Case study
Building trust in robotics and AI for nuclear decommissioning
National journalist visits leading to front page features on RAICo
Direct enquiries from decommissioning sites and robotics companies
40% LinkedIn growth
Objective
RAICo brings together industry, academia, and government to deploy robotics and AI to address challenges in one of the most complex industrial environments: nuclear decommissioning.
RAICo wanted to use communication to demonstrate the value of its work, and build trust – with operators on decommissioning sites, and UK robotics suppliers – around the potential of robots to address decommissioning challenges.
Approach
Working with RAICo’s robotics and AI experts, and operators on decommissioning sites, we identified a campaign focus: deployment with impact.
To demonstrate the real-world value of RAICo’s work, we told regular stories on RAICo robots being deployed on decommissioning sites, carefully explaining how each was making decommissioning safer, faster, and more cost-effective.
This was backed by thought leadership, positioning RAICo as experts on how to deliver successful deployments, and what the future of robotics might hold.
A parallel local engagement programme told regular stories of RAICo’s work with schools and businesses, showing how RAICo is creating jobs, nurturing skills, and keeping the nuclear workforce safe.
Each story was delivered through multiple channels including national media, the RAICo blog, LinkedIn and newsletters.
Individually, each piece of content created excitement about specific robotics possibilities. Together, they projected a coherent narrative that ensured key audiences received multiple touch points with RAICo over the year, each delivering insight in its own right, each adding a layer to their understanding and trust.
Results
The programme demonstrated RAICo expertise in deploying innovation into complex, regulated environments, and the value of this work to UK decommissioning. It has also generated serious enquiries from decommissioning sites and robotics suppliers interested in working with RAICo.
Highlights from year one include:
Major national features in The Telegraph Magazine (front-page!) and The Times arising from journalist visits (yes, we got national journalists to visit the Cumbrian coast in winter)
Over 30 pieces of high-quality trade coverage, including Nuclear Engineering International (including another front page feature), World Nuclear News, The Engineer, and Engineering & Technology (by high quality, we stories focused on RAICo, and RAICo bylined thought leadership in target media – not syndications or ad hoc mentions).
Strong local engagement, with coverage of schools and skills initiatives in Cumbrian media and vocal support from local MP, Josh MacAlister.
40% growth in LinkedIn followers, predominantly from nuclear and robotics industries (1,725 → 2,400+)
Multiple enquiries from operators on nuclear sites and robotics suppliers to learn more about RAICo-developed technologies in direct response to our stories.
“Memetic are clearly experts in communications, and they quickly understood our sector, and the communication challenges it brings. In high stakes industries like nuclear decommissioning, it is critical to have an agency we can trust to talk to our experts, bring their stories to life accurately and responsibly, and amplify those stories in all the right places, whether the media, social, or our own channels.”
“The result is that we are constantly getting the right message out there, so that people in industry, academia, and government understand the value of what we do, and trust us to work with them collaboratively to tackle nuclear decommissioning challenges.”
— RAICo Director, Dr Kirsty Hewitson
Managing multiple stakeholders
A major challenge of programmes like this is managing the complexity of multiple partners, a sensitive subject matter, and high caution around public communications.
At Memetic, we pride ourselves on our ability to quickly get up to speed on complex subject matter. By producing stories that were exciting, but not overhyped, and with attention to technical accuracy, we quickly established trust with RAICo’s experts. That built confidence across the programme and made engagement, sign-off, and media opportunities much easier.
As Dr Hewitson puts it: “Content approvals can sometimes be quite challenging, but now the programme is running smoothly, and everyone is excited about comms and trusts the process.”
Why it matters
Through engaging but responsible communications, Memetic is creating confidence in the value of robotics and AI for nuclear decommissioning, and supporting real-world uptake of important technologies in one of the most demanding sectors in the world.
The ongoing communications programme will keep demonstrating the value of RAICo robotics to nuclear decommissioning sites, as well as to fusion engineering, in the coming years.
