This document discusses strategies for managing corporate reputation through standards and certifications. It provides examples of how companies and nations use standards organizations like ISO to influence soft law and affect their reputations. It also analyzes cases where companies engaged in reputation warfare through offensive and defensive strategies with NGOs and competitors over issues like the environment, workers' rights, and product quality.
1. Repu
@
O
ar a
Strategies & Methods through 13 cases
Guy Debaux
Competitive Intelligence Consultant,
Former CI Officer at Coface.
gdebaux@yahoo.fr
2. Reputation & war: what rationale?
“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme
excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting”
SUN TZU, The art of war 6th century BC
Image crisis
prevention
VS
Image crisis
management
Reputation, the fulcrum to move the world!
Archimedes 230 BC.
3. The reputation’s fulcrums
LAW
LAW
Regulation, decrees,
directives…
Infringement
Infringement
non-compliance
non-compliance
SOFT LAW
SOFT LAW
BRAND
BRAND
Public
Public
release
release
Reputation
Reputation
damaged
damaged
Recommendations,
guidelines, labels,
standards …
Companies: Brand content & storytelling
Nations: Diplomacy, culture promotion, advert on tourism, sports events
& medals, brand content-like FDIs (ex.Qatar on PSG, sport World cups,
le Louvre etc.), granting passport to celebrities (Depardieu) …
4. The reputation warfare’s diamond
Impacts
a.
b.
c.
d.
Company
Providers Origins
Customers
Others
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
Stock value
Revenue
M&As, divestment projects
Recruitments
Partnership project
Providers & customers
Operations opening
New product
New market
Nation’s stakes
Grounds
Medias
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Newspapers
Radios & TVs
Blogs
Twitter
Social Networks
Forums
a.
b.
c.
d.
Environment
Social
Governance
Product quality
6. Soft Law, field of influence & reputation
warfare: the ISO example
To be involved in the ISO’s committees is critical, but does not suffice:
1.Half of the standards are yielded through the “fast track” procedure
2.Key role of the NGOs, consortiums (ex. GRI), forums (ex. « Forum for the
Future » on the « Sustainable Shipping Initiative-vision 2040 »
3.In many cases, NGOs & companies precede or overtake the ISO (cases beyond)
Other standardization players:
International: CEN, CEI, UIT,
Cenelec, Etsi, Codex
Alimentarius
National: Afnor (F), ANSI
(USA), DIN (Ge), JISC (Jp), SAC
(Cn)
9. China: standards, a state’s priority
Political lead, through five state administrations:
1.AQSIQ (Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and
Quarantine): market monitoring
2.SAC (Standardization Administration of China): technical supervision on
provinces, ministries and national committees, compliance with WTO
3.CNIS (China National Institute of Standardization: standards’ census
4.SPC (Standards Press of China): nationwide news on standards
5.CAS (China Association of Standardization): watch on the standards use
Chinese standards proliferation = EU x
7!
Key Political Triggers, see on the ISO 14000:
2006 = 18,842 Chinese cies. 15% of the global (was #2, Jp #1,
Sp #3)
2011 = 81,993
“
“
29% of the global, #1, X3 Jp (#2)
What
What
Happened?
Happened?
Feb. 2007: Hu Jintao’s visit to a Chinese mine in Zambia, welcomed
by strikes and demonstrations against work casualties and social
inequalities.
10. ESG criteria as companies’
reputational weapons
- defense & attack cases
- some non-cases
11. Company’s mistakes (1)
Dave Carroll had his guitar broken by United Airlines. Non-helpful
customer service: he posted a video song on July 6 2009 on Youtube
July 6 2009
July 9 2009
15 Aug 2009
Feb 2011
Jan 2012
150 000
500 000
5 000 000
10 000 000
11 400 000
Aftermaths:
1- UA’s share price plunge by 10%, wiping $180 million off the company's value
2- Dented image among customers; unknown lost sales linked with the event
Epidemic model
Youtube
Radios & TVs
Newspapers
12. Company’s mistake (2)
15/10/2010 13:00 France2
18/10/2010 6:15 F. Inter
Audrey Pulvar
19/10/2010 CSA MeD
Google’s intuitive help 28/1/2011
Twitter week average = 200 tweets up to 1000!
15/10/2010 21:30, PR through AFP on Mr Guerlain’
apologies.
Facebook wall gets 159 negative comments, calling
for demonstration in front of the maison Guerlain
Champs Elysées, and boycott
18/10/2010 15:00 Guerlain communiqué on
Facebook wall
5/01/2011: AXA indemnifies >300K€ for operating
losses
TV Fact
Radio
Stickiness
Buzz
Delayed fix
12
13. Employee disgruntled at
a. 2012 Nov 1rst: Twitter account born
b. 2012 Nov 3: the Communication Manager opens
discussion
c. 2012 Nov 22: Article from Slate.fr
2 months
d. 2012 Dec 16: Twitter account blocked, then
resumed.
e. 2012 Dec 27: working contract suspended
f. 2013 Jan 3: Quick France takes @EquipierQuick
to court
g. 2013 Jan 3: Huffington Post’s and Le Monde
Blogs articles + BFM TV news + iTélé News…
To be continued…
260 tweets so far, and 2800 followers as on Jan 4
(5600 on Jan 8 2013).
