2. Why reputation
matters more
than ever
• Increasingly short CEO tenures
• Multi-stakeholder pressures
• 24/7/365 and always-on spotlight of social media
• Constant talent attraction and retention challenges
3. Importance
of a good
corporate
reputation
• Core of the brand identity
• Relationships with consumers and business partners
• Support sales and marketing efforts
• Sensitivity to societal shifts may lead to innovation and new opportunities
• Good will and support when things go wrong
“It takes 20 years to build a
reputation and five minutes to
ruin it. If you think about that,
you'll do things differently.”
− Warren Buffett
4. Reputation
vs. Brand Reputation
What your stakeholders
think of you
Behavior
How your actions, attitudes
and behaviors influence
both brand and reputation
Brand
What you want people to
think about you and how you
want them to relate to you
6. How the world
evaluates
corporate
reputation
Barron’s – Most Respected Companies
Fast Company – Most Innovative Companies
Forbes – Most Reputable Companies; Best Place to Work For; Most Innovative
Companies
FORTUNE – 100 Best Companies to Work For; World’s Most Admired Companies
Reuters – 100 Global Innovators
Chief Executive – Best Companies for Leaders
Business Insider – Best Places to Work
MIT Technology Review – 50 Smartest Companies
7. Building and
maintaining
reputation
Awareness Familiarity Favorability Trust Advocacy
Products,
services
People,
relationships
Corporate
Actions
Branding and Brand
Behaviors and
Attitudes
Reputation Management
Industry and
Social
Leadership
8. Building blocks of
corporate
reputation
Categories that may be considered when
evaluating a company’s reputation and
consideration for inclusion on “most respected”
or “best-of” lists.
Best of lists convey a third-party view of a
company that is credible.
Each of these categories represent areas
where companies can develop proof points to
advance their reputation and also to draw
upon as a pool of good will when things go
wrong.
Innovation
People Management
Use of Corporate Assets
CSR
Global Competitiveness
Quality of Leadership
Financial Soundness
Long Term Investment
Product and Service Quality
10. The
responsibility of
the business
• Be mindful of actions not dependent on spin
• Understand the full spectrum of stakeholders and segment them
• Identify and analyze the key issues and how they are being viewed and evaluated
• Develop relationships with influencers such as grass roots organizations, industry
analysts, media, business partners, certifying bodies, etc. along the way and not
after the fact
• Include Corporate Communications in decision making from the start because they
will be sensitive to the risks and opportunities from a public perspective
• Remember that Corporate communications is only one channel through which to
view an organization – front line teams, e.g. sales, service, legal, all need to be
sensitive to risks and their root causes
• Put in place internal processes to identify, flag and evaluate risks – and
communicate them to decision makers
• Understand the power and ability of NGOs to apply pressure to companies with
business practices that run contrary to their beliefs
• Engage with legislators and be attuned to political and legislative trends
• Never underestimate the need for transparency in a time when nearly everyone can
record your actions and their consequences – its nearly impossible to hide bad
behavior
11. Managing
reputation
when things go
wrong
• Adhere to the company’s core values – align all actions and communications to
those values.
• Place all on an equal plane – communications, operations, C-suite, legal and
regulatory.
• Leverage agency teams or crisis specialty resources – experience in handling
reputational issues is an advantage when situations are moving fast and executives
are unsure what options they have to resolve them.
Our objective is to effectively
minimize the negative impact
of a crisis and bring a
situation to an acceptable
conclusion while preserving
corporate, brand and
personal reputations.
Authentic reputation is built upon the actions of the company and its executives.
Product and service quality, working conditions for employees, demonstrating leadership on key social issues.
PR is a tool to amplify the positive contributions and attributes of a company though too often looked upon to mitigate situations that arise as a result of not effectively identifying or managing risk at the business level.