The global health and economic crisis that all of humanity faces in 2020 has forced many PR firms to downsize. While size is quite clearly not the ultimate factor determining the quality of services of a PR agency – or how they are a match with their clients – a boutique size and family atmosphere can offer advantages for both the firm and its clients.
At my company, RumboCierto Comunicaciones based in Santiago, Chile, we opted for a smaller size. Based on that experience, I can now share the top ten advantages of a smaller operation.
1) One-stop-shop: In a small agency, team members do many things. Clients often value that highly because they can share their needs with a single person who will be aware of all issues related to their account.
2) Efficiency: Time spent on meetings, internal information flow and bureaucracy is reduced to the bare minimum.
3) Collaborations and Learning: Team members value highly the possibility to learn different aspects of the communications profession, rather than having to specialize or become bored in a single area. It allows them to become professionals with more complex skill sets.
4) Partnerships: Not even a large agency can keep experts from all fields in-house. We rely on partnerships and are constantly seeking out the top or most appropriate experts for our clients’ needs. This approach can help you ensure that you offer the best professionals in the market for a particular project.
5) Client quality: As size limits your ability to serve only a few customers at a time, you will likely end up keeping the best ones. They are generally those who are looking for a personalized service. And as a benefit to yourself, you get to meet an owner or a senior manager on the client’s side and your ideas and proposals have a greater chance to be heard and come to fruition.
6) Profitability: Overall a smaller size might also mean lower costs – like the question of office space which has just occurred to many agencies as Covid-19 forced them to apply work from home practices which were previously overlooked. We made that move earlier and can now say this means higher profitability.
7) Flexibility: By being able to focus on building a strong core staff, you can grow more efficiently when new projects are landed.
8) Creativity and innovation: Being creative, nimble and innovative are part of daily life at a small business. This mindset will help you with any new professional and client challenges.
9) Independence: The lack of having excess partners or external capital will allow you to make decisions quickly and without outside influence. In other words, decisions can be made simply based on what’s the best for the customer or the agency.
10) Challenges: Small companies continuously face challenges. This trains you to keep your eyes and ears open all the time.
The new world is becoming more collaborative, not competitive – at least from my perspective and experience. All this means that to be successful a small business needs to have friends, needs to have partners and a network to rely on. This is why we are a member of a good global network. It allows us to exchange ideas, experiences and knowledge that all help us survive and thrive while being a small player in a big global economy.
The great transformation to digital that we are seeing in large companies around the world is not something exceptional. Chilean companies are immersed in this great change. The fact of having a great penetration in mobile devices (71%, leading in Latin America), will allow Chilean companies to better understand their users and customers, which will provide them with information to make high-level decisions and the design of new products. . Although now only 30% of consumers and retail brand executives are using the data for strategic purposes, according to the KPMG 2016 Global Consumer Executive Top of Mind Survey, the number is expected to double, to 59%, in the next two years; and predictive analytics doubled from 24% to 49% in the same period.
In this digital age, technology has a great impact on people’s lives, and it is increasing every day, modifying certain behaviors or behaviors, such as purchasing trends through new platforms, which also allow us to make purchases, Communicate with companies naturally and spontaneously, expressing our opinions and generating valuable information for the brands that know their customers day by day. The KPMG Outlook CEO survey revealed that CEOs in Latin America are more aware than years ago of the need for business leaders to expand their skills to face emerging technologies; Likewise, 71% consider that technological disruptions represent more of an opportunity than a threat, compared to the global average.
As another report by the aforementioned international firm “The paradox of digital disruption” explains, despite the fact that institutions and organizations in Chile are alert to the necessary adoption of digital solutions and know the high potential within them, the vast majority of companies are slow in this technological process. The results of this study indicate that, for more than 30% of the respondents, the main barrier to technological change is given by lack of strategic vision and that is associated with the culture of the company.
The development of digital strategies in companies will undoubtedly bring benefits, a clear example is seen with e-commerce, where through web platforms, without physical stores, brands can reach rural consumers for the first time. With or without a physical store, the internet has become a great platform for companies and it is there that we can help them as communication consultants, guiding them in the messages to be transmitted, in the way of doing it, with whom to do it and how.
We have to be able to capture that information, work it and know how to report it to achieve the objectives that companies want.
