Reputation, purpose and sleep-inducing storytelling

Welcome to the next edition of my LinkedIn newsletter, based on my PR and comms learning-style podcast, Communication Strategy That Works. It regularly tops the podcast charts for marketing, globally!

In this edition I'm sharing a deep-dive into 'Purpose' taken from my guest expert,?Nick Ranger?of global brand transformation agency, BrandPie, podcast snippets on the subject of issues management, and I also share some things I've learned or which have caught my (beady) comms eye on the topics of emotional connection and reputation.

Oh, and there are some handy resources for you as well if you read to the bottom...:)

Enjoy!

Deep Dive with the insightful Nick Ranger of BrandPie

‘Purpose’ is a term used by businesses and entrepreneurs to define what they do and believe in. But what does it mean, and is it something you can help implement in your business?

In this ‘Deep Dive’ episode, I talk to Nick Ranger, a brand strategy expert who is the Managing Partner for a global consulting team at BrandPie, a boutique brand transformation agency. Each year Nick and his team produce a CEO's Purpose report and Nick joined me on the podcast to talk to you about the findings from 2021. Look out for the annual survey and 2022's report coming out on 27 September 2022.

Nick is a brand strategy expert and the managing partner for a global consulting team at Brandpie, a boutique brand transformation agency. Over his 30 years as a brand strategist, Nick has worked with some really impressive global brands, such as HP, Sony, Capgemini, Odeon, RBS, Bayer, Baker Tilly, and many more.

We chatted around the topic of Purpose and what it means and the findings of the annual report.

"The annual CEO Purpose Report, which measured the perspectives of 705 CEOs based in China, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. For the first time, more than 25% of CEOS stated they are now purpose-driven and 59% said they are developing or about to start developing a purpose statement."

I found it interesting for a number of reasons, but mostly as I talk about the 'why' quite a lot on the podcast in terms of how businesses talk to customers and how they explain what they do in a way that resonates with people. But I think the 'why' is about understanding what your purpose is.

We covered:

• Why Nick and his team see Purpose is a business tool - something that CEOs or business leaders should own and be responsible for.
• What CEOs' views are of Purpose - what they think about it and how they're using it, and the value that they're getting from it in their business.
• What the future holds for Purpose and how ESG reporting has changed the landscape and the link to reputation management.
• Finding your 'why' as an organisation

You can listen to the whole interview right here on LinkedIn (it may take you off to Spotify if you're on the app version). I'd love to know what you think so please DM me or you can leave a voice message on my Speakpipe page

Things that have caught my beady (comms) eye

You may have seen this on my feed this week. Here is a beautiful piece of brand storytelling by Ikea from 2020.

Ikea’s ability to connect emotionally with an audience is based on the everyday feeling you get from shopping with them. They are everyday problem solvers. You see Ikea’s content and you think, 'this is me' and 'I need this in my life'. It sparks something and is creatively executed every time.

There are hundreds of duvet retailers, but how many of them make you feel like this?

Bravo Ikea. (Thanks to Marianne Routier for the original share)

PS - I covered the merits of brand storytelling recently on the podcast. You can listen here.

Snackable topic - 'no tissues' reputation issues management

Why this topic? I am publishing this following a recent media storm. UK and Ireland-based Holiday company Center Parcs was all over Twitter recently, and there have been a million and one commentators on it, all keen to jump on how rubbish the PR was. Most questioned if the PR and comms team were involved at all.?Some of them are good points and well-made. But This post and article by PR legend Andy Barr sums it up nicely for you if you are unfamiliar with the details.

In summary, C-Suite made a commercial decision to close all the Parcs at 10.30 am on the day of the Queen of England's funeral (19 September), as a 'mark of respect' and to give staff the day off to watch the funeral. However, this also meant delaying holidaymakers' arrival or ousting them for 24 hours mid-stay.

Now it's likely that the commercial decision involved numbers of holidays makers, vs taking into account Monday being a significant changeover day anyway, so that a small proportion would be delayed a day vs doing the right thing for hundreds of staff vs the number of those holidaymakers who would have to leave for a day (I still have no idea how many this was by the way)

Points have been made all over Twitter and elsewhere that 'clearly no PR person was involved' nor was the reputational impact of such a decision considered. Aside from this and alternatives that may or may not have been open to them operationally, they reversed the decision, ultimately. It will be interesting to see how they recover - they have this part of the holiday-market covered so maybe it will have no impact.

Whatever happened, a potential reputation disaster could have been avoided in my opinion. Whether you have someone on your PR team or not, at a senior level, you should be doing at least some if not all of the following;

• Horizon scanning potential operation procedures that may need to happen for short-term unplanned closures outside of natural disasters or 'known' risks.
• Assessing the possible negative emotional and physical impacts of such closures on all stakeholders (including customers) and the media getting hold of the story
• How to handle these issues before they come up, so you have a robust system and can be agile in your decision making and, ideally, mitigate a PR disaster happening at all
• Having a sounding board of external stakeholders to make sure that your decision will withstand external (including media) scrutiny

Here are some of my free resources for you to help you mitigate potential reputation issues and embed some robust systems in your organisation;

Free resources for you!

Listen to this podcast on my six steps to managing potential reputation issues;

Download my FREE 'no tissues' reputation issues management guide.

Listen to this podcast on the importance of Customer Services as a PR tool;

I have collected these and a few other topics on this web page to help you navigate this topic.

Get in touch if you want to chat about this subject. My DMs are open, as they say.

Before you go

Have you ever thought about using audio as part of your comms strategy? Maybe you've thought about starting a podcast of your own? I have created this 90 minute introductory course for you on offer for ￡199pp.?Read more and register your interest.??It's designed to help you;

• Choose the right tech
• Create your podcast name and artwork
• Where and how to record and edit
• Choose the right format
• Find guests
• Host and market your podcast

Finally...

I'd love to know what you think of this newsletter, so please DM me or you can leave a voice message on my?Speakpipe page?

You can catch the latest episode of the weekly podcast on any streaming app by searching for Communication Strategy That Works, or?on my website, or?get them direct to your inbox?every Friday - no app required!

Emma x

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