As a communications company, Media Wise is selective about which companies it does business as we feel that their values do not align with ours.  Like Ethical Corporation, we believe the big agencies mentioned in the Guardian as being hands for hire for the world’s dictators with deep pockets should begin to think of their own values and ethics.

We believe there is an ethical line that shouldn’t be crossed by those in the PR/communications field. We should think twice about taking on well-paying clients with dubious and tainted reputations. But how far should we go? Will the ESG criteria trickle down to the service suppliers such as the PR firms? Or is taking on such clients a way of helping them improve by persuading them of better ways?

There are many subjective issues as there are arguments to be made for both sides. Still, in principle there is a line that should not be crossed.  Imagine a large PR agency in one part of the globe is working on behalf of an inhumane dictator to help him polish his image, while another office of that same PR network is helping a multinational with a pristine reputation to continue as a trailblazer in sustainability? Surely taking on one assignment would cancel out the credibility of the agency to do the job right with another client?

Sooner or later we communications professionals  will be forced to look at the provenance of our billing hours and start thinking ethically, just as our clients are. We suggest we all start sooner rather than later.

Parker describes the US policy makers as, “asleep at the wheel on climate change, asleep at the wheel on job growth, asleep at the wheel on this industrial revolution taking place in the energy industry.”  He was very clear about the consequences congress faces by not being able to come up with a climate change bill.

According to Parker, governments in China, Germany, Italy and Spain have made climate change a priority, with national policies and laws that offer investors certainty on the regulatory risks. These are the countries that will see investment funds rise as their governments’ policies provide “transparency, longevity and certainty.”

After the let-down of the Copenhagen summit on climate change, it is not surprising that companies are taking matters into their own hands with regards to trying to curb climate change and spur the renewable energy market. Hopefully other banks will follow suit and maybe then the US policy makers (and other dawdlers) will be forced to seriously address the lack of a policy on climate change.  It is unfortunate that the leaders of the US can only be motivated by dollars or the lack thereof.

“You just throw your hands up and say … we’re going to take our money elsewhere.” Let what Mr. Parker said become a motto to nudge governments into taking action against climate change!

The Netherlands is an important market for BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm on the UK’s public broadcaster, and one that they continue to invest in. The BBC Young Writers & Public Speaking Awards are part of this investment and form part of the BBC’s corporate responsibility initiatives. The Awards are aimed at secondary school students from 16 to 20 years old who want to showcase their written and spoken English language skills.

Objectives

BBC Worldwide has supported the Awards for eight years and needed a public relations campaign with a fresh perspective to revitalise its profile.

The campaign’s main objective was to generate substantial media coverage, by engaging all the traditional disciplines (i.e. print, broadcast, online). This objective was then broken down as follows:

• To reach out to an extensive regional audience in order to promote BBC Worldwide’s investment in a non-commercial educational initiative to the Dutch programme councils.
• To raise awareness of the BBC Awards, and subsequently, BBC programming, among a young audience.
• To increase interest among existing viewers of the full range of BBC channels on offer in the Netherlands.

Strategy & Plan

The public relations strategy for this campaign was three-fold:

• Media Wise realised from the outset that it was very important to adopt a targeted local approach, because the audience with the greatest interest in the awards would be situated in the provinces. We wanted to communicate directly with the communities and people who would be touched by the success of the young people from their home towns.
• Perhaps the most important audience for this campaign was students aged from 16 to 20 living in the Netherlands. As such it was imperative to build up the on-line presence of the BBC Awards, using relevant sites such as facebook, Hyves and You Tube. Media Wise also instigated and encouraged blogging amongst the competitors, successfully creating a multi-faceted online profile.
• Given that the BBC Awards compete for attention against modern televised formats, such as Idols, Media Wise wanted to enhance its profile by adding another dimension which would further engage the youth audience, while maintaining the Awards’ image as a serious competition which celebrates excellence. Media Wise, therefore, engaged well known Dutch news presenter, Sacha de Boer, who came on board to coach the finalists, sharing her tips and tricks for great presentations and thus creating a fantastic photo opportunity and a very inspiring event for the students.

Results

The BBC Young Writers and Public Speaking Awards 2010 received substantial media attention, achieving over 160 hits in the media, including three television and five radio broadcasts as well extensive hits on online sites.

One of the many highlights of the campaign included a feature on prime time Radio 1 programme Lunch! and news of the Awards made it to the front page of the popular youth newspaper SevenDays.

The campaign achieved great results throughout the Netherlands with 11 out of the 12 regions covering the news. The media chose to focus on the positive human interest angle of the BBC Awards story, looking at the impressive talent young Dutch students possess in being able to communicate in English so eloquently. This resulted in 100% positive tone of coverage.

