Our Thinking

Latest Thinking

From original research and industry commentary to campaign insights and creative thinking, discover the ideas, evidence and experiences shaping effective communication today.

Street scene in Mogadishu, Somalia, used as the banner for an article on building sustainable communications capability.

Stop Thinking of Comms as a Single Line of Effort

Training is only one part of building communications capability. Drawing on our work in Somalia, we explore what it takes to build the skills, systems and support needed for capability to last.

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BFBS Creative banner showing three uniformed reservists beneath aircraft in formation, with the headline “Seven Years One Brief Sixty Films”.

What Our Longest Client Relationship Taught Us About Video Production

Discover how we turned one brief into sixty films across the UK through audience understanding, creative thinking and long-term partnership.

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BFBS Creative banner for Responsible Storytelling, featuring Lindsay MacDuff with members of the Force Atlantic team during a recording of The Culture Colonel podcast.

Responsible Storytelling: What It Takes to Get It Right

What does responsible storytelling look like in practice? Explore how trust, psychological safety, preparation and care can help communicators handle people’s stories responsibly.

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BFBS Creative banner featuring the headline "Looking Beyond Screen Time" and the subtitle "What children's digital behaviour tells us". In the background, a child wearing an orange top holds and uses a smartphone while seated indoors.

Will the UK’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Change Children’s Behaviour?

Will the planned UK under-16 social media ban change children’s behaviour? Screen time only tells part of the story. Explore what children’s digital activity reveals about their motivations, needs and online lives.

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Two people sit facing each other in conversation in a softly lit room, silhouetted against a large window overlooking a blurred cityscape.

Before the Story

Trauma-informed interviewing starts before the first question is asked. Explore how safety, meaningful consent, choice and care can help people feel respected and in control when sharing difficult or deeply personal experiences.

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A close-up of a British Armed Forces uniform with a Union Flag shoulder patch forms the background to a BFBS Creative thought leadership graphic. The headline reads: "Kit Makes the Headlines. People Make the Capability." The subheading reads: "The real test of the Defence Investment Plan."

Kit Makes The Headlines. People Make The Capability.

The Defence Investment Plan promises major investment in military capability, but equipment alone doesn't deliver advantage. We explore why recruitment, retention and the lived experience of service are just as critical to the future of UK defence.

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Research reports & resources

 

 

Download our latest research on audience understanding, strategic communications and the information environment.

Audience Understanding Report Cover
Audience Understanding
Communicating Defence Across a Divided Europe
Front page cover of the report
Information Environment
Rethinking Defence Communications

Insights in Brief

The research is only the beginning.

Discover the ideas and insights shaping how organisations understand audiences and communicate more effectively, and explore what they could mean for your own organisation.
 

Podcasts & series

Explore BFBS Creative's podcasts and original series, featuring conversations, stories and perspectives from across Defence and beyond.

The Culture Colonel podcast artwork featuring an illustrated portrait of host Lindsay MacDuff.

The Culture Colonel

Exploring what leadership really looks like in the Armed Forces and beyond. The Culture Colonel brings together leaders from different backgrounds to share their experiences, challenge assumptions and explore what it takes to lead people well.

Explore the conversations

   

Tea & Medals series artwork featuring an illustrated mug of tea alongside military medals.

Tea & Medals

Behind every military honour is a human story. Tea & Medals goes beyond the citation to hear from the people who were there, revealing the decisions, danger and extraordinary acts behind some of the UK's highest military honours.

Discover the stories behind the medals

  

Near Death series artwork showing a lone figure walking towards a bright light, with a heartbeat line across the image.

Near Death

What happens when you come face-to-face with death and survive? Near Death tells remarkable first-hand stories of people brought back from the brink, exploring not only what happened, but what it means to live through something that could have ended very differently.

Hear the stories of survival