Orlo’s BIG Social 2025 - Key Takeaways

Another year, another unforgettable BIG Social.

On 22 October 2025, over 230 public sector comms professionals met at Birmingham’s Eastside Rooms for our biggest BIG Social yet.

We counted:

• 19 stellar speakers 
• 8 awards presented to public sector heroes 
• 9 industries rep’d
• 3 breakout sessions 
• 1 adult-sized space hopper – won in an energetic game of rock, paper, scissors! 

Most importantly, Orlo’s fourth BIG Social once again brought comms teams together to reflect on the past twelve months in the public sector. We swapped success stories. We shared lessons learnt. We explored new ways to engage our communities, and help them to become stronger and more resilient.

Here’s a quick re-cap of what we took from the day: 

From the very first session of the day, we focused on the importance of listening.  

Keynote speaker, Antonia Dixey and her team of expert Young Consultants Megan and Yazz explained it simply. Without listening carefully to someone’s point of view, how can we expect to truly engage them? We need to meet young people where they are, listen to them, and act with them – not at them.

A session on the lessons learnt from The Grenfell tragedy lead by Nick Price-Thompson (Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea), also echoed their sentiments with this fantastic quote:

“We have two ears and one mouth for good reason – we should listen more than we talk”. 

The Grenfell tragedy could have been avoided if the right people had listened to community feedback. And in the days and months after the event, listening to the needs of local communities would have resulted in better outcomes for everyone involved. Never underestimate the power of “just” listening.  

And, don’t forget – listening is crucial at all times – not only during a crisis. By regularly inviting communities to share feedback and needs, we can ensure that services are shaped in the right way. Orlo’s own Rosie Knight (Head of Value Delivery) and Sara Mahmoudi (Senior UX & Creative) shed new light on the tools teams need to create an ongoing culture of listening. 

Through tapping into products such as Orlo’s Voice of the Community, public sector organisations can gather feedback, understand sentiment, and anticipate issues. Teams can run surveys, consultations, audits, listening and media monitoring campaigns, and all the insights land in the same place, ready to inform decision-making.

Don’t know what communities want from you? Just ask them. Housing Association, Valleys to Coast started “Tell us Tuesdays” as a way to ensure they get a regular temperature check on how residents are feeling. And the best thing is – it’s working!

Once you know what your communities need, don’t be afraid to act on it. Even if it means re-structuring your internal resources.

Valleys to Coast showed us how much they used to fear running social campaigns, purely because they were understandably nervous about the negative feedback they would inevitably see in the comments. They noticed that residents were using the comments to request repairs, report anti-social behaviour, and make complaints. So, they transformed their comms and customer service teams to accept this kind of feedback on their social accounts. 

Now, a repair request gets the same service from a Customer Service expert – whether it’s reported by phone or on Facebook. People get answers to their questions on whatever channel they choose. As a result, community trust improved by 10%. 

Reflecting on the lessons learned from the Grenfell tragedy, Nick Price-Thompson spoke passionately about the need for proper crisis comms planning. We learned that: 

• We should stress-test crisis scenarios on a monthly basis, and design them to expose potential pitfalls. 
• Comms should take a strategic approach to crisis planning by collaborating across the organisation. Especially at the top table. W
• We must make crisis comms plans “real” by considering the basics. Think about staff resourcing, cultural and language needs, and local networks of trusted partners. 

According to Lucy Salvage from the LGA, comms teams should also prepare for the ever-changing political landscape. Learn about and assess the shifts that are happening in your area, whether that’s potential new councillors or changing community dynamics. Identify any skills or information gaps that you may need to address, and proactively seek out solutions and support from trusted peers and organisations. 

Unsurprisingly, openness, transparency and authenticity were also big themes for this year’s BIG Social.

Valleys to Coast took a bold step in allowing negative conversations to play out on social media, and their communities trusted them all the more for it. Chris Davidson (Head of Digital, DEFRA) explained that by making all kinds of data open source (such as river levels and water quality stats) DEFRA is also building trust with its communities.

When comms teams are open and address issues directly, the organisation appears more human and trustworthy. Honest communication also encourages communities to open up further, which naturally fosters trust over time. 

As is customary, Orlo’s BIG Social came to a close with the presentation of Orlo’s Spotlight Awards – a celebration of teams and individuals making significant contributions to public sector comms. Keep an eye out for summaries of the winners’ entries over the next few weeks – you’ll be so inspired, we promise!

Reflecting on the day, Orlo CEO, Deane Greenouff said: 

“The fourth BIG Social was a huge success and one of our most insightful events yet. What we learned – from crisis comms to community trust – boils down to three clear pillars: we must listen to truly understand, be brave enough to act on that feedback, and plan for every unexpected challenge. Attendees left with practical, bold strategies to strengthen their communities, and we were thrilled with the energy in the room. Thanks to everyone who made it happen”

You can now watch all the sessions, on demand here.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who made this year’s BIG Social not only the biggest – but also the best – yet. See you all for BIG Social 2026?