The Olympic Appeal: A Media Opportunity Like No Other

With the 2024 Paris Paralympics set to start soon and focus quickly shifting to the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, many PR and Communications executives are preparing to capitalize on the opportunities the events provide for brands with Olympic media coverage.

The Olympics offer a golden stage for brands to showcase their message to a global audience. As one of the most-watched events globally, the Olympics had 30.6 million viewers in 2024. The sheer number of eyeballs glued to screens worldwide offers an unparalleled platform for brands to showcase their messages.

One company that seems to have benefited greatly in media coverage of their Olympic support was Comcast. Every mention we analyzed was either neutral or positive in tone. In fact, there were glowing accounts of Comcast’s Peacock app coverage, their use of shortform content on social media, and more.

For smaller brands as well, the Olympics can be a game-changing opportunity. A well-executed campaign can introduce a brand to millions, creating lasting impressions that can drive business growth.

However, this high visibility can also attract unwanted attention.

Our analysis of corporate media coverage around the Paris games surfaced some insights that could help communicators make the most of these upcoming opportunities and avoid the potential risks involved.

The Dark Side of Olympic Media Coverage

While the Olympics offer immense opportunities, they also come with significant risks. A lot of eyes can be great for a winning campaign – or it can go down in history as an utter failure. Further, controversies that extend beyond sports often surround the games.

The Consequences of a Misfired Campaign

Given the visibility of the Olympics, there are elevated stakes for high media uptake on a brand campaign. A campaign that missteps in tone can have an effect opposite the desired brand impact. This year, one of the more visible misfires was Google’s Gemini advertisement, which Google pulled from the Olympics airwaves after backlash in the media. While it seemed intent to represent a cute interaction between a child and her role model, it was accused of endorsing “automation instead of authenticity” over the use of AI to write a fan letter, something which many could argue goes against the Olympic spirit.

Another example of Olympic sponsorship backlash involves Toyota’s use of hydrogen-powered cars as official transport vehicles during the games. While the initiative intended to showcase Toyota’s commitment to sustainable technology, environmentalists criticized it, arguing that the vehicles were not as green as they appeared. Critics pointed out that hydrogen production often relies on non-renewable energy sources, making the cars less environmentally friendly than their all-electric counterparts. This criticism was covered in major outlets, and serves to highlight the complexities of promoting innovative green technology on a global stage. It also underscores the risk of backlash when a sponsor’s environmental claims do not fully align with public expectations.

We also see this misalignment with Olympics sponsor Coca-Cola. The company was hit with negative coverage on multiple fronts around their support of the Games. At an event deemed “one of the most eco-friendly Games in history”, Coca-Cola, came under fire from environmental groups and athletes alike for its use of plastic, warranting an official response from the company. Then, in another instance, health experts called Coca-Cola’s role as a sponsor in general into question. They claimed the organization was “sportswashing” its generally unhealthy products by aligning with the athletic endeavors of the Olympics.

The Decline of the Olympic Brand

Toyota again made headlines for its decision to end its sponsorship of the Olympics after Paris 2024. The company’s withdrawal from Olympic sponsorship highlights two significant reputational risks associated with sponsoring the games: geopolitics and athlete welfare.

Firstly, the geopolitical landscape surrounding the Olympics has become increasingly fraught. The games are often mired in scandals, corruption, and controversies over host nations’ human rights records. Toyota, like many global brands, found its reputation at risk by being linked to these issues. This was especially true during the Tokyo 2020 games, which faced heavy criticism for proceeding amid the Covid pandemic and local corruption scandals. Increasing geopolitical instability means Olympics sponsors are likely to face more reputational challenges related to these issues in the future.

Secondly, Toyota was concerned about how its sponsorship money was allocated, with reports indicating that funds were not effectively used to support athletes or promote sports. This misalignment with the company’s values led Toyota to conclude that the risks of continuing its sponsorship outweighed the potential benefits.

In Summary: The Complex Landscape of Olympic Branding

The Olympics present a unique media opportunity for corporate branding, but the landscape is fraught with challenges. The Olympics has two main types of PR risks:

1. External risks in terms of the controversies the Olympics brand itself attracts, and –
2. It is also likely to magnify preexisting reputational issues due to the heightened visibility.

While at face value the Olympics bring about an image of excellence, friendship, and respect – values any company would be proud to associate with – global realities and stakeholder expectations adds more to the picture that communications leaders should be aware of.

To learn more about our research and analysis, contact us here.

The alignment between a company’s public statements and its actions has never been more crucial. Reputation-reality gaps, i.e., inadequate actions to back up PR statements, are increasingly seen as hypocritical, damaging brand reputation, trust, and loyalty. An example that underscores this is the response to Mondelez following the invasion of Ukraine.

The company publicly announced intention to scale back operations in Russia, aligning with global sentiments against Russia and showcasing solidarity with the Ukrainian cause. However, despite its statements, the company continued to generate revenue and pay taxes in Russia. This discrepancy between its public commitments and ongoing business activities created a significant reputation-reality gap.

Consumers, especially in Europe, took notice. The perceived hypocrisy led to boycotts of Mondelez products across the continent. These boycotts weren’t just a fleeting reaction but a clear message from the public: companies must practice what they preach.

The situation with Mondelez (and Unilever, and Heineken, and more) serves as a stark reminder of the importance of consistency between words and actions. For brands, maintaining credibility requires more than just making the right statements.

