Author: Joshua Orie

January is always a natural time to pause and look ahead, but for the UK housebuilding sector, 2026 feels particularly significant. Recent headlines highlight a slowdown in construction, with activity falling to its lowest level since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and the housebuilding subindex dropping to 33.5 in December 2025.

Yet, beneath the headlines, there is cause for optimism. Ambitious initiatives – from the Inverness and Cromarty Green Freeport to Greater Manchester’s £1 billion Good Growth Fund – signal a forward-looking, innovative period for the UK’s housebuilding sector.

BIG has spent 25 years working alongside many of the UK’s leading housebuilders, and in that time, we’ve supported clients across the sector to navigate highs and lows, yet today housebuilding stands at a critical juncture. As policy ambition outpaces delivery, effective communication is becoming as critical to progress as bricks and mortar.

A sector under pressure

The UK continues to face a well-documented housing crisis, with planning constraints, systemic delays, rising construction costs, labour shortages and scrutiny from local communities making delivery complex. Between January and September 2025, planning permission was granted for just 209,781 homes – the lowest annual total since 2013 – highlighting the gap between ambition and delivery. In Scotland, Skills Development Scotland predicts the construction sector will need at least 10,000 additional roles by 2028 to meet demand.

Shaping perception shapes progress

In many communities, housebuilding is still viewed negatively, whether due to perceived increases in traffic congestion, environmental impact, or pressure on local services. Without proactive storytelling, these narratives dominate, yet we know that well-planned development brings real benefits, from investment in local infrastructure to economic activity and community regeneration.

Strategic PR, targeted public affairs, community engagement and targeted digital marketing allow housebuilders to tell the full story early, with consistency and credibility. By combining data-driven insights with compelling storytelling, communications can shape understanding and drive support, ensuring communities, buyers and investors are engaged with the wider social and economic benefits of new developments.

A digital-first buyer journey

Digital channels now dominate the buyer journey. Our analysis from BIG’s work with leading UK housebuilders shows that prospective buyers engage with nearly ten digital touchpoints across three to five channels before making contact. On average, this journey spans 25 days, with buyers viewing 37 website pages before enquiring.

This complexity highlights the importance of strategic, audience-focused digital marketing. From first click to sale, communications must guide potential buyers through multiple stages, nurturing confidence and building trust.

Reputation, trust and long-term confidence

Housebuilders face growing scrutiny from regulators, policymakers, and the public, while simultaneously contending with persistent skills shortages and rising expectations around ESG commitments. In this context, reputation is paramount.

A joined-up approach to communications and digital marketing helps housebuilders demonstrate value more clearly across the whole development process.

The story matters as much as the numbers

The challenge facing UK housebuilding in 2026 is not just about meeting delivery targets – it’s about building confidence: for buyers making life-changing financial decisions, communities weighing the impact of new development, policymakers shaping long-term housing strategy and investors backing ambitious projects.

This year, we believe that there is reason to be positive, but success will depend on more than bricks and mortar, with communications playing a fundamental role. Through storytelling, PR, and digital engagement, homebuilders can shape understanding, foster trust, and create lasting support.

Your website may look healthy on Google today, but that no longer guarantees you’ll be found tomorrow. A growing share of customers are skipping traditional search entirely and turning to AI tools for recommendations, comparisons and answers.

If those systems can’t see or understand your site, you’re effectively invisible at the very moment buying decisions are being shaped. For businesses that want to remain competitive online, adapting to how AI-powered search works isn’t a future concern, it’s an immediate one.

Your site is on page one. Organic traffic looks healthy. Job done.

But revealing new research has unveiled that 60% of internet users now use AI assistants as their first port of call for search, according to Bain & Company. A quarter start in ChatGPT or Perplexity before they ever open Google. And key to all of this is knowing that most AI crawlers – which gather the material these Large Language Model (LLMs) feed off – can’t read your website.

Where your customers are searching

AI-powered search isn’t a niche behaviour anymore. Cloudflare’s 2025 data shows user-triggered AI crawling, the bots that fetch pages when someone asks ChatGPT a question, grew more than 15 times over the course of this year alone. That’s not training data collection; that’s real people asking AI for recommendations, comparisons, and answers in real time.

If your website can’t be read by these systems, the answer they get won’t include you.

Why AI crawlers can’t read most websites

Google has spent over 25 years building infrastructure to handle messy websites. Googlebot can execute code, wait for content to load, and process modern frameworks. It learned to cope with whatever developers threw at it.

