For over a decade BLUE provided global PR, media relations, brand research and corporate communications support to the UK Hydrographic Office, a UK government agency and centre for hydrography. For 225 years, the UKHO has provided its ADMIRALTY nautical charts and navigation solutions to most of the world’s internationally trading fleet, supporting safety at sea and protecting the marine environment.
BLUE began working with the UKHO at the start of an era-defining transformation for the global commercial fleet, as it moved from navigating on paper charts to digital navigation solutions. We worked with the UKHO at every stage of the ‘ECDIS transition’ as shipowners swapped paper charts for electronic charts, in line with the IMO-mandated timetable. The challenge was to raise awareness among UKHO’s end-users of the benefits of digital navigation, and of the most effective way to make the switch smoothly and safely. Today we support the UKHO as it bridges to the next generation of digital navigation solutions, powered by advances in data science, machine learning and digital technologies.
Our approach reinforced the UKHO’s brand positioning and reputation as a trusted industry leader on maritime navigation, the organisation the shipping industry looks to for insight, expertise and guidance, while evolving to stay relevant to the issues its end-users faced.
Working with the UKHO marketing team, BLUE provided PR and communications support across multiple channels, including the global maritime media and UKHO’s owned platforms including social and digital content. We also delivered strategic media planning and buying, running impactful campaigns to key audiences across digital, print, events and programmatic inventories. We supported the UKHO’s programme of industry workshops, briefings and initiatives, alongside external speaking and industry engagement opportunities. Corporate communications support included speech writing, presentations and content for corporate publications, plus brand discovery research to provide stakeholder insight into brand perception.
Throughout the relationship we drew on in-depth knowledge of the shipping industry to reach the right audience through the right channel, whether fleet managers, superintendents and board-level decision makers within shipping companies, or the seafarers who used UKHO’s navigation solutions every day. We also provided counsel as the UKHO engaged with contemporary industry challenges and showed the role navigation solutions can play, from tackling modern piracy through to protecting the marine environment and supporting decarbonisation.
The UKHO played a critical role in guiding the shipping community through a decade of transition into a new era of digital-first maritime navigation. Working hand in hand with the UKHO marketing communications team, BLUE delivered strategic, targeted PR programmes across multiple channels, conveying UKHO’s key messages to maritime audiences around the world. By reinforcing the UKHO’s position as a trusted industry leader and a partner in the global hydrographic community, our approach helped protect and strengthen its reputation while promoting its ADMIRALTY navigational solutions.