A few days ago, during a dinner of a corporate event I had the opportunity to listen to a humorist. Each joke was more macho than the other. And I thought, what a bad image this dinner will give this brand with the women here and how old-fashioned it is. At least I don’t want to partner with that brand anymore.
The truth is that in the face of the new decade 2020-2030 we can no longer have a space between what we preach and what we do. We must take care of what is communicated in every detail and not only to be politically correct in an era where women (along with ecology and sustainability) are on the rise, but also as an aggressive strategy of closeness and respect with the female gender.
That is why here I give some ideas:
1) Entrepreneurs: Woman today are independent, for a long time they do not want to be in their house or meet a schedule that does not allow them to be with their children. Brands should talk to that specific segment, provide effective solutions, become their accomplices.
2) Complicity: For example, for women’s week, brands can offer special discounts only to women, but I don’t mean just clothes, why not technology, notebooks, cameras, fitness and outdoor, rent of co-works, among others. Counseling firms can issue reports with statistics on women in different aspects.
3) Elegance: Take care of your words, address them differently from the masculine gender.
4) Recognition: Why not create spaces just for them — best female employee, best female owned business, and why not an internal blog only with topics that might be of her interest.
4) Creativity, Creativity and Creativity: for years women had to read about topics that interest them, written under the perspective of a man. It is time to take the pen and ideas and apply creativity from a space for women themselves.
As you can see there is still a lot to do to bring your brand closer to this segment, which certainly will be interested in consuming custom products and services and will appreciate feeling recognized and valued.
Communications Agency, Santiago Chile
Communications Company
Communication agency
Strategic communication
Best public relations agency in Chile
Best strategic communication agency in Santiago
By Valentina Giacaman
RumboCierto Comunicaciones
Chile
When clients hire us to develop a campaign they still request us to deliver all publications that appear once the campaign has finished. And many times, depending on the topic released and the right moment, they can be successful.
In other words, after two or three days of work with the media and according to the effort made, a large number of publications can be obtained, some of them with high valuations depending on the occupied spaces.
However, many times the client only comes to appreciate in which media it did or didn’t come out, if the story had errors or came out with the right message and how many times it was retweeted or shared by our relevant public. Check and well done.
But after two or three days those publications came out, does anyone remember the campaign?
Let alone if there is no further loyalty work. There must be a sustained action in time that gathers the fruit of what was sown. And many times that action requires an annual contract with the PR agency because it is also common to believe that this part can be done alone or from the company.
That’s why I think that the way to measure a PR campaign can’t continue to be based on published spaces, valuations and messages, which undoubtedly matter, but also on the contacts and relationships that were made throughout the campaign, how they served the company in the medium term and what emerges from them.
For example, building relationships of trust that eventually become durable with customers, and that are the starting point of a business relationship or future alliances with the media where we become a reliable and permanent source.
I also remember the saying about the silver bullet – one has only one chance in life, because the image we show the first time always gets marked. And that is where our consultancy and advice can also be invaluable.
But does the client pay attention to that when placing the campaign fee? The truth is that they don’t – that is why it is necessary to make further progress in educating our clients about what are the final objectives that are really worth.
A lot has been written about the basic aspects of how to solve a communication crisis.
We talk about many theoretical aspects, crisis manuals, crisis committees, coordinated work with the legal team, etc. And advisers are measured by the size of the crises they have participated in or the number of crises in the body.
And while all of the above is important, I think that little has been said about the importance of passion when supporting a client.
My first recommendation is never to take a crisis if you do not believe in the version of the person you are helping. This is key when it comes to giving the best advice. I have seen advisors of a political trend defending by contract clients that they do not believe in, and that is a guaranteed failure when telling our version of the facts to the press or to the stakeholders.
The second thing is to get involved. I mean to try to understand every last detail to gain the trust of the client, so you do not find out in the middle of a crisis of an important aspect that plays against and that your client never thought it would come to light.
Last but not least, when you believe in your client and in the arguments that both of you have chosen together to build the speech, passion begins to play. Believing in a case or in a person makes the difference. You no longer give generalist recommendations per book, but you get involved in the case and you realize that the solutions to take care of a person’s image and reputation are much more diverse. And this makes that you are not only recommend as a gimmicky agency, but also as an integral professional, a general practitioner beyond a specific case.