The Importance of Alignment

In the age of information, consumers are more informed and empowered than ever before. They have access to a wealth of information at their fingertips and are increasingly holding companies accountable for their actions. Social media platforms amplify their voices, enabling them to share their opinions and mobilize others quickly.

For businesses, this means that the stakes are higher. Public statements are scrutinized, and any discrepancy between what a company says and what it does can quickly become a focal point for criticism.

When Mondelez announced its decision to scale back operations in Russia, they likely intended to align with global sentiments and show support for Ukraine. However, the continued revenue generation and tax payments in Russia told a different story. The gap between words and actions was seen as hypocritical, and the backlash was swift.

The Consequences of a Reputation-Reality Gap

The boycotts of Mondelez products in Europe highlight the tangible consequences of a reputation-reality gap. Boycotts can lead to a significant loss of revenue and market share. More importantly, they can damage the long-term relationship between a brand and its consumers.

When consumers feel that a company has been dishonest, their trust in that brand erodes. Trust is a fundamental component of brand loyalty. Once it’s broken, it’s incredibly challenging to rebuild. This is especially true in today’s competitive market, where consumers have numerous alternatives to choose from.

Moreover, the impact of a damaged reputation extends beyond just consumers. Investors, partners, and employees also take note of these discrepancies. A company that is perceived as hypocritical may struggle to attract and retain top talent. Investors may lose confidence in the company’s leadership and long-term strategy. Partners may reconsider their relationships, fearing that association with a discredited brand could harm their own reputation.

Lessons for Communicators and Business Leaders

The Mondelez case offers several important lessons for communicators and business leaders:

1. Ensure Consistency Between Words and Actions: It’s not enough to make the right statements. Statements must align with actions, and communicators should inform other leaders within the organization of the importance of this consistency.
2. Be Transparent: If there are challenges or limitations to what a company can do, it’s better to be upfront about them. Transparency builds trust and shows that the company is committed to being honest with its stakeholders.
3. Monitor and Respond to Public Sentiment: It’s essential to stay attuned to public sentiment. Companies need to monitor media to understand how their actions and statements are being received. Prompt and appropriate responses can help mitigate potential backlash.
4. Prepare for Crises: Despite the best efforts, crises can still occur. Companies need to have a robust crisis management plan in place to respond quickly and effectively. This includes having a clear communication strategy to address any gaps between words and actions.

Moving Forward

The case of Mondelez is a powerful reminder of the importance of aligning public statements with actions. In today’s interconnected world, consumers, investors, and other stakeholders are more vigilant and vocal than ever before. They expect companies to live up to their commitments.

For companies, this means that maintaining credibility requires a concerted effort to ensure that actions consistently align with words. It’s about being genuinely committed to the values and principles that the company espouses.

By doing so, companies can not only avoid the pitfalls of a reputation-reality gap but also build stronger relationships with their stakeholders. This in turn can lead to greater long-term success.

The high cost of a reputation-reality gap underscores the need for companies to act with integrity and consistency. The backlash faced by Mondelez and other companies serves as a cautionary tale for all businesses and a reminder that in today’s world, actions speak louder than words.

To learn more about ways you can measure and manage your reputation, contact us here.

In today’s interconnected world, geopolitical events often create ripple effects that reach far beyond their points of origin. For corporations, this interconnectedness means that events on the global stage can impact stakeholders, influence brand perception, and necessitate a response.

Navigating these waters requires careful consideration and strategic decision-making. For PR and Communications executives, the question becomes: when and how should we engage in corporate advocacy around a geopolitical issue?

This guide will help you determine the right course of action for your organization.

Download our supplemental worksheet, “Should I Speak Out?”

1. Identify Which Stakeholder(s) This Geopolitical Issue Affects

The first step in addressing a geopolitical event is to identify the stakeholders impacted by the issue. Stakeholders can include employees, customers, investors, partners, and more. Each group may be affected differently, so understanding these nuances is crucial. For example:

• Employees: Consider whether your employees are from or have ties to the region affected by the event. Their safety, well-being, and morale might be at stake.
• Customers: Evaluate if your customer base includes individuals or businesses in the affected region. Consider their potential concerns and sentiments.
• Investors: Assess whether investors are likely to be impacted financially or have ethical concerns about the geopolitical event.
• Partners: Determine if your business partners operate in or are connected to the affected area, influencing supply chains or collaborative ventures.

2. Determine Which Values the Stakeholder Holds Regarding the Geopolitical Issue

Understanding the values and desired outcomes of your stakeholders is essential. This step involves gauging their perspectives and expectations regarding the geopolitical event.

Questions to Consider include:

• Do stakeholder preferences vary by region? For instance, a geopolitical issue might be viewed differently in Europe compared to Asia.
• Does the stakeholder’s values or outcomes overlap with a social or political stance? This could include issues such as human rights, environmental concerns, or economic impacts.
• Has this stakeholder voiced concerns already?  This can be through direct communication, social media, or public statements. Listening to these voices can provide valuable insights into their priorities and expectations.

3. Answer Yes or No: Does our organization share any common values with the stakeholder, and does our organization support the stakeholder’s preferred outcomes?

After identifying stakeholder values, the next step is to evaluate your organization’s alignment with these values and outcomes.

• Common Values: Analyze whether your organization’s core values resonate with those of your stakeholders. Shared values form the foundation for credible and authentic advocacy.
• Support for Outcomes: Determine if your organization supports the preferred outcomes of the stakeholder. This alignment is crucial for building trust and ensuring that any corporate advocacy efforts are seen as genuine and not merely performative.

