TK Associates

20/03/2026

We've just seen some interesting new research on the increasing role of AI assistants in searches for information and recommendations:

· Isolating the 52% of AI prompts which are ‘asking’ (i.e. searches) instead of ‘doing’, a signficant 28% of all searches globally are now carried out via AI assistants. And I’m sure this proportion is rising fast as people increasingly get familiar with them

· Total searches across AI assistants and 'traditional' search engines like Google have increased 26% since 2023, suggesting it’s not a simple story of searches switching to AI, but of AI growing the total volume

· ChatGPT dominates AI usage with a whopping 89% share of global AI sessions and 20% of all searches across AI tools and search engines

· 83% of worldwide AI sessions are on mobile, and AI use is growing fastest in the US where it expanded three-fold during 2025

This confirms what we all already knew – that AI assistants are now vital in searches and recommendations. But it also underlines that traditional search engines still play a big role, even if Google’s share of search has apparently fallen from 89% to 71% in the last two years.

So, both SEO and GEO are vital in companies’ marketing efforts.

More from the firm, Graphite.io, that carried out the study here: https://graphite.io/five-percent/ai-is-much-bigger-than-you-think

25/02/2026

𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗗𝗣𝗗, 𝘄𝗵𝗼'𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺.

DPD UK is one of the nation’s biggest delivery companies, with annual revenue of £2 billion and 10,000 vehicles delivering 360 million parcels a year.

The company holds a premium position in the market based on the quality of its delivery services and its commitment to innovation and sustainability. And it’s a trusted supplier to many of the UK’s major brands as well as thousands of small and medium companies.

At the same time, like any forward-thinking corporation, DPD recognises it can’t be complacent about its market position, so Marketing Director Tim Jones has brought us in to look at the company's communications strategy.

It's great to be working with Tim and the rest of the DPD senior team.

You can see more on this here:

Parcel delivery group DPD has appointed us to provide advice to its senior management team on communications. DPD UK is one of the nation’s largest delivery companies, with annual revenue of £2 billion and 10,000 vehicles delivering more than 360 million parcels a year. The company holds a premiu...

24/02/2026

We've just caught up with Gartner's crystal ball gazing on how communications will change in 2026 and beyond in a world fast shaken up by AI.

The company has made five major predictions, and we think its initial two deserve particular attention.

Its first, bold prophecy is that media relations budgets will double by 2027 - driven by the way web searches are being fast replaced by AI queries.

The company points out that “more than 95% of links cited [in AI answers] are non-paid mentions ... with 27% originating from earned media.”

And it says its studies show the areas most likely to see budget increases are "public relations (where 36% of Chief Communication Officers anticipate an increase), corporate brand (34%), public website (26%), and external social media (23%).”

Doubling in two years is a daring forecast. Who knows if that will happen?

But amongst our clients and industry colleagues, there’s a consensus that getting recommended by AI tools is vital – and strong recognition that positive media coverage, combined with other content sources, plays a big role in that.

Gartner's second prediction deals with internal communications and we feel paints a rather dystopian picture of the future of work - so we hope it's off the mark!

You can see more on Gartner's predictions and our take on them here:

Gartner has been gazing into its crystal ball and has published its five major predictions for communications for this year and beyond in a world being rapidly shaken up by AI. Its initial two prophecies warrant particular attention. Gartner’s first is that media relations budgets will double by 2...

19/12/2025

What better way to round off the year than at our client Intralink's Christmas bash!!

Great company, food, drinks, war stories and jokes in a louche basement somewhere in London. Oh, and unexpected live music from a fabulous - if hastily assembled - staff band.

Thanks for having us, Intralink. At the party. And for the rest of the year!

20/10/2025

We're pleased to have helped secure a profile in yesterday’s Sunday Times for entrepreneur Iain Henderson and his innovative sharing economy business.

God’s Own Guitars is the world's only business to specialise in hiring out iconic guitars – instruments previously owned or made famous by the most celebrated guitarists on the planet.

We arranged for The Sunday Times to interview Iain to explore how, after 30 years with the company, he left his position as MD of consulting giant Accenture to turn his passion for music into a business.

The feature highlights how, at the time, he had a modest collection of 10 guitars, which began when, as "a massive Oasis fan," he bought two of Noel Gallagher’s. And it explains how "one particular idea struck a chord" as he “started thinking about the sharing economy and how, if I bought more, I could hire them out.”

The business now has 80 guitars which are rented by musicians for a wide range of uses, from gigs and recording music videos to weddings, parties and just for fun.

You can read the full article in yesterday's newspaper, and see more on this unique business on the God’s Own Guitars website: https://www.godsownguitars.com/

18/09/2025

We’ve just completed a project for a global charity – to clarify its messages and develop a communications strategy to help it flourish.

The ProSalus Foundation supports veterinarians, animals, their owners and their environment in areas of the world in greatest need.

It has a strong track record in bringing vets together and supporting animal welfare in Africa, which it’s now extending internationally, including to Latin America.

It supports vets by providing educational resources, research funding, scholarships and veterinary exchanges. It facilitates the development of veterinary associations and networks, supports rabies vaccination campaigns and provides disaster relief, including in Ukraine.

The organisation identified the need to sharpen its positioning and strengthen its reputation so it can raise more funds, grow its team and operate in more geographical areas.

