In the 24 August issue, Media magazine examined how sustainable marketing—“growing a brand without a net social or environmental cost”—can build brand value. The benefits are that sustainable brands tend to be leaner, faster and higher tech; they earn trust in companies as the guardian of future generations and create a company where people feel good about what they do. In Touch asked the Philippines director of operations Luigi Avanceña and Asia Pacific's executive vice president Ian Rumsby, for their expert opinion Luigi Avanceña, director of operations, Philippines How does “going green” benefit brands? Avanceña: Consumers’ heightened awareness of the implications of their immediate environmental practices has created the growing practice of patronizing green brands. Following the adage “reaping what you sow”, the reality of preserving the long-term ecological balance directly impacts consumers’ personal emotional product choices. Rumsby: Going Green is just one element of effective reputation management in the 21st Century. Responsible marketing, ethical labour practices and long-term commitment to the community matter in equal measure. And brands benefit enormously if they get it right. Consumer trust in brands and corporations is at an all time low, meaning those who get it right, get it right big-time. The democratisation of opinion through emerging media means unethical behaviour and moral misdemeanours can undo reputations in an instant. But of course Going Green is not just about enhanced brand reputation. It translates into increased loyalty and sales; reduced long-term operating expenses; employee retention and recruitment benefits; reduced regulatory oversights’ and improved access to capital from the markets. Being recognised as a good corporate citizen is more important for brands now than it ever has been. What role does the PR agency play in promoting responsibility? Avanceña: A PR agency’s role is to first make its present clients (or even future clients) aware of how sustainability programmes can be beneficial in strengthening their brands or services. The second step is to identify specific programmes and the cost-benefit ratio to the client. The third step is to develop strategies and implement tactics that will effectively and efficiently communicate key messages to target audiences. Rumsby: Clients look to us for our counsel and our insight. When it comes to corporate responsibility, more and more of these clients are prepared to outsource their judgment to firms like Weber Shandwick. But we have to remember that corporate citizenship is not something clients can simply buy off the shelves. It needs to be in their DNA. Our role is to pinpoint the reputational gaps and help define the operational gaps too. We then build programmes that tap into this insight. We do not foster a climate where spin triumphs over substance. Ever. Our reputation is on the line too. Ian Rumsby, executive vice president, Asia Pacific What advice would you offer Asia Pacific companies considering responsibility programmes? Avanceña: Companies should focus on pursuing sustainability programmes that have a unique value proposition which is distinguishable from its competitors. Since these social programmes leverage on financial and/or man-hour investments, the company (with the help of the PR agency) should endeavor to seek shared values or symbiotic relationships with the recipients that will mutually benefit both donor and donee and further strengthen the company’s competitiveness. Rumsby: Take a long hard look at your own operational climate before you do anything. Simply charging off to tell the world how responsible you are is not the smart approach. It may get you headlines, but chances are they will be headlines you don’t want. Just ask Sainsbury’s. Weber Shandwick has a very clear methodology on the development and execution of effective corporate responsibility programmes. It involves knowing your desired outcome; understanding market sentiment; knowing the advocates and badvocates; and partnering with the right organisations, particularly NGOs. Only when you have clarity on these points can you seriously consider rolling out a comprehensive responsibility programme. And if it all sounds too difficult, see Question 1. That should provide some incentive.

	Beijing 2008: Overcoming Communication Hurdles

The Olympics is the venue where Beijing plans to jump from neutral to positive coverage in international media. Headline news about Chinese basketball player Yao Ming is a good example of the positive attention Beijing seeks. Not only does it speak of direct economic value for Chinese brands, cultural coverage contributes to China’s growing supply of “soft power”. Much like Japan and Korea, which have built international recognition and interest based on comics, films, pop music and sports like karate, Beijing hopes to establish a worldwide China “fan base”, which is enthusiastic about the products of Chinese culture and economy.

Chinese people really take pride in their right to hold the Olympics. Because the Beijing Olympics are really a China national effort, any affiliation carries the brand value of a government endorsement, so brands that associate with the Beijing Olympics will be trusted. Olympic affiliation in other countries may not have this kind of impact. In some areas of China, people may not even be aware of famous Chinese brands. So this is especially an opportunity for multinational companies in China to make themselves known.

