For some reason, lately I have been counseling clients that have hundreds or even thousands of locations, usually retail, that represent the face of their brand to the consumer. It seems that companies don't pay enough attention to this dynamic and the opportunities to deepen the relationship between the corporate tower and the people who really buy. To customers, these fromt line employees ARE the company.
On my way back Seattle at the moment, following one of my client's exciting events -- a relaunch of their brand. What this company and it's leader did right was make a wide range of bold gestures that captured the imagination of employees and outside stakeholders as well. There was definitely a BHAG but also a path to get there and a rationale for why now is the company's moment. Really smart
With the constantly swirling discussion of CSR (corporate social responsibility) and its many virtues, it seems a given that engaging in responsible behavior definitely leads to better corporate financial performance. We seem confident that people want to do business with companies that are 'doing good" and that they are certain to reward that behavior. It has become a 21st century business maxim. So I was intrigued by a blog post written by Northwestern-Kellogg professor Brayden King at orgtheory.net who shared the insight that the sustainability-profit topic is one still much discussed and analyzed by the academic community. Equally interesting is the body of research he cites in his post called Does It Pay to Be Good, which asserts that the positive effect of corporate social responsibility on financial performance is, in fact, only "modest." The post argues that the relationship between social performance and financial performance may be actually reversed; companies that are successful tend to engage in CSR because they have the means or the triggers. The article also provides an interesting summation of what prompts companies to engage in CSR and what may be worth future research:
"Research could begin by examining what propels companies that do well to attempt to do good, perhaps even comparing them to other successful companies that do not do as much. At least four motivations seem plausible: risk mitigation, external expectations, generalized reciprocity, and guilt. As firms get bigger or more prosperous, reputation risks are more costly. CSP may be a means of reducing risk—a means of buying reputation insurance (Peloza, 2006)."
Overall, the combined post and article argue that after 30 years of research into the responsibility-profit connection, it may be time to move on and examine the more important drivers of responsible corporate behavior beyond financial rewards.
I'm finding it incredibly annoying that many marketers are attaching social media almost exclusively to the Millenials, as if the rest of humanity had no clue about technology or media shifts. There are a few other generations that could offer a tip or two about real technology shifts. If you're a Gen Xer, you saw your workplace massively changed by technology in an instant by software and the Internet. You started your career in the middle of a period of 10 percent employment (sound familiar?) You built relationships over time based on trust and performance. If you're a Gen Xer, you're bemused by the rise of social media, not because it's unfamiliar, but because it's all too familiar. You've seen this movie before. Marketers seem to have missed this, however, and assume that social media is a millenials novelty that only they use and understand. Here's a flash: Not only do my peers get it, they're quick to sort the trash from the substance, and put it to practical use. When marketers need to monetize their media efforts, they'll quickly learn the value of a broader view.
Earlier in my PR career I was entirely focused on the technology sector. I worked with all types of technology companies -- marketing their supercomputers, pushing their newest mobile handsets, rolling out new services and tools that were the pride and joy of small start-up entrepreneurs. Down the hallway, some of my colleagues worked in completely different industries, like consumer packaged goods, healthcare or sports marketing. In our small technology circle, in those early days we prided ourselves on being disciples of the "Regis Way," creating a pyramid of influence to support our clients' objectives. While our non-technology colleagues were focused on courting journalists and gaining more publicity, we were reaching out to a broader group of stakeholders and trying to build a commuity of influence for our clients. Industry analysts were a critical audience then -- far, far from being mainstream as they are today, they did research on new technologies and advised CIOs on what to buy. Association management was critical, since their member-led special interest groups (SIGs) drove adoption. Public officials were the gatekeepers to trade issues, and even government contracts. Academia was doing real skunk works research, helping new companies come to life throught technology transfer. If your client was a hardware manufacturer, you needed to brief software developers who would write the applications to give them life. If the client was a software company, you briefed hardware firms on your vision to make sure the firmware would support it.
This morning's WSJ carries still more in a series of companies (Ford, Pepsi, Southwest) using social media as a practical communications and PR channel for their corporate communications. Big companies are jumping in and have the resources to dedicate to it; the smallest ones have to get it because it's a necessary part of a first-mover/fast-mover strategy. From what I've observed, however, it's the middle market that is still slow to get on board. In addition, B2B companies lag their consumer-facing counterparts, but are moving very quickly to make up ground. A B2B Magazine survey puts social media usage among B2B marketers now at 57 percent-- up from 15 percent in an previous survey. Something worth watching, perhaps as a potential tipping point.
