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Hearts & Minds

Welcome to Hearts & Minds, a daily blog and topical take on corporate reputation from Sodali & Co's UK Strategic Communications team. Everyday, leading journalist Chris Blackhurst shares a unique corporate communications perspective on recent news.

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Hearts & Minds: What if CEOs were treated like cabinet ministers?

In politics, visibility is instant and unforgiving—new ministers must speak with confidence from day one, a pressure business leaders rarely face but could learn from.

09 September 2025

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Hearts & Minds: Three houses, double standards, and a singularly british scandal

Angela Rayner’s fall shows how hypocrisy, slow response, and poor messaging can turn a political stumble into a full-blown reputational crisis.

05 September 2025

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Hearts & Minds: Speech is free, but reputation is sacred

Free speech is a minefield—corporates must navigate noise, law, and public expectation with clarity, empathy, and restraint, knowing silence can speak louder than missteps.

04 September 2025

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Hearts & Minds: How attention has become the new oil

With attention now rivaling capital, clarity is king—corporate comms must cut through screen fatigue with sharp, human messaging that lands instantly.

03 September 2025

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Hearts & Minds: How to become the internet’s most hated man in under 10 seconds

One selfish grab, caught on camera, turned a CEO into a viral villain—proof that in the digital age, reputation hinges on speed, sincerity, and showing humanity.

02 September 2025

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Hearts & Minds: What banks can do about the windfall tax

Banks face a windfall tax threat, but public apathy reveals a deeper issue: they’re still seen as villains, failing to connect, empathize, or tell their value story.

01 September 2025

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Hearts & Minds: Why O’Leary gets away with what you can’t

Michael O’Leary’s unapologetic style may rile critics, but his bold, rule-driven approach is pure brand consistency—and Ryanair’s 200 million passengers prove it works.

Hearts & Minds: Swift does not just write her own songs; she narrates her life.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement is dominating headlines, blending pop stardom, sports fame, and masterful storytelling into a PR dream. 

Hearts & Minds: When outrage is the strategy: lessons from crypto’s latest ad storm

A US crypto firm’s provocative UK ad campaign claims crypto is the fix for a broken economy—drawing regulatory ire and public backlash. Controversial by design, it’s a risky but calculated play for attention and disruption.

 
 
 
 
 

Hearts & Minds: From Reach to Recall: How AI Changes Comms

AI is transforming everything—but how remains unclear. Its speed amazes, its permanence unsettles, and its logic rewrites how we value information. The challenge now: adapt to a world where every word may last forever.

Hearts & Minds: Patriotism or provocation? The pr perils of flying the flag

Flying the Union flag or St George’s cross in Britain has become politically charged—once symbols of pride, now fraught with nationalist connotations. Reclaiming them requires honest storytelling, cultural sensitivity, and a shift in public perception.

Hearts & Minds: “NOW or Never: MSNBC’s Rebrand and the Perils of Reinvention.”

MSNBC rebrands as MS NOW, sparking debate over naming, legacy, and meaning—amid a shift from NBCUniversal to Versant and a bold new identity: My Source | News | Opinion | World.

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