Certus interviewed about Government Lobbying

Post Magazine recently sought our views on lobbying. Some of the quotes were used in the final feature, but others weren't. Here is the full interview:

Q. What's the point of using a lobbying firm rather than doing it yourself?

A. There is no reason why companies cannot represent their views to Government themselves, but it is time consuming and easy to become overwhelmed by the massive quantity of information spewed out by Westminster and Whitehall every day, not to mention information from the EU, regulators and a host of other quasi-legislative bodies.

The big financial PR agencies tend to bolt on a lobbying arm to grab extra fee income from their clients and keep competitors away. They aren’t really passionate about Government affairs because it makes them far less money than their corporate work. It is better to go for a specialist agency or consultant that lives and breathes public affairs.

Q. How do corporate affairs departments formulate a position from which to lobby?

Much depends on the issue at stake. Insurance Premium Tax, for example, which affects the whole insurance industry, is best done through the trade associations because everyone will have more or less the same view, and for reasons of time Governments prefer to deal with one body rather than a host of individuals.

Individual companies will take up causes pertinent to them. For example, Carrot Insurance (a Certus Client)  has a strong position on road safety because their telematics products have reduced claims incidence among young drivers by over 40%. Road safety aligns perfectly with Carrot’s business, and its track record gives the company a legitimate reason to lobby the Government on road safety policy. 

Then there are specific legislative threats to a business that require engagement from the top of the business. This is usually when chief executives get involved, but it’s much easier to get traction with officials and politicians to manage those threats, if they and their public affairs teams have already generated constructive long-term relationships where there has been give and take on both sides.

Ministers and officials get hundreds of campaign ideas across the desks every year. Before you send your campaign proposal off to join the pile, ask yourself: 'What is it about my idea that will enthuse a civil servant or politician over the 25 other proposals they’ve seen that week?' So it’s important not to work on the basis of pure self-interest, but adopt an issue with appeal to your would-be sponsors too.

Q. What's an effective model? How has role of corporate affairs department changed in last 5 years?

In the insurance industry, and particularly among the big insurers, the communications function has lost a huge amount of corporate clout since the global financial crisis. It’s partly due to cost cutting, which has reduced the resources available for companies to invest in long term policy generation, and partly because insurance CEOs (with Nigel Wilson at L&G a notable exception) seem less interested in public advocacy these days.

Resolution PLC outsourced much of their broader social  campaigning to the Resolution Foundation.  It was a brilliant move by Clive Cowdery, the visionary CEO of Resolution, because te Foundation, which as far as I'm aware acts independently of the PLC, provided a halo effect for the company and made significant inroads into the social policy arena.

It’s no surprise the most successful communications operator in our industry in recent years, John Murray at Prudential, reported directly to a politically astute CEO in Tidjane Thiam. John helped repair Prudential’s reputation following the abortive takeover of AIA in 2010, and it became one of Britain’s most successful companies. Neither it is a surprise that John has followed Thidjane to Credit Suisse. Good communications people are very hard to find.

Q. Has social media changed lobbying? Thinking of MPs tweeting... Does that make dialogue easier for everyone or do old school connections still matter?

The social media explosion has changed everything in politics, let alone lobbying. At its broadest level, it’s accelerated the requirement for instant Government response and calls for action to deal with problems that are often complex and difficult to resolve. It creates Government that is led by the headlines. Social media has also driven polarity, and a need to demonstrate binary opinions. There is little room for nuance in social media and we simply end up with a dialogue of the deaf.

Q. Why does lobbying sound shifty? Is that reputation fair?

Lobbying has struggled to shake off its reputation for shiftiness, partly because lobbyists themselves like to articulate a sense of mystique about their role and their ability to move the political needle. They are far less influential than they would like the rest of us to believe.

There is no secret to executing a successful lobbying campaign. Well presented arguments, backed up by good research, evidence, support from credible third parties, and offering ministers an answer or at least a workable compromise to the issues at stake, will give you access.

Of more cause for concern for me is the revolving door between senior officials and ministers leaving their Government jobs and turning up in private companies a matter of weeks later. The official procedure by which approval is sought and given perpetuates public disquiet about backscratching, especially where Government procurement is concerned.