CEO Branding: Why, When and How to Use the CEO in Corporate Communication

finnWEBINAR

THE ROLE OF THE CEO IN CORP COMM

25/04/2013

FINN Public Relations

RAF WEVERBERGH MANAGING PARTNER

[email protected]: @rafweverberghFB: facebook.com/FINNPR

http://finn.be

http://twitter.com/kris10vermoesen

http://facebook.com/FINNPR

finnTHE CEO IN CORPORATE COMM

#FINNWEBINAR

??????????

SLIDESHARE

CONTEXT

GEVOLGEN

PRAKTIJK

finn

WHAT DO CEOS EXPECT FROM COMMUNICATION?

finn


“THERE IS A STRONG (AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS) LINK BETWEEN THE REPUTATION OF THE ORGANISATION AND THE PERSON WHO HEADS IT.

ONE CEO WENT SO FAR AS TO SAY THAT THE REPUTATION OF THE COMPANY AND THE REPUTATION OF THE CEO ARE ONE AND THE SAME THING.”

“CEOS’ VIEWS ON REPUTATION MANAGEMENT,” JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT VOL. 9


“WE CAN AFFORD TO LOSE A LOT OF MONEY. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE EVEN A SHRED OF REPUTATION.”

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS, 2010


HTTP://WWW.ENGADGET.COM/2013/02/14/ADOBE-CEO-DODGES-PRICING-QUESTIONS/


“MAYBE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ACTUALLY OWN THE SOFTWARE THIS WAY, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT. MAYBE YOU DON’T TRUST ADOBE FOR VARIOUS REASONS INCLUDING THE SHADY, DODGY WAY THAT THE CEO AVOIDS TALKING ABOUT REAL ISSUES. I GET THAT TOO. “

HTTP://FSTOPPERS.COM/OBJECTIVELY-ANALYZING-THE-ADOBE-CREATIVE-CLOUD-SHOULD-YOU-WANT-IT

CONCLUSION

finn


CONCLUSION 1: MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE, THE CEO IS THE STEWARD OF CORPORATE REPUTATION.

HOWEVER, IT WOULD BE WRONG TO INTERPRET THIS STEWARDSHIP AS A DEFENSIVE, “LET’S NOT MAKE ANY MISTAKES” APPROACH. IT IS THE JOB OF THE CEO TO BUILD THE REPUTATION.


CONCLUSION 2: IT FOLLOWS THAT THE CEO BRAND IS NOT A VANITY PROJECT:

“STAKEHOLDERS PROJECT A PERSONAL BRAND ONTO THE CEO IN ANY EVENT AND UNLESS THIS IS ACTIVELY MANAGED, A FALSE AND DETRIMENTAL IMAGE CAN EMERGE. IN SOME CASES, THE IMPACT ON PERSONAL AND CORPORATE REPUTATION CAN BE PROFOUND.”


finn

STEP 1: FIND THE CEO’S PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT, USING PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL STORIES. LOOK FOR SHARED VALUES.


“I’M NOT SMARTER THAN OTHER PEOPLE. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO DRIVE. WE HAVE 24 HOURS A DAY.

ONLY THOSE THAT CONSISTENTLY WORKAN HOUR MORE THAN OTHERS WILL BE BETTER OFF.”


1. TELL ME ABOUT A CHALLENGE OR SIGNIFICANT EVENT IN YOUR CHILDHOOD.2. TELL ME ABOUT SOMEONE IN YOUR EARLY YEARS WHO MADE AN IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY.3. RECALL A STORY FROM YOUR EARLY CAREER—A SIGNIFICANT EVENT YOU SHARE OFTEN WITH OTHERS.4. TELL ME ABOUT A TIME YOU GOT A PROMOTION, OR DIDN’T, AND HOW YOU FELT.5. TELL ME ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST EMBARRASSING, AWKWARD, OR DIFFICULT EVENTS IN YOUR CAREER.6. SHARE ONE OF YOUR GREATEST SUCCESSES. WHAT HAPPENED, AND WHY DO YOU REMEMBER IT?7. SHARE ONE OF YOUR GREATEST FAILURES. WHAT HAPPENED, AND WHY DO YOU REMEMBER IT?8. TELL ME ABOUT A MOMENT WHEN YOU HAD TO MAKE A DIFFICULT DECISION, AND WHAT YOU DID.9. TELL ME ABOUT A RECENT EVENT THAT MADE YOU QUESTION YOURSELF OR A DECISION YOU HAD MADE.10. TELL ME ABOUT A PERSON WHO IS HEAVILY INFLUENCING YOU RIGHT NOW.