AI crawlers haven’t had that time. Vercel and MERJ , collaborative partner companies, primarily known for their joint research into how search engines crawl and index content, tracked over 500 million requests from OpenAI’s GPTBot and found zero evidence of code execution. The same applies to Anthropic’s ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot – none of the major AI crawlers currently render JavaScript.

What does that mean in practice? If your website loads its main content dynamically – which most modern websites do – AI crawlers see an empty page. They’re reading your site the way browsers did 20 years ago, before the technology that powers most of today’s web even existed.

What happens when you’re invisible

When AI can’t read your content, it doesn’t return an empty answer. It fills the gap with whatever it can find.

Sometimes that means citing a competitor. Your potential customer asks for a recommendation, and someone else gets mentioned because their site was easier to read.

Sometimes it’s worse – AI tools present made-up information about your products, services, or company as fact. Without your actual content to ground the response, there’s nothing stopping hallucination.

Either way, the information reaching your customer comes from somewhere else, or nowhere at all. You’ve lost control of your own narrative in a channel that’s growing fast.

What to ask your team for

None of this requires chasing a new tactic or gaming another algorithm. The fixes are foundational – things your developers may already know how to do, but haven’t prioritised for this use case.

Content that doesn’t need code to display. Ask whether your key pages work without JavaScript. If your main content only appears after the browser runs code, AI crawlers won’t see it. The technical solutions (server-side rendering, static generation) are well-established. Your dev team will know what you mean.

A site structure that’s easy to navigate. Redirect chains, broken links and convoluted URL structures waste AI crawlers’ limited patience. Ask for a flat, logical structure with clear internal linking – good for users, good for Google and now essential for AI visibility too.

Context for machines, not just humans. Schema markup (also called structured data) helps AI systems understand what your content means. It clarifies whether “Apple” refers to the fruit or the company. It tells AI which page describes your services and how your content connects to broader topics. Ask whether your key pages have valid schema in place.

A deliberate decision on crawler access. Some sites accidentally block AI crawlers entirely. Others haven’t considered whether they should allow access at all. Ask your team to check your robots.txt file and make a conscious choice about which crawlers can see your content.

Three checks you can run yourself

1. View your site with JavaScript disabled. In Chrome, open Developer Tools, press Cmd+Shift+P (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows), type “Disable JavaScript” and select it. What you see now is roughly what AI crawlers see. If your main content disappears, you have a visibility problem.

2. Look at your robots.txt file. Visit yoursite.com/robots.txt and search for GPTBot, ClaudeBot, or PerplexityBot. If you see “Disallow: /” next to any of them, your site is blocking that crawler entirely. Decide if that’s intentional.

3. Test your structured data. Google’s Rich Results Test shows whether your schema markup is valid and present. Missing or broken markup means AI has less context to work with.

If any of those checks flag something – or you’re not sure what the results mean – we’re happy to help. And if you don’t have a dev team to ask, get in touch to find out how we can help you understand whether you’ve been impacted.

There are a lot of brands that look good.

Strong logo. Confident colour palette. A well-considered look and feel. All that matters and it always will.

But on its own, it’s rarely enough.

As brands grow, evolve or change, the cracks tend to appear elsewhere. Messaging starts to drift. Decisions take longer. Creative work becomes harder to agree on. Different teams tell slightly different stories.

That’s usually not a design problem. It’s a clarity problem. A lack of a North Star.

What we mean by a North Star is a clear, shared idea that sits underneath the brand, bringing your mission, vision, values and proposition together, and helping everyone make consistent decisions.

Nike is one of the clearest modern examples of a North Star done properly.

Its core idea, “to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world”, isn’t a campaign line. It’s a decision filter.

“Just Do It” is the expression of that idea, not the idea itself. The difference matters.

Because when the North Star is clear, the creative work can evolve without the brand losing its way. Nike hasn’t stayed relevant because it’s produced a better ad every year. It’s stayed relevant because its core belief hasn’t wobbled, even as the expression of it has changed.

The look shifts. The tone adapts. The cultural references move on. But the direction stays fixed.

That’s what effective brand development looks like.

Not decoration for decoration’s sake, but a clear sense of direction that sits beneath the logo and campaigns, quietly guiding decisions over time.

Clarity doesn’t replace creativity. It supercharges it.

There’s a common assumption that putting structure around a brand limits creativity. In reality, the opposite is usually true.

When teams are clear on the direction, creativity becomes sharper, not smaller. Designers make braver choices. Writers know what tone to lean into. Campaigns feel more confident because they’re rooted in something solid, not just what feels right in the moment.

Instead of debating personal taste, conversations shift to a better question: Does this move the brand in the right direction?

That’s when creative work starts working harder.

You can see this principle clearly with challenger brands like Monzo.

