Client: JLL
Sectors: Housing,
Services: PR & Communications,
JLL is a global firm of property consultants and a leading valuer in UK affordable housing.
We have been JLL’s strategic communications partner for the last five years, working with its UK residential valuations and advisory team to deliver strategic PR and communications, including thought leadership that reflects its market-leading position in the affordable and living sectors.
Like many leading firms, JLL is brimming with expertise, insight and ideas, but the team’s focus on operations left a gap for more targeted communications activity. JLL looked to Social and its deep understanding of housing and the wider built environment to help ensure the residential valuations and advisory team was engaging on key issues, shaping the housing debate and ultimately supporting its clients and the wider sector.
Since 2021, Social has been a trusted partner to the JLL team, delivering an extensive range of communications support, from national news coverage and impactful white papers to commentary, media engagement and social media training.
One example was ahead of the 2024 General Election and following the publication of party manifestos, when JLL published its own Housing Manifesto, setting out six priorities for an incoming government to address the UK’s housing crisis.
To support the manifesto and create cut-through in a crowded political and media landscape, JLL also published Counting the Cost: Social Housing Waiting Lists in England, a research report examining the scale of the country’s social housing shortage and the impact of the Right to Buy scheme.
As part of the research, JLL estimated it would cost £205bn to clear social housing waiting lists in England and called for the abolition or suspension of the Right to Buy scheme, arguing that social housing stock is being lost faster than it can be replaced. The objective was to ensure JLL’s Housing Manifesto and research stood out in a crowded political and media landscape, positioning the business as a leading voice in the national housing debate ahead of the election.
To maximise impact, we used findings from the report as the central news hook for the wider Housing Manifesto campaign, securing an exclusive with the Financial Times before rolling out a targeted media relations programme across key housing, property and trade publications, including Social Housing and Inside Housing.
The campaign was timed for the final month before the General Election to capitalise on heightened political and media interest in housing policy. The Financial Times covered the research both online and in print, creating a hero moment for the wider campaign. We then rolled the story out across national, housing, property and public sector media to maximise reach and engagement.
Alongside media engagement, the research was shared directly with key stakeholders through newsletters and promoted across LinkedIn.
Following the launch, the findings continued to be used across thought leadership content, newsletters, events, speeches and future JLL research, extending the value of the campaign well beyond the initial announcement.
The campaign secured 14 pieces of coverage, including exclusive online and print coverage in the Financial Times, alongside national and sector-leading titles such as The Guardian, Social Housing and Inside Housing.
The Housing Manifesto and Right to Buy research strengthened JLL’s position as a thought leader in affordable housing, underpinned by data-driven sector insights, generating coverage in key industry publications and driving stakeholder engagement.
The campaign created a platform for the firm’s experts to contribute to political and industry discussions and helped establish JLL as a go-to commentator on key housing issues, including Budgets, Spending Reviews and wider policy reform.
The findings continued to inform JLL’s wider thought leadership programme, helping maintain the firm’s profile on key housing and policy issues while providing ongoing evidence for media commentary and stakeholder engagement.