4. Answer Yes or No: Does our organization have a track record of specific actions that are consistent with its shared values with the stakeholder?

Consistency between words and actions is vital for credible corporate advocacy.

• Internal Actions: Review your organization’s internal policies, initiatives, and culture. Have you historically taken actions that align with the values and outcomes of the affected stakeholders?
• External Actions: Consider your organization’s external engagements, such as partnerships, community involvement, and public statements. A track record of external actions that support shared values enhances credibility and demonstrates a genuine commitment.

These are important to understand and align with, because failure to do so can lead to negative media coverage. For example, Meta, has been called out for overreaching with oversized censorship of content related to Palestine, which is out of line with their community guidelines.

5. Answer Yes or No: Does our organization have specific actions it can or will take?

Are those actions:

• Impactful to the Geopolitical Issue: Assess whether your organization can take actions that meaningfully impact the geopolitical issue. This could involve financial contributions, advocacy, or operational changes.
• Consistent with Shared Values: Ensure that these actions are consistent with the shared values between your organization and the stakeholders.
• Able to Satisfy Stakeholder Outcomes: This involves understanding their expectations and aligning your actions accordingly.

For example, mere days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Shell announced its exit from approximately $3 Billion worth of stakes in Russian-situated assets, while Netflix suspended service in Russia. Both actions cost the corporations money, but were viewed positively by stakeholders who were against Russia’s actions.

Evaluating the Decision

For steps 3 through 5, if you answered YES to all, your organization has a story to tell that is impactful to the geopolitical conflict and your affected stakeholder.  You should engage in corporate advocacy.

If you answered NO to 1 or 2 questions: Assess the areas where your organization is falling short or disagrees with the affected stakeholder. Those are areas of potential risk to engaging in corporate advocacy that communicators should prepare for.

If you answered NO to ALL: It’s likely best that you don’t speak out. The risk of backlash from the stakeholder is greater than the reward.

Assessing Broader Implications

After completing steps 3 through 5 for each stakeholder group, ask yourself whether engaging in geopolitical advocacy will alienate or threaten your standing among other stakeholders. This is to ensure your stakeholders are aligned. This is relatively straightforward – if the answer is YES, it will alienate other stakeholders, then there’s high risk of backlash that you should prepare for. If the answer is NO, and your stakeholders are aligned, you should have a low chance of negative reactions and can feel comfortable speaking out.

Other Questions to Consider When it Comes to Corporate Advocacy:

• Is this the first time you are speaking out? Consider the precedent you are setting. If this is the first time your organization is engaging in corporate advocacy, ensure that you have a robust strategy and clear communication plan.
• Will speaking out now land with your stakeholders? Are you too late to the conversation? Timing is critical. Engage early to avoid being perceived as reactive rather than proactive.
• Are you backing up your advocacy with specific actions? Advocacy without actions creates a risk of backlash. Where possible, ensure that your statements are supported by concrete actions to avoid being seen as insincere or opportunistic.

Planning Your Response

Prepare to communicate your shared values and your track record of actions to address concerns brought by disaffected stakeholders. This involves crafting clear, transparent, and empathetic messages that acknowledge their perspectives and outline your commitment to addressing the issues. At certain times, company values might dictate a response regardless of the outcomes of the above process, so your best course of action will be to prepare. Consider how you’ll respond to reactions, whatever they may be.

Conclusion

Engaging in corporate advocacy around geopolitical events is a complex and nuanced decision. By following this structured approach, PR and Communications executives can make informed choices that align with stakeholder values, support meaningful outcomes, and enhance organizational reputation. Remember, the key is to ensure that your advocacy is authentic, backed by action, and considerate of the diverse perspectives within your stakeholder community. Be prepared for potentially negative responses if your company values are at odds with what certain stakeholders may be looking for.

As you navigate this process, stay attuned to the evolving geopolitical landscape and be prepared to adapt your strategies. Effective corporate advocacy not only addresses immediate concerns but also builds long-term trust and credibility with your stakeholders.

To learn more about the research that supported the creation of this blog, contact us here.

The recent CrowdStrike outage has generated significant media coverage. We examined how various sectors and companies were mentioned to gain insight into the media’s priorities and their brand impact.

In short – and rather unexpectedly – the event had minimal negative impact on most companies’ media coverage, while for some, coverage was actually brand-positive.

Essential Services and Media Focus

We analyzed coverage of the CrowdStrike story across all the sectors in our Benchmark dataset, which tracks 49 global organizations across 9 industries, and found surprisingly low volumes across all of our non-Tech sectors.

However, our data shows the Finance sector was mentioned most out of our tracked industries, following a broader pattern where coverage gravitated toward sectors where disruption was most palpable to the public, such as everyday banking services.

Most coverage about the CrowdStrike outage focused on disruptions to time-sensitive essential public services like transport, healthcare and emergency services. A prominent example in transportation is Delta, who even 5 days after the incident is still having to cancel flights due to the issue, generating sustained media coverage as a result. Nonessential businesses, on the other hand, were generally spared scrutiny.

Starbucks: The Unexpected Essential Service

A deeper dive into the data by company surfaced Starbucks as the most mentioned brand, with 10 articles covering the impact of the outage on its services. This is striking given that Starbucks is a coffee retailer, not typically associated with critical infrastructure or essential services. The high media attention highlights an interesting perspective: Starbucks has become a significant part of many people’s daily lives, to the extent that disruptions to its service are considered noteworthy.