One such example is the brewing industry. Chinese breweries have the advantages of name recognition, loyal client base and lower prices. Budweiser took advantage of another big-name sports event, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, to make its name known to Chinese consumers. Though the event took place in Germany, the American brand bet that millions of Chinese football fans would be watching and used Chinese characters for their advertising on the field. A first for an international brand outside China, Budweiser scored big points with Chinese media and consumers.

Since Olympic sponsors enjoy exclusive rights in their own category, we suggest to our clients that are not Olympic sponsors to promote their brands in other ways. Sponsoring star athletes or famous sports teams are efficient ways for non-Olympic sponsors to raise their brand profile. Second, the sports-sponsorship equation offers an unparalleled opportunity to athletic brands. China is a rising sports powerhouse, but sports marketing is still at the starting line. The nationwide, government-backed push to promote the Olympics will provide a boost to local and foreign athletic brands, as the overall market for sports products increases.

Finally, it is important to partner with a public relations company that understands the Chinese market and can create consumer-focused campaigns. Weber Shandwick has had great success rallying customers for Nike’s new products because we engaged consumers, even rolling out sports tournaments across multiple major cities that allowed the client to interact directly with its customers.

A good example of Asian brands using the Olympics as a springboard is Samsung. It which began its involvement with the Games at the Sydney Olympics; before this time, it was seen as a Korean brand. Since then Samsung has grown into a truly global brand. The key was high-profile sponsorship combined with high-quality products. Samsung went on to sponsor activities such as the FIFA World Cup, but it carried through with innovative product lines. Chinese brands will also need to take this long-term view of Olympic marketing to be ultimately successful.
                                                                    
China has already begun to change the way it communicates with the world. The technology it uses to communicate is also new. At the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 another communication milestone was reached: the first television program broadcast across the Pacific using satellite. The innovation today is Web 2.0, which allows people all over the world to interact. Chinese are already active on the Web, with a recent report by the China Internet Network Information Center pegging the population of Internet users at 162 million. At the current growth rate, the country is on track to overtake the United States’ 211 million Internet users in about a year. Chinese netizens already spend much more time online than any other country in the world—18.6 hours per week.

With all eyes on China next year, the Olympics are sure to spur greater interest in the country. But instead of purchasing a plane ticket, most people’s first reaction will be to go to Google, Wikipedia or the blog of a Chinese college student. The Internet is putting China in touch with the world, and the Olympics will give the world something to talk about.

	Country Reputations Hard to Manage

Leading a large multinational company might be a complex and challenging task, but global business leaders believe that heads of state have a much tougher job than they do when it comes to managing reputation. 

When asked which is harder to manage—a country’s or a company’s reputation—executives chose country reputation more than twice as often (68 vs. 29 percent respectively) according to Weber Shandwick’s research.  The survey, Safeguarding Reputation™, was conducted in 11 worldwide markets in partnership with KRC Research.

On an individual market basis, executives in Spain and Hong Kong were approximately three times more likely to believe that country reputation is harder to manage than company reputation (74% vs. 24% and 74% vs. 22% respectively).

“In a challenging sociopolitical global environment, business leaders clearly recognise that managing a country’s reputation or brand is complex and subject to many external forces,” said Weber Shandwick’s chief reputation strategist Dr Leslie Gaines-Ross.  “Recent problems with manufacturing in China, news about terrorist breeding grounds in Pakistan and US government efforts to improve its reputation internationally show how difficult it is to effectively manage country brands today.  By comparison, managing a corporate reputation looks tame to senior business people.”

	Not All Types of Reputations Are Managed Equally

Dr Leslie Gaines-Ross, chief reputation strategist

Global business executives agree that when it comes to managing perception, some industry and publicly held company reputations are more difficult to oversee than others, while managing an individual’s reputation is considered easier than both according to business executives.

