"The brand is our promise, our reputation is how well we live up to it. Or not."

Is that really the case? Is it that binary? Isn’t branding all about design and badges – the colours and shapes we can and cannot use as defined by the infamous brand police? Oh, and the odd expensive ad campaign or three?

Isn’t influencing and curating the firm’s reputation what we comms and corporate affairs people do?

Let’s accept that every organisation does need a brand and that brand needs to be managed. The little question is then; how can we comms people best work with and help our always snappily dressed brand colleagues down the corridor with their coloured pencils and fancy computers?

To discuss this little question are two Apella Advisors partners, Andrew Brown and Matt Young.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailingpodcast@apellaadvisors.com and if you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving us a review.

Matt Young is an Apella Advisors partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA. Experienced in corporate communications; public affairs and policy; regulatory affairs and risk; industrial relations; crisis and complex issues management; reputation turnarounds; campaigns, competition; and ESG. Former Head of Public Affairs and Public Policy at TSB Bank. Previously a Partner at a global communications agency and has worked in the media and politics.

Andrew Brown is an Apella Advisors partner, a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

At the Little Questions, we’re always at the forefront of current events – whether that’s the Great Fire of London or the Battle of Hastings, we’re ready to chew the topical cud on all manner of things but, as ever, wearing our PR and comms hats.

Today we're going to talk about:

• Whether corporations should dictate what words should and shouldn’t be used?
• 1 in 3 would have ‘complete confidence’ in AI handling crisis comms; 47% would be ‘somewhat confident’. Really? What does this mean for the comms and PR world?
• The corporate back-track. How to do it successfully.
• Marketing and comms joining forces, is it a trend?
• Anne Boden’s comments on men in gilets holding too much influence in business.
• Proactive versus reactive; are we seeing less proactive PR campaigns? Have media teams become just reactive functions that issue statements on issues? Are we losing the creative edge? Is that a result of businesses becoming too risk averse?

As ever, for you as a listener in the world of comms and beyond, we’ll extract the lessons learnt from all these stories and deliver them in this episode of The Little Questions.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailingpodcast@apellaadvisors.com and if you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving us a review.

Matt Young is an Apella Advisors partner with 25 years of experience in corporate affairs. He was Corporate Affairs Director at Lloyds Banking Group, part of the senior team which rescued the bank and rebuilt its reputation following the financial crisis. Formerly communications director at Santander UK and board member of the BBA. Experienced in corporate communications; public affairs and policy; regulatory affairs and risk; industrial relations; crisis and complex issues management; reputation turnarounds; campaigns, competition; and ESG. Former Head of Public Affairs and Public Policy at TSB Bank. Previously a Partner at a global communications agency and has worked in the media and politics.

Andrew Brown is an Apella Advisors partner, a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years’ experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.