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What is Communications Management?
Communications Management is a UK-based consultancy that works specifically with higher education institutions on reputation, influence and communications. Its stated focus is helping universities and other higher educators reach wider audiences, articulate their strengths, build reputations and demonstrate impact. The practice says it has been working in this field since 1987, and its client testimonials come from people in university communications, marketing and commercial roles.
What it actually does
The work falls into four broad service areas described on the site:
- Audits and analysis — investigating and addressing reputational challenges, including external stakeholder reviews that feed into institutional strategy.
- Strategy and support — shaping and delivering communications strategy, often alongside in-house teams.
- Campaigns and creativity — building engagement campaigns rather than one-off announcements.
- HE partnerships — connecting commercial partners with higher education institutions.
The site frames these against common sector problems: student recruitment, retention and satisfaction; staff and student engagement; research funding and commercial income; academic and service partnerships; public profile; crisis management; and policy influence.
Who it is for
The audience is universities, colleges and specialist higher education providers, and typically the communications, marketing or external affairs leaders within them. A director of communications at a specialist arts institution describes the firm as giving "the time, insight and patience to build relationships with the faculty" and translating academic work into media-friendly stories — a useful signal if your main obstacle is that researchers are reluctant or unpractised at public engagement. A university marketing officer describes an external stakeholder review that "held up a mirror" to the institution and supported a strategy review, which points to audit and evidence-gathering work rather than day-to-day press office support.
How to judge whether it fits
The practical question is whether you need outside help with positioning and reputation, or with execution. If your team already produces good output but lacks a clear narrative, an audit and strategy engagement is the sensible starting point. If the gap is capacity — campaigns, media relations, crisis cover — the campaigns and partnerships services are more relevant. A useful next step is to look at the case-style detail behind each service area and compare it with your own brief, then ask for references from institutions of a similar size and profile to yours.
For wider sector context, organisations such as Advance HE and Universities UK publish material on reputation and communications in higher education that can help you frame a brief before approaching any consultancy.
How can Communications Management help universities improve their public engagement and reputation?
Communications Management is a UK-based consultancy that works specifically with higher education institutions on reputation, influence and communications. Its site frames the core problem as one of visibility and translation: universities produce valuable research, teaching and expertise, but that value often fails to reach wider audiences, funders, policymakers or prospective students. The firm positions itself as helping institutions "reach wider, articulate their strengths, build their reputations, project their pulling power, and bolster their impact" — a remit that spans public engagement and reputational management rather than marketing alone.
Where it intervenes
The site groups its work into four areas, each aimed at a different reputation or engagement problem:
- Audits & Analysis — investigating and overcoming reputational challenges. This is the diagnostic end: understanding how external stakeholders actually perceive an institution before trying to change that perception.
- Strategy & Support — shaping and delivering communications, including helping academic experts become more publicly engaged and translating specialist work into media-friendly stories.
- Campaigns & Creativity — building engagement through campaigns rather than one-off announcements.
- HE Partnerships — connecting commercial partners with higher educators, which supports income generation and external relationship building.
The stated outcomes include student recruitment, retention and satisfaction; staff and student engagement; research funding and commercial income; partnerships; public acclaim; crisis management; and policy influence. That list is broad, so the practical value depends on which of those problems an institution actually has.
What the client evidence suggests
The site quotes several sector communications leaders. Lorna Gozzard of The Courtauld highlights the relational approach — giving "time, insight and patience to build relationships with the faculty and help translate what they do into media-friendly stories." That points to a common friction: academics are often willing but not equipped for public engagement, and internal communications teams lack capacity to bridge the gap.
Justin (named in the Solent University quote) is credited with a "detailed, comprehensive external stakeholder review" that fed a strategy review, with the findings presented at senior level. The University of Bristol quote describes recommendations that strengthened a Media & PR team through a period of change. Read together, the pattern is diagnosis first, then capability-building inside the institution — not simply running campaigns on its behalf.
Deciding whether this fits
This kind of support suits institutions facing a specific, definable problem: a reputational issue, a strategy refresh that needs external evidence, a push to raise the public profile of research, or a communications team that needs restructuring. It is less obviously suited to routine marketing production.
A useful next step is to ask two questions internally. First, can you name the reputation or engagement problem in one sentence, and who outside the institution needs to change their behaviour or perception as a result? Second, do you need outside evidence and challenge, or additional delivery capacity? Audits and strategy work answer the first; campaigns and partnerships work answer the second. If you cannot answer the first question, a diagnostic engagement is the more sensible starting point.
For context on how other organisations approach university communications and reputation, Advance HE and Universities UK publish sector guidance and frameworks that can help you scope the problem before commissioning external support.
