CorpComms Magazine

In the interest of full disclosure, I admit at the outset to David Holdstock that I was both born and raised within the London Borough of Hillingdon, where he is now head of corporate communications. Moreover, being called Helen Dunne from Hillingdon does rather sound like my parents were obsessed with the north-west London region. It has certainly caused confusion at times to people who thought I was answering questions about my birthplace with my name.

But talking to his borough's walking brand ambassador carries no fears for Holdstock, who, as senior PR officer with the Metropolitan Police, dealt with the communications challenges surrounding the Paddington rail disaster and the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Kray brothers.

Weren't you tempted to organise a PR coup and arrest ageing villains, I ask. 'It was certainly bizarre,' laughs Holdstock. 'There was worldwide interest in the event. They were part of the history of the East End, and the community wanted to pay their respects.' In terms of the communications challenges, however, the issues for all funerals remained the same - providing honest, up to date information and being accessible to the media.

Holdstock revels in the story of the journalist, who managed to blag his way into one of the many funeral limousines and was just stepping into the church when a Kray bouncer stopped him. It is clear that he enjoyed playing a role in these historic events but he also got involved at the coalface, accompanying journalists shadowing police on drug busts, for example.

Words of wisdom

'I always tell young people in my team that they should make the time and volunteer for whatever comes their way,' he says. 'These are once in a lifetime events, and you will never get that experience again. It is an opportunity to develop your skills and, beyond that, be part of the biggest stories in the world.'

Holdstock, who is also chair of LG Communications, the professional body for all council communications, is keen to develop the skill sets of his team, and rejoices in their successes. Over the past ten years, three of his deputies have gone on to be heads of communications.

But back to Hillingdon, which Holdstock joined in August 2005 from Slough Borough Council, ten miles away from his office (I once participated in a sponsored walk between the two centres), where he also held the role of head of corporate communications.

Slough was then famous, or perhaps infamous, as the home of the fictitious Wernham Hogg Paper Company, whose employees' lives were documented in The Office, starring Ricky Gervais as hapless boss David Brent.

Slough became synonymous in people's minds as a rather soulless concrete town, with an industrial estate and bus station but not much else. Was Holdstock upset by the mockumentary? 'Not at all,' he says. 'We had quite a lot of fun, particularly when The Office won a Golden Globe. The best approach in these situations is to have fun and join in.'

The borough's chief executive even invited David Brent to become cultural ambassador for Slough, taking the opportunity to publicise its positive aspects, such as 42 parks and open spaces, and the fact that cult cartoon show Thunderbirds was filmed there, while the Beatles' British tour kicked off in Slough in 1963.

But did Brent/Gervais take up the invitation? 'Ricky Gervais announced the invitation during his show at the Edinburgh Festival,' laughs Holdstock, which suggests that the comedian did not perhaps take it seriously.

Anonymous borough

Slough was Holdstock's first foray into local government. When he arrived at Hillingdon, the borough was suffering from a lack of brand awareness. 'The council was doing some good work, but it was not getting the message out,' explains Holdstock, which led residents to focus on the things that were not being done well. Similarly, despite being the second largest borough in London, Hillingdon was 'neutral, invisible'. 'My role was very different in that respect. Slough was known and people had an opinion on the town, but Hillingdon was not even recognised as being part of London,' he explains. 'I rebranded the borough shortly after I joined to Hillingdon, London. London boroughs are, by their nature, different, and part of the communications challenge is to sell their identity. Hillingdon is a real mix, with Heathrow Airport at one side and farms, canals and a rural community at the other.'

Heathrow, the busiest international airport in the world, brings its own unique challenges. Holdstock has been spearheading the borough's opposition to the proposed third runway, which as well as the physical demolition of a large swathe of the borough, including an historic village, will cause disruption to many residents.

Holdstock has also highlighted the issue of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. 'It is a very difficult issue for us,' he concedes. 'There is potential for the subject to be used in a range of ways.' The children, who may have been trafficked or sold into slavery by their families, need immense care and attention. 'Our campaign has not been about the children, who are extremely vulnerable and have witnessed some horrendous things,' he says. 'It is about how we are funded. Heathrow is the gateway to the world, and, while the number fluctuates, at any time, we could have 900 asylum-seeking children in our care. The average number for other boroughs is less than six.' As a result of its lobbying, Hillingdon has received an additional £4 million in funding to support unaccompanied asylum seekers.

Many services but one message

He adds: 'The challenge for local government communicators is that we, as a council, deliver 800 different services, so there is some complex messaging involved.' The skill is to communicate all the services that a council delivers in an easy-to-understand format for residents, who can then connect that with the monthly council tax bill. 'A few years ago, it became apparent that residents weren't connecting the library services with the councils. They were pleased with the borough's libraries and rated the service. We needed to brand the libraries differently,' says Holdstock. 'Similarly, they were happy with the parks and open spaces and thought they were clean and well-kept, but didn't connect that with the council.'

If residents can better understand the services offered by a council, then Holdstock believes that they perceive them as value for money when confronted with the bill. 'We have a story to tell,' he says. A recent Ipsos MORI poll of residents found that 75 per cent believed they were well informed about the council and its services, but the ratings dropped when asked to directly link Hillingdon to services. 'We are doing some work into understanding why that happened,' says Holdstock, who will then implement the necessary changes to his strategy. Local authorities' communications, it seems, is a never-ending challenge. 

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