The Battle of the Regions

WSP, one of the world’s leading strategy and engineering consultancy firms, has collaborated with Manifest PR for several years to communicate and strengthen their position in sustainable community development. A key part of this work involves highlighting WSP’s experts and their insights on complex issues.

In the autumn of 2023, WSP released the tenth edition of its annual report, ‘Regionernas Kamp’. The report ranks the resilience of Sweden’s 290 municipalities and shows how well-prepared the country is to withstand crises and manage changes in the external environment. The target audiences include public officials and decision-makers at national, regional, and local levels, as well as potential clients in both the private and public sectors. But how do you communicate such a topic to the general public and make a complex subject understandable and tangible?

As in previous years, WSP partnered with Manifest PR to showcase the report and its key insights in Swedish media. To achieve maximum reach, Manifest PR worked closely with WSP’s experts throughout all phases of the project – from preparing the report to its launch and media outreach.

A key part of the strategy was to tailor communication to local conditions around Sweden. The report was therefore released with a combination of national and regional press releases, focusing on local insights from the specific region and its municipalities. This was followed by extensive processing with tailored angles for local media across the country.

With the support of Manifest PR, the report authors, Mattias Frithiof and Julia Berglund, were able to give around ten interviews about the report across television, radio, and newspapers.

Thanks to an extended interview on Nyhetsmorgon, several features on local P4-radiostations and SVT News outlets, and systematic engagement with the local press, ‘Regionernas Kamp 2023’ achieved record-breaking media coverage. The report was featured in over 140 press clips, reaching an estimated audience of around five million. WSP’s experts also had the opportunity to take part in ten interviews across television, radio, and print media.

1. Combine national and local insights! Producing multiple regionally tailored press releases requires time and resources, but it is an investment that pays off and delivers strong results in engagement with local media.
2. Give the PR consultants direct contact with the company’s experts. From the beginning, we have maintained a close dialogue and been able to discuss angles and perspectives with the report authors, resulting in more effective and impactful PR work.
3. Keep going. An annual report builds strong recognition and makes it possible to demonstrate how developments evolve from year to year.