The Henry Royce Institute: Launching the UK’s first national materials innovation strategy
The Henry Royce Institute faced the critical task of launching the UK’s first-ever National Materials Innovation Strategy—a groundbreaking initiative with the potential to transform the nation’s materials sector. The challenge was multifaceted: they needed to communicate complex technical content to diverse audiences, secure meaningful media coverage beyond their typical scientific publications, and build awareness among key industry sectors including healthcare, sustainability, and advanced manufacturing.
The strategy represented a significant opportunity to position the UK as a global leader in materials innovation, with projections to double materials-specific jobs to 52,000 by 2035 and add £4.4 billion to the UK economy. However, translating these ambitious goals into compelling narratives that would resonate with policymakers, industry leaders, and media required specialist expertise in strategic communications and stakeholder engagement.
Developing and executing a comprehensive communications strategy
Marketbridge (then April Six) developed and executed a comprehensive communications strategy spanning four months, from November 2024 through March 2025. The approach combined deep stakeholder engagement with targeted media relations and thought leadership positioning.
Working closely with strategy collaborators, Marketbridge developed core messaging frameworks, identified key impact points, and created a hero video to anchor the campaign. The team helped secure ministerial quotes and developed a comprehensive press release that would serve as the foundation for all subsequent communications.
The January launch event at the Houses of Parliament was supported by real-time social media coverage, targeted media pitches across tier 1 nationals, trade publications, and broadcast outlets. Marketbridge provided comprehensive media training and briefing materials to ensure spokespeople were prepared for any questions or challenges.
Following the launch, Marketbridge executed a targeted and sustained social media and thought leadership campaign, securing long-form contributed articles in sector-specific publications covering healthcare, sustainability, and materials 4.0 applications. This approach ensured the strategy’s recommendations reached decision-makers in each target sector.
Delivering results across multiple avenues
The campaign delivered exceptional results across multiple avenues, successfully establishing the National Materials Innovation Strategy as a key industry initiative while significantly raising the profile of the Henry Royce Institute. Highlights include:
Media relations
Social media
- Securing 18 high-impact media articles with a combined reach of 739,280 people
- 38% of coverage appeared in publications outside the Royce’s typical remit, successfully expanding their audience and generating a measurable uptick in media mentions compared to pre-launch monitoring
- Secured coverage across prestigious outlets including Physics World, Chemistry World, Professional Engineering and the Financial Times’ sister publication Sustainable Views
- Secured four high salience contributed thought leadership pieces in target sector publications
- The anchor social media video reached over 5,000 users and generated 871 unique engagements
- Sector-specific social media posts achieved double the typical social media engagement rate, averaging 20%
The campaign successfully translated complex technical strategy into accessible, compelling narratives that resonated with diverse stakeholders, establishing the groundwork for the strategy’s long-term success and the Henry Royce Institute’s continued leadership in materials innovation.
Delivering results across multiple avenues
The campaign delivered exceptional results across multiple avenues, successfully establishing the National Materials Innovation Strategy as a key industry initiative while significantly raising the profile of the Henry Royce Institute. Highlights include:
Media relations
Social media
- Securing 18 high-impact media articles with a combined reach of 739,280 people
- 38% of coverage appeared in publications outside the Royce’s typical remit, successfully expanding their audience and generating a measurable uptick in media mentions compared to pre-launch monitoring
- Secured coverage across prestigious outlets including Physics World, Chemistry World, Professional Engineering and the Financial Times’ sister publication Sustainable Views
- Secured four high salience contributed thought leadership pieces in target sector publications
- The anchor social media video reached over 5,000 users and generated 871 unique engagements
- Sector-specific social media posts achieved double the typical social media engagement rate, averaging 20%
The campaign successfully translated complex technical strategy into accessible, compelling narratives that resonated with diverse stakeholders, establishing the groundwork for the strategy’s long-term success and the Henry Royce Institute’s continued leadership in materials innovation.
The brilliant team at Marketbridge were instrumental in the successful launch of the Royce-facilitated National Materials Innovation Strategy. The team’s ability to combine strategic communications with brilliant execution ensured our messages reached our key stakeholders - from Parliamentarians and Policy officials to materials scientists and industry leaders. The team’s expertise in media engagement, social amplification and thought leadership not only elevated the visibility of the Strategy, but in the process raised the Royce profile. I’m very grateful for such an excellent campaign partner – and extension of our in-house team.
