Back to Blog

Turning Old into New

A big broadcast success in 2020 was Channel 4's ‘Escape to the Chateau’, attracting audiences of 3.4 million. This television programme has been on our screens since 2016. It follows the adventures of Dick and Angel Strawbridge moving to France with their young children, Arthur and Dorothy, to renovate a 19th century chateau and adapt to life in a new country. The completion of Brexit has moved the UK, politically, away from Europe, so it is ironic that ‘Escape to the Chateau’ has create...

Communicating in a Crisis

We are not going to tell you about Covid-19 or it’s impact on business .... as you have already seen endless amounts of coverage and are no doubt experiencing the ripple effect of this issue.   We are not going to tell you about what you need to do .... as you are already having to implement business contingencies to remain productive.  HOWEVER... We are going to remind you that communications need to be at the heart of everything you do with your employees, customers, suppliers...

Highbank Comms in the Business Bunker...

This week Clive was invited to join presenters Martin White and Laura Lawrence on to Kent's Business Bunker radio along with fellow guest Kevin Beck, listen here to a recording of the show and the importance of communications in business....

Bridging the Interim Communications Gap

Organisations may not need full-time communication professionals! This sounds a strange statement to make having operated in this area for all my working life and establishing Highbank Communications three years ago. So, let me expand.  VMA Group’s ‘Bridging the Gap’ report providing the latest insights into business leaders’ views on using interim communication professionals. Key findings from the report included topics such as change management and employee communicatio...

Gender Balance in Leadership

The latest Hampton Alexander Review on gender equality within top management roles has just been published. It points to good progress having been made in the last 12 months to increase female representation on all FTSE Boards and leadership teams but acknowledges there is still some way to go....

Andy Johnson joins UK team of Spoken Word Communications

Joining Clive and Elodie as Senior Associate Partners at Spoken Word Communications is Andy Johnson. Andy has been tasked with providing media, crisis and presentation training services to industries including oil and gas, chemical and utility....

Employees lead the way on business trust

The latest annual Edelman Trust Barometer finds global trust inequality is growing. It reveals worrying trends, with the largest ever drop in trust across governments, businesses, media and NGO's. This annual survey, The Edelman TRUST BAROMETER™, is now in its 17th year and is an established and authoritative indicator of organisational trust and credibility. Produced by the global communications marketing firm, Edelman, more than 33,000 people were surveyed representing 15% of the populati...

TV viewing has radically changed...

What is your favourite TV programme from over the last few decades? I suspect this is difficult to answer as there have been literally thousands. Do these TV titles spring to mind? And would you answer with these? The Thornbirds (1984) World Cup semi-final - England v Germany (1990) Eastenders - Episode: Who Shot Phil Butcher? (2001) These were among the most popular programmes ever to be broadcast in Great Britain. We know this as they led to some of the largest energy surges (or TV ...

More than a pair of shoes...

I was recently on holiday and noticed a small child walking around the resort swimming pool, carrying a pair of adult shoes. Nothing unusual here except the shoes were an eye-popping, crocodile-skin design. However, more remarkable was the fact that after just a few days, pretty much everyone in the resort could tell you who owned them! They belonged to a gentleman who looked like a cross between Shaggy from Scooby Doo and the lead singer of LMFAO, and wore heavy jewellery and eye-catching a...

Achieving the margin of success

The recent medal haul in the 2016 Rio Olympics by the Great Britain cycling team prompted competitors to question how they achieved this - particularly as the GB team had delivered downbeat performances at other cycling events earlier in the year. Iain Dyer, GB Cycling Head Coach, responded by saying the riders had peaked at the right time and cited his team's focus on assessing every detail of performance as pivotal to success: "We've got a really great team of people doing a fantastic job ...

Are you prepared for change?

It is nearly one month on since the Brexit vote. The need for all organisations to review current performance, determine future strategy and ensure they have superior resources, products and customer services to attract new business and fend off competitors, has never been greater. The referendum was a major milestone for the UK and ensuing events have been even more eye-opening. We've witnessed government upheavals, turbulent financial markets, overseas takeover of a major UK semi-conductor an...

Keep on top of your game...

