Notebook - the Portland blog

South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Morocco lead…

About Portland

Portland is an independent consultancy with international reach. We support major brands and leading figures on strategic communications, public affairs, international affairs and digital.

Over the last decade, Portland has earned a reputation for the high quality of our work, our team and the results we deliver. Set up in 2001 by Tim Allan, a former senior adviser to Tony Blair and Director of Communications at BSkyB, Portland now has over 70 staff with offices in London, New York and Nairobi.
Our team is recruited from the highest levels of the media, politics and government. We offer the energy, agility and focus of an independent consultancy with the capacity and international reach to deliver for clients of any size or scale.

For each client and each project, we create a bespoke team. Drawn from across our communications, digital, public affairs and international practices we consistently deliver results for the world’s most demanding clients.

 

We love modernity. We love how things change. We don’t think things were better years ago. We always focus on the future...

We never stop asking how we can do things differently and better. We always aim to innovate, provoke and surprise...

We don’t believe in the traditional divide between communications and public affairs work. We bring together the right strategy with the best team for every task...

Our outlook is international – like our clients and our team. Every day we work across the boundaries of time zone, border, medium and language...

We are ambitious for ourselves and for our clients. We aim high as a company – and we can only get there by helping our clients win...

We are straight up and honest in our dealings – with our clients and with each other. We tell it like it is...

The communications business is changing. Access counts for less. Ideas count for more.

Strategy is vital. But it’s worth nothing without action and results...

We can’t bear people who talk and don’t do. When we say we’re going to do something, we do it...

We like clear thinking, problem-solving and originality. We’re not afraid to challenge our clients. We have a point of view...

Influencing today’s decision-makers requires a campaign-focused approach, not old-school lobbying...

Our clients’ problems are our problems. Their goals are our goals. Our job is to add real value to their work...