Corporate image in the age of social technologies

Richard Edelman Forrester Consumer Forum 2007 Corporate Image in the Age of Social Technologies

Business is Back “ After years of scandals and setbacks, corporate America is finally coming out of its shell.” Fortune - April 2007

“ In this transparent world, how you live your life and conduct your business matters more than ever… Companies that get their ‘hows’ wrong won’t be able to clean up their mess by taking a couple of reporters to lunch…But this also creates opportunities… ’how’ you keep your promises…build trust…collaborate…lead”

… But It’s Not The Same Tom Friedman, “The Whole World is Watching” The New York Times , 6/27/07

Dispersion of Authority Walter Cronkite, CBS News Average informed person reads or watches seven sources of media each day - PEW

Media Moves: From Walled Garden and Sole Source to Convener and Aggregator “ The audience is on the field and wants to play in the game” Richard Sambrook, Director, BBC World Service Content from 120 sources

Most Trusted Spokesperson Edelman Trust Barometer --- United States 2003 2007 “ Person like you” 22% 51% CEO 14% 22% Academic 43% 48% Regular employee 26% 36% Decline of authority figures

Trust in Institutions Edelman Trust Barometer --- United States 2003 2007 Business US 48% UK 43% US 53% UK 44% Government US 39% UK 17% US 38% UK 16% NGOs US 49% UK 41% US 57% UK 41% Media US 28% UK 25% US 43% UK 19% Gap between business and government has never been larger

From Influence to Conversations Pyramid of Influence Sphere of Cross Information Opinion Forming Elite New Model Old Model

The Sweet Spot Intersection of top-down and peer-to-peer models Horizontal peer-to-peer model Traditional top-down model The ability to play between the two Sweet Spot ENGAGE T A L K

Bloggers

Passionate Consumers

Employees

Regulators

Experts

Investors

CEOs

A Simple Truth

PR is P ublic R elationships.

Hype and Spin are out

And Google never forgets

New Role for Public Relations 3. Public Advocacy 2. Listening to New Voices 1. Convergence around Big Ideas

A. Taking on Important Issues

Moving from corporate philanthropy to “Green is Green”

Partnering with Civil Society

1. Convergence around Big Ideas Environment Poverty Alleviation

B. Integrating Content Across Channels Branded Entertainment Create Value / Creds for Bloggers 8 Million Viewers 1. Convergence around Big Ideas 14,000 Participants

C. Addressing Social Concerns

Last September, a news and media furor erupted when Spain banned overly thin models from its fashion runways

Re-positioned the debate as part of the larger issue surrounding existing narrow definition of beauty- at the heart of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

Driven by a compelling viral video , Dove promoted awareness of how unrealistic perceptions of beauty are created

Social media intersects with mainstream media

Weekly traffic saw an 8,000% increase

Sparked a robust debate in Blogosphere

On YouTube's “Most Viewed This Month” list

1. Convergence around Big Ideas

A. Consumer Feedback – Halo3 "Taking cues from sites such as MySpace, Flickr, and YouTube, Halo 3 is one of the first console titles that allows players to collaboratively create and swap content as well as keep tabs on opponents and teammates remotely from the Web —a strategy that could help developers squeeze additional profits from even the most popular games ." Matt Vella, BusinessWeek Build momentum with regular (daily) communication with the hard core enthusiasts Information is the currency of street creds Create a “reason why” for every niche to get and stay engaged The launch becomes the pay-off, not the announcement 2. Listening to New Voices

B. Convening Stakeholders

7 million visitors

100 million page views

3,300 registered users

Platform to engage employees and shareholders about the future of Morgan Stanley. 2. Listening to New Voices

C. Empowering Employees GE Global Research Blog Scientists blog to explain innovations Employees are the new credible source 2. Listening to New Voices

D. Engaging Local Customers In preparation for the launch of Infiniti’s new G37 coupe, the brand introduced an employee, nicknamed Infiniti Michael, to engage with online car enthusiasts and provide them with exclusive information about the coupe. By generating excitement among and developing long-standing relationships with key influencers, Infiniti shifted the tone of the buzz from neutral to overwhelmingly positive. Members: 55,986 Threads: 163,250 Posts: 2,217,903 2. Listening to New Voices

A. Creating Credible Sources of Information . 150,000 visitors a week . Value of micro-sites, outreach to bloggers “ Every Company is a media company. Every company has a story to tell” Andy Heyward, Former CEO, CBS 3. Public Advocacy

B. Evolving Role of the CEO Coach Evangelist 3. Public Advocacy

Approved in over 90 countries across 5 continents.

Over 9 million patients have been prescribed CRESTOR worldwide.

C. Issues Management

To promote transparency, and defend the brand against class action lawyers’ aggressive SEO tactics,

Built crestorfacts.com and rosuvastatininformation.com.

Secured 3rd parties to provide their opinions on trusted sites.

Clicks: 5,872 Average CTR: .3% 3. Public Advocacy

A New Level of Expectations

Transparency

Dialogue – Preserve Integrity of Conversation

Honesty

Immediacy

Depth of content

Updating as you learn

Journalistic level of accuracy

PR is Engine of Interactivity Talk Action Continuum Communication Collaboration Conversational Controlled Conversational Line Participation Line Advertising Conversational Communication Controlled Communication Conversational Collaboration Controlled Collaboration Public relations

Conclusion