusivity. We recognize Izzy’s commitment to positive change in everything she does. Her passion and energy are apparent to anyone who has the honour to work alongside her both in the office and across the industry. Congratulations!

In March, Tara Heidger, the Managing Director for M&C Saatchi World Services US, gave a keynote presentation to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) at their Worldwide Public Affairs Workshop in Oakland, CA. Tara presented commercial communications & branding best practices - sharing how public affairs officers can more authentically and effectively reach their global audiences. World Services is proud to partner with the public sector and sees great potential for the increase in use of authentic and emotional communications to help all areas of government achieve their public service objectives.

We’re excited to share our collaboration with IDRA Research & Consulting on the Next Generation Albania project, a landmark initiative in Albania commissioned by the British Council.    The first of its kind in the Western Balkans, Next Generation Albania is a comprehensive, mixed-method research study providing nuanced and in-depth insights into the aspirations and needs of Albanian youth.   The work led to vital policy recommendations and deep insights into the lives of Albania's youth, and supported the British Council’s ability to understand, develop, and advocate youth-based interventions.   Download the report ⬇️   https://lnkd.in/eaUNKJ_Q

This week we hosted our first ever NATO Gaming Tournament in #Warsaw, 🇵🇱. It was one of the highlights of our 2-year assurance campaign in #Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia focused on NATO’s protection. It is not the first time that NATO goes on Twitch to engage with gamers, but this time, it was a real privilege to host a gathering in person and discuss NATO with gamers through the night. Gamers are a valued community -in fact, half of the youth in Poland, men and women alike! The gaming space provides unique conditions to engage and chat in a quiet space, with no time limit, in open hearted conversations close to real fireside chats. Here in Poland 🇵🇱 , Russia’s brutal war in #Ukraine 🇺🇦 is a very concrete reality. It meant a lot to us that military colleagues from NATO’s Battlegroup in Poland were able to join for the night in Warsaw : 11000 #NATO troops are stationed in Poland right now, from the US, UK, Romania and Croatia. Russia’s war is being waged on all fronts, as colleagues from Polish Cyber Command know well. It was great to have them with us, in addition to diplomats from Polish MFA. (MSZ) Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland We are grateful for your presence, as this is what our message is about : military and civilians, students, journalists, gamers, tech experts, AI researchers, but also youth simply eager to share their interest in collective Defense and security. This event owes a lot to a great Polish personality who has been supporting our efforts to make NATO’s mission better known and understood for the past 6 months: Maciej Musial For this reason, we decided to award him with a token of our gratitude : he is the first recipient of our« Protect the Future Champion » title. A well deserved title for a wonderful personality whose commitment and passion we have learned to appreciate in common adventures at sea on the Gerald Ford, in Brussels, in Vilnius, in Warsaw.. We need the energy of such young champions, from all walks of life, who are eager to to engage and explain how the values they stand for resonate with their personal story. I am looking forward to NATO’s future gaming adventures. This time I failed to save my 🐥 from getting beaten up by a 🐸 on a billiard table, and I clearly need more practice to manoeuvre my animal AND talk about NATO at the same time. Total respect to all the gamers who managed to do both seamlessly! Also thanking my own team for trying it successfully Bruce Cinnamon Louisa Broeg Paula Redondo Alvarez-Palencia Ben Tufft Tomasz Szatkowski Małgorzata Hacuś Grzegorz Łyko

When you think of NATO, the largest military and political alliance in the world, what crosses your mind?   I don’t imagine you thought of gaming.   On Monday, NATO held its first ever gaming tournament in the incredibly cool Elektrownia Powisle, Warsaw, as part of its Protect the Future campaign. The event ran both IRL and was streamed on Twitch to an audience of tens of thousands.   Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 shattered peace in Europe and has brought fear and uncertainty to millions of people in NATO allied countries who neighbour Russia. The Protect the Future campaign was launched shortly thereafter to make sure young people across the Alliance know why NATO exists and what it does.   Over the past 6 months the campaign has focused specifically on assuring young people in Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania that NATO is capable and willing to defend them from attack. To protect their futures.    We’ve been working with young creators from these countries to give them privileged behind the scenes access, joining NATO operations on land, sea, and air so they can learn more about the Alliance and share their stories with their followers.    Monday’s tournament brought together popular gaming talent, the international gaming community, NATO experts and diplomats – including Marie-Doha Besancenot, the Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy - and serving NATO soldiers from the UK, US and Poland, and gave them a chance to engage with each other while gaming. It was ran in collaboration with Polish actor and Netflix star, Maciej Musial (of The Witcher fame), a Champion of the campaign.   The core of this idea is that meaningful and impactful communication isn’t about broadcasting a message. It’s about conversation. And it’s about having those conversations with the people you want to reach in a space they feel most comfortable having it.   There aren’t many conversations as important and sensitive as the ones NATO is having with young people right now so kudos to NATO for being bold enough to communicate in new ways and new spaces to great effect. (The final image below is a snapshot of some of the live Twitch feedback - there were many more comments like it). M&C Saatchi World Services