On New Year’s Eve, Queen Elizabeth II announced her biannual Honours List and with it appointed a new flood of knights, MBEs, OBEs – and a whole host of other titles that no one understands.

Although the A+D community is probably most familiar with the various architects, product designers and fashion designers that she has acknowledged in these lengthy inventories over the years, the heroes of the industry merely punctuate a record of 1,149 lesser-known recipients who have been awarded for services to their communities.

This year, many scoffed at the inclusion of Victoria Beckham. First for her alleged slip up in pre-emptively sharing the news with her family, and then for her inclusion in general. Why, of all fashion designers, should Posh Spice be written down in history as an Ordinary Officer of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order, they proclaimed.

It’s tough out there and the fight to stay ‘relevant’ is more difficult than ever before.

Amid constant reports that the Queen, and the extended royal family, are struggling with just that, is it possible that Queen Elizabeth II’s continued inclusion of famous faces is a clever strategy to market the Royal brand?

This is not to say that those who feature on the Honours List do not deserve the privilege but, by including well known and of-the-moment people from the world of fashion, design, architecture and the arts, content about the Queen’s list – and therefore the royal family – practically writes itself. By associating herself with Beckham’s sleek silhouettes, acknowledging greatness in David Adjaye’s architecture and recognising Tom Dixon’s design prowess, the Queen cleverly aligns the royal brand with up-to-the-minute contemporary movers-and-shakers to demonstrate that she, at the grand old age of 90, is still very much ‘with it’.

And for this she should be congratulated. After a 64-year reign, the Queen – or at least her communications team – shows that her finger is still firmly on the pulse. But how is it that she nails her audience every single time?

The Queen has been in power since 1952, she understands that there is only so much her name can do. In 2017 it is no longer enough to just get your name out there. What brands need to do is show their audience that they understand them; that they share their worries, their desires and their dreams – brands need to show that they are like you. We’re just one big royal ‘we’ – and everyone’s engaged.

Launching in January 2017, C-Gen is an A+D communications office specialising in just this: ‘we’. We specialise, that is, in engaging our 800,000+ readers with your story. Our team of strategists, editors, designers and market researchers are uniquely positioned to draw out your brand’s voice to make sure that it hits the right audience, at the right time, in the right way.

Get on board and give your clients the royal treatment.

Your people await.

Cheerio.

Please feel free to contact us @ C-Gen