Archive

Opinions

  • Corporate Affairs Trends for 2026

    December 10, 2025

    We’re pleased to share our latest 2026 Corporate Affairs Trends Report. Building on last year’s forecast, this year’s trends reflect data, observation, and conversations with clients at a time when uncertainty, pressure on communications leaders, and expectations from executives and stakeholders have only intensified. Each trend outlines what’s happening, why it matters in a landscape that is increasingly complex and rapidly evolving, and offers practical value as you plan for 2026 — including the impact...

  • Progress, not perfection: sustainability in the era of transparency and action

    October 23, 2025

    Sustainability has become a lightning rod for political debate in the past 12 months. However, our new research shows that sustainability remains a significant priority for businesses in the UK. In fact, two-thirds (66%) of UK business leaders report they are becoming more vocal as global debates intensify. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. While sustainability clearly remains high on the agenda, talking about it publicly feels increasingly daunting. The pressure to communicate effectively –...

  • Leading in the era of the compounding crisis

    October 2, 2025

    Written by Nic Daley and Hannah Cambridge Navigating an organisation through a crisis has always been one of the most demanding requirements of executive leadership. We’ve walked alongside leaders as they've faced the toughest moments of their careers, with crises threatening not only licence to operate, but livelihoods and life itself. And in the modern era, amidst turbulent geopolitical tension, conflicting expectations and unyielding scrutiny, these challenges no longer strike in isolation – they overlap...

  • Beyond the Basket: The cultural forces that are shaping how Gen Z shop

    March 19, 2025

    For Gen Z, the journey to purchase is not linear. It involves a complicated web of touchpoints cultural influences. The notion of brand love is changing as “hype” trend cycles speed up, new brands emerge, stale brands die, dead brands are resurrected and iconic brands trailblaze by staying culturally tuned into the behaviors and attitudes of their communities. In order to stay ahead of the curve, brands need to balance being omnipresent in the hearts...

  • Achieving Outsized Impact by Building Stronger Country Reputation

    February 18, 2025

    By Michael Hartt, Senior Partner & Head of International Affairs  View full report here. In a world of fragmented geopolitics, economic volatility and societal upheaval, countries around the globe are navigating greater complexity than ever before. They will be defined by how they navigate this pressure-filled landscape.   If they can do so successfully, the results are significant: economic opportunity, greater peace and security, progress on climate action, humanitarian crises and other challenges, and progress on...

  • Corporate Affairs Trends for 2025

    December 17, 2024

    We're pleased to share our latest 2025 Corporate Affairs Trends Report. Using data and research, our team has forecast key trends for 2025 that corporate affairs leaders and anyone doing communications with an element of corporate, reputation, crisis, or risk mitigation ought to be preparing for. Every trend includes background information, a specific articulation of what’s going to be happening, and, crucially, recommendations for practical actions. Trends forecasting is necessarily an exercise in opinion. There...

  • To drive business performance, we must master cultural alchemy

    July 11, 2024

      To drive business performance, we must master cultural alchemy Today’s business leaders are facing chronic disruption — inflation and cost pressures, AI and the digital revolution, geopolitical instability and societal issues. It’s taking a toll on business performance and heightening the pressure to transform, now and for the future, in an environment where the expectation is to somehow deliver more with less. Data shows that the most pressing challenge for global executive leaders is...

  • Democracy in 2024: Influence in an election year

    May 2, 2024

    We hosted the first event of our FHFuture Series - Democracy in 2024: Influence in an Election year; Implications and Watchouts for Business.  Among the speakers were journalists, influencers, youth and industry regulatory experts who each contributed unique and insightful perspectives from their industries and beyond. With the help of FH’s Head of News, Pete Meikle, Head of Public Affairs, Liam McCloy and the Consumer Team’s Nina Bautista, they delivered a fascinating discussion on topics...

  • Changing Communications Tack at Mobile World Congress

    February 21, 2024

    The last time I attended Mobile World Congress, it was before the iPhone had been launched in Europe. The world of telecoms – and PR – was very different. Pretty much every publication in the region sent a host of tech reporters, and the job of the PR was hosting 30+ briefings on stands where booth babes were still a standard accessory.  Fast forward to 2024, and comms at MWC is a very different story...

  • What we learned from our panel discussion on sustainability regulation and communications in 2024

    January 30, 2024

    It’s difficult to do justice in just one blog, to a one-hour conversation with four experts that covered the highs and lows of sustainability communications, but in the following words we certainly try! On Thursday 25th we hosted, Justine Grimley from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Louisa Humm from Chivas Brothers, Alex Lawson from The Guardian and our very own Holly Rouse, to talk about the future of sustainability regulation and communication in 2024. The...

OLDER