Tariq Khwaja and Rebecca George have conducted a 'Kick Start' exercise for The Foundation. This involved assessing its current positioning and communications, and holding a series of workshops with its board to review its business objectives and audiences, define its core values, mission and vision, and create clear, compelling messages.

Based on this, we then developed a communications strategy to raise awareness of The Foundation. This encompasses the redevelopment of the organisation’s core communications assets, including its website, before launching a campaign to demonstrate the results it's achieving and profile the people and animals it's helping. And we're pleased to hear the board has just approved this strategy.

ProSalus Vice President Dr G Mark Johnston said: “Tariq and Rebecca have brought their communications expertise and a valuable outside perspective, delivering an exercise to refine our core messaging and develop a clearer communications strategy. These put us in a great position to take The Foundation forward and we’re keen to continue working together to press ahead.”

We are also looking forward that!

You can see more on the project here:

We’ve just completed a Kick Start exercise for global charity the ProSalus Foundation – to clarify its messages and develop a focused communications strategy to help it flourish. ProSalus supports veterinarians, animals, their owners and their environment in areas of the world in greatest need. ...

18/06/2025

Our director Tariq Khwaja had the great privilege of meeting The King in the stunning surroundings of Windsor Castle.

Tariq attended a Royal Reception for winners of The King’s Award for Enterprise - representing our client, Intralink, and mingling with The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and other Award holders over Champagne and canapés.

The King, in particular, showed great interest in Intralink, and Tariq explained how the consultancy helps companies expand overseas.

His Majesty talked about the difficulties of securing international deals – and the patience that must be needed. This is true, of course, but Tariq was able to tell him that Intralink has clever people in each market who understand the culture, speak the language and have the right connections to open doors for their clients.

Intralink won its King’s Award for doing exactly this – helping its clients win customers overseas – as well as for growing its own business internationally. Having started out as a UK-focused consultancy, it has expanded to support companies and government agencies in 40 countries from its 27 global locations. And we're happy to be playing a part in this success story by helping to drive the company’s marketing – and having managed the application for the King's Award.

The King was intrigued to hear all this, congratulating us for winning the Award and wishing Intralink well for its continued growth.

14/05/2025

We're excited to have been appointed to run a long-term media relations campaign to strengthen the profile of fast-expanding consutancy firm Intralink.

Operating from 27 global locations, Intralink specialises in helping companies secure customers and partners in overseas markets.

After recently securing private equity investment, it's now taking its business to the next level. And it identified as critical to demonstrate the depth of its expertise to the market.

This is a new campaign for a client we've supported with marketing strategy, messaging and content marketing for several years.

It's being led by our media specialist - the highly experienced Rebecca George - and there's no shortage of stories to work with.

We've kicked off by launching the company's new India operation, and announcing its win of The King's Award for Enterprise, no less!

Intralink's CEO, Greg Sutch, said: "The TK Associates team has helped us take huge steps forward in raising our profile and building a prestige brand for Intralink over the last few years ... They've now got stuck into the new media campaign and are already delivering some great editorial exposure for us. We’re looking forward to seeing our media profile strengthen over the months ahead.”

We're greatly looking forward to delivering this important campaign, alongside Greg and the highly talented Intralink marketing team.

We’ve been appointed to deliver a long-term media relations campaign for Intralink, a fast-expanding business development consultancy that specialises in international markets. We’ve been supporting Intralink for several years, delivering marketing strategy, messaging advice and a content market...

07/05/2025

We're pleased to have helped our client Intralink win The King's Award for Enterprise!

The King's Award is the UK's most respected business accolade. And it's greatly deserved by Intralink as an ambitious British consultancy that's been recognised for "outstanding success" in helping its clients secure customer and partners overseas - and for consistently strong growth over the last six years.

As one of only 116 companies to be acknowledged by HM King Charles for its international trade prowess, that puts it in an elite group of just 0.004% of the UK's companies.

The win is also hugely rewarding as the application process for the King's Award is notoriously rigorous! It was a major team exercise over several weeks to develop a winning submission.

More on Intralink's King's Award here:

We’re thrilled to have won the highly sought-after King’s Award for Enterprise – for “outstanding success” in helping companies across the world to expand their business overseas.

02/04/2025

We've just completed a fascinating project - handling the communications aspects of an important company acquisition.

As announced today, international business development consultancy Intralink has bought Southeast Asia market expansion specialists Orissa International, which greatly strengthens Intralink's capability in the region.

It immediately gives the company on-the-ground teams in the region's six fastest growing economies: Singapore, Vietnman, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. And it's a milestone in Intralink's ambitious growth strategy, following the private equity investment it secured from Mobeus in 2023.

It's been great to work with both companies over recent weeks as the deal came together - and rewarding to see it attracting so much positive attention today, with media coverage also already coming through.

With congratulations to everyone at Intralink and Orissa, who face exciting times ahead!

We’re excited to announce the acquisition of Orissa International, a highly regarded market expansion consultancy headquartered in Singapore.

25/02/2025

Pleased to see our Tariq Khwaja quoted in this interesting Press Association article about how to communicate and handle the media in times of crisis.

The piece cites his thoughts about why you should always buy yourself time and never say 'no comment' in the heat of a disaster - alongside interesting views from other reputation management specialists about the importance of sticking to what you know, acknowleding mistakes and, above all, being human.

PA/Alamy Mistakes happen, it’s how you handle them and recover that counts - but in the moment, it can be stressful and if things are mismanaged,