Three big messages. Julia needs to decide how best to get them out. She calls her team together for a strategy meeting, with the MediaDashboard charts and tables on the walls.

On the whiteboard - sometimes, nothing beats a marker pen - she lists a series of issues raised by corporate, from contracts lost to relationships in doubt. Over the next hour, she demonstrates that every issue is rooted in negative media coverage. She then shows that the negativity seems to be deliberately aimed - and points to the evidence.

"We're strong on national footprint, construction skills, and data integrity. Yet media coverage is negative or opposing on all three - and companies A and B, both weak in these areas, are seen as stronger than us. And look at the demographics of the publications these stories are appearing in - our competitors' home turf. Contracts we may have lost due to this total £45m in the last two years."

The gasps around the room are audible.

Next: Julia builds some new communications