Trafalgar Strategy Stand coming soon? - Championship football club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) have taken to LinkedIn to flog the naming rights to one of their stands. Sponsorship deals have been hot topics in recent years, with law firm Hill Dickinson lauded for their shock deal with Everton FC, while FC Barcelona became the victim of a meme-campaign after signing away the rights to their ancestral ground - now known as “Spotify Nou Camp” - until 2034. QPR’s ILO (Initial LinkedIn Offering) marks the first time a big club has utilised social media to orchestrate a stand sale. And, given the saturation of London clubs in the EFL Championship, it is small acts like this that could help them get their foot out in front.
Goodburn & Burnham - Archie Goodburn, a British champion swimmer who recently competed in the Commonwealth Games, won plaudits for a courageous appearance on BBC Scotland. Despite being diagnosed with incurable brain cancer at 22, Goodburn completed university (graduating from Edinburgh with a first in chemical engineering) and this year became the national breast stroke record holder. During the broadcast, the visibly emotional Goodburn spoke directly to Prime Minister Andy Burnham through the camera, pleading for more funding for rare cancer research in the UK. He noted projects around the world that, if replicated in the UK, would give him and others the “chance to fight for our lives”. As a result, Burnham reached out to Archie over social media, saying how moved he was by the swimmer’s appeal, and asked to meet with him.
Counted One Sheep Too Many - Stephen Morgan, the UK’s latest Farming Minister, reportedly fainted “at the sight of meat” during a tour of a meat freezer in the Lake District. The Parliamentary Labour Party has faced constant scrutiny since 2024 due to a perceived lack of awareness of rural issues amongst their ranks - see the farmer protests - and Morgan’s unfortunate moment will do little to change hearts and minds. For his part, the Portsmouth South MP has said that his queasiness was brought on by “moving between the extreme heat and cold storage”, but what’s that expression about letting the truth get in the way of a good story?
Profit Before People - A new report by the think tank Common Wealth and financial investigations group FIND, revealed that Arconic, the company behind Grenfell Tower’s flammable cladding, gave more in payouts to its shareholders than to the victims of the disaster. The American company paid $31 million more to its shareholders for economic loss they incurred after the blaze than in compensation to the estates of the fire’s victims and survivors. Arconic have never been charged with any wrongdoing, but the 2024 Grenfell inquiry found that the company had “deliberately and dishonestly” withheld relevant information from the market about their product’s fire performance. The revelation is yet another blow for Grenfell victims who have spent nearly a decade searching for justice. A Common Wealth researcher shared with The Guardian that their findings “outline a near-total failure of legal mechanisms to hold corporations accountable”.
The United States government recently sent a supposed loyalty questionnaire to NATO members to gauge their support for President Donald Trump’s foreign policy approach. The document, first reported by Bloomberg, has been perceived by allies as “an attempt to strong-arm them into ideological alignment in exchange for US protection”.
Why does it matter?
The NATO alliance has been the Western world’s security guarantor for decades. It has been largely conditionless, with the alliance managing to overcome most political disagreements.
The current White House administration’s approach undermines this collegial spirit. With a major war raging in Europe for the first time in decades, the European continent’s key strategic and defence partner is now looking to force ideological capitulation in return for its continued support.
This, of course, should come as no surprise. Trump is a man who demands absolute loyalty with no promise of reciprocity. Unfortunately for NATO, because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the President now believes he has the necessary leverage to begin expanding this demand to America’s international allies. Trump’s offer is simple: align or face the threat of Russia alone. And this is no small threat. The CIA Director has just visited Moscow to warn Russian intelligence officials away from menacing NATO countries, showing Trump knows the danger Putin poses.
Adding to the pressure, MAGA has made no secret of their desire to see right-wing advancements across Europe. To do this they are willing to use US troops as a bargaining tool, promising to remove or add to their current garrisons to nations willing to bend the proverbial knee (see the troop shifts to Poland following the recent Presidential election).
It is a tough reality to face for Europe’s NATO members. For the first time in recent memory, they are dealing with a ‘friendly’ superpower willing to flex its muscles. In many ways, this simple questionnaire best symbolises the new relationship in the United States’ eyes: they are dominant, Europe is weak.
Tactics are easy; strategy is hard. Strategic communications is just as much about the work behind the front page – so who’s been doing the worthwhile behind-the-scenes work? See our take on the politicians and corporations who have laid the good foundations for great media moments.
Two pharmaceutical giants, Moderna and Merck, recently announced they have created the world’s first mRNA cancer vaccine. Their trial found the vaccine reduces the risk of recurrence or death by 49% when compared to patients who used an immunotherapy drug alone.
The trial focused on those suffering or who have suffered from melanoma due to the highly mutated nature of the tumours. The researchers are undertaking similar studies for different types of bladder, lung, and kidney cancer.
Creating a literal “cure for cancer” has made a turn of phrase for futuristic-excellence into a reality and marks a massive step forward in medical history.
Unfortunately though, questions remain over the accessibility to the treatment due to the associated costs. Multiple complex steps are needed to create the life-saving shots: patients require surgery, scientists need to conduct a biopsy of the tumour, and the genetic profile of every individual’s cancer has to be analysed.
These concerns did not phase the US stock market though. On the afternoon the announcement was made, Moderna and Mercks’ market capitalisation jumped by over $50 billion and their shares rose by more than 140% and 12%, respectively.
The manufacturers hope to have the treatment on the US market in 2027, but it is likely to remain out of reach for the average Brit for the next few years.
Spare a thought for RFK Jr.
Moderna and Merck’s gain is a loss for anti-vaxxers, not that they’ll ever admit it. As readers may remember, mRNA vaccines became a fixture of lockdown dinner tables after details about the first Covid vaccines became public. They also quickly became a fixation for conspiracy theorists, who believed they are used to implant microchips into your body and/or give you turbo cancer.
Trafalgar will be sparing a thought for all those who will now have to endure a holiday dinner rant from their vaccine-sceptic relatives.
