Presentation at European Public Affairs Action Day, March 2013.

1. Reputation &
Public Affairs
Inseparable bedfellows?
March 2013 @ EPAD

3. “Now make me do it…”

4. Today
1. Reputation drivers: the authenticity gap
2. Your thoughts on reputation
3. Reputation and Brussels
4. Managing reputation

5. 2. Reputation drivers:
the authenticity gap

6. A new discussion
REPUTATION
VISIBILITY EXPERIENCE
BRAND
What others say
What you say
and how you about you based
behave on shared
AUTHENTICITY EXPECTATIONS
perceptions

7. How do your brand and reputation compare?
What audiences are telling you they actually
What you say experience…
Marketing Customer service scores
Press releases Employee survey results
Executive speeches Stock performance
Lobbying Social conversations
REPUTATION
BRAND VISIBILITY EXPERIENCE What others say
What you say about you based
and how you
on shared
behave AUTHENTICITY EXPECTATIONS
perceptions
What you do… What audiences expect…
Operational performance: Your Reputation Outlook
Quality standards
Customer service
CSR
Employee relations

8. Alignment creates
REPUTATION
VISIBILITY EXPECTATIONS
BRAND
What others say
What you say
and how you about you based
behave on shared
AUTHENTICITY EXPERIENCE
perceptions
AUTHENTIC
ENGAGEMENT

10. The DNA of Authenticity

11. Real life authenticity gap
Germany: energy, pharmaceuticals, banking

16. 2. Your thoughts on reputation

17. Reputation drivers (in order of importance)

18. Reputation drivers to improve

19. Sectors with best reputation

20. 3. Reputation and Brussels

21. Does it really matter?

22. Technical dossiers

23. Does anyone really care?

24. vs.

25. In most cases, yes, it matters

26. "A new model of influence"
Centralised power
Few political actors
Technical arguments
Rational Emotional
Many political actors
Value-based arguments
Diffuse power
Source: Simon Titley

27. Consumer brand & industry sector affect policy brand
Source: BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, Millward Brown, Ogilvy, WPP, 2011; National Journal Member Research, 2012.

28. Economic Affairs (ECON) committee:
59% believe Financial Transaction Tax will make
Europe's banking sector less competitive
worldwide
63% would support its introduction

29. But in Brussels, we see
different scenarios

30. 3 Brussels scenarios

31. 3 Brussels scenarios: focus points

32. 4. Managing reputation

33. If we’re scenario 2?

34. Full-scale reputation management
Actively integrate all communications disciplines and centralize
BUSINESS message management
GOAL
& POSITIONING Know your audiences and respond to unique needs
Play “offence and defence” simultaneously;
VISION MISSION anticipate and manage issues proactively
VALUES
Be active, aggressive and consistent
Continuous measurement
LEADERSHIP THEMES
CORE CORPORATE MESSAGES
ALIGNED MESSAGES ACROSS FUNCTIONS
MARKETING CORPORATE HUMAN INVESTOR CORPORATE
& BRAND COMMUNICATIONS RESOURCES RELATIONS RESPONSIBILITY
STRATEGY
INTEGRATED PROGRAMS TO EXECUTE STRATEGY

35. Multiple stakeholders
INVESTORS
EMPLOYEES CONSUMERS
ACADEMIC LOCAL
COMMUNITY
YOU COMMUNITY
GOVERNMENT NGOs
MEDIA
35

36. Manage multi-connected reality
INVESTORS
EMPLOYEES CONSUMERS
ACADEMIC LOCAL
COMMUNITY
YOU COMMUNITY
GOVERNMENT NGOs
MEDIA

37. Most of Brussels
faces scenario 1

39. 10 principles

40. 1. From policy to politics 2. Investigate what resonates
> POLICY route map Question to MEPs
• Argument (refuting evidence) Chemicals are at the heart of
innovation as they enable the
• Facts (objectives)
creation of new products and
• Balance processes
• Elites
• Winning arguments
> POLITICS journey
• Prejudices (confirming evidence)
• Feelings (subjectives)
• Victory/defeat
• Public
… and yet
• Changing outcomes
Source: HLC Source: CEFIC survey of MEPs 2012

41. 3. Speak audience’s language 4. Narrative not “education”
ENVI committee members’ Intelligence Intelligence
gathering & gathering &
degree courses: analysis analysis
Intelligence
Delivery
“narrative”
Delivery
p.s. don’t “educate”
simple & emotionally engaging

42. 5. People not messaging 6. Politicians ≠ judges
It doesn’t matter who is “right”
Source: HLC

43. 7. Integrity through support 8. Beyond communications
Culture
Structure
Mindset

44. 9. Programmes and campaigns 10. Provide value and solutions
proactive
solutions driven
participatory
not a victim
status-quo ≠ option
practical

45. 10 ideas

46. 1. Data and smart polling 2. Visualise
What do people really think?
Instrumental > expressive

47. 3. Argue price elasticity 4. Competitive message development
Regulation won’t work
unless…
Scenarios: what will your
opponent say?

48. 5. Long-tail supporters 6. Mobilise employees (or leaders..?)
Don’t ignore small scale At times your most valuable
supporters, aggregate them constituency?

49. 7. Obsessive rebuttals 8. Extreme targeting
> Rebut every item
published in Europe

50. 9. Harness existing online networks 10. Your Wikipedia page
Key stakeholders on LinkedIn? 78% of MEPs use it weekly

51. 10 reasons
for inaction

52. 1. What if it all goes wrong? 6. We might upset politicians
2. What if someone criticises us? 7. It is too complicated for
3. We won’t know how to handle people to understand
consequences 8. The press is biased
4. It’s not our job 9. People might notice us
5. Industry as a whole needs to 10. We don’t know what to do
do it

53. Thanks