A Tweet in Time Can Avert PR Mess: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124925830240300343.html
Today's WSJ carries an article "Leaks Grow in a World of Blogs" that underscores the fact that not are we "not in Kansas anymore," but we're never going back to that safe place where a manager could convey sensitive information in a straightforward manner and consider who hears what information first and when. Larry Ellison was quoted in recent months saying that real privacy has been an illusion, that people never really had as much privacy as they thought they did anyway. That illusion now has been shattered for the business world as well and the real question is how companies and their managment will handle it -- by clamming up, by using technology, by publicly punishing the perpetrators, or by embracing the informal information pipeline? Who owns this problem in the corporate hierarchy? We're all learning to function in a world where the microphone is always on, where everyone is watching and every word is analyzed. Is this a challenge or an opportunity?
I noted an interesting point of view in Ethical Corporation's CEO recent interview with Jeff Swartz of Timberland. In it, Swartz makes a case that the current business environment is actually an opportunity for brands, as consumers are actively looking for someone to trust. Here is an excerpt from the article and the link: http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?contentid=6451.
"Jeff Swartz, the ebullient leader of Timberland, has done more than most to show that sustainability can pay for a major brand. So his take on what the financial crisis means for responsible business is worth hearing.
"Instead of being a threat, Swartz says, the financial crisis offers a huge opportunity for brands with a sustainability message. With public trust in business at an all time low, brands able to convince consumers that they stand for something more than profit should thrive, he argues.
"Swartz warns brands not to underestimate the strength of anti-corporate feeling in North America and Europe. The anti-capitalist mood may have been best captured by protestors in London or activists who took a bus tour around the luxury homes of AIG executives in the US, but the sentiment is felt by many, he says. The anger many feel towards the finance sector could easily spill over to affect businesses in other troubled sectors. Put simply, business is facing a crisis of legitimacy.
"So how on earth could this be an opportunity for brands? Easily, says Swartz. A disaffected public is searching for someone to trust. A good way for brands wanting to meet this emotional demand is to show that they are committed to addressing social and environmental issues that resonate with customers. Brands that are open and honest about how they are tackling these challenges will win back the trust of consumers, Swartz believes."
We're in the thick of the communications industry award season, where there is plenty of applause to go around for the achievements of our own colleagues and our industry peers. It's clear from the winners that programs with a social purpose and/or a digital flavor are currently capturing the attention of the judges. While these events are a useful venue to get the current state of play in the industry, one event provided the backdrop of history -- how far our industry has traveled to get to this stage. It was at the annual awards luncheon for the Publicity Club of Chicago that I saw PR legend Betsy Plank receive the organization's Lifetime Achievement award. It was a real treat to hear her views looking back at the changes in our profession, reflecting on more than 60 years in the business. Surely it was a different world when Bety first started practicing PR, in the days before photocopiers, fax machines, voice mail, computers or the Internet. When Betsy began in the profession, rising through the ranks at AT&T or holding a senior post at Edelman, PR pros learned their trade at the local paper's news desk or a wire service assignment desk, she said. There were no disciplined studies for PR in the early days, but today more than 300 colleges and universities teach PR strategies, tactics and research. "Disciplined study" is one of the marks of a true profession, she remarked. She also observed that every true profession has "a fundamental commitment to society at large." In her view, PR has delivered on this in its advocacy for transparency, trust and open engagement. And she offered a subtle warning to us all in voicing her concern that technology may make meetings someday extinct. "Relationships are the key," Betsy cautioned. "They provide us with the opportunity to judge the reactions, the connections and the character of the people with whom we do business."
During her remarks she referenced Alexander Hamilton as the first true public relations professional for his role in getting the 13 colonies to ratify a single unifying Constitution. I learned that Betsy had received the Alexander Hamilton Medal award from another industry group, the Institute for Public Relations. I looked up her receipt of the award and discovered she delivered this inspirational quote for our profession: "In my philosophy, public relations is fundamental to a democratic society where people make decisions in the workplace, marketplace, the community and the voting booth. Its primary mission is to forge responsible relationships of understanding, trust and respect among groups and individuals – even when they disagree!"
Having spent much of my career doing technology public relations and marketing, I've always enjoyed the candor of Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison. It doesn't matter if you agree with him; you have to appreciate that he speaks his mind. I typically find him to be a good barometer for change. If Ellison's agitated, change is coming. It's less scientific than the VIX volatility index, but if you looked back at his quotes over a decade, they'd probably synch up well. And who wouldn't like a little straight talk these days?
Catch him in the morning's Wall Street Journal talking about the lack of clarity around 'cloud computing':
"I have no idea what anyone is talking about," said Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison, when talking about cloud computing at a financial analyst conference in September. "It's really just complete gibberish. What is it?". He added: "When is this idiocy going to stop?"
Worth noting that Ellison's quote appears immediately adjacent to a front-page ad...for Oracle!