Its North Star around making money work better for everyone shows up in behaviour as much as communication. From how it explains issues, to how openly it talks about mistakes, the brand consistently chooses clarity over polish.

That confidence doesn’t come from creative bravery alone. It comes from knowing what the brand is there to do and using that as a guide for everyday decisions.

A North Star turns complexity into clarity

As organisations grow, complexity is inevitable. New audiences, new products, new markets and more people involved in decision-making.

Without a North Star, that complexity often leads to fragmentation. Different messages for different teams. Inconsistent tone. Lots of good intentions pulling in slightly different directions.

This is where a strong North Star acts as a unifier. Not by being restrictive, but by being clear.

Gymshark is a strong example, particularly as the brand has scaled rapidly across markets, teams and audiences.

Gymshark’s North Star is helping people look good and feel confident in fitness.

It’s an idea that started in a garage. When Ben Francis began printing T-shirts in 2012, the gap was simple: gym wear that worked for training but felt good enough to wear beyond it. That clarity still guides the brand today.

The brand knows who it’s for, what it celebrates and what it doesn’t need to chase.

It’s not just what you say. It’s how you decide.

When a North Star is working properly, it shows up everywhere.

It shapes the story you tell. It sharpens your messaging. It influences how the brand behaves, not just how it looks.

Most importantly, it becomes a filter. A way of deciding what to prioritise, what to lean into and what to leave behind as the brand evolves.

That’s when brand stops being a layer applied at the end and starts becoming something that genuinely drives the business forward.

Direction first. Expression follows.

A strong brand isn’t about changing who you are. It’s about being clearer and more consistent in how you’re understood.

The logo, the visual identity and the creative work all matter. But they work best when they’re built on something solid underneath.

Because when everyone is aligned on the direction, creativity doesn’t disappear.
It just starts pulling in the same direction.

When I look back at my years running a creative production company, pitching for global brands, managing crews, perfecting lighting setups, building big sets from scratch, I often think: What if we’d known then what we know now?

Because today, the most powerful stories brands own aren’t the ones crafted in boardrooms or directed in studios. They’re the ones lived, shared, filmed, and posted by real people.

Welcome to the era where user-generated content (UGC) isn’t an add-on. It’s the heartbeat of trust, loyalty, and persuasive storytelling.

The trust gap is real and UGC closes it

Audiences are fatigued. They’re exhausted by being “spoken at.” They’ve seen enough glossy ads to last a lifetime.

Polished brand content still matters, it inspires, reassures and signals quality. But it’s no longer the whole story.

What cuts through now are lived moments. Quick takes. Imperfect honesty. UGC works because it feels real. Not rehearsed. Not scripted. Not filtered into oblivion.

When someone shows how they genuinely use your product or service, it stops being a sales pitch and becomes social proof. And that kind of proof carries more weight than any headline or campaign strapline ever could.

UGC gives a brand something priceless: humanity.

Studio-level content plus real customer voices = a complete story

I’ll never argue against production values. Beautifully crafted creative builds emotion and anchors a brand in quality.

But here’s the magic: when you combine polished content with UGC, you get a 360° narrative.

The cinematic brand film builds aspiration.
The clip shot on a smartphone builds trust.
The selfie review builds relatability.
The comment thread becomes its own story.

The mix gives audiences the whole truth, ‘This is who we are, and this is how we live in people’s lives.’

UGC doesn’t replace brand content. It completes it!

UGC isn’t chaos, you can shape without smothering it

One of the biggest fears I hear from brands is: “If we embrace UGC, we’ll lose control.” You won’t, as long as you’re intentional.

Here’s how to manage UGC Strategically while keeping it fun, inclusive and on-brand:

1. Set the stage, don’t dictate the script

Give people a simple prompt, theme, or challenge. Light guidance helps content stay usable without losing the creator’s authentic voice.

2. Make creators feel valued

A repost, a comment, or a shoutout is often more motivating than any prize. People love to be seen, especially by brands they care about.

3. Invite participation not perfection

Some of the most engaging UGC is wobbly, spontaneous, even messy. When brands show they’re open to imperfection, participation grows.

4. Moderate with common sense

You don’t need to sanitise UGC into blandness. You just need clear boundaries for safety, legality and brand protection.

5. Amplify UGC across the whole customer journey

Don’t leave it on social feeds. Use it everywhere: landing pages, product pages, paid ads, onboarding journeys, events.

When customers see people “like them” across touchpoints, trust skyrockets.

