Posted May 16th, 2012
by Elena Sokolova
Oil spills seem to happen more often nowadays, and each time, energy companies have to react to the crisis situation. BP’s disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is still fresh in people’s memories and in mid-April another oil leak occurred at its Russian oil venture, TNK-BP, in one of its main regions in the Khanty Mansi autonomous district in Russia. The media soon reported that TNK-BP was sacrificing pipeline maintenance in order to pay high dividends to investors. TNK-BP’s reputation as a socially responsible company was under threat.
Within hours TNK-BP’s press service issued a statement stressing that the company has a comprehensive pipeline integrity assurance program and carries out regeneration of previously contaminated land. Immediately, the decrease of price shares slowed down from the initial 5% drop on the first day of the crisis.
Looking at average favourability trend for April it is obvious that the favourability plunged on 18 April, reaching a maximum low of -0.42 on a scale of -1 to +1. But during the next few days, despite talks of lawsuit over TNK-BP oil spills, it did not go below -0.29 and quickly recovered to a neutral level, illustrating how the company’s quick response limited the damage and stopped further loss of share value.
Tags: BP, brand reputation, crisis communications, Public Relations, sentiment
Posted in Contributors, Corporate Reputation, Disaster Response, Elena Sokolova, Public Relations
Posted May 10th, 2012
by Eva Rohrmann
Last week I had the opportunity to go to Houston to speak at a Factiva client event. I discussed how corporate communications’ responsibilities for reputation management, understanding the fragmented media environment and measuring communications program results are influencing our planning and products for communications and PR professionals.
It’s always great to meet customers – especially when they are an engaged, dynamic group like this one. I took the opportunity to ask them several “flash poll” questions to get a sense of their outlook on a few topics. Some of the “findings” included:
- When asked, “Are you an advocate for new ways to measure communications results?” 66% said Yes.
- 75% agreed that social media is an opportunity to enhance corporate reputation. However, only 12% are “engaged and delivering results,” while 66% are still evaluating how to participate in social media.
- When asked whether Tools, Skills or Time is the greatest challenge when managing corporate reputation in today’s fragmented media landscape, 42% said it was a combination of all three.
There was one question everyone agreed on: managing, protecting and enhancing their firm’s reputation is their number one priority.
Tags: brand reputation, measurement, Public Relations, Social Media
Posted in Corporate Reputation, Measurement, Public Relations, Social Media
Posted April 12th, 2012
by Eva Rohrmann
We’re getting ready for PR News’ Measurement Conference next week, where my colleague Martin Murtland will be participating in a panel, “How to Measure Your Brand’s Reputation During and After a Crisis.” He’ll be reviewing case studies of how companies responded to a PR crisis and is looking forward to the discussion on measuring media impact to refine strategies during a media storm.
As part of our preparations, we took another look at Francisco Guerrero’s examination of PR “disasters” in The Wall Street Journal. With today’s social-media-shortened attention spans, what does it take for a crisis to become a long-term reputation disaster?
WSJ.com Article: The Short Life of a PR Fiasco
WSJ .com Video: The Short Life of a PR Fiasco
Learn More about PR News’ Measurement Conference on April 18
Tags: brand reputation, Crisis Management, media measurement, PR News, Public Relations, Social Media
Posted in Measurement, Public Relations, Social Media
Posted April 4th, 2012
by Eva Rohrmann
At the PRSA Digital Impact conference, Martin Murtland examined how social media can positively or negatively affect a company – perhaps even moving the firm’s stock price. During the session, he looked at three case studies, NetFlix, Costa Concordia & Carnival and Goldman Sachs, to explore how corporate communicators can develop their firm’s “Social IQ” to prepare and then engage when news or an event is picked up and amplified in social media conversations.
Click here for the pdf:
PRSA Digital Impact Murtland Managing Company Social IQ April 2012
Or visit the PRSA web site.
Tags: brand reputation, Carnival, crisis communications, Goldman Sachs, media measurement, PRSA, Public Relations, Social IQ, Social Media
Posted in Disaster Response, Measurement, Public Relations, Social Media
Posted March 21st, 2012
by Brian Panton
Goldman Sachs was recently roiled by a dramatic public resignation in a withering op-ed piece in The New York Times, which painted the storied investment bank’s culture as “toxic and destructive.” Prominent media outlets were quick to highlight that Greg Smith, the former executive director at Goldman that wrote the article, described managing directors as routinely dismissing clients as “muppets.”
Newspapers piled on by editorializing against embattled Goldman, which, consequently, flooded the media landscape with negative messages conveying that the firm’s corporate greed trumped client interests, a damaging accusation for a business that is built on trust. Further, “Greg Smith” emerged as a worldwide trending topic on Twitter, capturing the interest of bloggers and influential media outlets alike.
While Goldman has girded itself before against blistering attacks and accusations of being a symbol of Wall Street excess, handling this adroitly from a public relations standpoint will be critical. Indeed, a tactical PR strategy right now could prove to be invaluable, as federal regulators are gearing up to craft the final terms of the Volcker Rule, a policy that could potentially cost investment banks billions of dollars.
Check back in a couple weeks for a look at how Goldman Sachs’s new PR chief manages the crisis and the reaction in traditional and social media.
Tags: brand reputation, crisis communications, Crisis Management, Goldman Sachs, Mainstream, Public Relations, Social Media
Posted in Brian Panton, Newspapers, Public Relations, Social Media