The media focus and portrayal of Starbucks as an essential service highlights how deeply the brand is embedded in daily life. Articles often included quotes from social media users that suggested that, for many, a day without their Starbucks coffee is a significant inconvenience, akin to disruptions in banking or transportation. In fact, in some instances, Starbucks closures were mentioned in the very same headline as these more essential services.

Mentions such as these were largely lighthearted in nature, with social media commentary from customers more so lamenting that their typical coffee routine was disrupted rather than placing any sort of blame on Starbucks itself. This spotlight on Starbucks generated a narrative that the brand is crucial for daily functioning, a testament to its strong market presence. For Starbucks, therefore, the CrowdStrike outage turned out to be brand-positive.

Preparing for the Next Outage

Communicators can expect that if a similarly widespread outage occurs in the future, it is unlikely to affect the majority of brands’ media reputation. Disruptions to time-sensitive essential services will draw most of the negative media attention, while businesses offering non-essential or non-time-sensitive products and services can fly under the radar.

For some lucky companies, a short disruption to services could even remind the public how beloved and essential their brand has become. This phenomenon underscores the importance of building a strong brand presence and fostering deep customer connections which can act as a buffer during crises such as this one.

To learn more about our research, contact us here.

As the Israel-Hamas war has unfolded, stakeholders are re-evaluating companies based on their ties to the conflict.

PublicRelay examined how public opinion and media reporting on major brands has evolved since the start of the conflict. We found that ties to the Israeli government are a looming corporate reputational risk. And that threat is set to grow as Americans become increasingly sympathetic to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

There’s been a remarkable shift in public opinion in the last six months

Polling data from Gallup reveals that early opinion towards Israel’s military strategy was in the country’s favor. At this point, Israel was still reeling from Hamas’ October 7^th attacks.

The Israeli government’s reaction was at the center of news coverage in November. The media commended corporate leaders for backing Israeli citizens in need. This included Google’s Sundar Pichai and JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, who expressed steadfast support for the country.

But as time marched on, Americans became more aware about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. By March, public opinion had largely turned against the Israeli military strategy. Media reporting reflected this, as coverage of Palestine and Gaza overtook mentions of military conflict between Israel military and Hamas for the first time.

As the attention on Gaza has grown, so has the backlash on brands’ ties to the Israeli military. The mainstream media that once praised businesses for showing support now spotlight accusations of bias against Palestine.

Exposure to the conflict is both an external and internal communications issue

We found that some of the largest companies in the world have been unprepared to respond to consumer backlash. Both McDonalds and Coca-Cola have already reported declining sales linked directly to boycotts. This is especially a risk for companies with younger audiences, who have been the driving force behind protests.

But the consequences go beyond your customer base. Protests by activist employees have steered the media cycle in recent months. This creates an internal communications issue that could put all companies with ties to the Israeli government at risk.

Google, for example, has been traditionally known for their open work culture. In recent months, the company faced internal backlash over their Israeli military contracts. The tech giant has limited company message boards and fired protesters, acting out-of-line with their cultivated brand image. High profile outlets have called out Google’s ambiguous public statements on their actions. Their response has fueled a narrative of unpreparedness around internal dissent.

Plan your response today

As American opinion continues to turn against Israel’s military actions, it’s clear that organizations with ties to Israel’s military have unavoidable exposure to the public discourse. Smart leaders should assess their risk profile relative to their customer and employee bases and plan responses now. Communicators need to prepare targeted response strategies ahead of time to effectively address concerns from external and internal stakeholders alike.

To learn more about our research contact us here.

Employer brand – your company’s reputation as a place to work – goes beyond impacting recruitment efforts. It’s an essential facet of your overall corporate reputation and can even influence consumers’ purchasing decisions.

You may think a satisfied workforce translates into a strong workplace reputation, but employee experience and employer brand aren’t always aligned. And that disconnect can come down to your communications.

However, employee brand ambassadors can help bridge the gap.

Engaging your employees as brand ambassadors can be one of the most powerful methods for improving public perceptions of your company’s workplace culture and managing your reputation.

What is an Employee Brand Ambassador?

A brand ambassador is an employee who promotes a company’s employer brand to their personal networks, usually via social media. As a prerequisite, they often have substantial social followings and online conduct that aligns with the brand’s values.

Traditionally, brand ambassadors were “influencers” – usually celebrities or individuals with significant name recognition – unaffiliated with the company they were paid to endorse (think Kiera Knightley and Chanel).

But rather than using prominent figures as they do for product endorsements, companies often turn to employees to advocate on behalf of their workplace culture.

Why Recruit Employees as Advocates?

Communications teams should recruit employees as advocates because audiences view employees as authentic and trustworthy sources of insight into their company’s mission, values, and ethics.

Stephanie Genin, Global Vice President of Enterprise Marketing at Hootsuite, explains that “brands are seeing value in influencer marketing because consumers are more influenced by an authentic, human communication than by corporate jargon.”

Not only does the public have more trust in perceived “normal” people, but the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer found that 53% of all global audiences view employees as the most credible source of information when forming an opinion of a company. Another 78% agreed that “how a company treats its employees is one of the best indicators of its level of trustworthiness.”

In other words, employees are one of your most valuable resources for managing your workplace reputation.

Create an Employee Brand Ambassador Program

Consider engaging employees as brand ambassadors an element of your internal communications strategy.

And by launching an employee brand ambassador program, you can more effectively mobilize employee advocates to deliver the key messages that support your communications objectives.

Here are three ways to build a program optimized for impact:

Assess Your Employer Brand

Implementing an employee brand ambassador program is an opportunity to evaluate and understand your existing employer brand.