Making UGC fun, because that’s where the best content comes from

UGC thrives when participation feels like play and NOT work. You can spark this by creating:

Mini challenges
“Show us how you…” moments
Before/after trends
Customer “spotlights” or features
Behind-the-scenes looks from real users
Fun twists: bloopers, fails, hacks, unexpected ways of using your product

People want to join in when the brand energy feels relaxed, human, and joyful. If you want great UGC, give people permission to enjoy themselves.

This isn’t a trend. It’s the future of brand storytelling

UGC works because people trust people. They always have and they always will. When brands invite customers into the narrative, two powerful things happen:

Trust goes up.
Loyalty deepens.

Brands become less like institutions and more like communities. Less polished perfection, more lived reality. Less messaging, more connection.

UGC isn’t replacing big creative ideas. It’s amplifying them in ways we couldn’t have imagined a decade ago.

This is the future: Polished storytelling paired with real human experience, working together to build credibility, relatability and long-term loyalty.

And when brands lean into that truth, they don’t just reach people. They move them.

Three global brands that are doing this well, consistently using UGC in a smart, strategic and trust building way are:

GoPro – Turning customers into an extension of their creative department.
Glossier – Beauty build on real people Not Models.
Gymshark – A fitness brand built from the ground up through its community/

What are the key takeaways for other brands?:

Give people the tools, permission and pride to show off what your product can do. They’ll build your brand for you.
When your customers see people who look like them, trust skyrockets. UGC here isn’t content, it’s culture.
UGC works best when it celebrates people, not products. Gymshark nailed this.

Another great example and created by my wonderfully talented friend Don McGrath Jet2holidays, the travel brand went viral through pure, joyful UGC.  “Nothing Beats a Jet2holiday” combines the upbeat song “Hold My Hand” by Jess Glynne.

So, you want to get an extra 10% out of your creative. You’ve got your social media team doing their thing, your email folk cracking on with newsletters and your telly ad is looking mint. But if they’re all shouting different things, you’re not getting your money’s worth. It’s like having a full-time job where everyone’s working separate shifts, it’s a chaotic mess.

The secret is all down to a bit of brilliant creative. It’s the glue, the main event, the thing that makes all those bits and bobs pull together in the same direction. And when they do, you’re looking at a serious boost to your revenue. We’re talking about giving your marketing budget a steroid injection.

The idea that’s got legs (and runs a marathon)

Too many campaigns are like a dodgy firework: a quick fizz, a bang, and then nothing. This is a waste of money and a missed opportunity to develop an idea that’s got the backbone to cross all channels and last longer than a rainy bank holiday weekend.

A truly cracking creative idea is channel-agnostic. It doesn’t care if it’s on a billboard, a TikTok video, or an email banner; it just works. It gives your brand a unified voice, so whether a customer sees you on Instagram or hears you on the radio, they know instantly it’s you. It builds what the clever clogs call “brand memory structures,” which basically means people remember you when it’s time to buy.

A cracking example would be the “Share a Coke” by Coca-Cola.

This campaign is one of the most successful examples of a truly channel-agnostic, enduring creative idea that built massive brand memory structures.

Using the Coca-Cola product as a vehicle for personal connection and self-expression, the iconic logo on bottles and cans was replaced with common names and phrases like “Share a Coke with Sarah” or “Share a Coke with a Friend.”

It worked across all channels Product/In-Store, TV & Print, Social Media (UGC), Out-of-Home (OOH), Digital/Website. It really ran that marathon.

Why is this a big deal? Because consistency pays. According to the IPA and system 1 campaigns which had creative consistency were 6x more profitable than companies who didn’t have a culture of consistency with their creative. That 10% we spoke about at the start isn’t just a number plucked out of thin air, it’s hard graft paying off. When your creative is consistent, every single touchpoint works harder.

The power of originality

Let’s be honest, scrolling through the internet is mostly a chore these days. Endless ads, boring copy, same old stuff.

But a proper good piece of creative? That’s what people actually want to see. It’s fun, it’s engaging, and it stands out like a peacock at an Emu party. Creative advertising uses original ideas and clever storytelling to capture attention and, crucially, elicit an emotional response. When you make someone feel something, a chuckle, a surprise, a bit of nostalgia and they don’t just notice your ad, they remember your brand. The more original, innovative, and new your creative is, the more likely folk are to engage, share it, and ultimately see your brand. Creative isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s the engine room of engagement.

Stop being scared (we need bolder briefs)

Right, now this one’s on you lot, the clients. We can have the best, most talented creative teams in the world, but if you give us a brief that’s duller than a wet Monday morning, you’re going to get dull work back. Simple as that.

We need briefs that are bolder and braver. We need you to tell us the big, scary problem you need to solve, not the perfectly safe, beige solution you think you want. The most successful campaigns in history; the ones that become part of the culture, not just a line in a spreadsheet.