A typical definition of public relations is the set of actions aimed at creating and maintaining a good image of a company or person (external communications), both before the general public (consumers, clients, investors, public institutions, social organizations, groups of opinion, etc.), and before their own workers (internal communications).
However, nowadays in view of the complexity of communications, the work of a PR firm has greatly increased, due to a series of factors including digitalization, globalization, immediacy and the existence of social networks.
On the one hand, the channels are no longer the same; newspapers, magazines, radio and TV have joined social networks and influencers as an established channel of communication, which is gaining more and more ground against the conventional media, forcing to develop digital strategies with messages very different from the traditional ones.
On the other hand, today no company can abstain from communicating with transparency: from what it does, and what its income is, to how it does it (for example, if its methods are compatible with the ecosystem). The time to hide the head is over; who does not communicate disappears or goes into crisis.
There are also professionals who need to position themselves with a suitable image or get closer to their audience.
And in all these tasks it is necessary to be advised by a good PR firm, since everything must have a strategy and a communication plan, starting with an analysis that includes segmenting the target audience, mapping the stakeholders that we need to react, prepare messages with the appropriate storytelling that properly reaches our audience.
In addition, you have to know the media and its journalists, know what they are looking for and in what format. That is why according to wikipedia today 80% of the content in the media comes from the actions of a public relations specialist and not from the search of the media itself.
And in case a company or person enters a public crisis, which are increasing as a result of social networks where anyone can upload content, and amplification capacity has multiplied several times, and in less time, there the work of a communications professional becomes even more essential to face the media.
A PR company will prepare a crisis plan beforehand and will set up a crisis committee to meet if necessary so that it is not the affected person who comes out to give an improvised response, making the situation even worse, and will prepare their spokespersons with an adequate media training.
Reputational damage has now become one of the main problems of companies that do not handle their crisis correctly, with some having an impact even on their stock market value.
For all of the above, the right team and the experience and closeness of a PR firm are key when choosing the right advisor. Closeness not only with the customer but also with the media through ethical, trustworthy and long-term relationships.
These teams are often led by journalists, but today they are multidisciplinary to meet the different requests that a client can entrust to a PR firm, including sociologists, designers, marketers, politicians, photographers, film makers, etc., as tasks can go from production of digital pieces to press analysis.
And the events cannot be left out as another channel of communication used by companies to have access to their clients and/or prospects to deliver content, or simply build loyalty with brand actions. Therefore, an event cannot be prepared without a goal, where speakers, duration, invited guests, etc. are correctly selected, all by a PR professional.
As you can see, nothing is left to chance when properly handling the public image of a company, organization or person.
Communications agencies, which include former media journalists and strategists capable of accompanying a company or executive in their crisis process, have learned to value their work in front of law firms.
A few years ago, when a client had to face justice, he only called his lawyer to get him to the best legal specialist to defend against charges against him.
Today he knows that this is not enough; he must also worry about the image: what the press will say about him, what image will remain in the market in which he works, and finally how to defend himself against the charges against him – whether they are false or true – so that this does not end in an economic damage of unthought-of consequences.
It is in this way that legal specialists have also learned to integrate in their weekly boards of strategy reviews partners from crisis companies or lobbyists, since they have become aware that without that part of the analysis they will not be able to win their cases.
Many lawyers have even included public disqualifications as a way to litigate. And the evidence shows that companies have been destroyed, sold and come to be worth zero after a crisis erupts. The same happens with executives: if their reputation falls they will never be able to access new jobs or even close personal deals. And nobody responds for it.
This type of specialists we are talking about are people capable of understanding the media, of anticipating the intentions behind the calls to journalists, of investigating, asking, and based on accurate data, to reconstruct the facts and explain them in a simple way so that everyone can understand them.
This specialty within communications is developed together with the creation of the term Corporate Reputation, which is so much talked about today in seminars and articles. This concept – already hackneyed- has been overcome by “fake news” and post-truth, since around conflicts many false news are created to affect the image of a person or to form a distorted appreciation of reality in public opinion.
