Credibility is the most important intangible asset for effective communication. It is built through consistency, trustworthiness, and maintaining relationships. Credibility involves establishing ethos through expertise, building pathos through emotional connection, and providing logical reasons or facts (logos) to be believed. An organization must manage its brand, image, and reputation over time through actions that are consistent with its messaging to develop credibility with stakeholders and publics.

1. MOST IMPORTANT
INTANGIBLE ASSET:
CREDIBILITY
S T E P H A N E P R U D ’ H O M M E
A L L R I G H T S R E S E RV E D - © 2 0 1 5

2. STEPHANE PRUD’HOMME
• MA (Canada), MBA (China), PhD ABD (Macau)
• 21 years of experience in public relations and marcom, including:
– 8 years in China and SouthEast Asia
– 13 years of studying and working with credibility and reputation constructs
• Managing Director and Credibility Engineer at Credibility Institute
– www.credibilityinstitute.com | www.credibilityacademy.org

3. WHAT IS
CREDIBILITY?
3

4. PUBLIC RELATIONS
STRATEGY

5. R = Research
A = Action planning
C = Communication
E = Evaluation
4-STEP R.A.C.E. MODEL
John Marston
5

6. STAGES OF COMMUNICATION
1. Awareness building
A person must be aware of a company and its products/services before building an opinion.
2. Change of opinion / attitude | Acceptance
Once a person is aware of a company and its products/services, he/she can build an opinion.This
is the stage where the company can try to influence his/her opinion.
3. Change of behavior | Action
Once a person has an opinion on a company and its products/services, he/she can decide to buy
or not buy, to sign a contract or not to sign.
Multiple sources: Smith, 4th ed.; Maisonneuve, 2010; and others

7. FISHBEIN
MODEL
h t t p : / / b i t . l y / 2 m j B r j R
7

8. STAKEHOLDERS
AND PUBLICS
8

9. WHAT IS A PUBLIC? A STAKEHOLDER?
• Public:
– Any group whose members have a common interest or value in a particular situation.
– Must be a group.
• Stakeholder:
– A person, or public, that has a stake or an interest in an organization, or in an issue
that involves the organization.As a result, they affect the organization and at the same
time are affected by it.
– Could be only one person.
– Stakeholders are individuals, groups or organisations that are affected by the activity
of the business.
– All stakeholders are publics, but not all publics are stakeholders.
James Grunig
9

10. STAKEHOLDERS VS. PUBLICS
• Grunig and Repper in 1992 differentiated the terms “stakeholder” and “public” in the
following way: Organizations choose stakeholders by their marketing strategies, recruiting,
and investment plans, but “publics arise on their own and choose the organization for
attention.”
• The type of public determines how and what you communicate to the public.This theory
then, points out that an organization should communicate with its latent and aware publics
to solve any problems or issues before the situation escalates and the publics decide to
take action.
• A public is distinct from a stakeholder or a market.
10
James Grunig

11. PUBLICS
11

12. 4 CATEGORIES OF PUBLICS
• Nonpublic
– No problem is recognized or exists, Low problem / Low constraint recognition
– No consequences, Communication not necessary
• Latent public
– Problem is there, but public is not aware, does not recognise it
– Low problem recognition, High or Low constraint recognition
– Communication not sought so message must be creative and attention-getting
• Aware public
– Group recognizes the problem, that a problem exists
– High problem recognition
– High constraint recognition
– Communication may or may not be processed by these publics
• Active public
– Group organizes to respond to the problem
– Group is aware of the problem and organises to respond to it
– High problem recognition, High or low constraint recognition
– Organization must actively communicate with active publics and maintain a high public profile
JamesGrunig

13. FACTORS DETERMINING THE TYPE
OF PUBLIC
• Problem Recognition
• Constraint Recognition
• Level of Involvement
James Grunig

14. Problem Recognition
High
Low
Problem Recognition
High
Constraint
Recognition
Low
Constraint
Recognition
Active Public
Active Public
Latent & Aware Public
Latent PublicLatent Public
Nonpublic
James Grunig