Media Wise has been providing the Industrial Chemicals unit of AkzoNobel with crisis communications and media training since 2005. AkzoNobel is the largest global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals. AkzoNobel is a multi-national organisation and as such it is imperative that its spokespeople are able to communicate effectively and cross culturally in many different situations.

Media Wise has had the pleasure to devise many and varied training programmes to suit the needs of the executives that AkzoNobel has invested in. Participants have ranged from senior executives and managers of specific businesses to sales executives and high potentials. In addition, trainings to date have also been tailored to take into account the many nationalities of the participants attending: Chinese, Danish, Swedish, German, British and Dutch employees have all benefitted from Media Wise’s bespoke sessions.

Training Method & Objectives

Preparation is the key to success and handling a crisis situation is a task best entrusted to safe spokespersons who are tried and tested. It is essential to AkzoNobel that their executives are given thorough training in this area, so as to equip them with the necessary skills to deal effectively with any situation that might arise and to maintain the company’s reputation as a responsible and transparent organization with impeccable health and safety standards.

For each crisis communications training day Media Wise has devised a bespoke programme based on the requirements of the AkzoNobel executives, aimed at building the skills and confidence needed to handle any crisis well. These bespoke programmes have also tested potential crisis areas and allowed participants to formulate an appropriate communications approach. The Media Wise training sessions have thus been used as a testing ground for existing or potential official spokespersons.

AkzoNobel has also turned to Media Wise for individual and group assistance with their presentations. During our presentation rehearsal sessions we have addressed content and all aspects of non-verbal communications. We record participants’ performances on video and analyse them afterwards, indicating to participants areas for improvement and helping them to make adjustments.

Results

The results of Media Wise’s communications trainings have been far reaching and tangible. Spokespeople who we have trained have gone on to be regular and impressive spokespeople for the company, speaking at external events such as the Big Improvement Day (a high-level, national, business conference) and internal management conferences. Several senior managers who have since given interviews to the trade press have also reported that they felt much more confident and well equipped to deal with the interview thanks to the Media Wise’s training. As Huub Verbeeten, Communication Manager, Industrial Chemicals, Akzo Nobel confirmed:

“What I like about Media Wise is their thorough approach. They understand our business as well as we do and are extremely skilled in training executives to convey this in a simple, informative yet powerful way. This is one of the many reasons why we consistently return to Media Wise. ”

As I write and you read, millions of football fans around the world are digesting, dissecting, rejoicing and commiserating with each other through Twitter. Three new Tweets per Second (TPS) records were set in the first few days of the World Cup Finals. The service has become a lifeline for fans. In fact, almost any event you can think of can be followed through Twitter. Attendees and often organizations themselves post comments, or “tweets”, on whatever is happening. We can no longer ignore the leviathan that Twitter has become. It seems that everyone and everything is on Twitter, everywhere.

In case you’ve missed the hype – which seems unlikely – Twitter is what many call a “micro-blogging platform” where people can subscribe and update their status in a text message of up to 140 characters, via the internet whenever they want, wherever they want.

The new tool has taken off in past 5 years, with mobile phones at the heart of its success. In the first quarter of 2010, 4 billion tweets were posted. All told, there are an estimated 100 million tweeters out there. So it’s popular and it keeps us up to date. But why would companies or organizations want it, and how should we use it? Isn’t Twitter just a glorified way of staying up to date with sports news and Hollywood gossip? Not by a long shot. Twitter is modern communications tool that can achieve many goals, but whose success depends on the sophistication of the user. The trick is knowing how to use the platform and when. Politicians are using it to diffuse their opinions. News outlets are using tweets as news alerts. News broadcasters are drawing on Twitter as a prominent news source. Businesses are using Twitter to keep in touch with customers.

Here are three reasons why.

1. To engage with stakeholders more intimately than ever before through applications such as twtQpon, CoTweet, Twithawk or bubbletweet.

2. To react spontaneously and emotionally to developments – Twitter is used more than any other media site for discussing the news.

3. To follow your own business gurus and information sources closely and in real time.

We are only beginning to appreciate how useful this tool can be. How are you using it?

Photo by Emma Robson

Arcadis, the global engineering, water resource management, design and environmental services company, hosted its annual senior management conference in Rotterdam this year, on the SS Rotterdam. This famous cruise ship, part of the Holland America Line,  plied the Atlantic for 38 years, from Rotterdam to New York. Her maiden voyage in 1958 was graced by today’s Dutch Queen Beatrix. Its slogan at the time was: “The ship of tomorrow today!”  The ship, now a hotel, was thus a highly fitting venue for Arcadis’s discussion of its future strategic course. At the end of the two-day event, the 130+ managers engaged in a debate on strategy and implementation, which was moderated by Media Wise managing director Emma Robson.

Submitted by Emma Robson. emma@mediawise.eu