This is not a new practice in the field of communications, but now there is awareness that there can be serious consequences in the judicial field, which can be aggravated by social networks. A prominent Chilean jurist noted in a recent article: “It is the social sanction to which it is invoked that can often be harsher than that of the courts themselves.”
When we were at the university, journalism schools taught us that the role of the media was to inform, and as such, the one who was right was the one who managed to be in the news and from there tell what was happening, describe facts.
In the recent social upheaval in Chile with serious crises of violence, including intentional fires to all types of infrastructure, looting and destruction, one of the aspects that has begun to be criticized by the citizens, and which I want to refer to, is the role of the TV channels and radio stations that have been broadcasting violence for
3 weeks.
Is this helpful? Do we want this to be what children see? Is it healthy to turn such a serious problem into a science fiction novel? Does it contribute for the country to return to normal? Does it increase the stress levels that the population already has? It is known that violence brings violence, and the more space is given to violent groups in the media, the more they achieve their goals of gaining visibility.
Social networks have not done better, with fake, biased news and pure political extremist propaganda have flooded us with online violence. Is that inform?
I think this makes us rethink the whole functioning and purpose of the media and validates again the written press, which is capable of giving more analysis, more argumentation, more interviews, more discussion, raising positions, confronting truths and fostering debates.
More access to media spaces was what citizens asked for, breaking the traditional media guidelines that only worked based on the rating. Yes. It is true. But guidelines more citizen-oriented and less attached to the rating could also be sought in other ways. The media have also been part of the crisis and not of the solution. And they have not wanted to recognize it. They are part of the old politics. And that biased vision even reaches the international press that has been trying to explain why there is violence in Chile.
However, we can look at the glass half full. Today, Chile can give an example to the world, because without a doubt this is not a local problem, it is a global problem, which will move across the globe country by country and has to do with the world changing. From this small experiment room that is Chile, we can show the world that the media also have to rethink their role in society, and that by the way that will allow them to find a place instead of ending up in the cemetery.
Managing reputation for a brand or a company at the turn of this decade has been challenging for a variety of reasons:
First: Everything has become faster and global, from news to information exchange, movements, trends and issues. Many of the recent grassroots movements and major issues, such as Brexit, #MeToo and Extinction Rebellion, have been facilitated by today’s connected technologies and platforms, often catching organizations and institutions off guard. And the new generations, from Gen-Z today to Gen Alpha at the end of this decade, expect constant online interaction and engagement, not just one-way messages.
Second: There are growing expectations of transparency from politicians and governments, customers and consumers, civil society and the public, all amplified by traditional and social media. Transparency can also be thrust upon organizations as a result of data breaches, whistle-blower complaints, and employee activism, all facilitated due to the digitalization of assets and communications. The rise of misinformation and disinformation also force organizations and individuals to communicate publicly.
Third: There is a general decline in trust. Organizations and institutions used to be trusted and were taken at their word in times of crisis. To date governments, businesses, NGOs and media have become distrusted globally. The general public is sensing increasing inequity and unfairness overall.
And now we are faced with Covid-19. Many sectors have shifted their activities and communication online. Half of humanity has been in some form of confinement and started spending much more time online than ever before.
The online reputation of any brand, company or organization has become more important than ever. Here are the five fundamental principles for building and managing reputation online:
Transparency and honesty apply to all aspects of online communication including the messaging, the messenger and the medium. The truth will always come out online. Authenticity is something that the public craves, and it is what can truly build a reputation. This requires consistent and long-term communication that is backed up by action. It’s not something that can be achieved with a single campaign.
During the recent protests against racial inequality and injustice, we saw a number of organizations criticized for appearing to jump on the bandwagon of #BlackLivesMatter. They faced a backlash because their messaging felt hollow and disingenuous, and because it did not match their real-life actions (e.g. diversity in their leadership team).
What you communicate online should reflect your brand, products or services, or your profession and personality.
As with any good story, campaign or statement, you need to understand what matters to your audiences. To do this, you need to listen. Ensure that you have the right social listening tools in place to effectively monitor and follow conversations online.
Think of ways to adapt or tailor your content to what is topical right now. Sticking to routine messaging while the situation on the ground is changing can make you seem tone-deaf and inconsiderate.
For example, when a leading Lebanese university tweeted an article extolling the virtues of coming to Lebanon to study and live, it received a barrage of sarcastic replies in return. At this point in time, the country was mired in a deep financial crisis.
