Managing Corporate Reputation In The Digital Age
Charlie Pownall - Burson-Marsteller
November 2011
The management of corporate reputation is facing unprecedented challenges. Driven by ever higher expectations of good behavior and disclosure, NGOs and activists, newly vocal consumers, zealous regulators and disaffected employees are scrutinizing corporate behavior as never before.
Mainstream and social media are being used in increasingly sophisticated ways to draw attention to issues and mobilize opinion; anyone can now broadcast their views instantly and broadly using the panoply of tools freely available. And with journalists and other opinion-formers using blogs, micro-blogs and other web-based media as core tools to track news and trends, seemingly anodyne issues can be amplified instantly.
Furthermore, reputation is now global. What is said today in Sydney can impact sales tomorrow in Manchester. Videos leaked on the web of an altercation between a Chinese trawler and a Japanese coast guard vessel immediately jeopardized relations between the two governments.
Having long believed they were largely in control of their reputations, many organizations feel they are less able than ever to manage their reputations and influence behavior.
In fact, the ability for companies to control their reputations has always been limited - after all, brands are built not by companies, but by consumers, and not in ways that a brand manager or communications staffer might want or expect.
As former JWT chairman Jeremy Bullmore
points out, "Consumers build an image as birds build nests. From the scraps and straws they chance upon".
Bullmore was referring chiefly to consumer brands, yet corporate reputations are constructed in much the same manner.
Today, the winds that distribute these scraps and straws are increasingly forceful, blowing in from all directions and travel further and faster.
Contents
- Managing Corporate Reputation In The Digital Age
- Real-time
- Transparency
- Accountability
- Consistency
- Professionalism
- Control
- Culture & Operations
- Six Key Principles For Managing Reputation In The Digital Age
- #1 Listen Closely, And Be Seen As A Listener
- #2 Be Genuine
- #3 Engage Openly
- #4 Lift The Veil
- #5 Prepare Globally
- #6 Connect The Dots
- Next Steps
- References
About Burson-Marsteller
Burson-Marsteller is the leading public relations consultancy for organizations communicating in Asia-Pacific and internationally. With a presence in the region dating back to 1973, Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific today includes 35 offices and affiliates in 16 countries integrated seamlessly into a global network operating in 109 countries. Our Evidence-Based approach to communications provides our clients with effective, data-driven programs delivered through multiple channels and focused on tangible, measurable results. Our regional team of more than 700 professionals offers a powerful combination of local knowledge, sector expertise and global communications reach. Burson-Marsteller, established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and communications firm. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), the world's leading communications services network.
Talk to us
For further information on this report, or for help on how to manage your corporate reputation, please contact:
Charlie Pownall
Managing Director (Asia-Pacific), Digital Communications
Tel: +852 2963 5686
Email:
charles.pownall@bm.com
Twitter:
@cpownall