The Human Side to Public Sector Communications with Edna Boampong

Not many communications professionals can trace their career back to selling out student parties. But for this week’s guest, Edna Boampong, that’s exactly where it all began.

After taking her college parties from local venues to the iconic Ministry of Sound, Edna realised she had a talent for making things happen. So, naturally, that led her to a career in communications.

Today, she is a multi-award-winning Director of Communications, Marketing and Engagement at Liverpool City Council – one of the UK’s largest Metropolitan Borough Councils. Edna’s work sits at the sharp end of behaviour change, tackling issues like public health, inequality and racism.

Start with insight:  Edna’s approach to communications centres around people. Listening comes before messaging, and the insight gained shapes what happens next. During the indoor smoking ban campaign early in her career, public concerns drove the shift from restriction-led messaging to a focus on health and safety. If you want to change behaviour, start with insight.

No action? No success: If the result of your communications is intangible, then there’s no result at all. Edna’s philosophy of data-led communications puts insight at the heart of all messaging. But if the data doesn’t change, the campaign has failed to cut through. Without action, the insight is worthless.

Bring people with you or risk losing them completely: One of Edna’s greatest learnings came at the expense of large-scale NHS transformation programmes, where the cost of poor engagement was critical. Even the right decisions can fail if people feel excluded from the process. This experience taught Edna that the key to success is timing – start communications early, be transparent and treat engagement as an ongoing conversation. Because once trust is gone, it’s much harder to win back.

Communications teams manage more than messaging: The rise of online abuse has fundamentally changed the role of communications teams. Edna highlights the daily challenge of balancing open dialogue with protecting staff and the public from harmful content. Moderation, safeguarding and ethical decision making are now just as important as crafting the message itself, meaning communications teams act as a the first line of defence. Being aware of this and understanding the threat is paramount when considering your communications strategy.

Diversity directly impacts outcomes: With fewer than 5% of senior NHS communications roles held by people from ethnic minority backgrounds, the lack of representation has real consequences. From campaign effectiveness to public trust and even health outcomes, Diversity shapes how communications work in practice by speaking the language of its audience, so for a public body like the NHS, a lack of diversity will lead to inaccessible messaging. For Edna, diversity is essential for accessible communications.

Edna’s experience teaches us the impact of thinking holistically. Messaging should not be driven by the opinion or perspective of an individual – it should be driven by how the audience thinks, feels and acts.

If you want to make an impact with your communications, start with insights. Get to know your audience, listen to what they say and speak their language. If your messaging doesn’t start with the audience in mind, they will not listen.

Links and references

Connect with Edna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edna-boampong/

Edna’s appointment: https://liverpoolexpress.co.uk/liverpool-city-council-appoints-new-director-of-communications-and-engagement/

Edna Boampong – NHS Confederation profile: https://www.nhsconfed.org/people/edna-boampong

Liverpool City Council – anti-racism commitment / This is Liverpool: https://liverpool.gov.uk/council/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/our-commitment-to-anti-racism

Talking Bins / We’re Talking Bins campaign: https://liverpoolexpress.co.uk/third-liver-bird-highlights-liverpools-poor-recycling-rates

Healthier Together programme (Greater Manchester): https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/news/healthier-together-integrated-impact-assessment-forums

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Listen to Edna’s episode now!