Reputation is not something you own: it is something that is bestowed upon you by others. There is a person behind every digital presence. Creating and building relationships with other people is therefore key, both online and offline. Remember, your reputation in the real-world will follow you online.
In the digital domain you can connect and interact with almost anyone, so take the time to understand which audiences are relevant to you and map out your stakeholders.
You need to be seen and heard to build a reputation and a follower base. Not only should you plan ahead for what you will announce and communicate, you also need to react quickly to new conversations while staying true to your brand, tone and messaging.
The challenge is that conversations and issues evolve rapidly online, just like today’s 24/7 news cycle. If a problem is not addressed quickly, within hours you can find yourself overwhelmed with a flurry of voices across social, digital and traditional media. In the worst-case scenario, your key stakeholders will have responded and taken action before you have.
Companies and leaders are increasingly expected to take a public stance on issues important to the public, and this pressure can come from within and outside the organization.
In the case of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and protests, some companies that initially did not feel good about making public statements were eventually forced to do so by their employees.
At some point you will be faced with a difficult issue that needs to be addressed or come under scrutiny and criticism for your actions. How you respond and communicate in these situations can define whether you keep and build your reputation or lose it altogether.
Crisis preparedness must extend not only to online crisis communications, but also to thinking about the reputational threats that can emerge online.
Think through different scenarios. While most organizations probably did not have a crippling global pandemic on their crisis scenarios list, they should have considered extended business continuity issues and the ways in which they would adapt, respond and communicate with their various stakeholders using digital and social media channels. Unfortunately, we saw many companies scrambling to figure out their communication with internal and external audiences.
Lastly, once you have your crisis communications team, processes and plans in place, make sure you test them with a crisis exercise to determine how you are likely to fare.
While there are some best-practice principles to follow, managing online reputation feels more like an art than science.
What other recommendations would you give?
The global health and economic crisis that all of humanity faces in 2020 has forced many PR firms to downsize. While size is quite clearly not the ultimate factor determining the quality of services of a PR agency – or how they are a match with their clients – a boutique size and family atmosphere can offer advantages for both the firm and its clients.
At my company, RumboCierto Comunicaciones based in Santiago, Chile, we opted for a smaller size. Based on that experience, I can now share the top ten advantages of a smaller operation.
1) One-stop-shop: In a small agency, team members do many things. Clients often value that highly because they can share their needs with a single person who will be aware of all issues related to their account.
2) Efficiency: Time spent on meetings, internal information flow and bureaucracy is reduced to the bare minimum.
3) Collaborations and Learning: Team members value highly the possibility to learn different aspects of the communications profession, rather than having to specialize or become bored in a single area. It allows them to become professionals with more complex skill sets.
4) Partnerships: Not even a large agency can keep experts from all fields in-house. We rely on partnerships and are constantly seeking out the top or most appropriate experts for our clients’ needs. This approach can help you ensure that you offer the best professionals in the market for a particular project.
5) Client quality: As size limits your ability to serve only a few customers at a time, you will likely end up keeping the best ones. They are generally those who are looking for a personalized service. And as a benefit to yourself, you get to meet an owner or a senior manager on the client’s side and your ideas and proposals have a greater chance to be heard and come to fruition.
6) Profitability: Overall a smaller size might also mean lower costs – like the question of office space which has just occurred to many agencies as Covid-19 forced them to apply work from home practices which were previously overlooked. We made that move earlier and can now say this means higher profitability.
7) Flexibility: By being able to focus on building a strong core staff, you can grow more efficiently when new projects are landed.
8) Creativity and innovation: Being creative, nimble and innovative are part of daily life at a small business. This mindset will help you with any new professional and client challenges.
9) Independence: The lack of having excess partners or external capital will allow you to make decisions quickly and without outside influence. In other words, decisions can be made simply based on what’s the best for the customer or the agency.
10) Challenges: Small companies continuously face challenges. This trains you to keep your eyes and ears open all the time.
The new world is becoming more collaborative, not competitive – at least from my perspective and experience. All this means that to be successful a small business needs to have friends, needs to have partners and a network to rely on. This is why we are a member of a good global network. It allows us to exchange ideas, experiences and knowledge that all help us survive and thrive while being a small player in a big global economy.
