December 2021 - Crisis Communications - Battle of the Brits

We spent the autumn working with Battle of the Brits CEO Mary Greenham and Tournament Director Jamie Murray, planning media operations and doing proactive PR as we prepared for one of the most-eagerly anticipated tennis events on the UK calendar.
As Schroders Battle of the Brits - Scotland versus England approached, though, COVID numbers began to rise across Scotland. It became increasingly clear that the event organisers would have no alternative but to postpone in order to keep everyone safe.
From the moment that agonising decision was made, we took charge of how best communicate the news. Crisis communications is all about having clarity of thought, attention to detail and, of course, making the right calls on when and how to communicate. We needed to ensure that ticketholders understood the reasons for the decision and also had all the information they needed. It was also vital to keep key partners informed and involved every step of the way. Battle of the Brits has built up a strong brand and it was our job to ensure that the event’s reputation was enhanced rather than diminished in the wake of this disappointing news.
Mary and Jamie did an amazing job with the venue to secure the same dates in 2022, which meant that we were announcing a postponement rather than a cancellation. We’re pleased to say that Schroders Battle of the Brits - Scotland versus England will now take place on 21 and 22 December 2022. We can’t wait.