SOURCE: SUZANNE BATES, DISCOVER YOUR CEO BRAND.

finn

STEP 2: CONNECT THE PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT & VALUES TO THE BRAND VALUES OF THE COMPANY.


DON’T OVERDO IT


“...A CELEBRITY CEO CAN BE ENORMOUSLY HELPFUL. WHERE WOULD BEN & JERRY’S BE WITHOUT BEN COHEN AND JERRY GREENFIELD? THEY MADE BEN & JERRY’S THE BRAND IT IS TODAY”.

AL & LAURA RIES, “THE FALL OF ADVERTISING AND THE RISE OF PR”, P. 137


“DELIVERING HAPPINESS”

TONY HSIEH (ZAPPOS)


TONY HSIEH (ZAPPOS, SOLD TO AMAZON.COM FOR $ 1.2 BN)

“DELIVERING HAPPINESS” BOOK“DELIVERING HAPPINESS” BUS TOUR (!)

THOUGHT LEADERSHIPCOMMUNICATE ABOUT VALUES


“I CAN’T MEASURE IT EXACTLY, BUT WE’VE HAD A VERY GOOD YEAR - MORE THAN 5% IN A CRISIS YEAR.

I THINK OUR PR HAS HELPED US, ESPECIALLY IF YOU GET CONSISTENTLY POSITIVE MEDIA COVERAGE.

I’M QUITE CONFIDENT THAT IT HELPS IF PEOPLE KNOW AND TRUST YOUR BRAND WHEN THE MOMENT COMES TO CHOOSE WHERE TO SPEND THEIR MONEY.”

TORFS SHOES


FOR CEOS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED COMPANIES, THERE IS ALMOST NO DOWNSIDE TO BEING THE FACE OF THE COMPANY. FOR LARGER COMPANIES WITH MULTIPLE AND/OR INTERNATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS (UNIONS, SHAREHOLDERS, COUNTRIES AND GOVERNMENTS...) THE SITUATION IS MORE COMPLEX.

STEP 3: HAND THEM THE KEYS

finn


THE CEO AS LEADER: KEEPER OF THE NARRATIVE:(S)HEDEFINES OR CHANGESTHE COMPANY STORY


“WILL UBER BECOME A STRONG, REPUTABLE SERVICE BRAND, OR WILL IT GO THE WAY OF ZYNGA AND GROUPON?

SO FAR, THEY SEEM TO BE ABLE TO CONTAIN THE CONFLICT. BUT VERY SOON, THEY WILL HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO TRANSCEND IT.

FINN @ FORBES, MARCH 2014

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2014/03/09/how-uber-breaks-the-two-cardinal-rules-of-startup-pr-and-gets-away-with-it/


THE CEO NEEDS TO BE HANDED THE TOOLS TO CREATE, SHAPE OR CHANGE THE CORPORATE STORY TO FIT THEIR VISION AND STRATEGY.

THIS MEANS THEY NEED TO BE COACHED TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR COMMUNICATIONS AND ACTIONS WILL IMPACT THE NARRATIVE AND THUS, THE REPUTATION.


LOOK AT HOW MICROSOFT GAVE SATYA NADELLA 4 STORY OPTIONS FOR HIS TENURE AS CEO (SLIGHTLY TOO OBVIOUS MAYBE).


“FACEBOOK FOUNDER”


“APPLE EXEC”


“BUSINESS SCHOOL PROF”


“CORPORATE TIGER”

STEP 4: LIVING THE BRAND. SET BEACONS.

finn


“SKILLED LEADERS FIND WAYS TO STOKE EMOTIONS THAT FUEL TANGIBLE AND DESIRABLE ACTIONS. THEY LINK...”

SOURCE: “SCALING UP EXCELLENCE”, ROBERT I. SUTTON, HAYAGREEVA RAO

“HOT CAUSES TO...

...COOL SOLUTIONS”

INNOVATIONCSRVALUESCULTUREMISSIONVISION...

PRODUCTSSTRATEGYGOVERNANCEEMPLOYMENTPUBLIC AFFAIRSNUMBERS...