• An industry’s reputation is perceived to be harder to manage than a company’s reputation — approximately one-and-one-half times more difficult (57% vs. 39%, respectively).  Interestingly, executives in Italy differ from most of their regional peers and consider a company’s reputation harder to manage than an industry’s reputation (54% vs. 30%, respectively).
• Publicly held company reputation is considered much more difficult to manage well than privately held company reputation — nearly three times more difficult according to global business executives (71% vs. 24%, respectively).  North American executives, compared to those in Europe and Asia, were the most likely to agree with this finding (82% vs. 63% vs. 76%, respectively).
• Company reputation is nearly four times more difficult to manage than individual reputation (77% vs. 21%, respectively).  With the exception of Brussels executives, the vast majority of global executives agree with this finding.  Belgium executives believe that company and individual reputation are equally hard to manage well (50% vs. 48%, respectively).

“Managing an industry reputation or publicly listed company reputation requires greater strategic communications skills than ever before.  An increasingly complex portfolio of stakeholders including investors, bloggers and investigative journalists has higher expectations and places greater demands on all types of organisations,” said Weber Shandwick President Andy Polansky.  “Industries, as well as public and even private companies, now recognise the vulnerability of their reputations and often seek outside counsel to effectively communicate their strengths for the long-term.”

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Name: Lisa Popplewell Position: Senior Account Director Office: Sydney Client: Olympus The Brief: Olympus briefed us in a detailed three-hour session only one week before the pitch. They wanted to see our creative ideas for launching their new compact range of cameras (in just six weeks time), with insight to how an ongoing review and media programme would operate. What made the pitch so interesting? We were surprised to learn that Olympus is the No. 1 selling compact camera brand in Australia—a fact that few people knew or recognised. This gave a real opportunity for us to work with them to build a profile that matched this position. And also, we are all very excited about photography! How did you pull off the plan? We had a company-wide brainstorm at 6p.m. on the Friday we returned from getting the brief, to come up with the perfect venue for the launch. It was here that we decided to link the launch with their award winning advertising campaign for the Tough camera, which featured a (now celebrity) dog that swallowed the “water-proof, shock-proof, crush-proof” camera. We identified a glamorous house on Sydney Harbour that would enable us to showcase all six new cameras, as well as help position Olympus as a leading manufacturer—and bring along Norm the dog to meet the media! Who was there? On their side: Australian managing director, Australian marketing director—and their entire marketing team of five.  On our side: Emma-Jane (E-J) Granleese, Sally Welsh, Sophie Toskas, James Walsh and myself. How did you create the buzz? We knew that Olympus was already keen on another agency, and as such, team chemistry and confidence was vital to our success. Each team member introduced themself as their “photography personality”. For example: E-J was a dormant photographer, one that had all the gear but hadn’t been as interested in the past year; Sally was a social-network photographer, Sophie a travel photographer and James a “hen-pecked” photographer. I labelled myself as a passionate photographer who liked to capture the detail and feel for everyday life. I used the photo that won the internal Weber Shandwick Advocacy Photo Competition of me and my fiancé in Nepal to support this, but as I pointed out, thought that it said more about my personality than my photography ability – which we all had a laugh at. What made the pitch succeed? Great team chemistry and a well thought-out plan that the entire team had contributed to. We had ideas for now and also in the future that demonstrated our enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment. The Asia Pacific PR student of the year from 2006, Melanie Perkins, helped created a PowerPoint design that stood out from the competition and that really showcased our creative ability. We also had hand-outs for things like press office, review programme and budget that explained our way of working in greater detail. What were the client's metrics on success? Olympus wanted a team that would help them break into the lifestyle press, an agency with experience and contacts, and that would help them improve their profile and exposure of cameras across the range. Being new to PR, they also wanted to be educated on the processes and thinking of our approach. What were the results? We won! The Australian MD rang us within a couple of hours to let us know! We have since taken our creative idea and delivered to make a great event. Is there anything you could have done better? We didn’t have much opportunity to dress the environment in line with our creative or style. Next time, we will attempt to access the room to make it more visual and capture their hearts from the beginning. Why was this a pitch to remember? As we wrapped up our presentation, the Australian MD said this was one of the best presentations they’d ever seen! Such feedback is rare in itself, let alone on the spot!