“We took on London Communications Agency after a competitive pitch and they worked with us for two years at a very challenging time for the organisation and at a really tricky period for the political environment in which we operated. Throughout this time, LCA provided a really excellent service, giving us the big picture, strategic view as well as hands-on tactical media help – we rated their work very highly.”
LCA worked with London Underground (LU) maintenance firm Tube Lines from September 2008 until the business was acquired by Transport for London (TfL) in June 2010. During this time, LCA used its detailed knowledge of the capital’s people, politics, media, economics and geography to help Tube Lines strengthen their corporate identity amongst a wide range of stakeholders.
The challenges faced by Tube Lines during this period are well documented – there were issues associated with the PPP contractual arrangement, a difficult relationship with the Mayor/GLA family and a marked lack of support from the former Government, reluctant to publicly comment on all this.
LCA worked with Tube Lines to manage these issues by actively briefing stakeholders and the media to ensure that they were aware of the company’s position and the alternative argument to that presented by the Mayor’s Office, LU and TfL. It was essential that we understood how the political backdrop was influencing events and this helped us to anticipate major issues and avoid misrepresentations. LCA provided a valuable ‘fresh pair of eyes’, providing new insights and thoughts on how to best leverage the positives. Tube Lines’ position was subsequently well-reflected in the wealth of articles on the subject by the national, regional and transport press.
A key objective was to reach influential media titles and editors with key messages about how Tubes Lines were providing an efficient and cost effective service which had led to heightened customer satisfaction levels. Our creative approach allowed us to package stories that were suitable for mainstream media and non-traditional media, as well as specific transport trades. This ‘misplacement’ strategy gave the stories greater prominence and helped voice Tube Lines’ successes to new audiences.