Toxic Shock Syndrome arrived like an explosion in the sanitary protection industry. No-one knew exactly what caused it, but expert opinion pointed to certain kinds of internal sanitary protection. Public opinion, and the media, assumed that all forms of internal sanitary protection were to blame. Adrian Wheeler and Christopher Broadbent conducted a six-year programme to defend the industry, which was innocent, and mitigate the reputational and business effects. Ultimately it became clear that mis-use of the industry’s products had caused the few instances of TSS which had occurred.
The Federation of American-Controlled Shipping represents owners – including oil majors – who choose, for economic reasons, to operate their fleets within open registries like those of Panama and Liberia. FACS called on Adrian Wheeler at Sterling PR to help when its members’ vessels were boycotted by European dockworkers orchestrated by the International Transportworkers’ Federation. The only solution was a change in UK employment law, and by means of close-up lobbying with the Government’s advisors this was eventually brought about. In parallel, a media campaign put the real case for open registries to combat the unions’ relentless misinformation.
The £1bn-a-year UK toy industry was hit by a bad surprise: the IBA had decided to phase out TV advertising for toys in the pre-Christmas period. The industry’s association – the BTHA – turned to Adrian Wheeler at GCI to find out why and what could be done to stop it. Acting rapidly, Wheeler discovered that the industry had no friends at opinion-forming and government level. Worse, people had completely the wrong idea about its safety record. The solution was the Lion Mark, a universal safety and quality symbol. The IBA recognised the right of the industry to freedom of commercial speech and the DTI ultimately described the BTHA as a model for British trade associations.
Ashton Morton Slack, Sheffield’s oldest-established law firm, became enmeshed in a political firefight while they were representing miners in the DTI’s health compensation scheme. Christopher Broadbent devised a communications plan which separated AMS from the herd. Working with the Law Society, Parliament and the media, he succeeded in re-establishing AMS’s standing as a reputable and trusted firm of solicitors in this highly emotive issue.
Dell retained GCI on a pan-European basis in 2001 to help transform their market profile. Adrian Wheeler led a team of 100 people whose job was to increase Dell’s profile in the enterprise sector while maintaining its leadership in the SME and consumer marketplaces. The key to success was to mobilise Dell’s management team in an intensive programme of speaking opportunities and interviews, which enabled these highly-successful entrepreneurs to talk about running a large corporation to other people who were running large corporations.
Yellow Pages is now part of the global directory business Yell plc, itself born out of the original UK-base directory firm. While it was still owned by BT, Christopher Broadbent began work with the CEO and senior management to prepare for the eventual private equity acquisition. He later managed communications strategy through a series of acquisitions in the USA, and subsequently through the IPO. In between he helped solve a number of critical issues including problems with the regulatory regime under which the business operates.
Jamaica depends on tourism. Its natural attractions are often obscured by headlines about violence and political instability. For 15 years, Adrian Wheeler and Christopher Broadbent fought to re-establish balanced reporting of Jamaica in Europe. Further, their work put Jamaica into the lifestyle, cultural and special-interest pages as well as increasing its profile in the holiday sections. Today, Jamaica is a first choice for families, couples and solo vacations from the UK and Europe.
British Airways hired GCI’s EMEA network in 1999 to help get control of communications around marketing, issues and crises. Adrian Wheeler managed a team of 60 people, all of whom were trained in British Airways’ crisis-management procedures, which are regarded in aviation as state-of-the-art. An early challenge for the team was the Air France Concorde crash in Paris, when BA and GCI became de facto spokespeople for both Concorde operators. A succession of operational and internal problems tested BA’s reputational assets to the limit; the role of the PR team was to maintain first-class relationships with Europe’s media throughout these trials.