nexGworx – Building Thought Leadership Around Commercial 5G

Worcestershire became the UK’s first 5G testbed in 2018. Following the success of the pilot, nexGworx was established to provide consultancy support to organisations exploring commercial 5G applications, those looking to test and trial new use cases using the Worcestershire testbed, and to attract inward investment into the county.

The objective was to raise awareness of the commercial opportunities enabled by 5G and position nexGworx as a trusted authority guiding businesses through the emerging 5G landscape.

Encore was brought in at short notice, with limited time to get up to speed on the project, industry context and complex technical issues.

Key challenges included:

• • Low awareness of 5G’s business value, benefits and practical applications among decision-makers
  • Fragmented early-stage infrastructure, with a risk that nexGworx’s impact could be misattributed to partner organisations
  • A new brand with limited visibility and unclear market boundaries
  • Difficulty positioning nexGworx while priority target markets were still emerging
  • Constrained resources in a start-up phase

We developed a thought leadership-led communications strategy designed to educate the market and establish nexGworx as an authoritative guide to commercial 5G.

This included:

• Identifying priority sectors where early commercial traction and funding were most likely, particularlymanufacturing, smart infrastructure and industrial IoT
• Prioritising external thought leadership in telecoms and manufacturing trade media to reach audiencesunfamiliar with both 5G and nexGworx
• Supporting media activity with owned-channel content on LinkedIn and the website (within the limits of a blog-only CMS)
• Creating educational content explaining what 5G enables in practical terms, including IoT, smart manufacturing, edge computing and new ways of working
• Demonstrating the nexGworx team’s technical and commercial expertise, including funding access, business case development, trial design and sector navigation
• Ensuring nexGworx was clearly and consistently referenced in partner-led marketing activity to protect attribution and reinforce leadership positioning

• 25 features secured in telecoms and manufacturing trade media over six months
• Total estimated reach of 750,000+ across priority industry audiences
• Coverage topics included 5G commercial benefits, cybersecurity, edge computing, Testbed-as-a-Service and practical manufacturer adoption guides
• Worked in partnership with UK5G and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) to amplify coverage and strengthen policy-level visibility
• Established a LinkedIn presence and successfully grew a niche audience aligned with target seniority and industry sectors
• Positioned nexGworx as a recognisable authority within the UK’s commercial 5G ecosystem