The Little Questions

How long should it take to get a communications project approved? The answer can either be hours or an entire annual cycle.  In this episode of Little Questions, Apella partners and hosts Jenny Scott and James Kirkup explore why sign-off gets stuck and how communications leaders can help projects move forward without sacrificing trust or reputation. Jenny recommends understanding an organisation's culture, choosing your battles, and listening carefully before making your case. She shares how she appraoched the boardroom: let others speak, reflect back what you've heard, then offer a few considered observations that address concerns already raised. The conversation also considers when to seek senior buy-in early, how trust gives communications teams room to act, and why some difficult feedback is better delivered in private. From internal approvals, Jenny and James turn to reactive communications. They discuss how pre-cleared holding lines and empowered first responders can help teams respond promptly to journalists, while recognising that technical facts may need careful verification. They also consider how communications teams can demonstrate their value, not only through visible outputs but also through the risks and crises they help prevent. If you work in communications, corporate affairs, or any role that depends on cross-functional approval, this episode offers practical ideas for building relationships, handling objections, and getting the right response out in time. Jenny Scott is a former Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England. She was an advisor to the Governor and sat on the Bank's executive committee and risk committee. She was formerly economics and politics correspondent for the BBC and presenter of the Daily Politics. Trustee of Pro Bono Economics. James Kirkup has over 20 years in high-profile Westminster roles including Political Editor of the Daily Telegraph and Director of the Social Market Foundation. Extensive experience of thought leadership and advocacy work, with a particular focus on the relationship between business, politics and public policy. Continues to contribute regularly to national media outlets as a columnist at the Times and Spectator.  We'd love to know what you think. Email us at [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review. This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Is the press release dead, or just living on in a different form? In this episode of The Little Questions, hosts Jenny Scott and James Kirkup, both Partners at Apella Advisors, compare journalist habits and modern comms strategy. They discuss how AI, owned channels, and trusted relationships are reshaping story traction. Jenny and James ask if press releases still have a meaningful role in modern communications. They discuss why mass distribution rarely works, and why a press release is more effective when it supports a relevant story and an established journalist relationship. The conversation explores how press releases can function as briefing notes, sources of factual information and become part of a company's searchable public record in the age of AI. The press release itself is only one element of a wider communications strategy. They also consider the growing importance of owned channels, CEO communications, blogs, podcasts and direct audience engagement. They give examples from Octopus Energy, Relx, and Games Workshop to help illustrate different approaches to corporate storytelling and media relations. The episode provides practical advice for comms teams: focus on the corporate narrative first, share concrete evidence rather than speculation, use clear facts and bullet points, and treat the press release as one tool within a broader communications toolbox. This podcast is hosted by James Kirkup and Jenny Scott.   James has over 20 years in high-profile Westminster roles including Political Editor of the Daily Telegraph and Director of the Social Market Foundation. Extensive experience of thought leadership and advocacy work, with a particular focus on the relationship between business, politics and public policy. Continues to contribute regularly to national media outlets as a columnist at the Times and Spectator.   Jenny Scott; Former Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and co-lead for Bank wide strategy. Advisor to the Governor, sat on the Bank's executive committee and risk committee. Formerly economics and politics correspondent for the BBC and presenter of the Daily Politics. Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.  We'd love to know what you think. Email us at [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review. This episode was produced by The Podcast Coach.

