What is public affairs?

The communications branch of public affairs refers to activities conducted in an organisation to influence government policies, legislations and programmes, often through building a coalition of support.

It is synonymous with the term ‘lobbying’, which simply refers to any attempt by an individual or organisation to influence the decisions of the government. Unfortunately, the latter often has a negative connotation attached to it due to a few scandals in the past, such as the case of Conservative MPs, including Neil Hamilton in 1996, who were accused of accepting money in exchange for asking specific questions in parliament or two Labour peers, former energy minister Peter Truscott and ex-council leader Thomas Taylor, who allegedly claimed that they would assist in amending a bill that was going through parliament in exchange for a fee in 2009.

Perhaps ‘advocacy’ is a better, more positive term for ethical public affairs practices. After all, countless public affairs campaigns have successfully contributed to better policy changes that benefit societies and communities as a whole. In this blog, we will delve into a few case studies and assess the reasons behind its success.

Case Studies: Co-op and Refuge

In 2018, the Co-op group introduced the ‘Safer Colleagues, Safer Communities’ campaign, which came about after the stark increase in crime rates against shopworkers across the country, endangering the well-being and welfare of our valued members of society.

In 2021, the campaign successfully resulted in the Protection of Workers Act law in Scotland, giving retail workers more protection. Since then, recent data shows that the law has been used 7,955 times. Also, in 2021, the government amended the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill to recognise attacks against shopworkers as an aggravating offence in England and Wales.

The efforts continued, as 2023 saw a substantial increase in organised crimes in Co-op and retail stores, yet police response seemed to be poor. As a part of the campaign, Co-op gathered data and found that there were almost 300,000 incidents of shoplifting, abuse, violence and anti-social behaviour in 2023, up by 43% year-on-year. Yet, they also found that police failed to show up in approximately four-fifths of incidents. They also gathered images and CCTV footage of looting to support the campaign, and Co-op store employees were also given the opportunity to talk about their experiences.

The campaign garnered support not only from the public but also from other organisations, including John Lewis, Tesco and Asda. As the campaign quickly gained traction, the new Government Retail Crime Action Plan was introduced in October of 2023 to ensure police attendance in stores to tackle violence.

Another successful campaign can be seen from Refuge, a specialist domestic abuse organisation in the UK, which launched ‘The Naked Threat’ campaign in 2020 to call upon the government to make the threat to share intimate images a crime.

To strengthen their campaign, they commissioned a survey to gather data. They found that 1 in 14 adults in England and Wales, or 4.4 million people, have encountered threats to share intimate photos or videos,  young women being the demographic most likely to experience them.

They were also able to add depth to their campaign by amplifying the voices of those who had experienced image-based abuse, including ex-Love Islander Zara McDermott and their own brand ambassador, Natasha Saunders. These stories were incorporated into videos, which were a part of the digital assets they distributed to raise awareness.

A year after, in 2021, the government agreed to recognise threats to share intimate images as a crime under the Domestic Abuse Bill, signalling a victory for the campaign.

How to build a coalition of support

What can we learn from the examples of the two successful campaigns? There seems to be a base formula that works — the holy trinity of data, voices and images.

In PR, data is of utmost importance as it serves as ammo or credibility to convince our stakeholders, whether it is to convince the journalists of our client’s impactful work or to showcase to our clients the value of our services. In public affairs, it works similarly, except there is an even higher focus placed on the government as a stakeholder.

In a conversation with Curzon CEO Farzana Baduel on a PRCA Fuse podcast episode on meaningful campaigns, Campaigns, Public Affairs and Board Secretariat Director of the Co-op group Paul Gerrard explains, “As a former civil servant, I know that you make good policy, and, indeed, law when you have the most diverse set of evidence and data. But the truth is that the government has limited budgets and doesn’t always afford to get their data or that insight.”

“I think where lobbyists can add real value is by bringing into the policymaking process evidence that can help make better policy. Aside from the government, it exhibits to the public that the cause is of real concern and worth fighting for.”

Next, there is the aspect of amplifying the voices of the campaign. In both the Co-op and Refuge case studies, the voices of those most affected by the cause were further escalated. It is considered a form of storytelling, which many communications professionals regard as an especially powerful tool for genuinely connecting with an audience — evoking emotions such as empathy and influencing people to take action and involve themselves in the cause. 

While all voices are equally important, garnering the support of high-profile individuals, such as in the case of Zara McDermott backing Refuge’s campaign, could translate into the benefit of a higher audience reach. The same can be said for Co-op’s campaign, which received support from other major organisations.

Then, when it comes to images or digital assets in general, it again serves as a tool to enhance and strengthen stories. In today’s digital landscape, where attention spans are fleeting, strong visuals serve as invaluable assets for capturing and retaining audience interest amidst the relentless stream of information. It explains why social media posts with images perform better, with data showing that LinkedIn posts with images have a 98% higher comment rate and people are three times more likely to engage with Tweets that include images. 

However, what are some accessible yet equally impactful actions that an average person who does not have the resources or expertise for public affairs services can do to campaign for change?

Paul Gerrard states, “If you’re an individual and you’d like to see change, I would suggest that everyone remembers that fundamentally, MPs are not just legislators, but they are local representatives.”

“If you are passionate about a subject, get in touch with your local MP. Find others in your area who think the same — get them to get in touch with their MP, and ideally, find people across the country who can get in touch with their local MP.” Thankfully, social media allows us to find like-minded people and groups reasonably easily.

Paul Gerrard further elaborates that there are particular MPs who are phenomenal campaigners, such as labour MP for Swansea East Caroline Harris, who has been at the forefront of a campaign addressing the issue of child bereavement.

In short, building a coalition of support in public affairs campaigns demands a strategic combination of compelling elements: data, voices, and impactful imagery. To learn more about public affairs and strategies to create meaningful campaigns, tune in to the PRCA Fuse podcast on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team [email protected]