16. EVALUATION AND
MEASUREMENT
16

17. MEASURING COMMUNICATION
Quantitative
• PR/CC outputs, which are usually short-term and surface (e.g. the amount of likes received
or exposure of a particular message) AWARENESS
Qualitative
• PR/CC outtakes, which are usually more far-reaching and can have more impact
(e.g. determining if those to whom the activity was directed received, paid attention to,
comprehended and retained particular messages)
AWARENESS/ACCEPTANCE/OPINION
• PR/CC outcomes, (e.g. did the messages or activities change opinion and attitude levels,
and even behavior patterns?)
CHANGE OF BEHAVIOR/ACTION

18. CREDIBILITY

19. WHAT IS
CREDIBILITY?
19

20. ARISTOTLE: ETHOS, PATHOS, LOGOS
• Ethos means to convince an audience of the author’s credibility or character. An author would use
ethos to show to his audience that he is a credible source and is worth listening to. Ethos can be
developed by choosing language that is appropriate for the audience and topic (also means choosing
proper level of vocabulary), making yourself sound fair or unbiased, introducing your expertise or
pedigree, and by using correct grammar and syntax.
• Pathos means to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions.Authors use pathos to
invoke sympathy from an audience; to make the audience feel what what the author wants them to
feel. Pathos can be developed by using meaningful language, emotional tone, emotion evoking
examples, stories of emotional events, and implied meanings.
• Logos means to convince an audience by use of logic or reason.To use logos would be to cite facts
and statistics, historical and literal analogies, and citing certain authorities on a subject. Logos can be
developed by using advanced, theoretical or abstract language, citing facts (very important), using
historical and literal analogies, and by constructing logical arguments.
20
pathosethoslogos.com

21. BRANDING,
IMAGE,
REPUTATION
21

22. BRANDING
• Brand awareness
• Brand recognition
• Brand recall
• Stage when we build an image
• Publicity
• Advertisement
• Repetition
22

23. BRAND IMAGE
• Publicity and Advertisement
• Repetition
• Image is what we see, what we hear
• Brand image is the current view of the customers about a brand. It can be defined as
a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target customers. It is a set of beliefs held
about a specific brand.
• It is nothing but the consumers’ perception about the product. Brand image conveys emotional
value and not just a mental image. Brand image is nothing but an organization’s character. It is
an accumulation of contact and observation by people external to an organization. It should
highlight an organization’s mission and vision to all.
• Brand image is the overall impression in consumers’ mind that is formed from all
sources. Consumers develop various associations with the brand. Based on these associations,
they form brand image.
23
www.managementstudyguide.com

24. BRAND/CORPORATE IMAGE
• The brand and the corporate image include:
– Brand positioning
– Brand personality
– Brand identity
– Brand legitimacy
24

25. CORPORATE PERSONALITY
25

26. BRAND
IDENTITY VS
BRAND IMAGE
h t t p : / / b i t . l y / 2 n q k C V R
26

27. 27www.studiowide.co.uk

28. TRUST
• Professor Cabral:
– Expectation to do something
– Repetition
• Trust: it’s about an action (Bohnet et al.)
• I gave you money because I trust you and I know that you will give it back to me.
28

29. FROM TRUST TO CREDIBILITY
29

30. CREDIBILITY
• Reception and perception, consistency
• Doing what has been said to be done
• Believe in a message
• Credibility: it’s about a message (Bohnet et al.)
• I believe a message:The wall is white because you told me and I believe you.
• Difference between trust and credibility is that trust is confidence in or reliance
on some person or quality while credibility is reputation impacting one's ability
to be believed. (wikidiff.com)
30

31. AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
• The intimate relationship between a spokesperson and his/her credibility
• Credibility is not only related to influence and persuasion, but also to the act of
informing, communicating, having a dialog with an audience, receiving feedback.That is to
create and maintain a relationship of trust and sharing between a spokesperson or a
corporation and their publics and stakeholders.
• We must understand that credibility exists only in function of a reflection or a
perception, it does not exist by itself, it starts in the mind of every member of an audience.A
spokesperson is not credible because he/she thinks that he/she is credible, it is only how the
audience perceives his/her credibility.
• A credible spokesperson sincerely wishes to establish and maintain a relationship
of trust and mutual understanding with his/her publics rather than being effective. A
credible spokesperson always demonstrates a great flexibility and a mindset of openness along
with a constant authenticity.
31Prud’homme, 2004

