Reputation Management

Jacquie L'Etang

'Reputation may be seen as a generalised public opinion'

'Reputation is in a constant dynamic process of evolution, subject to review and re-evaluation'

'Public relations is about reputation'

'Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation'

• What it does --> Brand Values
• What it says --> Brand Identity
• What others say about it --> Brand Image

'Reputation is associated with trust'

• Understanding existing reputation
• Understanding how/if want and needs to change
• Sustaining on-going relationships with audiences
• Corporate social responsibility
• Consideration of identity
• Crisis management
• Planning and research
• Issues management

MORI, Stewart Lewis, evaluates familiarity and favourability amongst audiences:

• Familiarity
  • Knowing the organisation
• Favourability
  • Factors that influence an audiences favourable view of an organisation

Reputation Management allows:

• Attracting customers and increasing sales
• Generating positive news coverage and comments from financial analysts
• Motivating employees/job satisfaction
• Attracting top employee talent
• Generating investment interest
• Improving financial performance
• 'Credit' for bad times

'Reputation evolves over time as a result of consistent performance reinforced by three types of communication:

• Primary Communication
  • Products and services
  • Market behaviour
  • Behaviour towards employees
  • Employees behaviour towards other stakeholders
  • Non-market behaviour
• Secondary Communication
  • Formal, corporate and communications
  • Visual identification systems
• Tertiary Communications
  • Word-of-mouth
  • Media interpretation and spin
  • Competitors - communication and spin

Ensures:

• Brand lives up to audience expectations, including own expectations (ethical conduct)
• Responding to audience 'needs and wants'
• Prevent or defend against attack
• Growth and change
• Success

• Criticism of industry
  • Creating a problem so they can fix it
  • 'Blackmailing' clients so content disappears and reappears
  • Illegal or unseemly online behaviour
• Ethical PR function
  • Improve reputation through consistent and honset representation
  • Protect reputation by addressing factual inaccuracies through education
  • Reputation management NOT manipulation

'To influence an organisation's behaviour PR needs to have a strategic role in companies - to operate at the highest levels and to function as the conscience and radar of an organisation'

• Speed of communications
• Globalisation of communications
• Channel proliferation
• Shift to consumer power
• Increased regulation
• Tabloidisation of business reporting
• Declining levels of trust