Fraser Whieldon provides senior counsel to Bridgehead Communications. He offers five years’ experience as a journalist, most recently for a top-flight further education and skills newspaper and website where he produced lightning-fast news and analysis of government announcements and extensively covered a range of stakeholders, from multi-million-pound college corporations to small training businesses.
Bridgehead were engaged to assist in the publication of my book Pugnare: Economic Success and Failure. I enjoyed working with Will very much and his team. They are professional, respond quickly, put the client at the centre of what they do and tell it as it is. Directly because of their work Pugnare was featured twice in the Financial Times and was referenced in publications such as MoneyWeek, City AM and others. In addition, Bridgehead generated strong traction in the US media. A significant part of the success of Pugnare can be attributed to Will and his team.
Bridgehead turned a potentially disruptive moment for us into a manageable situation with their proactive and insightful approach. Their team's ability to quickly assess and respond to our crisis with tailored communication strategies was impressive. They were always available, providing clear guidance and support every step of the way.
Bridgehead Social Care have transformed our online presence by securing extensive coverage across the local, national, and trade media. Unlike other agencies they quantify their achievements. They regularly track the number of articles secured, size of audience reached, as well as benchmarking the coverage they achieve for each of our homes to the coverage secured for each of our key competitors' homes. They also suggest ideas for activities and events and regularly visit our homes in person. I enjoy working with Will and his team and couldn’t recommend them highly enough.
Bridgehead Communications have worked hard to raise awareness among policymakers in both England and Wales surrounding the key challenges our members face. Furthermore, their proactive approach in securing media and comment opportunities has also helped our message reach a broad audience within the sector. The culmination of their efforts was our 2024 manifesto launch in Parliament. Leveraging their personal Parliamentary connections to sponsor the reception, we were able to stage an event in the Terrace Pavilion in the Houses of Parliament. The event was attended by over 150 guests, including MPs, Lords, representatives from the Department for Education, key figures in the sector, college representatives, students, and journalists. As a result of their efforts, the event was attended by both the then Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years and the Shadow Minister for Skills.
Led by Will, the team at Bridgehead were brilliant. They generated media coverage at both a national and local level for our You Are Not Alone campaign. Having listened to our aims and objectives, they created and implemented a creative campaign to highlight the plight of unpaid carers across the UK as well as the launch of our free resource hub designed to offer advice and guidance to family carers. As part of their work they also recruited leading policymakers to lend their support to the campaign. I could not recommend Bridgehead highly enough. They have a unique understanding of the adult social care media and policy landscape.
I’ve worked with Will and his team several times. Both he and his team are professional and deeply knowledgeable in their understanding of the media. They consistently delivered coverage for us in top-flight publications, including the Financial Times, Dow Jones, Barron’s, as well as in the US. I would have no hesitation in recommending them.
I first retained Will in 2019 and we continue to work together to this day. He has an excellent understanding of both politics and the media and has helped to promote my work surrounding Birmingham Pride, but also as a successful entrepreneur and businessman. While we continue to work together today, I also count Will as a friend and often seek his strategic advice. I can't recommend him highly enough.
The team at Bridgehead Education have an expert knowledge and understanding of the education and skills landscape. They have delivered significant success in promoting awareness of the UTC programme through the media, both within the sector and among university and employer partners. I would be happy to recommend them to anyone in the sector.