News
Car club enlists Open Road to target government
February 15th 2007
Leading car-sharing company Streetcar has brought in fledgling public affairs consultancy Open Road.
The appropriately named agency beat off three other consultancies in a pitch for the business.
It will target central and local government to raise awareness of the environmental benefits of car clubs. In particular, it will push for more parking spaces for clubs and for users to be exempt from congestion charges.
Clubs let members hire locally parked cars for an hourly fee. They are now operating in 26 towns and cities, and rural areas. The biggest firms in the business are City Car Club and Streetcar – which currently has around 10,000 members but expects this to rise to over 20,000 by the end of the year.
Open Road will initially target central government. Transport for London, the Greater London Authority and London boroughs to raise awareness of car clubs’ contribution to reducing emissions and congestion.
The agency will emphasise that a high proportion of Streetcar members give up their car or do not buy one. It will also stress that members drive less after joining the scheme and use public transport more frequently.
Open Road was set up last month by well-known figures in PA and corporate comms consultancy (PRWeek, 12 January). Its chief executive is Graham McMillan, former Fishburn Hedges head of PA.
This week, Open Road was accepted as a member of the Association of Professional Political Consultants. This takes the APPC’s membership to 39.
APPC Membership Release
February 12th 2007
The APPC are delighted to welcome yet another new member into its membership – Open Road. This brings the total membership of the APPC to 39 with more potential members on their way.
Open Road is a new independent consultancy specialising in corporate communications, public affairs and corporate responsibility. Its founders are: Nick Deluca, former MD of APCO UK who helped to develop APCO’s European and transatlantic business; Graham McMillan, former Head of Public Affairs at Fishburn Hedges and winner of Consultant of the Year at the Public Affairs News awards of 2005; Victoria Tate, former Head of Public Affairs at the Spirit Group and former board director and Head of the Consumer Issues practice at Fishhburn Hedges; and Martin Le Jeune, former Head of Public Affairs at Sky, former director and Head of Corporate Responsibility at Fishburn Hedges and former Cabinet Office civil servant.
Graham McMillan, chief executive of Open Road said:
“The APPC is the leading representative and self-regulatory body for public affairs consultancies in the UK. It has always led the way in raising standards in the industry and in ensuring high ethical standards. As a new consultancy that has an ethical approach to public affairs, we were always determined to join and are delighted that we are now members.”
APPC Chair, Gill Morris, said:
“This is a new company formed by consultants who have previously worked within the APPC Code of Conduct and their early decision to join demonstrates the value of the Code. I could not be more pleased with the current trend and, as always, I would urge others consider the benefits and to join us.”
Open Road
Open Road Appointed by Streetcar
February 12th 2007
New strategic communications consultancy, Open Road, has been appointed after a competitive pitch to develop a London-focused stakeholder campaign for the leading car club scheme, Streetcar.
The campaign will target London boroughs, the GLA, TfL and central government to raise awareness of the contribution that car clubs can make to reducing emissions and congestion. It also aims to win support in promoting car clubs in London and beyond to achieve the environmental benefits that they bring as quickly as possible.
Streetcar owns 250 cars across 160 locations in London, Brighton and Southampton. The scheme currently has around 10,000 members and this is expected to rise to over 20,000 by the end of the year. It was the first company of its kind in the UK to become profitable. A high proportion of Streetcar members give up their car or do not buy one, they drive less after joining the scheme and they use public transport more frequently.
The western extension of the congestion charge on 19th February and the consultation on variable charging for the scheme will provide a major impetus for activity. Open Road plans to raise awareness of the benefits of car clubs to a wide audience, working closely with Streetcar media relations and marketing agency, Loop Communications, on an integrated push. Later in the year, Streetcar plans a major London-wide marketing campaign involving advertising, PR and direct mail.
Andrew Valentine, Chief Executive of Streetcar, said:
“Since Streetcar was set up it has attracted thousands of members, replacing 28 privately owned cars with every Streetcar. In 2007, we estimate that we will help to save over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Decision making in London can be complex and multi-layered and we want to reach everyone with our message.”
Graham McMillan, Chief Executive of Open Road, said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity to work with a young growing company that has a great future and can make a major contribution to reducing emissions and congestion. Car clubs have enormous potential and Streetcar is projecting significant growth in the next few years. We are keen to help them get their message across consistently and effectively to all of the key decision makers and policy makers in London and beyond.”
For further information please contact:
Graham McMillan: (o) 020 7812 6841, (m) 0772 0772 909
Victoria Tate: (o) 020 7812 6846, (m) 07973 519088
Lord of Lobbying
February 9th 2007
The one man who exerted the greatest influence on the world of lobbying in the last twenty years was not himself a lobbyist. Nor did he concern himself directly with the way in which lobbyists behaved. But anyone working in public affairs today operates within the framework which he created.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, the ‘Nolan Rules’ for public appointments, indirectly the success of the Association of Professional Political Consultants and its code – all owe their existence to Michael Nolan, who died on 22 January after a long illness.
Nolan was a distinguished Law Lord when he was asked to head the newly created Committee on Standards in Public Life in 1994. It was the era of cash for questions and parliamentary sleaze, and a panicky John Major took the classic way out of a press firestorm – hand the tricky issue to a pillar of the establishment.
But if Major hoped that the result would be a dull report he picked the wrong man. Nolan was not a showy or demonstrative figure. But he had a powerful moral sense and felt that – to use his phrase – ‘a certain slackness’ in behaviour had crept in.
I worked for him at the Standards Committee from its beginning. The first sign to me that this would not be a conventional piece of political bromide came with his decision to take evidence in public. MPs, peers, lobbyists, journalists and others turned up to be subjected to courteous but firm questioning. Had standards in public life declined? Were many legislators on the take? What should be done to restore public confidence?
Nolan’s report recommended a serious tightening of the rules on disclosure for MPs, and a much tougher regime on paid advocacy for outside interests. The role of ministers in deciding public appointments was restricted, and their code of conduct was to be expanded and clarified. Civil servants were now to be given a route for raising concerns about improper political pressure.
When the report was published there was some harrumphing from the old guard. But the immediate public acclaim for the Committee’s work was irresistible. Virtually all the recommendations were adopted without argument.
The irony was that Michael Nolan did not himself believe that the system was corrupt or rotten. But he felt strongly that without a visible clean-up, the perception that things had gone bad would cripple public life.
Did he succeed? It is true that he could not stem the decline in public confidence. What he did do was to erase many of the grey areas which had been exploited by chancers and spivs on the make. And he prompted public affairs professionals to take a hard look at the way they operated and regulate themselves properly. For that we owe him an enormous debt.
Martin Le Jeune
Martin Le Jeune is a founder-director of Communications Consultancy Open Road. He was assistant secretary of the Committee on Standards in Public Life between 1994 and 1997.