Appointed by Newcastle Building Society Group in 2024 to support the launch of its new Manchester Building Society brand, we entered 2025 with clear objectives: introduce the brand to stakeholders across Greater Manchester, articulate its role in supporting local communities and members, and build a communications platform to underpin new products, senior recruitment and the return to a physical high-street presence. Our remit also focused on shaping long-term stakeholder relationships to support future growth.
We centred our approach on human stories that would bring the brand’s purpose to life. Early activity focused on corporate announcements – including investment and the Society’s return to the high street – before shifting to stronger consumer-led storytelling later in the year. This approach helped establish early momentum and laid solid foundations for the brand’s wider rollout.
Ahead of PR activity launching in January 2025, we ran a senior-level narrative workshop – including the CEO – to test and refine messaging. We then developed core materials such as the narrative, Q&A, launch release and stakeholder letter to introduce the brand to key opinion formers.
Throughout 2025 we delivered a sustained programme of activity: drafting 10 media stories, generating over 50 pieces of targeted editorial coverage – including multiple executive interviews and leading to a reach of more than 1.1 million – and running a stakeholder engagement workshop supported by a detailed engagement tracker. We also coordinated photography across all media moments and led creative development for the first brand campaign, launching the Rainy Day Saver product through video, photography, written content, community group partnerships and original research across all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs. This body of work helped build visibility, credibility and early traction for the new brand.
Kathryn McLaughlin,
Head of Group Corporate Affairs, Newcastle Building Society Group
