NGOs and Public Relations- Friends or foe?

                                "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer"

                                             

                                                    Michael Corleone (The Godfather)

                                          

NGOs often use PR as a tool for fundraising, attracting volunteers and for informing the public about their accomplishments.  At the same time PR companies collaborate with NGO’s in order to promote a good cause and maintain a good reputation. This is what you’ve probably heard as CSR ( Corporate social responsibility) . By this we can see that PR and NGO’s  work for its other’s benefit. But unfortunately this relationship can get quite rocky sometimes.  NGO’s can put pressure on an organization in order to force behavior changes. We have seen many stunts, non-violent direct actions and statements that can harm the reputation  of an organization for the sake of  communicating  to the public all the key messages. So PR professionals often consider NGO’s as a threat towards the reputation of an organization. The view, that large corporations consist a menace against environmental, ethical or even sociological issues is wide spread among publics. And since people tend to trust more  the NGO’s than corporations, it is essential that PR people should come up with a special planning in order to prevent conflicts.  NGOs often use PR as a tool for fundraising, attracting volunteers and for informing the public about their accomplishments. 

 

take a look on what the President and CEO of  Edelman, Richard Edelman has to say about NGOs and their influence on publics.

Let’s say that it’s a case of crisis management but in a more proactive way. Corporations should monitor all the time what is being said about them from activist’s groups and try to respond quickly and effectively. In case of a conflict between the corporation and the NGO the PR team should be prepared to repel the attack but at the same time to show pure interest that will exalt it in the eyes of the public. The establishment of bonds of trust between the two parties will have an equal benefit for both. However the profession of Public Relations is very controversial for the public whereas NGOs are the most trusted organizations. The odds are against PR but with the right planning and constant transparency the conflict can be faded.

 

Identifying stakeholders in PR

"Think in terms of creating value for all of our stakeholders simultaneously. All stakeholders are interdependent and connected together "    

John Mackey

In Public Relations, we often read about terms such as “publics”, “stakeholders” or “audiences” that are used interchangeably. However they have different meanings, that once we comprehend them we will be able to adjust the appropriate communication strategies to key audiences. According to Freeman a stakeholder is “any group or individual who is affected by or can affect the achievement of an organization’s objectives.” More specifically it can be groups of people that affect or are affected by the organization’s policies, decisions and actions. At this point I am sure that you still cannot find the difference between stakeholder and publics. So let’s take a look on what the great PR scholars say about the definition of “publics” in PR.  As Grunig mentions , publics is an active group of people that responds to the acts of the organization. Therefore is not fixed and it requires ongoing research. 

So how do we identify stakeholders? A good way is to evaluate their ability to influence the organization, their power to interfere and of course their interest. So let’s take a look to the power-interest matrix that gives information on how stakeholders can affect the decision-making procedure of an organization.

As we can see in the diagram stakeholders in category A don’t have the interest or the power to interfere. Stakeholders in category B have high interest but they cannot influence the decisions of an organization. Category C is often consisted of investors or legislative bodies that can have massive influence in an organization. So it is really important that they are kept informed despite their low interest in corporate affairs. Last but not least, category D which is the most important as these stakeholders have both high interest and power in an organization.

Whichever method we use in order to identify the stakeholders we have to bear in mind that prioritizing their interests and expectations is the main tool for an integrated communications strategy for a company or an organization that will lead to the goodwill between the two parties.

  

  

Crisis Management - When the going gets tough the tough get going

"In a crisis, don't hide behind anything or anybody. They're going to find you anyway. "
    
                                                                                    Paul Bryant

One of the greatest challenges that an organization or a company will face  at some point is a crisis. And when you hear the word crisis, don’t start thinking about people getting poisoned or large oil slicks in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. Because unfortunately nowadays there are so many different kinds of crises that the communications team should bear in mind. What about the Domino's fiasco? Wait what? You’ve never heard of it? Well you were probably in a place in 2008 where there was no internet ,no TV,  no radio , no newspapers. Even if I can’t find a single reason why you ‘ve missed it I bet that you will find really interesting what follows.  This scandal is the epitome of how a crisis can harm a worldwide reputable brand using the new tools of our era: Social media. That is why it would be really interesting to see how its communications team handled the situation. So first of all Domino’s reacted to the incident immediately. They presented an apology by targeting the same audiences that had already watched the video,  not only with a press release but with statements from Domino’s president.In addition to this, the video that showed all the hideous acts of these employees was removed from youtube and of course these people were fired. I guessed you saw that coming! So far, the reaction of the Public Relations team seems like is the best that thay could have. But they also did something that I personally think that it wasn’t such a good idea. They banned video cameras from every store. Well to me seems like they feel that they have something to hide! Probably they should have just allow cameras to prove to the public that this was just an isolated incident. But again, what do I know?

So what are the lessons to be learned in those kinds of situations? There are hundreds of do’s and don’ts  in crisis management  but I’ll just share with you the three most important: First of all to monitor ALL social media. Whether you like it or not, this is the reality now. So make sure you keep track of everything that is being said about you, and respond immediately using the same channels. Another thing that is very important: Be honest. Because even if you are not one day the truth will be revealed. I know it sounds like a line from a movie but that is the truth.Be prepared for what follows a crisis and coordinate all the responsible people so they can handle potential questions, doubts or actions that may arise. 

Despite the fact that a crisis can define the further route of an organization, there is a great chance that good things can come out of it. It is a chance for  the organization to emerge stronger and to establish itself in  a new way in the public's minds. So, the results of a crisis can be either catastrophic or beneficial. It all has to do on how the communications team will react. And since it is certain that a crisis will happen eventually we'd better be ready! What do you think?

I upload this video just to show the good work of Domino's communication team. Once you watch it it will impossible to imagine how some people still order food from this store! (I take no responsibility for the reactions that you may have after watching this video)