14. The non-case
Jan 6 2010 - New York Times article: H&M in Herald Square has been destroying and discarding
unworn, left over clothes instead of donating them.
Jan 7 2010 - H&M’s NYC store stops trashing unsold clothes H&M
Fact
Press
Stickiness Buzz
H&M fix
The two day crisis !
www.whatthetrend.com/trend/H%26M/detail
After spending a day in the number two
"trending" spot in Twitter, H&M’s
spokeswoman called the NYT “it will
not happen again” said Nicole Christie,
“we are committed 100% to make sure
this practice is not happening
anywhere else, as it is our standard
practice”.
15. Offensive: Greenpeace vs Nestlé
Yet often attacked (the babies’ powdered milk in developing countries),
Nestlé had to cope with palm oil well known issues.
March 17 2010, Greenpeace’s new report on palm oil
March 18 2010: Greenpeace warns that such popular chocolate bars as KitKat and Coffee Crisp use palm oil
from Sinar Mas, which replaces rainforests by palm tree plantations that eliminate natural habitat and reduce
carbon dioxide sinks that help keep the atmosphere clean and fight global warming.
March 18 2010
n
yo
d
ro
Pa
e
ub
t
ou
Y
Nestle tried to get the video censored from YouTube
Triggered 68 related YouTube videos that attracted 1.2 million views
16. Offensive: Greenpeace vs Nestlé
Nestlé erased the comments on Facebook pages, threatening writters…
17. Offensive: Greenpeace vs Nestlé
Triggered thousands of posts on Twitter
1- a commitment delayed till 2015
2- censorship on Youtube &
Facebook
a dented image, residual
weaknesses
18. Offensive: Greenpeace vs Mattel
(Barbie)
June 7 2011, Greenpeace’s activists rappelled down
the Mattel HQ and hung a giant banner "Barbie: it's
over. I don't date girls that are into deforestation."
Barbie arrives on a pink bulldozer, policemen, fire
brigade, radios and TVs…
Ground: Packaging made from APP’s paper, said to destroy the Indonesian forest (tiger’s
habitat)
Media:
videos on Youtube (event + fake interview of Ken in 20 languages), Twitter 1rst post 18:44,
followed by thds. On June 10, Mattel closed Facebook page saturated with negative comments.
Aftermaths:
Jul. 7, Lego drops APP’s paper, commited to use recycled paper certified by the NGO FSC
Oct. 5, Mattel does the same…
22. Offensive in chocolate:
March 4 2009: Cadbury (Kraft Foods) announces its Dairy Milk chocolate will be
certified by the Fair Trade Foundation, the Social dimension being critical in
chocolate farming (children work)
Dec. 2011, Kraft Food releases its carbon print data and commitments, with third
parties WWF and Quantis
April 1 2009: Mars states all its providers will be certified “sustainability” by 2020.
Its Galaxy is certified in 2010 by Rainforest Alliance
Dec. 2011, Maltesers goes Fairtrade, for $1million/y
Oct. 22 2009: Nestlé announces its Cocoa Plan, commitments not certified by a
third party.
30. Lessons learnt, recommendations (1)
Most of reputation-based accidents stand on ESG and product quality grounds
1.Prevention > crisis management
2.To lead action towards standardization institutions
1. Directly: being member of the ISO’s committees etc. (or chairing them)
2. Upstream: consortiums & trade association (ex. GRI etc)
3. Surroundings: NGOs
3.To carry out a reputational S&W Audit (product, processes), which encompasses the
providers, for protection & attack purposes
4.To benchmark reputational S&W with providers and competitors on detailed criteria
(mapping)
5.To spot critical situations and periods of time: CEO change, new product launch, M&A…
“Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting” Sun Tzu, The art of war
31. Lessons learnt, recommendations (2)
6. TIME is a KFS:
1. Long term for preparing an audit, choosing the best field of argumentation, a partner
(attacker’s advantage)
2. To catch reliable information (witnesses, videos etc) in safe and secure conditions
3. Precipitation leads to failures
4. Short term: for an attack, and its response. No over or under-reaction. Evidencebased transparency, no provocation, clear commitments, third parties’ involvement
…
6. Communication plan:
1. Mapping of the stakeholders and influencers (and their positions regarding the
criteria)
2. synergy of radios, TVs, Newspapers, Social Networks
6. Attacks:
1. On a stealth mode: the hit done by a third party (unaware of its role)
2. Evidence-based (reports, video etc), emotional fulcrum based on guilt (when
guilt>pleasure), derision & humor