Communications that Power Progress.
We are Braedown.
We partner with organisations driving the UK's energy transition.
Rooted in the Highlands of Scotland - a thriving and influential hub for the UK’s green economy - we combine local knowledge with national and international expertise.
Our aim? To deliver strategic communications to unlock growth, navigate change and power progress.
What We Do
Smart, strategic communications for the UK’s energy transition.
With £6.5bn of planned investment - and £100bn for the broader region - over the next 25 years, the Scottish Highlands is positioned to be a leading global hub for green energy and its supply chain, from offshore wind, to onshore renewables, transmission upgrades and green hydrogen.
Our team's local knowledge, matched with a deep understanding of national priorities, strongly positions us to support this growth. Our expertise will align communications with your business strategy and the external environment, to unlock opportunities and drive your business forward.
Why It Counts
Strong communications set the foundations for long-term success.
We engage your key stakeholders in the right way to strengthen relationships, build credibility and drive meaningful progress.
We’ll help you:
• Strengthen and protect your reputation
• Drive brand and business credibility
• Engage and influence decicion-makers and influencers
• Develop partnerships that accelerate business growth
In a landscape shaped by policy, regulation and community expectations, our team will work with you to clarify your purpose, strengthen visibility and secure support so you can move forward with confidence.
Our Services
We’re focused on ensuring the energy transition creates lasting opportunity for the businesses and communities that power it.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS & POLITICAL STRATEGY
Influencing decision-makers and shaping perceptions
We develop targeted strategies to engage political and regulatory audiences - helping you shape the environment in which decisions are made, not just respond to them.
POLICY & POLITICAL ANALYSIS
Horizon scanning & strategic counsel
We monitor the political and policy landscape, identify risks and opportunities early and advise on how to respond. So you’re always one step ahead.
STAKEHOLDER, MEDIA & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Building understanding and goodwill
We develop and manage engagement across all the audiences that matter - from political, media and industry stakeholders to local communities. Building goodwill and understanding for your proposition, and your wider reputation, at every level.
Our Experience
in the Energy Transition
Who we are
Lindsay McCallum, Founder
Lindsay McCallum is a Highland native who returned home to found Braedown - a strategic communications and corporate affairs consultancy built on a single conviction: that the Highlands is facing a once-in-a-generation economic opportunity, but complex projects risk derailment when the political, policy and communication worlds don't align. The challenge is rarely a lack of information. It's knowing what matters, who needs to hear it, when, and how to say it - in a way that builds understanding rather than resistance.
Lindsay brings nearly two decades of experience advising businesses across energy, infrastructure, financial services and beyond - in the UK and internationally. Prior to founding Braedown, she held senior roles at Mercom Capital, Highview and Hawthorn Advisors in London, supporting corporate affairs strategies for organisations including Mitsubishi Power, KPMG, Unilever and abrdn.
Lindsay is Chair of the Board of the Care and Learning Alliance (CALA), the Highland’s largest independent childcare provider and sits on the Board of Inverness Chamber of Commerce. She is deeply committed to ensuring that the Highlands' assets, infrastructure and natural advantages build lasting opportunity for the people and places that power them.
How We Work
A partnership in powering progress
We work collaboratively, efficiently and with genuine curiosity, taking time to understand your organisation and what you want to achieve. Every project is delivered by a bespoke team tailored to your brief and we work to a structured and proven process to deliver the right programme for your business:
1. Understand
We begin by getting a clear picture of your priorities, existing challenges and ambitions.
2. Define
Together, we identify your commercial goals, and from there your communication objectives.
3. Shape
We develop a data-driven strategy that positions your brand for growth.
4. Activate
We turn strategy into action with a targeted programme and impactful execution.
5. Review
We monitor performance and refine our approach to ensure meaningful, measurable results.
Want to elevate your communications?
FAQs
What is strategic communications and how is it different to PR? It's about putting communications at the heart of your organisation’s strategy so you can achieve your long-term goals. Here’s what that looks like in practice: 1. It’s all-encompassing, covering every kind of communication: internal, external, digital, marketing, public affairs, crisis response and employee engagement 2. It creates alignment, making sure every message, channel, and interaction supports your organisation’s strategy and reputation 3. It drives long-term success, delivering measurable value, whether that’s helping shape policy, building partnerships for growth, launching into a new market, or shifting perceptions through sustained stakeholder engagement
Where does PR fit into a strategic communications offering? Public relations (PR) is just one part of strategic communications. PR focuses on managing relationships with your key audiences to build goodwill and protect your reputation. It often centres on media relations, crisis response and stakeholder engagement. Strategic communications brings it all together, ensuring PR (and every other form of communication) works towards your organisation’s bigger goals.
How does marketing complement strategic communications and PR? Marketing is part of the bigger picture of strategic communications. At their core, both aim to shape how people see, trust and engage with your organisation. Marketing is about driving interest and demand for products and services. Strategic communications is about building and protecting the reputation of the organisation itself. Successful organisations with strong, positive reputations don’t treat these separately. Strategic communications adds credibility to marketing campaigns, while marketing produces content and data that communications teams can use to bring the company’s story to life.
Is marketing part of your offer at Braedown? Yes. As part of the bigger picture of strategic communications, marketing plays an important role in our service offering. We can support you across the marketing spectrum.
Do you work with clients on a retained basis only? No, we are fully flexible and tailored to every client’s requirements, whether that’s one-off project work or a longer-term relationship. We work according to your needs. Not all organisations need retained strategic communications support and might want to ‘try out’ working together first before making a long-term commitment - and we understand that. Our teams can work flexibly, remotely, in-person (as required) and affordably to deliver against your priorities.