When the brief is strong, clear, and ambitious, it gives us the runway to develop those “big ideas” that can genuinely live across all your channels for years. It allows us to create the kind of work that doesn’t just sell a product, but builds a community and makes your brand stand for something bigger. If you’re willing to ask for a masterpiece, we’re ready to paint it. Stop asking for beige, and start asking for technicolour.

The takeaway is simple: Creativity is not a soft discipline; it is a hard commercial driver. When it is used to unify channels, elevate engagement, and is fuelled by ambitious strategic direction, it is guaranteed to deliver a substantial and demonstrable uplift to your marketing performance.

For those in the renewable energy sector, the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme is the financial backbone of Britain’s clean power future. For those outside it, it can sound like a plotline written by a committee of economists after too much coffee. Yet behind the acronym lies one of the most powerful policy tools driving investment in low carbon generation.

And, crucially, one of the richest storytelling opportunities for developers looking to stand out in a crowded and highly scrutinised market.

The CfD scheme provides long-term price certainty for renewable electricity generators by guaranteeing a fixed strike price for the power they produce. When wholesale prices fall below that level, the scheme tops up the difference. When they rise above it, developers pay back the excess. The result is a mechanism that reduces exposure to volatile energy markets and makes large-scale investment bankable

.

That stability has helped transform the UK into a renewables powerhouse. From vast offshore wind farms to rapidly expanding solar arrays, CfDs have underpinned billions of pounds of investment and thousands of jobs. Yet, as every developer knows, the landscape is shifting again.

A new round, a new rhythm

The government’s seventh Contracts for Difference allocation round, AR7, is now in motion. For offshore wind projects, the results are expected between the second half of December 2025 and the second half of February 2026, depending on appeals. For other technologies, announcements will likely arrive in late 2025 or early 2026.

The financial and policy adjustments introduced for AR7 have real implications for how developers position themselves. The contract term for many key technologies is being extended from fifteen to twenty years. That means longer revenue certainty for investors but also a longer period of public expectation. A project’s reputation will now have to last for two decades, so consistency and transparency in communication will be vital.

Maximum strike prices have been raised, with offshore wind seeing an increase of around 11% to reflect cost pressures and inflation. While this will come as a relief to developers, it also attracts fresh attention. The public will want to understand why prices are rising and what this means for consumers. Developers will need clear, credible explanations to build trust and demonstrate value.

There are also changes to eligibility. Some fixed-bottom offshore wind projects can now apply even without full planning consent, subject to certain conditions. This creates flexibility but also invites scrutiny about deliverability and environmental responsibility. Communicating progress and managing expectations will be essential for maintaining confidence among investors, regulators and the public.

Perhaps the most significant structural change is the introduction of separate timelines for offshore and non-offshore wind technologies. This signals that the government wants to accelerate deployment in offshore wind while maintaining fairness across other technologies.

The opportunity ahead

Allocation Round 7 represents a defining moment for the UK’s renewable sector. The government is recalibrating policy to keep investment flowing, strengthen supply chains and accelerate delivery. Developers are gearing up for a competitive process that will shape the energy landscape for the next decade. At the same time, public interest in clean energy has never been higher, and neither has scrutiny.

When results are announced, some projects will find themselves front and centre of national headlines. Those who have invested in their communications now will already have the credibility, goodwill and clarity to make the most of that spotlight.

At BIG, we believe the CfD may guarantee a price, but it is strong communication that guarantees confidence. Our experience in energy means we understand both the policy detail and the public mood. We know how to explain a strike price without sounding like a textbook and how to make a grid connection date sound like a milestone worth celebrating. The countdown has already begun. Now is the time to prepare your narrative and ensure that when your project powers up, your story does too.

For years, marketers have repeated the line: “we’re not selling to businesses, we’re selling to people.”

Yet, much of marketing – especially in B2B – still sounds like it’s written for boardrooms, not for the humans sitting inside them.

While the discipline prides itself on logic, data and ROI, the brands that break through are those that remember one simple truth: emotion drives decisions.

Trust. Confidence. Belief. These are what make people choose you, whether they’re buying software, shoes or office space.

Why B2H Matters

At the heart of every marketing decision lies a human being, not a business or a job title.
Someone simply looking for something that makes their life, task or business easier, better, or more successful.

That means your campaigns and messaging must resonate on a human level and be clear, relatable and emotionally engaging – regardless of whether you’re selling to a consumer or a professional.

Empathy isn’t the opposite of commercial thinking. It is commercial thinking.

Because when people feel understood, they act with confidence.
And confidence converts.

