“IN THE NEW AGE MESSAGE IS KING”

October 31, 2014

“IN THE NEW AGE MESSAGE IS KING”

THE PENTECOSTAL CHURCH which bought the former cinema building at 25 Church Road five years ago have engaged a major PR firm as they bid to get church and community use for the building.

The long-awaited planning application from KICC (Kingsway International Community Centre) is, er, still awaited.

The PR team which KICC have employed is called Forty Shillings.

They are based at Bank Chambers, 2 The High Street, Thames Ditton, Surrey KT7 0RY

And the address where people were asked to send their responses to the KICC survey? THE OPEN DOOR HAVE YOUR SAY FREEPOST RTCC-HTSG-EUKK

2A HIGH STREET THAMES DITTON KT7 0RY

Forty Shillings website highlights some of their past triumphs, including this one:

POLITICAL INSIGHTOur team were appointed by a housebuilder to promote an 800 home development just three weeks before Planning Committee.Some 1,800 objections had been registered and it looked a lost cause.

But our political insight told us that the site was in a ward held by Opposition Councillors which the administration had no chance of winning.We were also aware that the Council were desperate for funding from the New Homes Bonus.

We helped identify a handful of supporters so the media and political debate looked more balanced.We also prepared briefing materials setting out the benefits of the increased funding.

The Planning Committee approved the application despite hundreds of opponents attending the meeting.

The above has a parallel with Crystal Palace ward in which 25 Church Road sits. Formerly Anerley ward, since the London borough of Bromley was set up in 1964 the ward has only ever returned Conservative councillors on one occasion.

That was back in 1968 when the Harold Wilson Labour government was deeply unpopular with the voters. Veteran Cllr Mabel Harvey lost her seat by 80 votes.At the council elections that year the Conservatives also took all three seats in the then Penge ward. (Labour held Mottingham and St Paul Cray wards, the Liberals held St Mary Cray and Chelsfield ward split with one Conservative and one Liberal)

Other case studies highlighted on the PR firm’s website include:

BUILDING COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Our team were appointed to manage the consultation for a mixed use scheme on a derelict but sensitive site in the Home Counties.

Developers had tried and failed to promote development on the site for 25 years so we knew it would be controversial.Sure enough the objector groups showed up in force at the consultation activities but the majority of residents – 66 per cent – told us they supported the development.

We knew the protesters would mobilise opposition and more than 1,000 letters of objections were submitted. But we were able to mobilise a similar number of advocates to register support and to bring many of them to the Planning Committee. Many supporters had become frustrated with the opponents and wanted the derelict site improved.

The council were able to put public opinion to one side, knowing that it was divided, and to focus on the planning merits of the application. The council approved the scheme.

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

Our team were brought in to manage a crisis communications issue for a client.A planning application for a major development had generated over 10,000 objections and was now the subject of critical national media coverage.

The client had focussed most of their efforts rebutting the allegations made by opponents.

This allowed them to build champions in the business community and provide a stronger argument with political audiences.It also helped shift the media debate away from the perceived negative impacts of the development onto a more balanced debate about the case.

Although the application was turned down by both the Planning Committee and independent Planning Inspector, the decision was overturned by the Secretary of State, who sited (sic) the economic arguments espoused by the local business groups as grounds for approval.

Forty Shillings also outline their philosophy which includes: Today, people are influenced by what they hear from their neighbours, the media and their online social networks. Debates now take place across a wide variety of communication outlets.

We prepare you to participate in that debate. In the new age, message is king.

We help you understand your audiences so you can shape your arguments around a narrative that will appeal to them.

We help you establish an evidence base that gives your case credibility.

We help you identify supporters to champion your cause, so you are not a lone voice in that debate.

And we will execute a bespoke campaign plan that will target your message to those that need to hear it.

We listen. We influence. We win.