Government ramps up international marketing as it emboldens ‘domestic purpose’ amid fake news

“Certainly, there is more of a tilt toward the importance of international marketing, particularly around promoting business,” said Alex Aiken, the government’s communications chief.

Nowhere is this shift more apparent than in the government’s GREAT Britain campaign, which from this month will be steered by the Department of International Trade rather than the Prime Minister’s Office. Conrad Bird, the marketer who headed up the campaign, will also make the move.

Aiken outlined his rationale for the switch: “In January, the GREAT Britain campaign will move to the Department of International Trade because we felt that it was better placed there as there’s a greater emphasis on exporting trade following the decision to leave the European Union.”

For all the shift in focus toward international shores, the government’s marketers still have domestic responsibilities to fulfill, namely employment, public health and the national living wage, the latter of which will rise to £7.50 from April.

First out the gate are three campaigns for Public Health England this month, the third consecutive year that they have run simultaneously over the New Year period. Childhood obesity with Change4Life’s Be Food Smart message, the Smokefree Heatth Harms campaign and the One You unhealthy lifestyles effort are now live, with M&C Saatchi, Ogilvy, 23Red, Freuds and MEC among the agencies involved.

While employment and public health are perennial public service campaigns, Aiken is mindful that the overarching messaging between all three - that the UK is a country “that works for everyone”- and that it takes on a greater purpose following a tumultuous 2016. So much so that the government’s marketers have doubled down on trying to better articulate how decisions (such as Nissan’s deal to continue investing in the UK after assurances from the government) will directly impact people.

“I think some of our emerging conclusions from the current state of politics in this country are around language, proof and locality,” said Aiken. “We’re trying to make sure that we speak to people in a way that resonates with them.”

The marketer went on to highlight how a campaign pitch he reviewed recently “felt written in SW1” whereas “I want work that will play across the country”. Aiken links this attitude to his teams’ efforts to reflect culture, something he said “we look at but also act on”, particularly now the possibility of the UK breaking up is back on the cards post referendum.

“Whether its reaching the right people or reaching a [specific] part of the UK, we’re very aware of it [ reflecting culture] for the simple reason that the government in Scotland is committed to talking itself out of the UK, which is a big threat. We’re keen to put the value in the UK and are keen to return to that discussion.”

Having the talent to create those messages is one thing but getting people to believe in them is another. The rise of fake news has made this harder and as is the case for last month’s presidential election is widely believed to be able to sway public opinion around political matters. Consequently, Aiken is “examining” and “analysing” the trend “to work out the scope of the problem”.

“The basic way you deal with that is to use true and relevant factual information to combat mistruths,” said Aiken. Admittedly, an obvious conclusion, he believes it noteworthy alongside the fact that “the UK government brand” when attached to “facts” does have a “positive impact” because people say “it’s come from a state of authority”.

Despite the breadth of the challenges ahead, Aiken believes the changes made to the way it develops campaigns will aid it and the 27 agencies it has chosen as partners. Under the old way of working, the government would have gone to great lengths to detail what was actually required from agencies, whether it was PR, marketing, digital, or something else.

However, this system has made a U-turn and agencies will now be asked to submit their own response to a brief, freeing them up to respond to challenges unhampered by bureaucracy, claimed Aiken.

“It was clear that people had been upset with the previous process, which they felt was time consuming so we’ve reduced the form to the top financial corporate essentials and then the response in terms of asking our agencies ‘how would you approach this problem in terms of objective, audience, strategy, presentation and sourcing,” he continued.

“Having this lighter process allows us to regularly put problems in front of agencies rather than specific solutions.”

Such a change means that the government has had to tweak the way it remunerates its agencies; a large part of it is the quality of the bid, confirmed Aiken, “but part of the price is still people”.

He continued: “We’ve changed the way we remunerate so that its weighted more heavily in terms of the quality of the bid than the day rates.”

It’s emblematic of Aiken’s colleague Conrad Bird, who headed up the GREAT Britain campaign, claim that he “needs ROI not eyeballs” in order to show the taxpayers money is delivering results. He made the comment to show how the government is putting the effectiveness of its advertising strategies under greater scrutiny as it adapts its marketing to the political and social upheaval sparked by the Brexit vote.

Aiken further added to this point: “I’m very clear that purpose of government communications is to improve people’s lives whether that’s helping them to start a business or change their diets, that’s what is about. Certainly, around our communications and marketing tables there’s a clear view that our purpose is to have a public impact. It’s not to run the most glamourous campaigns, it’s too run the most effective ones.“