What specific services does Communications Management offer for higher education institutions?
Communications Management is a UK consultancy focused on higher education, and its work clusters around four service lines: Audits & Analysis, Strategy & Support, Campaigns & Creativity, and HE Partnerships. Each addresses a different stage of a reputation or communications problem, so the practical question for a university is usually which stage you are actually at.
The four service lines
| Service line | Stated purpose | Typical trigger for a university |
|---|---|---|
| Audits & Analysis | Investigating and overcoming reputational challenges | A reputational problem you cannot fully diagnose internally, or a strategy review that needs external stakeholder evidence |
| Strategy & Support | Shaping and delivering great communications | You know the goal but lack capacity, structure or a clear plan |
| Campaigns & Creativity | Creating and building full-on engagement | You need a specific push — recruitment, research profile, an event or launch |
| HE Partnerships | Connecting commercial partners and higher educators | You want research funding, commercial income or industry links |
What the outcomes are aimed at
The site names the results it works towards: student recruitment, retention and satisfaction; student and staff engagement; research funding and commercial income; academic and service partnerships; public acclaim; crisis management; and influencing policy change. That list is a useful checklist for scoping a brief, because it separates recruitment-facing work from reputation and policy work — two things universities often bundle into one communications request when they need different approaches.
There is also a clear emphasis on public engagement of academic experts, framed on the site as a question about why more academics are not publicly engaged. In practice this is the bridge between the "Strategy & Support" and "Campaigns & Creativity" lines: media training and story translation for faculty, then campaigns that put those voices in front of audiences.
Evidence from client work
The page carries client observations rather than the consultancy's own claims. Lorna Gozzard, Director of Communications, Marketing and Commercial at The Courtauld, notes that the firm "gives the time, insight and patience to build relationships with the faculty and help translate what they do into media-friendly stories" — which points to a hands-on, embedded way of working with academics rather than a purely strategic advisory role. Leigh Rengger, Chief Marketing Officer at Solent University, Southampton, describes a "detailed, comprehensive external stakeholder review" that fed into a strategy review, with findings communicated at senior level. Will Marsh, Deputy Director of Communications at the University of Bristol, credits recommendations with strengthening the Media & PR team.
Read together, those comments suggest the audit and stakeholder-review work is the most documented part of the offer, and that the firm positions itself as working alongside in-house teams rather than replacing them. If your institution already has a capable communications function but lacks an external read on reputation, that combination is the strongest fit. If you need campaign execution without a diagnostic phase, ask directly how the Campaigns & Creativity line runs as a standalone engagement.
A practical next step
Before approaching them, write a one-page brief that names the outcome you want from the list above, the audience it targets, and whether you need diagnosis, strategy, execution or partnership brokering. That maps onto the four service lines and makes an initial conversation far more productive. It is also worth comparing against broader-sector advisers such as Times Higher Education for benchmarking and data, or a general-purpose agency if your need is purely creative production.
How does Communications Management assist with crisis management and policy influence for universities?
Communications Management helps universities in two related but distinct ways: managing reputational crises and building the influence needed to shape policy. Its stated services include crisis management and influencing policy change, alongside audits, strategy, campaigns and commercial partnerships. The focus is on higher education specifically, which matters because university reputations are tied to student recruitment, research funding, staff and student confidence, and public trust.
Crisis management
A university crisis rarely stays contained. A bad news story can affect applications, international partnerships, funder confidence and internal morale at the same time. The practical work usually involves:
- Auditing the issue and the wider reputational picture before deciding how to respond
- Preparing leaders and communications teams for media and stakeholder scrutiny
- Coordinating messages across faculties, central communications and external partners
- Rebuilding trust over time rather than treating the crisis as a single press statement
The testimonial from Solent University's chief marketing officer describes a detailed external stakeholder review that fed into a strategy review, with senior-level communication of the findings allowing the university to act on them. That is a useful illustration of the audit-to-action model: evidence first, then decisions.
Policy influence
Policy influence is a slower, relationship-led activity. It means translating academic expertise into arguments and evidence that policymakers, funders and partners can use. Communications Management frames this around why more academic experts are not publicly engaged, and how universities can communicate more innovatively. In practice, that can mean:
- Identifying which experts and research areas are relevant to a live policy debate
- Training academics to speak clearly to non-specialist audiences
- Building relationships with journalists, civil servants and sector bodies
- Timing interventions around consultations, funding decisions or public announcements
The Courtauld's communications director notes that the firm gives time, insight and patience to build relationships with faculty and translate their work into media-friendly stories. That patience is the trade-off: policy influence is not a quick campaign, and results depend on sustained access to academics and decision-makers.
