The Institution continued to focus on ensuring that the views of our engineers and engineering as a whole are heard by the media. Having established itself as a source of expert impartial advice, when issues concerning engineering are reported, the Institution can offer real benefit to media outlets – which can often struggle to ‘explain the engineering’ to their readers or viewers – and raise its profile in the process.
Adding value to the media
After the considerable success of 2010, when the Institution reached £16 million in recorded media coverage, it was acknowledged that keeping up this momentum would be difficult. However, by growing our relationship with the media, reacting quickly to breaking stories, and releasing newsworthy reports and statements, the Institution has once again ensured that the work, thought leadership or achievements of its members have been consistently in the press throughout 2011.
In summary, the Institution appeared on 82 TV and radio broadcasts, and garnered 106 articles in the national press, 518 articles in the trade press, 802 articles in the regional press and 1,104 online articles. In total, this media coverage was worth just over £17 million.* More importantly, though, the cumulative effect of these broadcasts and articles was that for the first time, the Institution’s thought leadership in engineering reached a global audience in excess of one billion people.
Reacting to the media
The Institution played a crucial role in providing the media and the public with accurate engineering information to reassure or address their concerns during major disasters which affected global society.
In March 2011, in the tragic aftermath of the tsunami in Japan and the subsequent issues with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, given the dangerous nature of events at the plant, details were sketchy and journalists were struggling to find out exactly what was happening. The Institution was able to act quickly and offer its views and advice regarding the situation to, among others, the BBC and Sky News. As events progressed, the Institution’s ability to provide balanced, informed and swift comment meant that it was established as the reassuring and trusted expert voice which enabled news reporting on this ever changing story to be fair and accurate.
Soon after the disaster in Japan, the Institution was called upon to answer questions on the second volcanic ash cloud to hit Europe in a year. Although the smaller Grimsvötn volcano caused less problems than Eyjafjallajökul in 2010, the Institution was again quick to react, issuing statements and arranging for engineering experts to speak on TV and radio. The Institution provided clarity and insight into what, to the non-engineering audience, was a story that was difficult to understand fully.
Leading the debate
Reacting to stories in the media is important. However, through its high profile reports, the Institution also creates and leads debate on subjects about which our members feel passionately.
In January 2011, the Institution published its report Population: One Planet, Too Many People? which examined the engineering requirement needed over the next century to sustain an estimated global population of 9.5 billion. The
report highlighted how engineers would address key issues in the areas of energy, food, water and urbanisation.
This report received widespread media coverage, with much focus on the need for nations to start planning now for their population developments. It also attracted the attention of the Department for International Development, which was interested in the Institution’s recommendation of Engineering Development Goals as an addition to the UN’s
Millennium Development Goals.
At the end of 2011, the Institution also published its report Scottish Energy 2020? which provided an engineering-based perspective on Scotland’s ambitious renewable targets and highlighted glaring omissions in exactly how the Scottish
Government targets were going to be met.
The report received widespread attention from media and politicians, including two questions at First Minister Questions in Holyrood. Coverage of the report was almost universal, appearing in every national newspaper as well as on BBC1,
BBC2 and ITV. In addition, IMechE Vice President, Stuart Cameron, appeared on Newsnight to debate the report with Scotland’s Energy Minister, Fergus Ewing MSP.
Aside from the reports, the Institution’s prestige events continued to generate good press coverage. The annual Manufacturing Excellence Awards gained media coverage worth £882,703 in AVE* – its highest ever – with 144 clips in total and particular focus on the People Effectiveness winner, Bombardier. Formula Student had a bumper year with a number of trade publications extensively covering what is now the biggest event of its type in the world.
Finally, the Institution’s own Engineering Heritage Awards continued to grow year-on-year. In 2011, 13 award presentations were undertaken, attracting nearly 800 members. Media highlights included national coverage for the Holland 1 submarine award, and TV coverage for the Jaguar E-type award, PS Waverley award and the Talyllyn
Railway in Wales thanks to it being the inspiration for Thomas the Tank Engine.
Political advice and guidance
A second strand in our communications strategy is engaging with Parliamentarians at Westminster, Holyrood, Cardiff and Stormont.
At the most basic level, the Institution hopes to raise awareness among Parliamentarians to our presence and as a centre of engineering knowledge and advice. We do this via our policy statements, reports and briefings which in themselves attracted 115 MPs and Peers in Westminster and 30 MSPs at Holyrood. The Institution also uses its extensive membership knowledge to input to consultations with eight IMechE-only submissions in 2011. The Institution
also assisted 393 MPs and Peers with research information, help on questions, or general engineering advice. It is, however, the aim of any organisation to ensure that the best policy is developed and best laws enacted. The Institution is always keen to be instrumental in the policy creation and our continuing work with Scotland’s Energy Minister
to ensure they have an engineering-led energy policy shows the value that institutions can play when developing national policy.
This successful strategy was reflected in a Dods commissioned poll which again ranked the Institution of Mechanical Engineers as the most aware engineering institution among MPs.
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*Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE) is what the Institution’s editorial coverage in newspapers, online and on TV and radio would cost if it were advertising space, or time. The value is reached by measuring the space in column inches or time (for radio and television coverage) occupied by a clip, and then multiplying the column inches or time by the advertising rate for that page or time slot. Engineers will recognise it as a measure of activity rather than real money.