Category: Corporate Communications

Below are some news items and blog posts relating to the Corporate Communications services provided by Mangold Consultancy.

Our aim is to help you assess, develop and create the right “tone-of-voice” for your corporate communications.

For details on the full range of services we provide, please visit the main Mangold Consultancy Services page.

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We train award winners!

Betsy the Dog - Award Winner

🤗 Huge congratulations to our 4 fabulous clients recognised as inspiring industry leaders. Well-earned, richly deserved.

👀 Discretion prevents a public shout-out, but you know who you are!

For clients on the journey to awards, our media training is still a win – why?

💭 Reconciling opposing views in the office

👊 Confidence to answer difficult questions in front of an audience

⚖ Diplomacy to find centre ground in a professional stand-off

🏋‍♂️ Clarity to sell strengths in a VIP meeting

👉 Media training is a recipe for success in these situations and more.

🐶 Thanks to Betsy for wearing her award with such good grace.

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Space Shuttle Learnings

Space Shuttle - The failure to imagine the consequences of failure are catastrophic

Tell your boss to watch this Space Shuttle documentary…

📢 Are you the lone voice nudging senior colleagues about crisis planning?

🤔 Are there known issues too trifling to confront amongst all the “business as usual”?

Watch ‘The Space Shuttle that Fell To Earth’ on BBC iPlayer and tell your bosses to do the same, if you want to get crisis communications at the top of the agenda.

👍 Congratulations to Mindhouse Productions, this brilliant 3-parter, sensitively told a difficult story, which among many things shows why a culture of open communication matters. And is as important as crisis preparation.

🚀 Even if you are not in the business of space flight, speaking out, seeking answers and encouraging conversations, will help avoid issues becoming devastating crises.

And give me a shout if your crisis comms nudge could do with a shoulder.

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Good Ship Mangold ahoy!

The Good Ship Mangold

The good ship Mangold Consultancy continues on a strong course, thanks to the team covering my watch during a recent stay ashore!


Here are some treasures discovered on my return…

Problem: Keeping the spokesperson’s muscle flexed.

Solution: Meet our clients with a fitness mindset to media training – regular sessions to grow the muscles needed by providing current, timely and relevant insight and examples of press performance done well.

Problem: Organisations are facing increasing scrutiny from unannounced visitors demanding a big ask of frontline teams who meet them.

Solution: Provide practical ways to keep pace with changing methods of scrutiny, which reinforce reputation management and protect staff wellbeing.

PS. Time out is an excellent way to take a bird’s-eye view of your surroundings and future course. Many thanks to Jess Mangold, Estelle Kinzett, Justin Clark, Amanda Coleman and Emma Davies for your “all hands on deck” approach!

Thank you to DALL-E Open Ai for this image.

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The press doorstep – can you handle it?

The press doorstep - can you handle it?

Only watch this if you KNOW how to handle a doorstep*

The infamous doorstep only ends when the journalist leaves with something.

A no comment, a closed door, or in this case a response.

Managing a doorstep takes some well thought through choreography.

*Full disclosure, this one features my Dad, Tom Mangold, in action on BBC Panorama in 1997 so I may be biased.

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The Post Office, Boohoo and the moments I miss investigative journalism

Investigative Journalism

It’s times like these that I miss making TV.

Watching Mr Bates vs the Post Office and the long overdue response from the Government I’m reminded about the power of TV and its reach – 9.2 million people watched the first episode, and that was before people started really talking about it.

Yes, there are lots of means to get publicity for your cause these days but there is nothing more convincing than real human stories, told well, through public service broadcasting.

Meanwhile, a BBC investigation has found that Boohoo put ‘Made in UK’ labels on clothes made overseas.

Ooooh to have been part of the team uncovering that little nugget.

These dramas and investigations take big teams of highly talented individuals, they take money (so lacking in journalism these days) and they take a collective will to ‘out the truth’ even when it can be months and years to gather the evidence you need.

My advice to any business on the receiving end of one of these investigations is take it seriously, if they’re coming for your response, they’ve already got the evidence they need and the truth, well the truth will always out, even if it takes 25 years.

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Accepting and solving a communications training challenge from a global client

Global Client Challenge

Challenge accepted…

Loyal global client presents a new challenge.

“How do we grow our crisis comms resilience as a new team in multiple continents, time zones & cultures”

We got to deliver our solution at their European HQ. The energy, positivity & comments in the room suggest we exceeded expectations.

