Fiona Lund Brouha Marketing) is the author of LOCAL AUTHORITIES AS DEVELOPERS: From functional to aspirational
LOCAL AUTHORITIES AS DEVELOPERS
The Chapter
This chapter looks at how and why local authorities are evolving the housing product they deliver and the way in which they deliver it. Through case studies and practical advice, the chapter gives an overview of the changing landscape of development by local authorities and the implications for PR and communications.
The Author
Fiona’s 25-year career has been defined by strategic communications and the delivery of professional public relations and marketing across the housing supply chain. For the last 13 years she has led Brouha, an award-winning agency, to becoming one of the leading strategic boutique PR brands in social housing, retail, housebuilding and property services.
An interview with the author
What is you background and your experience of property PR?
28 years in PR, specifically helping clients who sell services and products that make buildings better. This experience has meant I’ve immersed myself in the sector so have a strong awareness of the market drivers: something I believe is critical for any PR practitioner.
What would you say are the key principles of good property PR?
Any effective PR campaign, short or long term, needs to be founded on a strategy. This strategy must be fed by market drivers, including the history of a sector, its complexities, and where it’s heading. The world of housing has changed significantly, is complex and is charting new waters, and communications for housing must evolve accordingly.
What does the property industry need to do to move with the times?
There are going to be once in a lifetime changes to property over the short and mid term, not least due to Covid (social distancing way of life), an ageing population and environmental challenges which haven’t gone away. PR within the sector needs to take hold of these issues and show audiences how our clients are dealing with these massive challenges.
What are the key learning points that are communicated in your chapter?
One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned during almost three decades of working in public relations, is never to forget that we do not cease to be consumers as soon as we go into the office, give a sales presentation or attend council meetings. The psychological pull of each of our personalities remains in different contexts which is one of the reasons I’ve always challenged the status quo of communicating within a supply chain by setting firm B2B or B2C criteria