Advocacy, not lobbying

"What's the difference?" you're asking. For us, there is a significant difference between advocacy, which underpins our public affairs offering, and lobbying, which is the old way of seeking to bring influence to bear on others.

It's very simple. Lobbying meant that in addition to providing a public affairs strategy, consultants would speak for you to the people you wanted to inform or influence. Eventually, you might talk to the politician or business person involved, but the control lay with the consultants as much of their work was invisible to the client and relied heavily on their connections.

Advocacy means that we support you to be the face and voice of the message rather than us. Indigo will still prepare a strategy and do all the associated work to implement it, but our efforts go towards ensuring that you are briefed and capable of talking to your targets face-to-face, that all the contacts made become your contacts, not ours, and that there is a transfer of knowledge from us to you so that you understand the process you are involved in. We like empowered clients, not mushrooms.

It is common sense that you are always the best advocate for your own interests. So whilst we will not try to represent you, we will ensure you have the tools and resources so that you can make your own case in the most effective way to the right people.