The Problem: We’ve Mistaken Intelligence for Impact

Somewhere along the way, marketing became obsessed with sounding clever instead of connecting clearly.

We write for approval, not emotion.
We obsess over touchpoints, not turning points.
And we wonder why even the smartest campaigns struggle to land.

This is especially true in B2B, where brands have confused complexity with credibility. But it’s a trap plenty of B2C marketers fall into too – trying so hard to be clever, they forget to be clear.

When everything sounds the same ‘trusted partners’ ‘innovative solutions’ ‘delivering excellence’ – people simply stop listening.

Your buyer isn’t a “decision-maker.” They’re a person trying to make a decision – probably after five meetings, two coffees and one existential crisis about budget cuts.

That’s where empathy comes in.

The Shift: From B2B and B2C to B2H

B2H isn’t about being more emotional for the sake of it. It’s about understanding the emotion that drives logic.

Because behind every rational decision is a very human motivation – to look capable, to feel confident, to make something work better.

When you shift your thinking from what we sell to what they feel, everything changes:
your tone becomes warmer, your content becomes clearer, and your brand becomes more trusted.

The smartest brands don’t just understand their audience – they feel them.
The most rational thing you can do in marketing is connect emotionally.

Make Empathy Commercial

Empathy doesn’t mean being fluffy. It means being focused on the human factors that actually move money.

Here’s how to make it pay off.

Understand the person behind the label
Forget “IT Director.” Think James, who’s terrified the new system will crash on launch day.
Forget “busy parent.” Think Emma, who’s juggling three tabs, two kids and one cold cup of coffee.
Empathy isn’t a mood. It’s a map of their mental load.
Design for their reality
From how you structure your website to how your sales team or social feed shows up, design around how people actually think and feel.
Less product-speak, more plain speak.
Less “solutions,” more “what this actually helps you do on a Monday morning.”
Tell stories that connect
From software to sneakers, storytelling gives meaning to your message. It turns features into human benefits and facts into feelings.
People remember stories, not specs.
Keep it simple, clear and human
Complexity isn’t credibility. Straightforward, honest language cuts through noise and builds approachability, because nobody wants to decode your marketing.
Build trust, not just traffic
Proof beats promise. Case studies, reviews and testimonials translate empathy into evidence, showing that you understand not only what your customers want, but what they need to believe to buy.

Proof It Works

The best proof that empathy pays off is the brands already doing it.

In B2C, the examples are everywhere. Nike, Apple, and Dove have shown that connecting to emotion doesn’t just sell products, it builds movements. They make people feel something first, then buy into what comes next.

And even in B2B, the most successful brands do the same thing.
Salesforce built its empire on trust.
HubSpot built a movement around help, not hype.
Even IBM made “Let’s put smart to work” feel like a rallying cry for people, not just software.

Then there’s Xero, who made accounting beautiful.
By stripping out jargon and simplifying design, they turned an emotionless category into an empowering one. Accounting went from stress to self-belief – that’s empathy, commercialised.

And Bruntwood gets it too.
They don’t just sell offices – they create places people genuinely want to be.
They understand that employees want to feel inspired, connected and part of a community, while businesses want environments that help them grow.

They’re not in the property business. They’re in the possibility business – helping people and companies thrive by creating spaces that spark progress, purpose and belief.

These brands prove that when you translate empathy into brand behaviour, you don’t dilute commercial value – you multiply it.

Our BIG Takeaway

It’s not B2B. It’s not B2C. It’s B2H.

And making empathy commercial might just be the smartest business decision you ever make.

Because when you understand what people feel, you understand what they’ll value, choose, and champion.

Every brief, buyer and business decision starts with a person – so stop marketing to job titles. Start marketing to human beings with hopes, fears and inbox fatigue.

Ready to make your business more human and your marketing more impactful? Contact the team at BIG.

The UK Government’s long-awaited North Sea strategy is expected to set the tone for the next phase of energy transition – one that could redefine investment, regulation and jobs across the offshore sector.  

It will help industry shape the commercial environment, determine investor confidence and influence the future of the North Sea supply chain for decades. 

In an uncertain landscape, the North Sea remains a cornerstone of the UK’s energy system, industrial base and regional economies. The forthcoming strategy is expected to formalise this transition.  

While operators will be waiting for an update on the much-maligned Energy Profits Levy, the government will set out how the UK intends to move from hydrocarbons to a diversified, net-zero-aligned offshore energy mix while safeguarding jobs, competitiveness and supply chain resilience. 

A real energy mix? 

Based on recent government consultations and industry engagement, several priorities are expected to underpin the new framework. 

