The Whitehouse Consultancy, a London-based political communications agency, has announced the launch of its new brand as Whitehouse Communications. The re-brand of the company brings a completely refreshed look to reflect its new identity as a holistic communications agency, and comes as a result of unprecedented growth in recent years.
Established in 1998, Whitehouse specialises in influencing public opinion, policy and legislative changes both in the UK and the EU for companies, charities and associations in the food and nutrition, public health, social care and human rights spaces, among others. Immediately after Brexit was announced, panic and confusion from businesses led to a brief decline for the industry as companies held back on lobbying. However, the company fought to prove the value of political engagement and reputational management during the transition period and beyond to engage with the Brexit process to make it a success, consequently experiencing an influx in trade business on both sides of the Channel.
During the lockdown period alone, Whitehouse grew its team members by over 80% (from 12 to 23 staff) and saw a doubling in new business enquiries. The re-brand to Whitehouse Communications reflects the growth in services the business now offers as a direct result of these team and client expansions, helping organisations make sense of the political and media world during times of disruption. At a time when the creative industries were battling drops in revenue as clients scaled down – or dropped altogether - external agency partnerships, Whitehouse’s expansion reflects both the value of continued commercial drives during economic uncertainty, and how uncertainty itself can create a need for professional communications advice – with the re-brand itself an investment to boost stakeholder engagement.
Chris Whitehouse, Chairman and MD of Whitehouse Communications, discusses business growth during such turbulent times:
“Economic uncertainty tends to lead businesses to take one of two dichotomic actions. Either they cut back on anything but the bare minimum expenditure and try to ride it out with the aim of merely getting by, or they take the plunge and invest in comms support for their own growth – as we have now done.
“During times of confusion and uncertainty, swift changes need to be made to stay ahead – at Whitehouse we ensured that our client strategies were immediately updated to stay relevant during the COVID-19 news agenda and adapted our offerings such as moving our events services online and quadrupling event output.
“Rumours of economic recessions naturally create worries about cuts to governmental support, and smart businesses and associations will be on the front foot to ensure that they position themselves as allies of the government and influence potentially damaging regulatory decisions in their favour.”