WHO SIGNED THIS OFF: JUNE EDITION
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JUNE EDITION:
WHO SIGNED THIS OFF?!
Ever felt intimidated by the brainpower in the room?
The Harpswood team working with new client NewOrbit experienced this last week as we were wowed by the PhDs and ex NASA scientists populating the lab in Reading, Berks. We had a peek inside a giant vacuum chamber while getting to grips with very low earth orbit satellites.
Attending Reset Connect? Time to take the Harpswood challenge…
Harpswood is running a stand (L540) at Reset Connect, the climate tech event at the Excel which runs in conjunction with London Climate Action Week. We will be challenging business leaders to take the Harpswood media training test. You will be grilled on camera by a former journalist to test your media chops. The event runs on Tues 23 and Weds 24 June.
We’re hiring!
We’re looking for an Account Executive to join our growing team in Shoreditch, east London. If you want to work with purpose-driven businesses and help them earn credibility in the media, we'd love to hear from you. We are looking for a natural storyteller with strong media instincts and a ‘can-do’ attitude.
We offer brilliant training, career progression and opportunities to learn from ex-journalists and PR pros. If this sounds like a role for you or a friend get in touch 👉 careers@harpswood.com
️⚡️ MY PR GUY WORKS MIRACLES…
Can you imagine being the PR exec who shouted across the office to their boss: “We’ve got the Pope - he’ll do the launch!” All your prayers answered. But the Sir Jony Ive-designed Ferrari Luce, the iconic Italian brand’s first electric car, still got a kicking despite having the Pontiff at the wheel. Ex Ferrari chair Luca di Montezemolo was scathing, anti EV critics piled in and the share price dropped 8 per cent. Some industry analysts said all that mattered was the order book, dismissing the fuss as a load of papal bull.
️🛢️ OIL NOT LET THAT GO UNCHALLENGED
A PR battle is playing out in oil & gas after BP defenestrated its chair Albert Manifold with concerns over his behaviour, including allegations of bullying. The story was dominated with quotes from people “familiar with BP”, people “with knowledge of the matter” and people “close to Manifold”. The executive himself got on the front foot, telling the FT on the record: “I will not allow a false narrative to go unchallenged.” A number of publications resurrected BP’s unwelcome nickname: Beyond Parody.
🇬🇧 LONDON IS EUROPE’S VC TOPSPOT
London is leading the charge for climate tech funding in Europe, deploying £2.1 billion in capital in the sector in 2025. Impact Loop VC used Dealroom’s data to put London at the top of the pile, with four times the deployed capital of second city Stockholm. Other UK cities faring well included Cambridge (7th, £178m), Oxford (10th, £133m) and Edinburgh (20th, £55m).
⚽️ GOOD COMMS? NO COMMENT…
The eternal question for anyone in PR: how do you handle a question you don’t want to answer? Two examples in recent weeks showed how not to do it.
Southampton FC found itself at the centre of a spying controversy. When a journalist asked under-fire manager Tonda Eckert, “Are you a cheat?”, the club’s PR chief ended the press conference with the dismissive words, “Show some respect.” Southampton were subsequently kicked out of the play offs and admitted Eckert had authorised spying.
Meanwhile new Channel 4 boss Priya Dogra took press questions outside the broadcaster’s HQ over the Married At First Sight safeguarding scandal. As a journalist asked “Will you apologise to the women involved?”, Dogra turned her back and walked away. Some questions aren’t easy to answer and may have legal repercussions. But there are better techniques than pompously reprimanding the inquisitor or just walking off.
LEADERS UNFILTERED
“MAKING A HORROR FILM TO EXPLAIN SOCIAL MOBILITY SHOULDN’T WORK BUT DID!”
Sarah Atkinson, CEO of the Social Mobility Foundation, is our leader unfiltered this month.
The foundation unlocks potential for ambitious young people who face structural barriers in education and work because of their socio-economic background.
Harpswood is a supporter of the foundation and has worked pro bono on a number of its projects since 2022.
What’s your current biggest challenge?
Ensuring that social mobility remains high on the agenda at a time when the labour market is changing rapidly and businesses are facing competing pressures. There’s a risk that widening inequality is becoming normalised. Our role is to show that widening access to opportunity isn’t a ‘nice to have’ - it’s fundamental to long-term success and resilience.
What are you most excited about for the SMF right now?
We know that our work makes a huge difference - independent evaluation by the DWP shows that young people we've supported are more likely to be in work, and earn over £5000 a year more than their peers. As we celebrate our 20th birthday, I'm excited to work with the team to think about how we can scale our impact, supporting more young people and helping more employers rethink how they find and develop talent.
What’s one book, podcast or article you think everyone should read?
Everyone should read “The Class Ceiling” by Sam Friedman & Daniel Laurison. It powerfully demonstrates how class background shapes career outcomes in many different industries. It's engaging and an essential text for anyone serious about fairness and talent.
What story about the SMF has landed best with the media, and why?
The stories that resonate most are the ones that centre the voices and experiences of young people. Last year our Unheard Voices research into the experiences of young people trying to enter the labour market showed the barriers that they're facing; we worked with some of our brilliant young campaigners to lead the story. Their advocacy shifts the narrative from abstract inequality to something human, urgent - and solvable.
I'm also very proud of the impact of our short film, Stay Down, with Michael Socha. Making a modern horror film to explain social mobility shouldn't work, but it did!
NEWS-O-METER
🤩 NAILED IT
US AI giant Anthropic filed for an IPO with its value expected to exceed $1 trillion. The firm behind Claude is now part of a race with Elon Musk’s Space X and Sam Altman’s Open AI to go public first. Its value has increased by an astonishing 15 times over the last 15 months. Some analysts praised the move. Mergermarket’s Troy Hooper told the BBC: “The first mover has a real chance to define how public markets value generative AI.”
🥶 FAILED IT
Nicola Sturgeon’s lawyer Aamer Anwar was caught on screen in a set up shot as his client prepared to be grilled by Laura Kuenssberg on her Sunday show. The former SNP party leader was preparing to answer questions about the guilty plea of Peter Murrell, her ex husband and former SNP CEO, to embezzling party funds. The appearance of Anwar in the shadows created more noise that Sturgeon didn’t need.
🔥 HOT TAKE
The May heatwave was not short of startling numbers. Kew Gardens reached 35.1C, the highest UK May temperature on record. Cardiff hit 32.9C, setting a new Welsh May record. Across the UK, 163 Met Office sites recorded new May daytime highs and 99 recorded their warmest May nights. The debate quickly shifted to accusations of scaremongering and complaints that weather maps look too red. But the graphics were beside the point - the data trend says it all.
MIND YOUR LANGUAGE
📓 CUT THE WAFFLE
More evidence of corporate jargon rotting the brain as a new study finds that people who like jargon aren’t the sharpest. Researchers found that employees who liked corporate buzzwords scored lower on tests of analytical thinking and problem-solving, it was reported by The Times. (Brilliantly, the study was carried out by cognitive scientist Shane Littrell. We await a response in favour of fluffy language from his nemesis, Wayne Figurative.)
HARPSWOOD IRL
MEET OUR LONDON TEAM THIS JUNE AT:
🗓️ Offline by Fora for SXSW @ Fora Montacute Yards on Thursday 4th June.
🗓️ Reset Connect @ Excel London on Tuesday 23rd - Wednesday 24th June drop by our stand (L540 next to The GreenTech Pavilion) to say hello and get some quickfire media training.
🗓️ Climate Tech Time @ One Triton Square on Wednesday 24th June.