*Dawn over the Sahara; I took the photo in 1997 from the cockpit of a Sudan Airways jet over the Sahara north of Khartoum, shortly before dawn. The sun is below the horizon but, at 35,000 feet, it blazes in dazzling colours on the underside of the clouds. The desert below would still have been in darkness.
Case Study 2  - Consumer product

Client is a consumer products company that faced controversy and misunderstanding about one element of their product range.

Initially, we researched the products and the industry to make sure we understood and were happy with the products. Early on, we proposed the formation of a trade association of manufacturers of the products and this was duly created. We then needed to find out what support the company and its products had from consumers so we created a campaign of customers writing to their MPs and we have copies of several hundred letters sent to the MPs and the response from the Government Minister. All but a very small number of the letters were fully supportive of the client’s products, stating that they had solved the problem for which they were purchased, with no negative side effects.

Next we created a survey of customers which asked about their experience of using the products and found the client had a customer approval rating of 95 % to 97% for the key questions. In addition we established communication with the relevant government department and developed their understanding of the products and the inadequacy of the science being relied on by the product’s detractors to the extent that officials issued a statement that these studies were insufficiently robust to to form a basis for policy. We also put together a high powered technical team that responded to to Government consultations at Westminster and in the devolved assemblies of Scotland and Wales.

When the Government department commissioned scientific research into the products, we worked with their scientists and the university researchers to ensure that the research went ahead on a sound scientific basis. We continue to work at the highest level to support the relevant government department in the unfolding of their stated policy.                                                                                   
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