Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), was established through a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regulatory order to boost competition and innovation in retail banking by providing an architecture for personal banking data held by high street banks to be shared with other financial services providers, including FinTechs. H/Advisors Cicero is OBIE’s retained communications and public affairs agency, with the objective to support OBIE through a period of intense change and challenge.

Strategy & Execution

H/Advisors Cicero is OBIE’s retained communications and public affairs agency. We have supported OBIE through a period of intense change and challenge including:

• A CMA review, including public consultation, of the implementation of Open Banking. This would determine the future oversight, governance and funding of Open Banking
• An independent inquiry commissioned by the CMA, carried out by Alison White, into whistleblower allegations about the working environment at OBIE. The failings identified by the inquiry resulted in the resignation of the then Chair and Trustee of OBIE
• Supporting the incoming Chair and Trustee, Charlotte Crosswell as she began to overhaul governance and operations at OBIE to prevent a repeat of the failings identified by the White Report
• Helping the organisation, including its new Chief Executive, Henk Van Hulle, move ahead with a positive agenda for the future after the publication of the CMA’s next steps for Open Banking in March 2022.

H/Advisors Cicero provided completely integrated communications advisory, including crisis comms, media relations and public affairs. This helped the leadership of OBIE steady the ship after a period of intense disruption and uncertainty and remain focussed on the delivery of the CMA’s order.

Despite the many challenging scenarios faced during our continuing engagement with the OBIE, the organisation is very well positioned to see Open Banking achieve its full potential. Our agile approach to communications is shaped by an ability to call on technical experts spanning public affairs, crisis communications and in-house research and campaigns professionals, at a moments notice. This enables our clients to contend with the unforeseeable and move forward their planned agenda simultaneously. It is this ability that helped place OBIE in the position it is today.

Adam Taylor, Managing Director Corporate Communications

Results

OBIE is a significant success in the rollout of open banking and is positioned as a likely candidate in the next steps around open finance and smart data.

If you wish to discuss any of the issues mentioned in this article, please contact Adam in H/Advisors Cicero’s Corporate Communications team on adam.taylor@h-advisors.global

H/Advisors Cicero has been supporting Europe’s leading refurbished technology provider, Swappie with their corporate communications in Ireland since 2001. Swappie’s aim was to increase their brand awareness in the market, placing them as a leader in the circular economy space. Our brief also includes increasing awareness around the concept and benefits to the environment of refurbished technology in general and supporting Swappie’s Country Manager in Ireland to build profile in the media.

Strategy & Execution

Our strategic corporate communications plan involved a full media audit, the creation of a bespoke target media list for Swappie, introductory meetings with journalists in the business, technology, environment and consumer space, quarterly targeted press releases covering both global announcements and Irish specific activity like consumer trends. We also supported Swappie with the opening of its first pop up store outside of Helsinki in Dublin and the global release of its first sustainability report. H/Advisors Cicero has also media trained Swappie’s leadership team in Dublin.

Swappie’s awareness in Ireland was low, so achieving cut through with a consistent and engagement message was a priority. The team at H/Advisors Cicero have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with Swappie to define its story in the Irish market, and run some creative campaigns that have provided ‘above brand’ benefits

Susan Keogh, Director Ireland Corporate Communications

Results

Our support for Swappie has resulted in a huge increase in both awareness and interest around Swappie with searches for Swappie refurbished iPhones increasing exponentially since 2001. We have supported Swappie’s senior leadership team in developing contacts with key business and technology journalists. We have also secured extensive media coverage for all Swappie announcements and Swappie’s Country Manager has appeared on a number of Tier 1 media outlets including RTE and Newstalk.

If you wish to discuss any of the issues mentioned in this article, please contact Susan in H/Advisors Cicero’s UK Corporate Communications team on susan.keogh@h-advisors.global

Brief

AXA is one of the largest global insurers, with over 108 million customers around the world. As part of our work together, H/Advisors Cicero identified an opportunity for AXA UK to engage with upcoming UK Government-funded trials of driverless vehicles.

Strategy and execution

H/Advisors Cicero liaised with local authorities and officials at the Department for Transport and the Business Department. This has resulted in AXA becoming involved in the first UK Government-funded trials for driverless vehicles in Bristol and Milton Keynes and the business was subsequently involved in five trials across the country.

The H/Advisors Cicero public affairs team has also authored or co-authored three policy reports to date on driverless vehicles as part of AXA’s involvement in the Venturer and Flourish trials.

Result

AXA is recognised by Government and in Parliament as a go-to organisation on driverless cars. This is evidenced by the inclusion of quotes from an AXA director in the Government press release on the publication of the Vehicle Technology and Aviation Act, setting out an insurance framework for driverless cars.

H/Advisors Cicero has also helped AXA UK establish, and is currently the secretariat of, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Connected and Automated Mobility to continue to raise its profile among Parliamentarians and be at the forefront of policy discussions around driverless cars.

Brief​

H/Advisors Cicero provides PayPal with public affairs support in Ireland, delivering strategic advice on issues including FinTech, SME, digital & business policy. ​

Strategy and execution

We created and managed a real-time policy tracker for PayPal in Ireland. This looks at existing legislation, upcoming Bills, policy documents and consultations. We also manage a strategic stakeholder engagement programme on behalf of PayPal and provide advice on the importance of key relationships. We also carry out daily monitoring and produce a more comprehensive bi-weekly note.​

Result

H/Advisors Cicero’s work with PayPal ensures the client is kept abreast with relevant policy and legislative developments while engaging strategically in an important market. ​

Brief

H/Advisors Cicero supported Bombardier with corporate communications, monitoring and intelligence and government affairs. Our brief included highlighting Bombardier’s innovative technology and position as a leading player in electric and battery powered trains. 

Strategy and execution

H/Advisors Cicero provided detailed daily monitoring to Bombardier on political and competitor developments as well as a biweekly monitoring and intelligence report. We also created a political engagement campaign which was effectively executed. Our corporate communications programme included tier-1 media interviews about electric and battery powered trains and on how important it is for governments to convert to this form of transport to meet EU carbon emission targets.

Result

Our government affairs support resulted in meetings with business ministers and ministers responsible for transport and climate. H/Advisors Cicero also organised and chaired a climate change and transportation stakeholder event on behalf of Bombardier in Q4 2020. The event was attended by politicians, representatives of transport bodies and industry stakeholders. 

Brief

The DRIVEN Consortium is a leading consortium of companies created to further cement the UK’s reputation as a world-leader in the development of autonomous vehicles. H/Advisors Cicero was commissioned to produce nine promotional vehicles (one per member) created from footage of its first autonomous vehicle summit.

Strategy and execution

H/Advisors Cicero created a storyboard of the proposed videos and agreed these with each consortium member, with a footage itinerary agreed in advance and interviews were scheduled ahead of the event.

All interviews and footage were captured within eight hours during the event.

An initial video was then produced and a first edit was sent to each member who then fed back changes, before final films were delivered and distributed across the members’ owned channels.

Result

• Two-minute promotional videos were produced for all nine organisations involved with the consortium.
• A further promotional video was commissioned combining the aspects of each individual video to demonstrate how each member is contributing to the initiative (above)