You must assess two aspects of your employer brand: employee experience and workplace reputation.

Employee Experience

Research your company’s employee experience on employee review sites like Glassdoor and social media platforms. For real-time feedback and suggestions for improvement, you can hold focus groups or conduct an employee feedback survey to assess your existing workplace culture.

Suppose it becomes evident your employees are unsatisfied with your company as an employer. This may be the place to start – by fostering a positive workplace environment and recognizing employee achievements – before recruiting ambassadors.

Alternatively, if your research indicates your company has successfully established a positive workplace culture, you can utilize this data to pinpoint your company’s strengths and identify themes for your ambassadors to highlight.

Workplace Reputation

To evaluate your external workplace reputation, you can use reputation polls or corporate reputation rankings to gain insight into public perceptions of your company as a place to work.

You can also use media analytics for a nuanced understanding of how the media covers your brand on various workplace reputational drivers that shape public opinions of your company culture.

Analyzing the data on your company’s workplace reputation against its employee experience will reveal any misalignment between the two and the workplace topics that could benefit most from your employee endorsements.

Recruit Volunteers

The value of employee endorsements resides in their personal experiences with the company and their willingness to advocate on behalf of the brand. Accordingly, enlisting brand ambassadors on a volunteer basis is crucial to the authenticity at the crux of their support.

Not only do audiences view employees as more trustworthy sources of information on a brand, but an authentic employee endorsement of your company as a workplace is one of the most impactful methods of verifying and reinforcing your desired employer reputation.

Encourage Ownership

Ramp up your internal communications and provide your team with frequent updates on company news and employee achievements, along with tools to simplify social sharing.

Encourage employees to take ownership of personal and company accomplishments by highlighting their role in successes and output. When employees are invested in their work and recognized for their performance, they will be more inclined to share positive company news with their social networks.

Take Control of Your Workplace Reputation

Engaging your employees as a part of your communications strategy will make your workplace messages more credible and ultimately improve public perceptions of your company culture.

At PublicRelay, we measure your workplace reputation as it’s represented in media coverage and on employee review sites, including Glassdoor and Indeed. With this insight, you can better understand your current reputation and benchmark your performance and the impact of your employee ambassador program in influencing your public perceptions of your brand. Start improving your workplace reputation now!

There’s a reason the saying “communication is key” hasn’t fallen out of fashion. Straightforward and effective communication is the driving force that turns a good PR team into a great one. But PR professionals’ role extends beyond external-facing communications. They must also apply their expertise to the flow of information within their company. According to Forbes, a good company culture built on strong communications can quadruple company revenue. In that sense, every PR team should strive to have exemplary internal communications.

What is Internal Communications in PR?

Internal communications in PR is the sharing of information between departments, teams, and team members within a company. It can take the form of meetings, Q&As, task delegations, newsletters, and check-ins. If we imagine workplace operations as a freeway, then the internal communications is the traffic. Is the flow of traffic quick and efficient? Or is it grid-locked and bumper-to-bumper? Improving this communication is like getting everyone in your company to navigate from the same map and use their turn signals: things go much more smoothly!

Why is Internal Communications in PR Important?

Internal communications in PR is important because it keeps teams organized, ensures consistency across the company, and reduces the stress that confusion or miscommunication may cause employees. In fact, internal communications methods can reduce employee stress and turnover, and increase motivation for the simple reason that employees feel valued and informed.

Because communication impacts workplace operations and employee experience, its effects spill over to client-facing interactions and, eventually, workplace reputation.

Client Communications

Effective communication across your company influences how clients perceive your team and its operations. Receiving straightforward and consistent information indicates to your clients that your team is competent, efficient, and working from the same playbook. It also shows that in times of urgency or high stress, your team can easily organize and handle changes at a fast pace.

Workplace Reputation

Regular communications can reinforce your company culture and values, and promote transparency within the workplace. Not to mention, having avenues for employees to communicate their questions or concerns helps them to feel heard. When employees feel valued and aligned with their company’s vision, you will see the results reflected in employee reviews and external perceptions of your company as a place to work.

Ways to Improve Internal Communications for Your PR Team

Effective information transmission within your company is essential to maintaining a positive workplace culture and reputation.

Here are a few ways your PR team can improve your internal communications strategy:

Assess Your Current Communications Approach

How is your PR team currently sharing information within the company? Is there a strategy for facilitating information sharing between teams and departments? Examine your current strategy and identify any strengths and weaknesses so you can focus on changes that will benefit your team immediately. For candid feedback on your current operations, you can also conduct anonymous employee surveys. Because your communications ultimately affect workplace reputation, your team can also use media measurement to understand how your workplace culture is represented. Comparing your internal employee surveys with an analysis of your workplace reputation can highlight whether any issues are the result of internal or external PR.

Create an Internal Strategy

It’s easy to let communications within your organization slide without a strategy in place. Treat internal comms like your external PR strategy by developing an action plan with designated roles and protocols for each member of your team. Doing so establishes accountability with clearly defined roles, facilitates consistency with a structured plan of action, and ensures that your entire organization receives reliable information.

Share News Regularly

To be truly effective, sharing news internally must move in all directions: with “top-down” and “bottom-up” communication between higher and lower-level employees, and regular sharing across departments and within teams.

To facilitate multi-directional information sharing, your PR team can organize company-wide meetings with executive-led Q&As, and recommend “office hours” hosted by higher-level employees to give entry-level employees an avenue for sharing.

