David: This is the culmination of five years' work – a journey we set upon to build an entirely new kind of stakeholder advisory and engagement group. It began in 2018 when we realised that businesses were under increasing pressure to find new and more engaging ways of communicating with their critical stakeholders. As custodians of their value creation story (through the work Black Sun was already doing with reporting and corporate websites) – it made sense of us to launch a broader stakeholder proposition that would address these changing market needs.

At the same time, we had big ambitions to scale and grow. We were already moving towards a more hybrid working model, but Covid accelerated this process, and we made significant technology investments to support our growing global workforce.

Paul: We also recognised that we couldn’t necessarily do everything ourselves, so we sought complementary skills by investing in our own talent and acquiring new businesses to create this vision that was evolving. And the vision was to create an entirely new group that would facilitate and allow this collaboration to happen. A group for like-minded agencies with a common purpose and proposition – helping businesses spark positive change.

Paul: Businesses today understand that long-term success is dependent on the support and advocacy of their stakeholders – whether they be investors, employees, or their customers around the world. They also need help navigating a fast-paced marketplace with evolving issues like climate change, diversity & inclusion and hybrid workplaces.

Stakeholder needs are changing too. Customers today are far more likely to buy from companies that share their own values and purpose. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting is having a significant impact on investment decisions. And employees want to work for organisations that make positive contributions to society and care about the same issues they do.

Providing clear and transparent communications on how businesses build positive change has become critical in building trust, loyalty and long-term engagement. And this is exactly what our mission is as a group. By partnering with bold and visionary companies and helping them define and communicate their purpose, strategy, culture, and performance - we can collectively inspire trust, build positive relations, and create long-term value for the people who matter most.

David: The Positive Change Group brings together a completely fresh new approach to stakeholder advisory and engagement. Our group companies are all market leaders with deep specialist expertise, working with leadership teams in some of the largest organisations in the world. They really know their stuff. By combining strategy, analytics, technology and creative storytelling, we are able to collectively help businesses create positive change by transforming the way they engage with stakeholders: connecting customers, employees, investors and partners in a way that’s never been done before.

David: Being a group means that we can do more and deliver more for our clients, our people, and our partners. Why? Because as a collective, we can support our clients with a range of services that help them win the trust and support of their stakeholders. Our investments in enterprise technologies and centralised processes enable our specialist agencies to develop and grow. And by sharing our expertise and knowledge across the group, we are able to benefit collectively by creating a ‘virtuous circle’ of sustainable value creation. The result is a strengthening of our combined proposition and group impact.

Paul: By establishing the Positive Change Group, we are building the most powerful collective of like-minded premium businesses who want to make a positive impact on this world. We already have headquarters in London, Singapore and offices worldwide – and are proud to count major international brands such as Diageo, Burberry, Vodafone, Virgin Atlantic and AstraZeneca among our long-term client relationships.

David: But this is just the start. Today, the group comprises Black Sun, People Made, Stratton Craig and GoCo – but we have big plans and will bring in more agencies through over the coming years. We’ll also be expanding our offerings through new specialist services – and significant investments in our workforce, including a new office in New York. We’re really excited about the future and will be sharing more big news as our journey unfolds!