CASE STUDY
With domestic economic growth stalling and favourable tax incentives, unsustainably and cheaply produced Chinese steel products had been flooding the UK and European markets in vast quantities. British steel producers were suffering as Chinese imports increased to occupy more than 40% of the market.
In a bid to level the playing field for domestic producers, PLMR developed a strategy that would see local authorities and large construction companies sign a Charter which committed them to procuring British steel. The first objective of the campaign was to secure political buy-in for the Charter, before leveraging this support to put pressure on corporate targets. After a parliamentary debate on the topic, PLMR secured an official endorsement from the UK Government, which “welcomed” the Charter.
Publicly, PLMR launched a media campaign that secured targeted and high-profile media coverage in outlets including The Telegraph and Financial Times. This highlighted the plight faced by the industry, so corporations and local authorities came under intensified pressure to support the British steel industry. PLMR then delivered an intensive contact engagement programme with corporate targets which saw immediate results. We engaged with decision-makers at the country’s largest construction companies, our communication resonated with each company’s individual organisational objectives to ensure the best chance of Charter adoption.
We secured the signature of Balfour Beatty, the UK’s largest construction and infrastructure company, which committed to procuring British steel. A week later, Morgan Sindall, a construction company with an annual turnover of £2bn, also committed to signing the Charter, and after several months campaigning the Government’s procurement guidance was updated to give preference to domestically produced steel, thereby delivering an enormous commercial boost to the British steel industry.
PLMR’s crisis communications experience is second to none, and includes pre-emptive and reactive work across traditional and social media channels. We work with a range of organisations to offer critical communication support when they are faced with difficult and challenging scenarios.