32. REPUTATION
• Professor Cabral:
– Believed to be something
• Reputation is what we understand, what we remember, what we recall.
• The main point is that corporate reputation has to be earned.A company can try to
forge and carve their image, however, whether that image will lead to a favourable
reputation (which is aligned with the image, and therefore hopefully a positive reputation),
will depend on the actual activities and the tangible results, good or bad, that customers
experience. (www.studiowide.co.uk)
• “Reputation is the sum values that stakeholders attribute to a company, based on
their perception and interpretation of the image that the company communicates
over time” John Dalton, Managing Corporate Reputation.
32

33. REPUTATION REVISITED FRAMEWORK
33© 2015 Stephane Prud’homme

34. STAGES OF COMMUNICATION
• Where are located the stages of communication in this model?
1.Awareness building
2. Change of opinion / attitude | Acceptance
3. Change of behavior | Action
34

35. SOURCE
CREDIBILITY
THEORY
W W W. S O U R C E C R E D I B I L I T Y. O R G
35

36. SOURCE CREDIBILITY
• “Source credibility refers to the degree to which the receiver believes the
source has relevant knowledge and/or expertise and thus trusts the information
offered by the source” (Ohanian, 1990)
• “Source credibility is considered an important factor influencing attitudes and purchase
intention” (Lutz et al., 1983)
36

37. 37
Hovlandetal.,1951
SOURCECREDIBILITY
THEORY

38. THREE DIMENSIONS OF SOURCE
CREDIBILITY SCALE
38

39. SOURCE CREDIBILITY KEY FACTORS
39

40. CREDIBILITY CLASSIFICATION MODEL
40
Ohanian,1990andPrud’homme,2017

41. CREDIBILITY FACTORS
41
©2004StephanePrud’homme

42. CREDIBILITY AS AN OPEN SYSTEM
42
© 2004 Stephane Prud’homme

43. CREDIBILITY ECOSYSTEM
43
© 2004 Stephane Prud’homme

44. CORPORATE CREDIBILITY
44

45. DUAL CREDIBILITY MODEL
45

46. CREDIBILITY IS
A PERCEPTION
46

47. WE BELIEVE A
MESSAGE.
THE SPOKESPERSON
IS CREDIBLE.
47

48. WALK THE TALK
48

49. CONSISTENCY
49

50. BE VISIBLE
50

51. CREDIBILITY
EVALUATION &
MEASUREMENT
51

52. EVALUATION & MEASUREMENT
• It is important to remember that credibility is an intangible asset
• Return on Expectations (ROE)
• Return on Investment (ROI)
• Objectives
• Very subjective but we still can evaluate variables, the credibility factors
52

53. CREDIBILITY ROI & ROE
53

54. 54

55. BALANCED SCORECARD
• Reach & Engagement: These tangible process metrics demonstrate an organization’s reach and
engagement with its audiences across channels, while evaluating internal and external communications
efficiency. Data typically come from paid, earned, shared, and owned media tools and internal tracking
systems.
• Relevance & Alignment: These intangible process metrics demonstrate an organization’s internal
alignment and external relevance, reflecting qualitative factors including audience understanding, market
relevance, messaging consistency, and employee alignment. Data typically come from paid, earned, shared,
and owned media tools and internal tracking systems.
• Revenue & Financials: These tangible outcome metrics reflect financial and sales impact, including
leads, lead value, revenue, profitability, market share, and other business data. Data typically come from
company sales and finance teams and industry analysts.
• Reputation & Brand: These intangible outcome metrics reflect longer-term stakeholder relationships,
perceptions, reputation, brand advocacy, and brand equity, which may impact future revenues, brand
premiums, and/or stock price. Data typically come from survey research, third-party reports, and internal
tracking systems.
55
www.themeasurementstandard.com

56. EVALUATION FRAMEWORK
56© Stephane Prud’homme and Guy Litalien

57. CONCLUSION
R E A D I N G : h t t p : / / b i t . l y / 2 m G 8 TO r
57

58. MERCI.
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