Our founder: Greig Box Turnbull

The need for organisations to communicate consistency, clearly and effectively with its audience has never been greater. Just Entrepreneurs magazine interviewed Greig Box Turnbull for its Meet the Founders section and he spoke about the value of great communications.

There are multiple ways develop engagement, particularly online where the ability to self-publish or broadcast content provides opportunity for everyone. Communications, storytelling and helping organisations achieve consistency of engagement and enhance reputation is at the heart of what we do at Fortitude. 

Our story and the background of our founder Greig Box Turnbull caught the eye of Nadine Sandcroft-Cooper, editor of Just Entrepreneurs. She interviewed Greig for the magazine’s Meet the Founders section recently. 

Greig’s career includes working on the Mirror newspaper as a journalist, at London based strategic communications agency Dragon as managing partner and Oxford United Football Club as managing director. He launched Fortitude in 2017.

Storytelling


Communications and storytelling is my great passion and I have always worked in careers I am passionate about,” said Greig in the interview. It makes a difference when you love what you do. I wanted to build an agency that adds value to its clients, is a place that nurtures talent and where people love what they do.” 

Fortitude provides rounded communications services to clients, including content creation, social media management, media relations, video production, drone and photography. Over and above that the team provides strategic communications advice to clients. 

My experience puts me in a unique position as a communications adviser. I have been a journalist. A professional PR adviser and run businesses. I have conducted media interviews, prepared people for them and been the subject of them. It is the latter that most PR professionals have not done, and it enables me to put myself in the shoes of our clients and provide them with senior-level advice.” 

Bold communications


Nadine asked Greig why he named the company Fortitude Communications. 

I have been through some significant life events and worked in some challenging environments, all of which have shaped me as a person. It has taken determination and fortitude to come through them,” Greig revealed. 

Secondly, I am a great believer that PR should be bold and for some, it requires some corporate bravery to put themselves out there’ to achieve enhanced reputation, increased brand awareness and greater audience engagement. So, the name Fortitude’ fitted perfectly. It has a meaning to me personally, but more importantly, it underpins the way we approach our client work.”

Misunderstood brands


Fortitude are problem solvers. We create strategies and deliver tactical output that help organisations overcome problems and then progress. 

Asked what the most common problem clients approach Fortitude with, Greig replied: A consistent theme is their brand is misunderstood, jumbled and inconsistent in its messaging. After significant problem is many do not have the time to communicate consistently, of the in-house expertise to do so clearly and effectively. This can be overcome via a professional communications approach and delivery.”

Journalistic flair


To deliver great value for our clients requires multiple skillsets and a focus on outcomes. 

We place a strong emphasis on understanding our clients and their markets, combined with journalistic flair that ensures first-class storytelling. A devotion to client service and being well connected in our markets adds real value to our clients,” said Greig. 

He added: Thousands of press releases are ignored daily by journalists and editors. When I was a journalist, I saw countless press releases that were poorly written, jargon heavy and unfit for media consumption. Hence the journalism experience at the core of our team makes a big difference to our clients, in terms of creativity, producing engaging content and knowing how the media operates. 

It means the work we deliver for our clients is engaging and people read it. It also helps us stand out on video production, as our team are experienced interviewers, it helps put people at ease in front of the camera, which makes a big difference to the final product.” 

Community spirit


Being an active part of our community is a big part of our values and ethos,” Greig told Just Entrepreneurs magazine. 

It is something I am passionate about. Oxfordshire is a close-knit county, and the business community is strong and supportive.”

Fortitude provides support to charities Oxford United in the Community and Oxfordshire Mind. It has sponsored Oxford City Stars, Banbury United U14s, and Oxford Golf Club. The team are also taking part in a five-mile run for Oxford Hospitals Charity.

To read the full interview with Greig in Just Entrepreneurs just here.

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