You can also keep the entire company informed by publishing a regular internal newsletter. This isn’t just constrained to company news and updates, but also sharing information on ongoing projects in various departments, any necessary FAQs, and employee successes and achievements.

Encourage Social Sharing

A team that is practiced and aligned on what the brand stands for is in an optimal position to share your company values. Employee brand ambassadors are a great way to optimize the best practices of your internal communications strategy, as this allows a consistent image of the brand to be shared by a trusted resource: your employees!

Your employee ambassadors can project workplace reputation and company culture to the public, which allows your audience to consume an approved image of your brand. Further, having employee brand ambassadors indicates that the workplace is organized, efficient, and unified in its mission, and that your employees are satisfied. They are a testament to your company culture and ultimately stand to improve your workplace reputation.

You can mobilize your employees as ambassadors by encouraging them to share company news, successes, and events on social media. People want to be proud of where they work and offering curated updates on company news through internal newsletters is a great way to give information to employees that they can easily share on their social media platforms.

Use Analytics to Improve Your Internal Communications

When a company is united with a successful internal communications strategy, the employees, clients, and overall brand benefit. By using communications to improve day-to-day operations and employee experience, you can strengthen and manage your workplace reputation.

PublicRelay can help your team take control of your internal comms by tracking how your workplace reputation is represented in your media coverage and benchmarking your progress. Using human-augmented technology, our advanced solution reliably detects sentiment and the complex topics that matter most to your brand.

Click here to learn more!

What measures do you use to understand your company’s reputation?

Let’s say you’re using reputational surveys. With the poll results, you can break down public views of your company into various dimensions (e.g., leadership, products and services, vision, culture, etc.) to evaluate your standing.

But how do you know if public perceptions of your company accurately reflect the quality of each dimension, or if they’re the result of inadequate PR?

Take Facebook.

Facebook’s reputation has, without a doubt, suffered over the past few years. According to Axios, the steady decline in the company’s favorability ratings all started when news of the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in March 2018. Since then, it has been faced with regular negative media attention, from concerns over data protection to claims that the company is aware that its social media service, Instagram, is harmful to teens’ mental health.

Facebook’s deterioration in the public eye has been largely attributable to operational issues and internal information exposed in ongoing legal battles and by whistleblowers.

But what about the company’s reputation as an employer? Consumers have poor views of Facebook as a place to work, but how accurate are public perceptions of the company’s employee experience?

At PublicRelay, we wanted to better understand how well public impressions of a company’s workplace align with how its employees feel. Using data from our employee experience solution, Barometer, and market research firm, Harris Poll, we examined the internal and external perspectives of companies’ workplaces to see what we could learn about employer branding.

What is Employer Branding?

Employer branding is a company’s reputation as a place to work. This differs from the company’s overall reputation which includes its value proposition to customers and instead refers to its value proposition to its employees. Both, however, can be managed with effective public relations.

Though it is most often considered in terms of recruitment and talent acquisition, employer branding is also a facet of companies’ public reputation and plays a role in its overall business success.

Why is Employer Branding Important?

Employer branding is important because perceptions of employee experience can influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. In other words, millennials and Gen Z are socially conscious consumers, meaning they consider a company’s practices – including how it treats its employees – when deciding whether to become a customer.

Evaluating Employer Branding

We analyzed companies’ reputations by comparing two data sources using cross dataset analysis: average employee review star ratings and 2021 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputational survey results.

Harris Poll measures corporate reputation across seven dimensions: Products, Growth, Vision, Trust, Culture, Ethics, and Citizenship. In this instance, “Culture” is defined as public perceptions of or a company’s reputation as being a “good company to work for.”

Facebook’s Employer Branding Disconnect

Generally, there was a positive correlation between a company’s average employee star ratings and its Harris Poll reputation score. In other words, companies with positive reputations overall also had high employee star ratings. And vice versa.

But Facebook is an interesting outlier.

Facebook ranked #98 out of 100 companies overall – with a reputation categorized by Harris Poll as “critical” in its condition. This may come as no surprise.

And, though Facebook is rated number 96 on culture – among the bottom ten “Worst Performing Companies by Reputation Dimension” – the company has an average employee review star rating of 4.16 out of 5 stars, ranking number six out of 48 companies evaluated.

The Role of PR in Employer Branding

This finding represents a gap between actual experiences of Facebook as an employer and public perceptions of Facebook as a company to work for.

Its employer branding disconnect indicates that Facebook doesn’t just have an HR or an employee experience problem, but a PR problem when it comes to its employer reputation.

So, what does this mean for PR teams?

How PR Can Improve Your Employer Branding Strategy

Effective public relations can make the difference between good and bad employer branding.

Here are a few ways you can improve your employer branding strategy that will impact public perceptions of your company as a place to work:

Mobilize Your Employee Brand Ambassadors

Consumers view employees as one of the most credible sources of information on a company. Engaging your employees to become brand ambassadors and promote your company is crucial to improving your employer branding. Hearing from employees who are willing to advocate on behalf of a brand can counter any negative perceptions consumers may have formed about the company as a workplace.

You can start by recruiting employee volunteers who are enthusiastic about working for your company. It’s essential that your brand ambassadors voluntarily endorse your company to ensure authenticity. Not only that, but consumers will also be more likely to trust employee praise if it feels authentic.

In addition, be sure to make it simple. Circulate company news internally and promote positive stories and employee recognition with links that allow employees to easily share it with their networks.