Anyone in the media spotlight knows how the right response during a press conference or interview can elicit a positive reaction and reinforce credibility. Lewis Hamilton may not be to everyone's taste but his attempt to unify the country after these few weeks of unrest in the UK will do no harm to his public persona. Reflecting that, "There are people out there from all walks, from all different places, poor, wealthy, going through difficult times and on this day we come together and I think ...

Today's corporate affairs director, tomorrow's CEO?

The need for effective communication at the helm of an organisation is fundamental to building trust, understanding and favourability among key stakeholders. Get it wrong and results can be disastrous which we've seen with the Brexit outcome and the subsequent political, financial and social fall-out. It leads many to question exactly what they were voting for. Business leaders must have strong communication skills in their armoury so it's encouraging that a recently published report (by globa...

Are you glossophobic? Many of us are…

Mention the term 'public speaking' and there is a strong chance it will be accompanied by a discernible shudder, with many agreeing it is a frightening prospect. Glossophobia is the fear of public speaking. Findings from the National Institute of Mental Health survey in the US discovered that as many as 74% of us share this fear (75% women vs. 73% men). It's easy to assume that a good public speaker is a product of nature, not nurture, but that's not the case. Of course, there are those that re...

Highbank Communications to join forces with USA’s Spoken Word Communications

Highbank Communications Limited is pleased to announce that Managing Director, Clive Hawkins, has been appointed Senior Associate Partner with Spoken Word Communications. He will develop a new UK office for Spoken Word Communications with Saltus Consulting's former BP executive, Elodie Grant-Goodey, and provide media and presentation training services for the oil and gas, chemical, and utility industries. Highbank Communications' Clive Hawkins, commented; "I am delighted to partner with S...

Communication collaboration

Poles apart but sharing one goal.. The recent collaboration between a Formula One race team and hospital in Wales to use pitstop techniques to help with the resuscitation of newborn babies, is a great example of completely different work practices with similar time pressures, coming together to share experiences, best-practice and focus on achieving a highly positive outcome. What particularly caught my attention was the recognition that effective communication is crucial to the success of thi...

The Internal Communications Dilemma

As reported by BlueSky PR, a recent survey of over 500 Internal Communication (IC) professionals by VMA Group has highlighted a distinct lack of engagement. There may well be a myriad of reasons: Lack of company vision, strategy or purpose that inhibits successful employee engagement Increased pressure on IC professionals to devise new and innovative campaigns and drive stronger employee engagement ratings Internal resourcing issues Lack of IC profile or positioning within an or...

The Communication Leadership Balance

The recent article in PR Week, 'Are UK PR Agencies Ageist?' highlighted research undertaken by Fleishman Hillard Fishburn that showed chief executives of the UK's top PR agencies are predominantly under the age of 50, and this situation is leading to the dearth of senior practitioners at all levels across the agency industry. This clearly struck a chord among communication professionals. A wide range of comments have been voiced to raise concerns over this situation being unfair or unjust, sh...

The closing gap between engineering and academia

What is an engineer? A simple question but often answered in a myriad of ways, that shows the term 'engineer' means different things to different people. Over the years governments, institutions and companies have sought to show-case engineering, to promote its attractiveness as a career and halt the student intake decline in science and engineering subjects. While I am not an engineer, my father was and, having worked with engineers all my working life, I have seen at first-hand their expe...

David Bowie provided lessons to us all

The extensive media coverage around David Bowie's recent death, highlights the influence and respect he commanded among many generations of people. The numerous testaments to his music, fashion and persona show how he helped shape lives - despite many people never actually meeting him. His ability to inspire, lead change and engage using communication channels in ground-breaking ways defined David Bowie's legacy. Some powerful lessons here for all of us wanting to achieve similar outputs wi...

Communicating the renewable energy story

Good to see renewable energy is now playing a key role in helping meet UK's energy needs, with 11% of the UK's electricity generated by wind last year – up from 9.5% in 2014. Click here for the report. Having been talked about as an energy source of the future for many years, clearly it is now happening and will no doubt continue its upward trajectory in the energy mix going forward. However, there are still many opponents as there are supporters to this source of energy. Therefore it is ...