Job done.

This was followed by a welcome moment to reflect on where the training goes next while enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

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‘I really don’t want to speak to you again this year’.

Mangold Consultancy Christmas

No offence intended. None taken.

When clients chose us as their 24/7 crisis comms support, we get that a good Christmas for them means not speaking to us.

But if they do, we’re here. Poised with slightly wonky paper hats.

And to anyone else in need of 24/7 crisis comms support on speed dial…You know where to find us!

Happy Christmas to our wonderful team, clients and wider network – may 2024 be everything you wish for.

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What everyone must say and do in a crisis

Let's talk… warts and all…

In a crisis, being open and honest with each other is rule number one

Or as one client recently put it brilliantly – “Let’s talk, warts and all.”

Honesty defines how an organisation manages a crisis AND then how its people recover from the impact

Whether you create a safe space, share skeletons, speak up or speak out – always be honest.

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Why treat journalists like a friendly dog?

The Hunch Podcast with Abby Mangold - Staying ahead in the reputation game

Who’s the best person to put forward in a crisis?

How does good crisis comms impact the bottom line?

And lessons from NatWest, the British Museum, BBC and Nike

I had a fab time talking to Mark Schmid on his podcast The Hunch about all of the above, and more.

Listen below or follow this link to The Hunch Podcast Episode with Abby Mangold.

“There’s no escaping it, if you run a high-profile business or organisation you will face a reputational issue in the short or medium term. We asked former BBC Watchdog producer Abby Mangold about the changing media landscape and its impact on how leaders prepare for and handle the toughest challenges.”


The Hunch is a Podcast about data and technology. They love educated guesses and gut instincts, too. The Hunch asks experts to predict what’s coming down the line with a focus on the ‘when?’ and the ‘why?’

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Recharged for Autumn – bring it on

Jess & Abby Mangold are Recharged for Autumn - Bring on September!

Is it just me or does anyone else still get that beginning of term feeling?

The end of a holiday is never a highlight. But with plenty of behind the scenes Mangold Consultancy gubbins completed over the summer we are now rested and recharged for a busy Autumn.

Bring it on.

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Crisis Communications Playbook

Crisis Communications Playbook

What do you do when you discover one of your employees has behaved inappropriately?
How do you respond when people challenge your business practices on social media?
What do you do when you get a customer complaint?
The list could go on.

Using experience and nous to assess and respond to live issues, based on the specific set of circumstances is absolutely the way to go in an emerging crisis.

Recently however, clients have asked us to compile a “playbook” of responses for the most frequent and reputationally damaging issues, after we’ve completed a reputational risk audit of their competitors and the wider sector.

A playbook is more than collating your “lines to take” or communications responses. Done well, this live document should become part of the Communications Team’s armoury with which you can effectively respond to issues as they develop. The playbook provides important insight such as :

  • stakeholders, reactions and patterns in their responses
  • social media activity including trends, keywords used and priority channels
  • topics which cause the most activity
  • duration of interest
  • key journalists
  • as well as the existing communications to help build a response

All too often the post-crisis sands of time slip away and soon the next issue is upon you. Taking time to stop and reflect on how you responded and what you can learn should be part of the ‘playbook’.

By taking a quick and thorough sweep of actions post-issue you will assess; did we get our message out there or are we just repeating the same old tired platitudes which don’t cut it with our customers / stakeholders.

Questions to ask post-event are:

  • did our last response achieve our objective
  • are our response times working
  • are the comms consistent with commitments made in the past
  • is now the time to review our corporate key messages to make them better reflect our current reality and after effects of an issue

Your playbook is the bible you refer to so the next time you’re challenged about the business, you approach it kitted up with knowledge from previous experiences as well as a starting form of words to use in response.

Background image by Joanna Kosinska , book composition by Studio JERO
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5 Lessons from Senior Business Execs to make you a better leader

Lessons from senior business leaders

Tips from media interviews with Senior Business Leaders: a year of learning in the virtual room

Global Media and Entertainment; Health, Sports and Fitness; High Street Brands, City Law Firms and Entrepreneurs. Over the last 12 months we’ve trained senior leaders from some of the world’s biggest and most successful brands.

When we pivoted to virtual media training, we never imagined the roll call of people we would work with. And yet a year on, we have had a privileged and unique insight into a diverse roster of senior leaders from many industries.

Continue reading “5 Lessons from Senior Business Execs to make you a better leader”