There used to be a time in which an investor’s main objective was to maximise the return on their investment without any regard for factors concerning the environment (E), social (S) matters, or governance (G). These times are over.
Now there is an increasing awareness of these so-called ESG criteria among the general public and it is thus not surprising that this awareness is reflected in people’s investment choices. Asset owners want to know where their money is going and they are holding companies accountable for the way they do business. For example, a 22-year-old teacher whose money is invested in a pension fund wants to ensure that by the time he or she retires the world will still be intact and their money will still be worth something.
This development in turn makes asset managers rethink their investment strategies. This global trend towards a more sustainable finance industry is not only driven by pressure from the asset owners. Nowadays, there is wide agreement among experts that paying attention to ESG is an essential part of effective risk management since it reduces the risk of interruptions in the supply chain caused by environmental disasters or social unrest. Therefore, asset managers factor in ESG risks in their assessment of a company. Lower ESG risk equals lower financial risk and thus leads to more stable and higher long-term returns for investors. For this reason, credible information on E, S and G progresses from corporations is highly relevant not only for equity but also for debt relations.
At the same time, as investors are increasing pressure on companies, governmental regulations regarding ESG are getting stricter and stricter to support the climate goals set by the global community. So, what can companies do to remain on the radar of major investors and to avoid unnecessary fines? Be transparent about their business activities, demonstrate year-by-year progress on ESG and communicate their sustainability strategy clearly. The simplest way to achieve this is a comprehensive ESG-report. However, the majority of companies do not know where to start this process and oftentimes the sustainability reports that are produced lack credible information. In other words, external help is needed.
There are a number of reasons why ESG-reporting should be a priority for every business. The first and arguably most important one was already briefly outlined above: investors pay attention to ESG scores. So how are a company’s ESG efforts assessed? Most often investors look at ESG ratings compiled by rating agencies like MSCI and Sustainalytics. These rankings are based on how well a company is doing in various ESG aspects and how well they report those facts. This self-reporting is then supplemented by third party information (e.g. media, information published by NGOs). Most importantly, companies are being rated whether they want to or not! Less transparency typically means a lower score which – worst case scenario – can lead to major shareholders divesting. Proactive ESG communication will prevent this from happening and instead lead to a score that truly reflects a company’s sustainability efforts.
Another aspect particularly relevant for publicly traded companies is the AGM voting recommendation issued by proxy advisors to institutional investors. These recommendations are the result of an analysis of the respective company on the basis of predefined criteria provided by the commissioning investor. As was pointed out above, these investors are increasingly interested in a company’s ESG management so that ESG criteria receive more and more weight in the voting recommendations of proxy advisors. As these recommendations are typically followed in order to avoid unwelcome surprises at the AGM, listed companies are well-advised to ensure regular, transparent and comprehensive reporting on all matters ESG. It would be a big mistake to underestimate the impact proxy advisors have on voting outcomes as they can provide or prevent a majority.
How does ESG affect non-listed companies and why should they bother disclosing their ESG data? In today’s globalised world, listed as well as non-listed companies are part of the same supply chain. Being ESG-compliant is especially important for suppliers of larger (listed) companies because the latter might insist that all suppliers guarantee (and prove) a supply chain that conforms to ESG norms. If a supplier cannot reliably demonstrate where and how they are sourcing their own supplies and materials, there is a risk they might lose their contract or even worse, become the subject of a boycott.
On top of that, companies without a solid ESG record might struggle to get favourable financing conditions. Due to the lower risk associated with companies with a high ESG score, they will often get better conditions when negotiating loans. A good ESG management can also open the door to completely new financing avenues. In order to finance environmentally-focused projects, companies can emit so-called green bonds which are again rated by rating agencies and incorporated into other green financial products (e.g. green bond indices and subsequently funds and ETFs that map those indices). When communicated properly, these projects can then contribute to a higher ESG score – a cycle that will ultimately lead to better investment rates and a wider range of financing options. For instance, some banks issue sustainability-linked loans whose (lowered) interest rate is linked the company’s ESG performance.
