Cavendish’s sector insight, media expertise and genuine passion for what they do are exemplary. They embedded with us right from the start as an extension of our inhouse communications team, fostering productive relationships across CITB.
Mark Knight,
Head of Marketing & Communications,
CITB
Background
With more than 251,500 extra construction workers required over the next five years to keep up with current and future demand, the need to attract and retain more people in the sector is greater than ever.
As the designated industry training board for the construction sector, CITB’s purpose is to support the industry in growing a talented, inclusive workforce, with the overarching goal of building a better Britain.
Cavendish began working with CITB in late Spring 2024 with a clear brief – to demonstrate the value the organisation brings to the sector by building share of voice and managing its reputation in the media, shifting a predominantly negative narrative to more balanced, positive coverage.
Strategy
We combined vital first-hand input from CITB – gathered through immersion workshops and one-to-one sessions – with our own insight and analysis as a firm foundation for our strategy development.
This strategy focuses on the overarching aim of demonstrating value to construction employers and stakeholders at national, regional and local levels – positioning CITB as the authoritative industry body for ensuring the workforce is well-trained, competent and trusted.
It seeks to increase industry and political confidence in CITB by highlighting its sector expertise and understanding of the skills needed, and showcasing the benefits its programmes and initiatives provide to employers and employees. A core element of the strategy is building profile for CITB’s executive leadership team as authoritative thought leaders on construction training and skills.
Our delivery of this strategy is anchored around an agile blend of proactive and reactive media engagement at all levels. Proactively, we have built a drumbeat of positive news through a combination of media outputs – media releases, opinion pieces, feature articles, spokesperson interviews and comment, and background briefings – with our wide network of journalists across national, regional and trade press.
We run a dedicated press office for CITB, providing responsive, reactive media support for inbound media enquiries and ensuring further share of voice for CITB.
Alongside this, we have developed a full crisis and issues communications protocol to ensure CITB is prepared for challenging situations that might compromise its reputation.
Our bespoke media training service has also helped ensure that CITB’s core spokespeople, are ready to handle different media scenarios.
The
results.
In the first three months of working with CITB, we delivered 122 pieces of media coverage – with 96 spokesperson inclusions and an average share of voice of 77%. We have secured a high number of national articles (19) and broadcast interviews (8) as well as achieving significant trade media content in key construction titles (89 articles).
National coverage achieved includes The FT, The Times, and Express, BBC Radio 4, LBC Radio.
122
Media coverage pieces.
77%
Share of voice in 96 spokesperson inclusions.