Analyze and Respond to Employee Reviews

Employee reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed provide a wealth of information that can support your employer branding strategy.

Your team can analyze your employee reviews to pinpoint your company’s strengths and weaknesses as a workplace and build messaging campaigns from those insights.

Negative employee reviews present an opportunity, too. According to Glassdoor, “7 out of 10 people surveyed indicated they had changed their opinion about a brand after seeing the company reply to a review.” Graciously responding to bad employee reviews and indicating that the company plans to take the criticism on board can actually improve your reputation.

Build a Workplace-Focused Media Campaign

Perhaps your media campaigns have focused on your leadership team or financial results – all important factors to your stakeholders.

But don’t forget to promote your company as a workplace as an essential part of your PR strategy.

Start by asking: what is your value proposition to your employees? And do your employee reviews corroborate it?

From there, build a workplace-focused media campaign that promotes your desired employer branding and highlights your strengths as an employer.

Not only will generating earned media coverage dramatically extend the reach of your workplace campaigns, but it will also improve awareness of your employer brand. Further, partnering with key industry influencers will add credibility to your workplace messaging.

Track Your Reputational Drivers

Start measuring your company’s earned media coverage according to reputational drivers to track how your employer branding is represented publicly. Remember, your employee experience can be exceptional, but if the public isn’t aware of it, then your employer branding may suffer.

By tracking reputational drivers, you can distill your workplace mentions from coverage of other dimensions of your reputation to assess your employer branding. You can also gain a more nuanced understanding of your branding because your coverage is broken down by subcategories, such as compensation, advancement opportunities, workplace safety, etc.

Let’s say analysis of your employee reviews indicate that workers value the advancement opportunities offered by your company. But, upon analyzing your earned media, you learn that coverage of your employer brand focuses on compensation and is neutral in tone. With this insight, you can launch a campaign highlighting your company’s advancement opportunities and employees who have scaled the ranks internally. Then, encourage your employee brand ambassadors to share their stories of advancement and growth within your company.

Evaluate the Effectiveness of Your PR

To truly take control of your company’s reputation, you must first understand it. Facebook’s employer branding disconnect reveals the limitations to measuring your brand with reputational surveys alone.

By analyzing multiple data sources, you can deepen your understanding of your brand reputation and determine whether public perceptions of your company are the result of business operations or ineffective PR.

At PublicRelay, our human-augmented AI approach to media analytics enables you to track the topics, concepts, and ideas that shape your reputation. When analyzed against additional data evaluating your reputation, this 360-degree view of your brand will allow you to develop highly refined and impactful campaigns.

Uncover the insights from your employee reviews and start measuring the earned media coverage shaping your brand today!

Read Next: How Your PR Team Can Improve Internal Communications

The ongoing pandemic and changing social values have redefined brand trust and public expectations of corporate brands. Further, a 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer survey found that 70% of consumers feel that trust in a company is more important today than ever before. But what exactly does it mean to today’s customers?

What is Brand Trust?

Brand trust is the degree of faith consumers have in your company to deliver on its promises. In addition to the quality of a company’s products or services, it can also refer to its financial performance or commitment to social causes. More recently, issues related to ESG and CSR have become more significant aspects of consumers’ trust in a brand. This aligns with the 74% of consumers who say that companies’ sizable impact on society and the planet is the main reason it has taken center stage.

Why is Brand Trust Important?

Brand trust is important because customers are more likely to purchase products and services from companies they feel they can rely on.

Trust significantly influences consumer behavior and purchase intent. Edelman’s 2020 survey – which included respondents from 11 countries – found that consumers rated trust as the second most important factor (behind price and affordability) when deciding to buy from a new brand or become a loyal customer.

Despite its importance, Havas’ 2021 Meaningful Brands Report indicates that only 39% of brands are trusted by consumers.

5 Ways to Build Brand Trust

So, what does this mean for PR teams?

Here are five ways your team can create a brand trust strategy that truly resonates with your target audience:

Know Your Audience

Consumers’ values when it comes to trust vary by audience demographics and interests. When studying trust across generations, Morning Consult found that not only are Millennials (1981 – 1995) and Gen Z (1996 – 2012) less trusting of the average brand, but they are also more likely to prioritize ethical concerns when choosing companies to trust. While the two younger generations are more likely to choose brands that align with their personal values, Gen X (1965 – 1980) consumers demonstrate greater long-term loyalty to their chosen brands.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to appealing to audiences, but it’s evident they all expect brands to meet certain standards. An in-depth understanding of your audience is crucial to building trust and maintaining consumer loyalty to your brand.

Define Your Values

Modern consumers favor brands that care about more than just profit. With your audience’s values in mind, consider where your company stands on each aspect of ESG and CSR. Over half of American consumers believe it’s important for companies to take a stand on social, environmental, and political issues. So, rather than steering clear of divisive topics, determine your company’s stance and publicize it. Millennials and Gen Z claim they are most receptive to brands sharing their stances on social media, in particular. Take advantage of your social channels to promote your values and highlight any work your company is doing to improve sustainability, ensure workplace safety, or promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), etc.

Show Authenticity

Research has shown that authenticity contributes to brands’ trustworthiness and perceived value. Use your social media channels to create authentic content and establish a connection with your audience.

According to Forbes, the key to being authentic is to “keep it real.” This means sharing the good and the bad with your audience, being honest and accountable when you fail, and maintaining a consistent, relatable voice across your channels. Your audience wants to feel as though they are hearing from a human being on the other end of your social accounts, not a disembodied corporation.

