Horizon Works’ editorial and design expertise has been employed to create a new resource designed to support SMEs looking to enter, grow, and succeed within the defence supply chain.
Make UK Defence, in partnership with Lloyds, has launched A Practical Guide To Working In Defence, a document which tackles the challenges businesses face when entering the sector and offers a joined-up perspective on how to launch a journey in defence and scale up in the sector.
It highlights opportunities across key defence programmes, provides advice on engaging with buyers and the wider supply chain, includes information on meeting critical requirements such as cyber security, sustainability and social value, and offers insights into building a credible marketing and engagement strategy for defence.
We created the document on behalf of Make UK Defence, drawing on capabilities including editing, copywriting and design, and liaised with multiple stakeholders and contributors during the course of the project.
Fourteen organisations across industry and government, including Make UK Defence, Lloyds, The Ministry of Defence, Hellios, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, MTC, Canny Comms, e50K, Inspired, Pera Prometheus, CDS Defence & Security and contributed to the guide.
As well as planning, editing and designing the guide, Horizon Works contributed a chapter on ‘Putting the building blocks in place for effective marketing’, which focused on developing a marketing strategy and messaging tailored to the defence sector.
A Practical Guide To Working In Defence was launched on March 23 and printed copies were in high demand at DPRTE – the UK’s leading defence procurement event – in Farnborough on March 25 and 26.
You can download the digital version here.
Samantha Vassallo, Managing Director of Horizon Works, said: “We’re immensely proud to have supported Make UK Defence in creating an invaluable resource for companies who wish to enter the defence supply chain and succeed in the sector.
“A Practical Guide To Working In Defence is a superb initiative from Make UK Defence and Lloyds which I am sure will be a go-to document for SMEs working across manufacturing, engineering and technology. We were thrilled to have played our part in it.”
James Watson, UK Membership Growth Director of Make UK Defence, said: “Horizon Works was a critical partner in us delivering our Practical Guide to Working in Defence in partnership with Lloyds successfully. This was no mean feat as it involved very short time scales, coordinating with 14 different contributing organisations that each provided copy, and working with a sponsoring partner that had strict requirements due to its status as one of the UK’s premier financial institutions. We were blown away by what they produced and cannot thank the team enough for their support.”
Horizon Works is a partner in the Make UK Defence Fit for Defence programme, a bespoke business improvement programme for organisations of all sizes and experience in the sector. Through the programme, Make UK Defence’s specialists and partners assess an organisation’s strengths and weaknesses and develop a bespoke action plan to maximise its future growth.
Our work for the programme includes analysing members’ marketing messaging, brands and tactics, and making actionable recommendations, as part of a free marketing healthcheck package. We’ve provided advice on brand propositions, website improvements, SEO, LinkedIn, content marketing, marketing collateral and much more through the initiative.
You can find out more about the Fit for Defence programme and our support for businesses in the defence sector here.
Pictured are Samantha Vassallo with Andrew Kinniburgh, Director-General of Make UK Defence (left) and James Watson, UK Membership Growth Director, Make UK Defence (right).