COMMON CEO PROFILE IN EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION: DEFENSIVE


COMMON MISTAKES:

“I DIDN’T INVENT THIS INNOVATION. I WILL NOT TAKE CREDIT FOR IT”“I DON’T NEED TO BE FAMOUS” “I NEED TO BE CAREFUL WHAT I SAY BECAUSE WE ARE PUBLICLY LISTED”“WE’RE A MODEST COMPANY, WE DON’T BRAG ABOUT ALL OUR ACHIEVEMENTS”“FOR ME, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THE PEOPLE ON THE FLOOR KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THEM. I DON’T NEED TO TALK ABOUT ALL THAT STUFF”“OUR VALUES HAVEN’T CHANGED FOR AGES, WHY WOULD I TALK ABOUT THOSE?”


"INCREASINGLY PUBLIC RELATIONS IS SEEN TO BENEFIT CEOS IN HELPING THEM TO ALIGN AND INSPIRE EMPLOYEES. AGAIN, THESE ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ISSUES FOR COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTORS TO FOCUS ON."


HUMAN RESOURCES & CORPORATE CULTURE


THE IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE CULTURE FOR MILLENNIALS: “GENERATION Y IS LOOKING FOR A LEADER WHO SHARES THEIR VALUES, A CAUSE THAT THEY CAN FOLLOW.” PROF. PEDRO DEBRUYCKERE


“MOST OF THE READERS VIEW THE CEO AS A CORPORATE SPOKESPERSON REPRESENTING COMPANY’S VALUES AND ARE EAGER TO LISTEN TO THE ‘MASTER’S VOICE ‘

THE SPECIFIC AREA OF CSR IS CONSISTENT WITH RESEARCH DONE ON USING CEOS AS SPOKESPEOPLE IN CSR REPORTS (FERNS ET AL., 2008).”

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

PA

COMPANY STRATEGY

RESULTS

EMPLOYMENT

VALUES

INDUSTRY

BONUS

CSR

COMPANY PRODUCTS

INNOVATION

Living the brand: the CEO as a leader who links "hot causes" with "cool solutions"

COOL SOLUTIONS HOT CAUSES


ADDITIONALLY, COMMUNICATION IS A TWO-WAY PROCESS. BY ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS IN A DIALOGUE, THE CEO/ORGANIZATION CAN SHOW EMPATHY AND CLOSENESS TO THE COMMUNITY. COMMUNICATION IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO GAIN INSIGHTS FROM THE COMMUNITY OF STAKEHOLDERS:

“THE CEO HAS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE CREATION OF A LISTENING ORGANIZATION”“CEOS’ VIEWS ON REPUTATION MANAGEMENT,” JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT VOL. 9


“THE MODERN DAY BUSINESS LEADER MUST BE LIKE THE SAMURAI - ABLE TO MASTER THE MARTIAL ARTS OF BUSINESS COMBAT, BUT ALSO ABLE TO LEARN THE SKILLS OF THE POET OR PHILOSOPHER”

“MANAGING CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS”, ROSELLA GAMBETTI (ED.)


“MOBILE FIRST & CLOUD FIRST”“OUR CORE IS PRODUCTIVITY”“OBSESS OVER CUSTOMER”“MOVE FASTER”, “LEAN”“MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS”

“COURAGE IN THE FACE OF OPPORTUNITY” (07/2014)

GUARDRAILS. PROTECT THE CEO FROM THESE THINGS:

finn


WITTHE CEO AS “SANDWICHMAN”


“THE TONE OF PRODUCT-RELATED COVERAGE HAD THE LOWEST CORRELATION WITH CEO TONE, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT A CEO’S MEDIA IMAGE IS NOT CLOSELY TIED TO HOW THE MEDIA COVER A COMPANY’S PRODUCTS. BECAUSE OF THIS, PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTITIONERS WORKING WITH A CEO WHO HAS A NEGATIVE IMAGE MAY WISH TO HIGHLIGHT THEIR COMPANY’S PRODUCTS RATHER THAN OTHER ORGANIZATION NEWS.”