In this episode, James Kirkup and Jenny Scott look at how organisations talk about gender and sex in their communications, and where that talk goes wrong. They discuss recent election campaign mistakes, media habits, and corporate messaging, and set out what authentic, evidence-based engagement looks like in practice. James and Jenny use the Makerfield by-election as a case study, breaking down voting patterns by gender and what they reveal about how political and corporate messaging lands differently with men and women. From there, the conversation moves to platforms and media habits. Men and women consume media differently, and that has direct consequences for where organisations should be spending their communications budget and how they should be writing for each channel.  The hosts warn against the "pink it and shrink it" approach to marketing: superficial gestures, like changing a product's colour or adding generic language about empowerment, tend to reinforce the stereotypes they claim to challenge. They argue for engaging women based on genuine insight rather than tokenism, and extend that argument to representation more broadly, covering how panels, media appearances, and corporate leadership benefit from a real range of voices rather than a single token presence. The discussion then turns to structural issues, including the pension gap and unequal wealth inheritance, and how organisations can address these through clear, evidence-based messaging rather than vague statements of intent. This leads into a broader point about virtue signaling: James and Jenny argue that public commitments to gender equality only hold up if an organisation's internal practices match them, and that the gap between the two is where most reputational damage happens. They also tackle the question of whether a brand needs a "female face" to reach female audiences, concluding that substance matters more than representation. The episode closes with practical guidance: how to frame campaigns without patronising the audience, how to watch tone and word choice, and how to campaign on gender issues without crossing into exploitation. They end on the point that runs through the whole episode: communication on gender works best when it starts from data and genuine engagement rather than assumption. Resources & Links Equality Act Gender and Media Consumption Data Pensions Gap Research Elizabeth Stokoe's Work on Communication and Gender Dove Campaign on Real Women Apella Advisors website This podcast is hosted by James Kirkup and Jenny Scott.   James has over 20 years in high-profile Westminster roles including Political Editor of the Daily Telegraph and Director of the Social Market Foundation. Extensive experience of thought leadership and advocacy work, with a particular focus on the relationship between business, politics and public policy. Continues to contribute regularly to national media outlets as a columnist at the Times and Spectator.   Jenny Scott; Former Executive Director of Communications at the Bank of England and co-lead for Bank wide strategy. Advisor to the Governor, sat on the Bank's executive committee and risk committee. Formerly economics and politics correspondent for the BBC and presenter of the Daily Politics. Trustee of Pro Bono Economics.  We'd love to know what you think. Email us at [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review. This episode was produced by The Podcast Coach.

AI is your newest colleague but is it your biggest communications risk? In this episode of Little Questions, the podcast from Apella Advisors, hosts Jenny Scott and James Kirkup dive into the growing challenge of artificial intelligence in corporate communications. From AI-generated legal submissions that land firms in court trouble to opinion pieces that editors can spot as machine-written from a mile away, they explore why AI mistakes are quickly becoming a reputational issue for organisations. Jenny and James unpack a recent case involving a major law firm whose attempt to explain away an AI-related error by blaming a junior employee only made matters worse. They discuss why "throwing the intern under the bus" remains one of the worst instincts in crisis communications, and why human accountability still matters even when technology is involved. The conversation also examines the strange moment we're living through with AI. Organisations are rushing to adopt powerful new tools, yet audiences, journalists and stakeholders are becoming increasingly suspicious of content that feels too polished, too structured, or just a little bit inhuman. As AI becomes more embedded in everyday business processes, how transparent should companies be about using it? We'd love to know what you think. Email us at [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review. This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

What happens when a casual political joke in a "private" employee Facebook group explodes into a national media crisis? In this episode of Little Questions, the podcast from Apella Advisors, hosts Jenny Scott and James Kirkup get into the messy reality of modern corporate communications: politics has spilled into absolutely everything. From the water cooler to staff WhatsApp groups, political discourse is no longer just for Westminster lobbyists. It's at the heart of daily organisational life. Jenny and James look at how seemingly safe spaces like company Slack channels and unofficial staff groups can turn internal banter into external reputational nightmares overnight, drawing on a recent incident involving a Royal Mail postman. They examine lessons from US corporate controversies like Bud Light, and from the UK's own divided political landscape following the Scottish and EU referendums, asking what the culture war actually costs organisations caught in the crossfire. The episode also tackles the thorny question of corporate activism. From Black Lives Matter to flying the Pride flag, how do organisations decide when to take a stand without starting to look like a political party? And does the modern push to bring your "whole self to work" actually hold up when professional responsibilities and generational divides pull in opposite directions? Jenny and James land on the same conclusion: clear decision-making frameworks beat panic every time. Know your core company purpose, focus on creating your products or providing your service, and have a plan ready before problems arise. The ultimate rule? Live and let live, but don't take the piss. We'd love to know what you think. Drop us an email - [email protected] and please consider leaving us a review. This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.