These are only some of the ways in which companies benefit from good ESG reporting. There is a need for action in the business community and it is important that all companies, listed and non-listed, start communicating their contribution to a sustainable future. ESG reporting is no longer a nice add-on to financial reporting. In successful and forward-thinking companies, the two go hand in hand.
Companies and brands have never behaved as well as they are right now. For the past few weeks, we’ve seen a level of compassion and caring from brands that is “Hall of Fame” worthy.
While this avalanche of good deeds and good intentions might be viewed as excessive by some, I’ve been impressed by the genuine way which brands have communicated during Covid-19.
Usually deemed as opportunistic, and even cynical, corporate communication has managed to avoid the pitfall of societal exploitation. In fact, the media and social networks are full of relevant initiatives. These actions are not only useful and generous, but they also legitimize the ever-so-challenged concepts of corporate purpose, social utility and CSR commitments. The total crisis induced by Covid-19 exacerbates the quest for meaning. It also reveals the desire to speak up and share, as well as the thirst for social connection. Ironically, social distancing has promoted proximity, and not in a false or disingenuous way. Rather, it has served as a litmus test between companies and their audiences which extends beyond marketing.
The urgency makes it possible to unite the market and society around a credible social consensus. This crisis, due to its unprecedented nature, gives companies and brands the opportunity to truly reveal the best of themselves. This is good news as corporate reputation is built on facts. The question is, how will this corporate behavior that restores communication credentials can be sustainably maintained? The crisis, no matter how strong, is a paroxysmal moment. This one will leave permanent marks for sure, but what will happen, once the shock has passed?
Many bet on a pre- and a post-Covid. However, it is more likely to be “with”. So, in our new normal, will communicators be able to continue with this genuine and compassionate communication rather than returning to its old demons: self-centeredness, boasting and shamelessness?
This crisis has seen many brands return to the primary purpose of communications: educate, unite and mobilize. It works even better as the crisis has changed the posture, modifying the conditions of expression and admissibility of speeches. Businesses and brands will certainly not save the world but they can give a hand where needed. It works because they are responsible without boasting too much, show solidarity with humility, and contribute to a common project. The word has replaced the message.
By confronting society with its fragilities, the pandemic reminds us that we are all neighbors in the global village. For better or worse. The best, from companies and brands, is the solidarity they show towards their neighbors, whether local, regional or global. For example Royal Canin France, located near Montpellier, helps the Local Health Agency in Occitanie and the Nîmes Hospital, Coca Cola France is demonstrating responsibility by helping bars and restaurants get through the crisis by supporting the initiative #JaimeMonBistrot (#ILoveMyBistrot) which consists of keeping establishments’ cash flow by pre-ordering drinks. Endeavors make neighbors. These surges of generosity can only last for so long. Still, basing communication on good-neighborly relations is not only possible but also profitable. Covid-19 prevents large gatherings, of course, but relational communication formats have a future, whether physical or digital: tutorials online, pop-up stores in town, open doors at the factory, informal meetings with its community in real life… When the donation of masks is no longer necessary, it is the gift of an authentic relationship that companies and brands must continue to offer.
If communication is about creating the conditions of fruitful and long-lasting relationships and, ultimately, obtaining social acceptability, then, for a company or a brand, it comes down to being a good neighbor: close, yet not intrusive, thoughtful yet not indiscreet, helpful yet not pushy. Proximity is not promiscuity: good neighborly relations require good manners!
Neighborhood is not only geographic, it is also ecosystemic. It is now an established fact that we live in a vulnerable world where everyone – every stakeholder – must take care of each other at the risk of causing devastating disasters. Good relations between neighbors imply that all stakeholders act in the interest of the common destiny to which they all belong. Now that the concept of “community” is the way to craft more and more relational communication strategies, one shall bring the concepts of neighborhood and corporate sociability into the communicators’ vocabulary.
Neighborhood is not only ethics (who would trust a dishonest neighbor?), but also a meaningful social dynamic, a reassuring, stimulating and even joyful co-existence… as long as the neighbor has a good sense of humor and a taste for entertainment! In this global pandemic, companies and brands were able to adopt the right attitude because they behaved like good neighbors. Let’s hope it lasts!
Post lockdown what sort of world awaits? For sure it is never going to be the same again. We will all carry the scar of this extraordinary time in our lives and we will have to learn to live a new ‘normal’. Critically, crisis-buying patterns during the outbreak will inevitably speed adoption of new, permanent behaviour change.