RESEARCH

“MEDIA COVERAGE OF CEOS: WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? WHY?”, JAMES T. HAMILTON (DUKE), RICHARD ZECKHAUSER (HARVARD UNIVERSITY), 2004,


“...HEADED THE STATUE OF LIBERTY RENOVATION, JOINED A CONGRESSIONAL COMMISSION ON BUDGET REDUCTION AND WROTE A SECOND BOOK, A SYNDICATED NEWSPAPER COLUMN, BOUGHT AN ITALIAN VILLA WHERE HE STARTED BOTTLING HIS OWN WINE AND OLIVE OIL .... CRITICS CONTEND IT ALL DISTRACTED HIM, AND WAS A ROOT CAUSE OF CHRYSLER’S CURRENT PROBLEMS .... IT’S CLEAR THAT BEING A FOLK HERO IS A DEMANDING SIDELINE.”

WALL STREET JOURNAL ON LEE IACOCCA (AS QUOTED IN “GOOD TO GREAT”)


“IN SOME CASES THE PURSUIT OF CELEBRITY LEVELS OF COVERAGE MAY COME AT THE EXPENSE OF SHAREHOLDER INTERESTS, AS A CEO USES COMPANY RESOURCES FOR PUBLICITY AND DEVOTES LESS TIME TO FIRM BUSINESS. IN CASES WHERE CEO REPUTATION BUILDING ADDS LITTLE TO A FIRM’S FORTUNES BUT BUILDS THE EXTERNAL REPUTATION OF AN EXECUTIVE, PUBLICITY CAN PROMOTE A CEO’S MOBILITY AND ULTIMATELY LEAVE THE COMPANY WITH MORE TRAINING COSTS TO BEAR WHEN THE EXECUTIVE MOVES ON.”



“THE GREATER THE PERCENTAGE OF STORIES ABOUT THE CEO, THE MORE LIKELY THE FIRM WAS TO BE INVOLVED IN SCANDAL IN 2001-2002. (...)”

“CEOS WHO GIVE INTERVIEWS AND SEARCH OUT SOFT NEWS COVERAGE ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE THE ONES THAT ABUSE THE PRINCIPAL-AGENT RELATIONSHIP IN WAYS THAT RESULT IN THEIR INDICTMENT OR RESIGNATION LATER”.



CAREFUL WITH HIGHLY PAID EXECUTIVES (& BONUSES): ISSUE CAN BE TOXIC - ESPECIALLY TOUCHY SUBJECTS LIKE CRISIS:

“THESE FINDINGS ARE CONSISTENT WITH FINDINGS FROM THE ADVERTISING FIELD THAT FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES ARE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN CEOS WHEN COMMUNICATING ABOUT TOPICS RELATED” TO CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE (STEPHENS & FARANDA, 1993).”“MEDIA COVERAGE OF CEOS: WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHEN? WHY?”, JAMES T. HAMILTON (DUKE), RICHARD ZECKHAUSER (HARVARD UNIVERSITY), 2004,


“THE RIDICULE FACTOR” ELI GOLD


COKE “SCARE” (1999), OPEN LETTER TO BELGIAN CONSUMERS FROM DOUGLAS IVESTER: “WHO IS THIS STRANGE GUY?” (HUMO: “DEAR DOUG”)


IT’S NEVER ABOUT THEM


TONY HAYWARD, CEO >>>BP

2010:“I WANT MY LIFE BACK”


TONY HAYWARDEX-CEO BP//2011: “I SHOULD HAVE SURROUNDED MYSELF WITH A MORE SENIOR MEDIA TEAM”


“THE ONLY BAD NEWS WAS NO NEWS.CONTROVERSY WAS WHAT YOUWANTED”.

“WHY ABERCROMBIE IS LOSING ITSSHIRT”- THE NEW YORK TIMES, 2014


OH AND PUHLEAZE: BE NICE TO CHILDREN, ELDERLY PEOPLE AND PETS?

ABOUT US

finn


FINN IS...

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONPUBLIC AFFAIRSBRAND PRCONTENT MARKETINGCONVERSATION MANAGEMENTDIGITAL

AND ALSO FINN IS...HIRING

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES SENIOR CONSULTANT.

PLEASE TELL YOUR NETWORK!

OH, AND ONE MORE THING.

IF YOU LIKED OUR PRESENTATION, SAY SOMETHING

NICE ABOUT US TO SOMEONE :)

IT’S GOOD KARMA

finn

CEO Branding: Why, When and How to Use the CEO in Corporate Communication

Marketing

Transcript of CEO Branding: Why, When and How to Use the CEO in Corporate Communication