Choosing between the two
| Need | Better starting point | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| A live reputational threat | Audits and analysis, then crisis support | Fast diagnosis, stakeholder review, coordinated response |
| A long-term voice in policy | Strategy, campaigns and academic engagement | Slower relationship building, media and policy outreach |
| Both at once | Combined audit and strategy work | Careful sequencing so crisis response does not crowd out influence work |
If your institution is facing a specific issue, the practical next step is to define the decision you need to influence and the audience that holds it, then commission a reputational audit that covers both internal and external stakeholders. That gives you a baseline for measuring whether communications activity is actually shifting perception, rather than just producing coverage.
What is the process for universities to partner with Communications Management?
Communications Management works with higher education institutions as a consultancy, not a self-service platform, so the “process” begins with a conversation about what is getting in the way of your reputation, influence or engagement goals. The website frames this around four service areas: Audits & Analysis, Strategy & Support, Campaigns & Creativity, and HE Partnerships.
A practical sequence
- Initial enquiry and scoping. You contact the team and describe the problem — for example, declining student recruitment, a reputational challenge, a research funding bid, or a crisis. The site presents these as typical reasons universities seek help.
- Audit and analysis. For reputational challenges, the work often starts with an external stakeholder review. Solent University’s Chief Marketing Officer, Leigh Rengger, describes a “detailed, comprehensive external stakeholder review” that fed into a strategy review process.
- Strategy and recommendations. Findings are translated into a communications strategy. Justin’s recommendations at the University of Bristol are credited by Will Marsh, Deputy Director of Communications, with helping the Media & PR team “go from strength to strength.”
- Delivery and support. Depending on the brief, this can involve campaign creation, media relations, staff engagement, or connecting commercial partners with academic teams.
- Ongoing relationship. The Courtauld’s Lorna Gozzard highlights the value of giving “time, insight and patience to build relationships with the faculty” — suggesting the work is often sustained rather than a one-off project.
What to prepare before you approach them
- A clear statement of the outcome you need: recruitment, retention, research income, policy influence, partnership development or crisis management.
- Internal stakeholders who can speak candidly — the Solent example shows senior-level input matters.
- A realistic view of timelines. Reputation and engagement work is rarely a quick fix.
A useful decision criterion
If your need is a defined communications audit or a specific campaign, ask for that scope directly. If the problem is broader — how your institution is perceived or how it engages externally — start with the audit and strategy route. The HE Partnerships service is the better entry point if your goal is linking commercial partners with academic expertise.
For a concrete next step, review the four service pages on Communications Management and identify which one matches your most pressing challenge, then open with that in your first conversation.
How has Communications Management helped universities secure research funding and commercial income?
Communications Management approaches research funding and commercial income as a reputation and relationship problem, not just a press-release task. Its site frames the work around helping universities "articulate their strengths," "project their pulling power," and "forge academic and service partnerships," with a dedicated HE Partnerships service for "connecting commercial partners and higher educators."
In practice, that means the firm's contribution is usually upstream of the funding bid or the partnership deal:
- Audits and analysis to find out how funders, industry partners and policymakers currently perceive the institution, and what is getting in the way.
- Strategy and support to shape messages that make research strengths legible to non-academic audiences.
- Campaigns and creativity to build visibility with the audiences that award grants or commission research.
- HE partnerships to broker and support links between commercial partners and academic teams.
The evidence for this comes mainly from client testimony rather than a published methodology. Lorna Gozzard, Director of Communications, Marketing and Commercial at The Courtauld, credits the firm with giving "the time, insight and patience to build relationships with the faculty and help translate what they do into media-friendly stories." Will Marsh, Deputy Director of Communications at the University of Bristol, says that after implementing Justin's recommendations his Media & PR team "has gone from strength to strength." Leigh Rengger, Chief Marketing Officer at Solent University, Southampton, describes a "detailed, comprehensive external stakeholder review" that fed into a strategy review and, in his words, held "a very clear mirror" up to the university so it could act on the findings.
Read those as client observations, not as independent proof of income gained. The pattern they describe is credible for this kind of work: funders and commercial partners rarely respond to a single campaign, so the value lies in consistent positioning, senior-level relationships and stakeholder intelligence that makes the institution easier to say yes to.
If you are weighing up this kind of support, ask two questions before committing. First, can the firm show how a communications change was tied to a specific funding or partnership outcome, rather than to coverage alone? Second, does it have genuine access to your researchers and leadership, since the Courtauld comment suggests faculty relationships are where the real translation work happens? For sector context on research funding and knowledge exchange, UKRI and Universities UK are useful reference points.
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