Where once the likelihood of swapping a favourite brand for another (especially, own label) would be highly unlikely for most consumers in the key demographics of ABC1, 25-34 age group, it will not necessarily be so in the future. As we have witnessed in recent times, need for a product in a challenging retail landscape where choice has been replaced by what’s left on the shelf, has meant most shoppers have been prepared to settle for alternatives to their favourite brands.
Going forward the focus for brand owners is to recognise that an automatic return to old shopping habits should not be assumed and that patterns of consumerism may have permanently changed. Therefore brands, more than ever, need to reinforce their key messages and communicate them in a way that reflects the new world order.
The UK in parallel with the rest of Europe is reporting a doubling up of purchase on essential items during the crisis. This means brands are under further pressure as the likelihood of winning back customers will take longer as pantries remain overstocked. And the longer different, unfamiliar products remain in household circulation, the greater the potential for them to become shopping list staples.
As people start to return to work and resume their daily routines, new and different priorities may have widespread effect on their purchasing habits. Such changes will inevitably impact on their buying patterns, rates of consumption and expectation of brands. It is the latter that should be the primary business objective for companies looking to enjoy projected and familiar patterns of growth.
What should brand owners be thinking about and planning for in the run-up to the new normal? It is accepted that these unusual times have given people space to re-evaluate whole swathes of their lives. Immediately prior to the crisis there was a growing focus for businesses to demonstrate purpose and good behaviour. This is highly likely to accelerate in the aftermath.
Brands will be expected to live their purpose and help society and the economy get back on track. This can be achieved by leveraging resources to make a difference with products, services made available or more accessible to affected people and by engaging with staff, customers and eco-systems in order to maximise tangible positive impact.
The brand winners for the future will undoubtedly be those who have listened, learned and actioned behaviours that match new values and expectations from their customers.
Building a positive reputation in the midst of a crisis may seem counterintuitive. Yet, as we have seen in the Covid-19 event, the worst of times can bring out the best in people and organizations. Five tools, likely present in your professional toolbox, will improve your ability to guide organizations in enhancing their reputations during a crisis.
First, remember that the situation will come to an end.
When trouble erupts, the first step is to stop the bad things most responsible for damage. However, it’s important to keep in mind that a crisis has a beginning, middle and end. Being prepared to convey certainty and clear direction in the various phases of the crisis will go far in maintaining and expanding trust among audiences and stakeholders.
Be transparent.
In crisis situations, transparency is not only expected, but also tested. Yet, too many people and organizations still are drawn in by the siren’s song of telling audiences what they want to hear instead of speaking truth. Demonstrating undeniable honesty and openness, whether highlighting the good or the bad, drives audience confidence in your integrity.
Stay focused on the facts.
Today, quickly capturing and assessing facts of the situation, then basing decisions on those facts, can be challenging. One could argue this is the result of biased communication channels that can hold special interests at heart. The smartphone in your pocket relies on four satellite data points to provide you with reliable location information. Taking the same approach to news provided to key stakeholders – good or bad – minimizes backtracking in a crisis and maintains a confident focus on outcomes.
Make corrections when mistakes are made or conditions change.
Even the most diligent teams can experience a shift in knowledge or make an error based on the speed of an unfolding crisis. At the first sign of a material error, make a concise – yet, definitive – correction. Brevity and clarity should be the guiding principle in revising any message or associated action. Once corrected, seek the root cause of the error – not to blame, but to understand any process errors that need to be corrected. Quickly recognizing and correcting errors reinforces key trust.
Following the crisis, include those impacted in the crisis when gathering feedback.
Just as at other points in important relationships, engaging customers, clients or key stakeholders in an appropriate way after a crisis demonstrates the value you place on their interests and needs. Being open to both positive and negative feedback on performance and outcomes sends a strong message about values, which are a key driver of reputation.
Whether connected to broad current events or triggered by a different incident in the future, the most respected organizations are those that place a premium on honesty, integrity and outcomes in a crisis situation. A well-crafted, well-rehearsed and well-implemented communication plan at a time of crisis and the ability to do the next right thing will do more to enhance reputational value than nearly any other communication tool.
