CASE STUDy

How we helped SimplyPhi rebuild their reputation and become a trusted voice in affordable housing

SimplyPhi helps local authorities and housing providers simplify the complex challenges of affordable housing delivery by connecting the public and private sectors. They brought us onboard to help them handle some factually incorrect, yet potentially damaging press coverage. We helped them get on top of it, and have been building their profile and credibility in the sector ever since.

Our approach

A phased approach that took SimplyPhi from managing a reputational challenge to becoming a credible, influential voice in affordable housing.

A robust defensive approach to the negative press coverage – engaging directly with the journalist and providing clear, factual commentary to stop the negative reporting in its tracks.
Pivot to strengthen SimplyPhi’s reputation and relationship with the press – building trust with key journalists and maintaining a regular cadence of coverage around how SimplyPhi can add value, quarterly data reports, major milestones, partnership announcements and business ambitions.
Grow SimplyPhi’s influence in the affordable housing sector – by championing partnerships, and events such as a Labour Party Conference fringe event, and an invitation to attend an exclusive Estates Gazette roundtable.

The results

Careful, targeted media management has transformed SimplyPhi’s reputation.

Negative press coverage stopped.
A positive, productive relationship with Inside Housing, which has led to two journalist meetings and multiple pieces of coverage.
Their Labour Party Conference fringe event was chaired by the editor of Inside Housing and generated several new business enquiries.
Coverage about a partnership with Bristol City Council generated at least three new prospect meetings.
Several further new business leads generated through partnership and milestone coverage.
52 press and media mentions in 2025, with a reach of 86.4 million.
10 pieces of coverage secured for Q2 and Q3 data reports in titles including CoStar, Big Issue, Estates Gazette, Housing Executive, Housing Digital and Inside Housing.

Building Relations have strong relationships with journalists and editors, which is worth its weight in gold! I’ve previously tried to manage PR myself in-house and it was tough trying to get relationships going with journalists, so it’s nice to hand that element over to the experts who can really get things done.

The team really does care and it is a genuine pleasure working with them. They are super responsive, bring fresh ideas, and aren’t afraid to challenge my views on what they feel would work best and achieve the most coverage.

Our recent PR with Bristol City Council has generated at least 3 new prospect meetings for us and counting. And our first official Labour Party fringe event, which BR helped us organise and host, has already led to several new client meetings and created quite a bit of buzz online for us. I see PR as a key channel to raise our profile and credibility within the sector, so the fact that it’s helping us win new business too is a bonus.

Jonathan Wootten,
Chief Marketing Officer for SimplyPhi

See some of our other work

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CASE STUDy

How we helped SimplyPhi rebuild their reputation and become a trusted voice in affordable housing

Our approach

The results

See some of our other work

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