Group Marketing Director - Barbour ABI
Barbour ABI
LMC's data specialists help Barbour ABI turn complex planning data into influential national news stories.
“The strategic element LMC has brought and keeps bringing to how we all deliver communications is just top class. The team consistently goes beyond our expectations. LMC is the best PR partner I’ve had across all the verticals I’ve worked in, because it’s a partnership rather than a transactional relationship."
"PR like this helps us win deals - we won a big consultancy project last week and they cited seeing us in the news all the time as an influencing factor."
Barbour ABI is a construction intelligence company which helps contractors build business pipelines through access to planning data. It provides data on market trends, planning applications and contract awards to clients, and informs official data for multiple Government departments and industry bodies.
Challenge
LMC’s objectives were to raise Barbour ABI’s profile as an expert in construction data, to match the media presence of competitors already established in this space, and to help the industry increase its understanding of the value of robust, data-based decision making.
At the heart of our work was the mining of a vast store of data surrounding planning and spending on construction in the UK. We worked with Barbour ABI to take these large, complex data sets and turn them into high-impact, easy-to-understand stories that would appeal to the media and help potential customers understand the value of Barbour ABI’s data.
At the heart of our work was the mining of a vast store of data surrounding planning and spending on construction in the UK. We worked with Barbour ABI to take these large, complex data sets and turn them into high-impact, easy-to-understand stories that would appeal to the media and help potential customers understand the value of Barbour ABI’s data.
Strategy
Key to our work with Barbour ABI has been developing our own in-house data analytics and visualisation expertise. This has enabled us to work with Barbour’s data team on equal terms, identifying data-driven, newsworthy insights together and building a truly collaborative relationship.
Our strategy involved communicating regular monthly analysis of industry performance, as well as deep diving into Barbour’s data sets to identify insights we could share with journalists, tracking trending issues and highlighting topics that would gain the most traction.
We developed in-house data analysis capability specifically for Barbour and created media-focused dashboards that highlight newsworthy insights. These included housing delivery, infrastructure investment, and, most significantly, contractor financial performance, a topic often featured in trade and national media.
Our established media relationships ensured national journalists viewed Barbour ABI as an authoritative and reliable source.
Our strategy involved communicating regular monthly analysis of industry performance, as well as deep diving into Barbour’s data sets to identify insights we could share with journalists, tracking trending issues and highlighting topics that would gain the most traction.
We developed in-house data analysis capability specifically for Barbour and created media-focused dashboards that highlight newsworthy insights. These included housing delivery, infrastructure investment, and, most significantly, contractor financial performance, a topic often featured in trade and national media.
Our established media relationships ensured national journalists viewed Barbour ABI as an authoritative and reliable source.
Results
Year on year, LMC has secured Barbour ABI multiple mentions in almost all national media. Meanwhile, monthly industry insights gain regular coverage in trade media, ensuring Barbour ABI’s name is always in the news when it comes to industry data.
Front-page stories on BBC News app
Winner of PRCA 2024 Dare Award for Media Relations
