MHP Group

Following the news about Sky News’ shift towards more premium content, our Director of Earned Media James Rollinson has penned a few words for PRWeek UK about the ongoing premiumisation of news and how brands can take advantage. Read more here. https://lnkd.in/e_cHS-Rg

In the business of benevolence: Can “high street brands” square the benevolence circle? Kate Gomes, Head of Strategy, shares her thoughts.   Despite a post-lockdown bump, the “death of the high street” has been decried for decades. This week’s news that high street stalwart WH Smith is planning to sell stores and focus on stations and airports, and that NatWest is closing more branches indicates this trend continuing unabated. We are being told high streets are being turned into banking and / or post office deserts, disproportionately impacting the least mobile and most vulnerable in society – often those with the least financial resources.   These formerly high street brands have a very challenging circle to square. Our trust model has three pillars of trust – Competence, Integrity and Benevolence – and by displaying one, they appear to be undermining perceptions of the other. On the one hand they are trying to display competence – showing investors and (high-value) customers they are well-run, making sound financial decisions and responding to cultural shifts. But on the other, they are being challenged for not being benevolent – not thinking beyond profit, not considering the desires of employees and truly caring about (all) their customers. However much they try to argue that mitigating measures included in their new plans will protect these audiences, detractors do not believe them. All businesses that need to cut costs and shift operations face these kinds of reputational trade-offs.   If I was advising Smiths (and I’m not) I would tell them that they can’t win on benevolence messaging. I would suggest using the third trust pillar – integrity – in their favour. In this case, this may mean starting with being honest about who is losing out – rather than pretending nobody is. This kind of honesty – which reflects what audiences and particularly those with a negative view already think – can build trust, even when the message is a bitter pill to swallow. By showing transparency about flaws, audiences assume you are being equally honest when communicating positive messages.     I would also lean into the organisation’s long-term values – showing consistency in what you stand for, while the mechanics of delivery change. And I’d take a long view on your impact, painting a positive (believable) vision of a medium-term future, that you are aiming towards. By sending a clear message about who you are and who you will continue to be, you may not win over every detractor immediately, but you form a basis of shared understanding on which trust can be rebuilt. https://lnkd.in/eYaNqWnw

Our latest quarterly ESG Insights report is out now. We look at the key ESG trends to be aware of in 2025, examine what a second term of Trump means for ESG standards, and consider the impact of AI on the world of sustainability. This quarter's Client in Focus is Oxford Instruments. Download here: https://lnkd.in/eXtbhDga

MHP Group’s Crisis and Risk Senior Director, Hannah Walsh, spoke to PRovoke Media about how Ticketmaster dealt with its summertime blues.

Yesterday, Lisa Hunter, our esteemed Head of Strategic Comms, joined public servants and policymakers from across the globe to share her expert advice at a masterclass organised by Apolitical. The session centred on the effective practices of governmental communication. Lisa offered her perspective on creating impactful messages for your target audience, building public trust, managing high-pressure situations and more. Watch the recording here: https://lnkd.in/ej6TP7rk

Our Capital Markets MD, James McFarlane, will be speaking on the panel at the upcoming LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) Marketplace webinar. Gain expert insights into the latest trends and legislative changes affecting AGM's, including key takeaways from the 2024 AGM season. Register now: https://lnkd.in/eiB3JU_2

Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta was removing restrictions on topics like immigration and gender, allowing for more politicised debate on its platforms. Will the decision to end Meta's third-party fact-checking program alienate brand trusters? Our Strategy Associate Director Sam Munteanu-Ward investigates the impact of this decision. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gViwze5Q

There are three elements of trust: Competence, Integrity and Benevolence. Our research and experience shows that where businesses and communicators are quick to grasp the importance of, and ways to deliver on Competence and Benevolence, communicating “Integrity” can prove more challenging.    But in many ways, Integrity is the closet to the definition of trust – an expectation of future behaviour. We see businesses or brands as having integrity when we understand what they stand for and when there is consistency between what they promise and their more ephemeral beliefs or statements and what they actually deliver.   By signing executive orders on stage at his inauguration, President Trump made an incredibly visible performance of Integrity. He showed his followers – and detractors – that nothing was more pressing than keeping his promises in key campaign issues, from January 6th  pardons to immigration.    For those of us who are not President of the United States, there are other ways to display Integrity impactfully, including being transparent about your flaws to making visible displays of the long-term impact of your work and consistency of principle. But by showing Integrity at its most extreme - like him or loathe him - Trump has set a high standard for other politicians and business leaders to follow.   Learn more about building trust using Competence, Integrity and Benevolence (the CIB Model) here https://lnkd.in/eYaNqWnw or get in touch with our Head of Strategy, Kate Gomes.

Since our Polarisation Tracker began in 2021, some key themes have emerged: - A distrust of elites and institutions across the UK population - The emergence of Net Zero as a focal point for elite distrust  - The gradually declining power of Brexit as a source of polarisation Wave 8 of our Polarisation Tracker is the first to be conducted during a Labour government. What has changed? Download the report here: https://lnkd.in/eDVWszz8

Since 2021, The MHP Polarisation Tracker has provided an early warning system for trends including the brand purpose backlash, Net Zero hesitancy, medical expert skepticism and the rise of SuperDistrusters. Our research has helped brands and leaders foresee and navigate some of the biggest faultlines in British society and protect trust in their brands. In our latest report, we have focused on the question of how polarisation will shape the Labour Party’s first term in power for 14 years, is out now. Download here: https://lnkd.in/eDVWszz8