SEC Newgate UK

There was a time when typos and odd grammar made it easier to spot a scam, but recently I’ve received a few emails, both scam and genuine, that have made me think twice about their authenticity, and I’m not alone. According to National Trading Standards’ new AI Scam Watchlist, 47% of UK adults think it is getting harder to tell what’s genuine online. The continued acceleration of AI capabilities make it easier for scammers to create genuine-looking content, including images and videos.

This year's Conservative Party Conference was branded a ‘Festival of Ideas’, reflecting a party that is increasingly focused on demonstrating policy substance and government readiness. Across Birmingham, Conservative figures sought to project a message of competence, fiscal discipline and national renewal, with particular emphasis on defence, economic growth and rebuilding trust with business. Defence emerged as one of the defining themes of the conference.

Some industry events or titles are more than the sum of their parts, cutting through across different markets and audiences. I would wager that MIPIM is one of those events. To refer to it as a property industry conference is like referring to Vogue as a fashion industry trade title: perhaps true, but it rather misses the point.

Unveiled just ahead of the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, the Government’s new ‘Your First Home’ scheme raises some interesting questions. What we know so far is that it is a Government equity loan initiative in England designed to help first-time buyers purchase new-build properties with a low deposit of 2.5%. Firm details will be released as part of the Budget announcement next month.

Energy policy has become too interesting, according to Polly Billington, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ) minister for energy consumers. Today’s release of forecasts predicting a dramatic increase in household bills is another reminder that the Government can’t avoid the politics of energy and how we pay for it, no matter how appealing that prospect may be.

The Government recently published its guidance replacing the former statutory requirement for consultation on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) with an expectation of meaningful stakeholder engagement. At Solar and Storage Live in Birmingham last week, a panel including my colleague Imogen Fawcett discussed how the changing rules around consultation were being implemented on site.

For years, marketing and comms professionals have relied on analytics to understand how messages spread online. We track website visits, social media engagement, click-through rates and conversions. But some of the most influential conversations about organisations, brands and public issues take place beyond the reach of traditional measurement. This hidden layer of communication is often referred to as dark social. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with the dark web or anything malicious.

Twelve months ago, Andy Burnham arrived at Labour Party Conference as the party's insurgent-in-chief. Fresh from Greater Manchester and armed with an ambitious vision for reshaping the country, there was no shortage of enthusiasm for brand Andy. By the end of conference, however, the sense among members, the media, and MPs alike was that he’d gone too far too soon, with the then Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s position strengthened, albeit temporarily. What a difference a year makes.

“I’ve seen some of the most successful CEOs struggle under the spotlight of media attention. That pressure can originate from a narrative pushed by a tiny social media account or an obscure Reddit page, before rapidly developing into a much larger problem,” said an attendee at the recent SEC Newgate, gunnercooke & EDD Group roundtable on the fragmented media landscape.

We’re living in an era of extreme corporate and institutional distrust. People don’t have faith that big businesses, government, and the other institutions that shape their lives have what it takes to solve society’s biggest problems. They are more likely to believe they are the cause of them. This is understandable.