The Kiely Group is the largest privately owned road surface treatment specialist in the UK. They use innovative methods to deliver preventative road surface treatments across the country. While fixing potholes is always an important campaign point for parliamentarians, the awareness of preventative road surface treatments was low.
With this in mind, the Kiely Group wanted to raise their profile among key political stakeholders as the leading voice in the sector whilst highlighting the benefits of and improving the understanding of surface dressing and preventative road maintenance.
The solution
Amidst a backdrop of a worsening state of British roads we were brought on board to build advocacy for preventative road maintenance treatments and raise the profile of Kiely Group as an expert voice in the sector.
We developed a narrative and strategy that highlighted their unique selling points in a way which would align with the priorities of the main political parties. Making road maintenance cheaper, quicker, greener and safer.
With the narrative and key messages in place we mapped key stakeholders for the Kiely Group to engage with and began crafting relationships and building advocacy for preventative road maintenance. We arranged meetings with key members of Parliament and members of the Transport Select Committee.
To maximise the effectiveness of the campaign we also orchestrated media moments to generate buzz with generalist and trade press to increase the companies brand awareness as an industry leader. We also maximised their visibility through a drop-in session in Parliament, where MPs from across all major political parties had the opportunity to engage with colleagues from the Kiely Group.
The results
Ongoing engagement with the press achieved outstanding coverage with over 70 pieces of online and traditional media coverage, including a segment in Good Morning Britain where the Kiely Group had the opportunity to showcase their innovative methods.
We also secured meetings with key cross-party members of Parliament, Government and Opposition Ministers and members of the Transport Select Committee, increasing awareness across Parliament on road surfacing and preventative treatments. We built good relationships with the Roads and Shadow Roads Ministers, who expressed their support for the Kiely Group’s approach to road maintenance.
This continued engagement helped to establish the Kiely Group as a leading voice in the road maintenance sector, which led to the company advising the Labour Party’s road policy before the release of their general election manifesto and feeding into Labour’s pothole pledge.
Lauren Kiely, Head of Marketing at the Kiely Group commented: “JFG Communications has been instrumental in kickstarting our engagement with key stakeholders across the political spectrum”“Thanks to their contacts and strategic advice we have managed to establish good working relationships with senior members of Government and opposition and ultimately increase awareness about preventative road surface treatments”.
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Jo Field OBE
Founder & Chief Executive, JFG Communications