In this episode of the PRmoment Podcast News Review, Ben Smith steers a sharp conversation with Mark Borkowski and Angie Moxham about one big idea: expectation management as a core comms discipline, using England at the World Cup and Andy Burnham as parallel case studies.
"We've been in a melee of misery with Starmer… now in comes Burnham, coming up on the left wing, dribbling the ball of hope alongside Kane and his team." – Angie Moxham [0:03:44]
Mark opens by reframing “hope” as both asset and liability. For England, he argues, the data says we’ve already over-performed historically: given the country’s size, winning in 1966 was an outlier. Yet every tournament is framed as “win or failure,” a narrative supercharged by 24/7 media and influencer culture. His mantra — never over‑promise, never under‑deliver — is basically a risk‑management doctrine for communicators. The problem, he says, is we “don’t have the language to manage expectation” at a national level. That’s a damning indictment of both political and media comms: we’re great at hype, dreadful at landing people safely when reality bites.
Angie extends this into mood politics. The country has lurched from a “melee of misery” under Starmer’s early leadership into a fragile “moment of hope” pinned on both Harry Kane and Burnham. Her point is brutally simple: when you load that much symbolic weight onto a football match or a leader, the inevitable downside is a national emotional crash when they fall short. She explicitly links this to GDP, underlining that expectation isn’t just psychological theatre – it has real economic consequences.
Both guests converge on a core technique: use statistics and framing to create perspective. Mark uses probability (England’s slim chances; the structural difficulty of governing in a weak economy) to temper fantasy. Angie echoes this in her client advice: frame stories with facts and stats so journalists can anchor coverage in reality, not fantasy. This is effectively a playbook for PRs: don’t just pitch hope; quantify risk, odds, and timelines.
The Burnham discussion is where the political application crystallises. Angie praises his early “quick wins” and symbolic moves (e.g. moving Number 10 north) that signal momentum without waiting for legislation. That’s clever expectation design: visible, low‑friction actions that buy time for slower structural change. In contrast, Starmer’s early period is described as “rabbits in the headlights” — a textbook case of failing to capitalise on the expectation window at the start of a mandate.
Mark’s take on Thomas Tuchel adds a personal brand layer. Tuchel, he argues, has engineered a no‑lose positioning: if he fails with England, he still exits as a scarce, elite coach. His softer English‑language persona versus his more aggressive German‑language style is framed as deliberate audience‑specific self‑editing — expectation management at the level of tone and character.
Editorially, the through‑line is clear: good comms is not about fuelling euphoria; it’s about designing the landing. The sophisticated operator uses data, symbolic gestures, and controlled language to keep hope alive without guaranteeing miracles.
More quotes from this week's show:
"Never over‑promise and never under‑deliver."
– Mark Borkowski [0:01:07]
"We don't have the language to manage expectation, in this country."
– Mark Borkowski [0:02:57]
"With every person who follows England, the phrase is it's the hope that kills you."
– Mark Borkowski [0:01:40]
"We've
been in a melee of misery doom with Starmer leading the country… now in
comes Burnham, coming up the left wing, dribbling the ball of hope
alongside Kane and his team."
– Angie Moxham [0:03:44]
"When,
if and when we lose, which we're likely to statistically, the mood of
the nation is going to be absolutely crashing and burning."
– Angie Moxham [0:04:15]
"The media have a lot of responsibility here… the language that they use, the way they corral the nation's mood."
– Angie Moxham [0:04:37]
"The World Cup impacts GDP, it literally does."
– Angie Moxham [0:04:58]
"He's heralding in a new age of politics… he's just a normal guy, he's a man of the people."
– Angie Moxham [0:09:19]
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