PR objectives
Black Letter Communications (BLC) have been working with specialist regulator, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) since 2017.
Our role is to support the firm’s senior management team in communicating the current business strategy and driving engagement amongst its regulated community, the wider legal profession and consumers.
In doing so, we have sought to position CLC as an authority on, and enabler of, a more transparent, secure, and innovative conveyancing process as well as a challenger regulator, differentiated by the value it adds to its regulated community of conveyancers and probate practitioners.
Much of the CLC’s work is focused on setting and monitoring standards for its regulated community. As such, our PR objectives are:
- deliver regular and informative insights to regulated conveyancers everywhere;
- provide a confident and authoritative voice on issues that matter to the regulated community;
- demonstrate reasons for SRA-regulated firms and hivers to switch to CLC regulation;
- support the promotion of conveyancing as an attractive career option; and
- consistently deliver insights and updates on the conveyancing process to educate consumers.
Our work
Our press office work consistently delivers against these objectives, ensuring CLC’s voice and that of its regulated community are heard on key issues across legal, conveyancing, property and consumer media. Not only have coverage targets been smashed year on year, but there have been consistent increases in website traffic directly related to our work, an increase in the number of unsolicited approaches from both b2b and b2c journalists for comment and an increase in the number of speaking opportunities at key industry events following our thought leadership work.
Noteworthy initiatives created by BLC include:
The Customer Charter: The charter takes the core elements of the CLC charter and clearly sets out what a consumer can expect from a CLC regulated lawyer. Every practice can feature the charter in their marketing materials as a proof of the standards set by the CLC, thereby increasing transparency, and providing additional reassurance to consumers.
Conveyancing 2030: A major report looking at what the conveyancing market will look like in 2030. Forming a key part of the CLC’s annual conference, the report identified six ‘futures’ that practices may need to start thinking about.
In addition to widespread media coverage on the report’s contents, traffic to the CLC’s website increased by 30% and the content was used to inform media comment and articles throughout the year.
Risk Agenda: First launched in 2021, this annual report focuses on the key issues facing the regulated community each year. Not only does it provide content for the year ahead, but it also gives the CLC a tool to assist with compliance, while demonstrating its outcomes-focused approach.
Other work has included securing speaking opportunities at Law Society and other industry events, hosting an annual stakeholder roundtable and creating case study banks of practices who have either switched or hived off their conveyancing practice from SRA regulation and of newly-qualified or established practitioners to showcase the range of training and career paths on offer.
Stephen Ward, director of strategy and external relations, at the CLC says: “We are a specialist regulator, yet consistently manage to punch above our weight when it comes to share of voice.
“Black Letter Communications are trusted PR partners who not only understand our responsibilities as a regulator, but who have an excellent grasp of technical issues allowing them to help us communicate effectively to a wide range of audiences.
“I’m particularly impressed with their proactivity; they don’t wait to be asked to do something and regularly come up with new creative approaches to enable us to be heard.”