Analysts believe the government is unfortunately unlikely to issue new exploration licences, but will support production from existing assets through their economic lifespan. Industry will want clarity on how decommissioning, infrastructure reuse and late-life asset management will be incentivised to gradually decline oil and gas. 

The Energy Profits Levy (windfall tax) is due to expire in 2030 and recent speculation is that the Chancellor will bring this end date forward by a year in her Autumn Budget with a new long-term fiscal framework under consultation. A predictable, investment-friendly tax regime which is responsive to price volatility will be essential in sustaining capital flows.  

The expansion of offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) projects are expected to feature prominently and there is expected to be commitments to a ‘skills passport’ model, allowing workers to move between oil, gas and renewables projects.  

The remit of the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) is likely to evolve to reflect the multi-energy nature of the basin. Clearer permitting, spatial planning and environmental rules that are coordinated across devolved administrations will be key to improving project delivery timelines. 

While net zero remains the long-term goal, the government is also expected to frame this strategy around security of supply and resilience, ensuring the UK remains competitive in attracting offshore investment relative to Norway, the US and the EU. 

Implications for industry 

The biggest factor for operators and developers will be stability. Investors need confidence in fiscal terms, permitting frameworks and timelines for project approvals. The strategy must deliver a clearer investment roadmap, particularly for those considering cross-sector portfolios. 

With production declining, the North Sea’s extensive infrastructure becomes a strategic asset. Industry will expect incentives for repurposing pipelines and platforms for CO₂ transport and storage, as well as guidance on shared infrastructure use to cut costs and emissions. 

There is strong political momentum to maximise UK content in offshore projects with more localised supply chain work. Companies should anticipate requirements or incentives to anchor manufacturing, fabrication and servicing activity domestically in regions such as Aberdeen, Teesside and the Humber. 

A practical framework for transferring expertise from hydrocarbons to renewables will be critical. The government is likely to fund training and certification schemes to support this, but industry partnerships with universities, training providers and trade bodies will be required to scale capacity. 

The offshore industry has long called for simpler, faster consenting for major infrastructure projects. If the strategy includes concrete proposals to streamline planning, potentially through a “fast-track” process, it could remove one of the biggest barriers to timely investment.  

Uncertainty to Opportunity 

The North Sea strategy represents a chance to reset the policy environment for offshore energy. For industry, its success will hinge on clarity and collaboration. 

There are key challenges to be addressed. The balance between decarbonisation targets and investment viability is likely to remain an ongoing issue. Moving too fast risks supply instability while going too slow risks missing net-zero milestones. 

With energies such as hydrogen and CCUS still maturing, project financing will depend on strong government guarantees or contracts for difference (CfDs). Holyrood and Westminster’s differing approaches to new licensing and renewables funding could also complicate planning for cross-jurisdictional projects. 

If the government can deliver a coherent, cross-sector plan that recognises the industry’s operational realities, it will help unlock the investment and innovation needed to transform the North Sea into a world-leading clean energy basin. 

However, if there’s ambiguity or policy uncertainty, there’s a strong chance that capital, skills and competitive advantage will continue to move overseas. Further industry engagement in this strategy’s final phase will be critical to help shape the long-term future of the UK’s offshore economy. 

In today’s world, where audiences are flooded with content across every platform imaginable, your brand is much more than a logo or tagline.

It’s the lasting feeling that people carry with them and the story that is shared about you when you’re not in the room. That story doesn’t write itself. It’s shaped by what you say, how you act, and what others say about you. That’s where PR and brand come together, and why they’re always stronger together.

Brand defines your promise; PR makes sure the world believes it

Apple is the ultimate example of this. The tech giant is defined by its sleek, minimalist brand identity. This is then amplified by a communications strategy that positions it as a design-led innovator. And through clever PR, Apple turns every product launch into a global moment.

As a proud Swiftie, it would be remiss of me not to mention Taylor Swift, arguably one of the world’s most powerful personal brands. Her carefully curated identity, built on authenticity, empowerment and storytelling, is amplified by brilliant PR. From reclaiming her master recordings to directly engaging fans via social media and surprise album drops, Swift seamlessly blends brand control with PR savvy. TayTay doesn’t just sell music; she cultivates trust, sparks conversation and keeps her audience invested in her (love) story.

Whether for businesses or personal brands, the lesson is clear: building a brand without PR is like throwing a party and forgetting to send the invitations. You might have something incredible to offer, but without the right conversations, very few will show up.

A strong brand gets noticed; a trusted brand gets remembered

That’s where PR’s credibility factor comes in. For instance, when outdoor clothing brand Patagonia announced in 2018 that it was “in business to save our home planet,” it wasn’t just a marketing slogan. PR brought the promise to life through storytelling, founder interviews and editorial. Patagonia turned its values into tangible proof points, using a variety of communications tactics and messaging to showcase this.