Ensure Transparency

A commitment to full transparency is fundamental to building and maintaining brand trust, even when your company makes mistakes. You can ensure transparency by being honest about your company’s operations and making information readily accessible to the public. Your consumers want to know that you are accountable to them and aren’t misleading with any of the information you share or withhold.

Two key steps towards transparency include admitting to your failures and outlining your plans to address them, and responding to online reviews in a way that demonstrates your openness to criticism.

Avoid Empty Promises

Audiences are wary of brands who are hopping on the social values bandwagon without making any operational changes towards an impact. You can show your consumers that your company has put action and money behind those values by measuring and reporting your CSR, ESG, and DEI efforts and impact.

Similarly, avoid claiming that your brand supports any values that align with your audience’s if you can’t back them up with evidence that your company is acting. Your audience will hold you accountable.

Measure Your Impact

In this era of uncertainty, it is more important than ever to build and strengthen consumers’ faith in your company. By taking steps to establish trust with your audience, you can improve consumer loyalty long-term.

But how do you know if your PR strategy is resonating with your audience and moving the needle on brand trust?

With the majority of brand work taking place across social platforms, understanding the conversations happening around broad social topics is essential to inform your strategy. You can then use social media listening to evaluate your social presence.

With our human-augmented AI approach to media analytics, PublicRelay can accurately evaluate text for sentiment, context, and multidimensional concepts across social, traditional, and broadcast media.

Click here to learn how you can start measuring your media coverage today!

Brand credibility is crucial for a company to establish itself and is a key factor in sustained growth. For that reason, understanding brand credibility and how it can be influenced by earned media coverage is an important aspect of managing a company’s reputation. While it is most effectively built over time, PR teams can take several steps to help expedite the process.

What is Brand Credibility?

Brand credibility is the level of trust consumers have in a brand and their perceptions of its expertise. The Association for Consumer Research further explains it as “the believability of the product information contained in a brand, which requires that consumers perceive that the brand has the ability (i.e., expertise) and willingness (i.e., trustworthiness) to continuously deliver what has been promised.” It is an aspect of a company’s reputation that is most often cultivated over time as the quality of its products or services proves consistent and its brand awareness increases.

Why is Brand Credibility Important?

Brand credibility is important because the ability to garner consumers’ trust is essential to brand health. Trust in a company’s product and message, along with confidence in its ability to deliver a consistent and high-quality product, reflects positively on a company’s reputation and sets it apart from competitors. Customers must be able to rely on the quality of the product or service the brand is providing. A 2019 study of trust and risk perspectives of high-value brands noted that “customers adopt trust as a shortcut to avoid complex decision processes that carry risk.” If a company gives reason for skepticism, a consumer is more likely to forgo it for another brand. Overall, credible brands have more forgiving relationships and personal connections with their consumers.

Ways to Build Your Brand Credibility

Brand credibility can be difficult to build because of the time it takes to develop consistency and social proof. It can take years to prove to consumers that your products or services are reliable and for positive reviews to accumulate. However, a brand’s earned media coverage can increase its visibility and boost public perceptions of the validity of its claims.

Here are four ways you can build brand credibility:

Promote Spokesperson Coverage

Coverage of your company spokespeople and executives in reputable or industry-recognized third-party media outlets can establish the credibility and expertise of your brand. By securing bylines or offering quotes or interviews to relevant trade publications, consumers will see that your brand representatives are regarded as credible and experts in their fields. Even simply having a quote appear in a priority outlet can help build the integrity of your brand and perceived expertise. Further, contributing articles to industry publications or being cited for thought leadership can be an additional boost to your spokespeople’s reputations as experts.

Leverage Your Social Media Channels

Using social media allows for a direct connection between a brand and its consumers and paves the wave for establishing trust with your audience. According to a 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer special report, “four in 10 consumers say they are unlikely to become emotionally attached to a brand unless they are interacting via social media.” Being active and present on social media can show an attentiveness toward customers’ concerns, and allow a brand to boost its perceived authenticity which, in turn, fosters trust.

Build Social Proof

Social proof refers to the tendency of people to look to the opinions of others to guide their actions and beliefs. Social proof is vital to public relations because people’s judgments are shaped by others when they’re uncertain of how to feel about a new product or brand. There are several ways to build social proof that will resonate with your target audience.

For instance, positive reviews from past customers serve to confirm the quality and reliability of your products or services for prospective customers. Likewise, testimonials from existing clients or relevant influencers are useful for building trust among a shared target audience. Recent research has even found that celebrity trust in a company can significantly impact brand credibility.

Evaluate Your Strategy

Brand credibility takes time to develop, and some tactics may work better than others. Monitoring the impact of your spokesperson coverage, social proof, and influencer strategies on the portrayal of your company in earned media coverage can indicate whether your PR outputs are resonating with your target audience.

Build a media measurement program that tracks the metrics and industry topics that matter most to your reputation for data to guide your messaging and approach. By tracking your company’s earned media coverage, you can evaluate the impact of your campaigns on your brand credibility and learn from your competitors to inform your communications strategy.

Measuring Brand Credibility

Brand credibility is an essential facet of brand health. It cements a company and its representatives as reputable, allowing it greater longevity. Being mindful of the factors that contribute to perceptions of trust and expertise is crucial for PR teams looking to build or improve credibility.

With our unique human-AI hybrid approach to media measurement, PublicRelay can help your team benchmark your brand against competitors and gauge your impact in obtaining high brand credibility. Start measuring your earned media coverage now!