The result? Customers see authenticity

, not empty promises. PR ensures every message aligns with the brand’s values of sustainability, activism and responsibility, creating trust that keeps people coming back – and rocking that Patagonia fleece like a badge of honour.

PR isn’t just about protecting reputation; it preserves brand equity

Consider KFC’s “FCK” apology campaign when supply chain issues caused chicken shortages. Instead of hiding from the problem, the brand used smart, self-aware PR to turn potential backlash into praise.

With tongue firmly in cheek, the brand came out stronger, earning respect by using its well-established brand traits, transparency and humour to turn a problem into a memorable story, all while keeping things finger-lickin’ good in the process.

PR, brand and the marketing mix

A smart strategy that blends brand and PR will make your marketing mix work harder. Your brand should define who you are and what you stand for, while PR ensures people see, hear and believe it.

Whether you’re launching a new product, repositioning your business or driving growth, PR is a critical part of the marketing mix. It doesn’t replace advertising, social media or content marketing, but strengthens them, creating credibility, generating conversation and giving your brand the authority to cut through the noise. Without PR, even the best marketing efforts may struggle to make an impact.

At BIG Partnership, our teams combine strategic brand thinking with bold PR delivery to help clients not just make noise but make an impact. If you want your brand to be seen, remembered and believed, get in touch.

The 2025 party conferences highlighted the starkly uneven state of UK politics. In Aberdeen, the SNP projected stability and competence, while in Liverpool, Labour sought to regain lost momentum and the Conservatives struggled to command attention. Reform UK, meanwhile, continue to loudly reshape the political environment siphoning support and forcing established parties to rethink their strategies. For businesses, the central takeaway is unambiguous: the environment is fluid, and agility is now a necessity.

In the Granite City, the SNP appeared calm, focused and optimistic. John Swinney has stabilised a party that cycled through Nicola Sturgeon, Humza Yousaf and a financial investigation in quick succession. Independence remains the headline, but Swinney is cautious – another referendum is contingent on winning a majority at Holyrood. Polls suggest they are well-placed, with Reform UK nibbling at the unionist vote. Confidence is high, but the path is narrow by design. Swinney’s strategy is clear – show the SNP as the only party that represents Scotland’s interests and hope the threat of Nigel Farage as Prime Minister is enough to increase support for independence. 

Labour is clawing back momentum 

In Liverpool, Starmer framed Reform UK as Labour’s main competitor, creating a clear rallying point. Momentum is fragile and the government’s early goodwill has been destroyed. The challenge now is turning this ‘us or them’ narrative into votes. The conference was about proving that just over a year on from a thumping election win,  all is not already lost for their term in government. The Budget on 26 November will go a long way to proving whether that is the case. 

Conservatives are fighting for relevance 

The Tories’ conference highlighted the challenge of staying in the game. Empty halls underscored their diminished presence. High-profile speeches and policy announcements sought to regain attention, but Reform UK’s rise has forced the party to compete harder for every voter. Kemi Badenoch and others are battling both visibility and influence internally and externally. 

Reform UK is the disruptor 

Reform UK is the increasingly important wildcard. Farage’s party is taking support from both Labour and the Conservatives and forcing established parties to adapt. They have reshaped the political debate even without holding office. With strong showings expected across the UK at next year’s English local elections and Scottish and Welsh parliamentary polls, they are here to stay. How each party deals with that will be what decides not just upcoming votes, but the next Westminster election in 2029. 

What this means for business 

The 2025 conference season is a reminder, if we needed one, that businesses cannot take political stability for granted. Three key implications stand out: 

Engagement with all parties is essential. The SNP, Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK are all potential influencers of policy. A single-party or government engagement strategy is too narrow; businesses need relationships across the political spectrum now more than ever. 

Time-sensitive strategy is critical. With Holyrood elections next year, policy windows can and will shift rapidly. Businesses must identify key moments now for engagement and advocacy before positions solidify ahead of next year’s elections. 

Focus on impact, not just compliance. Success is not about passively reacting to government decisions; it is about shaping the environment. Early and sustained cross-party engagement now, including at local and regional levels, will pay dividends later. 

The political environment is fluid. The SNP has regained stability, Labour is recalibrating, the Conservatives are struggling for relevance and Reform UK is forcing everyone to rethink assumptions. For businesses, the message is unambiguous – act proactively. Build relationships across all parties, anticipate shifts in policy and be prepared to adapt quickly. Success will go to those who move first, not those who wait.