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25 Years of Trust
Featured My Middle Name is Winston Inside Edelman: Meet our U.S. Culture Champions – Masa Najjar In this edition of Inside Edelman, we highlight our Edelman Culture Champions, celebrated by their colleagues for their exceptional commitment and positive impact in creating a supportive workplace. KEEP READING Breaking New Ground: My First ColorComm Experience Was Exactly Where I Needed to Be Last week, I had the privilege of attending the 10th Annual ColorComm Conference in Miami. For years, I had admired ColorComm from afar, curious, hopeful, yet uncertain if I belonged in a room filled with such accomplished women. As a communications professional with over two decades of experience, I’ve often found myself in spaces where few, if any, looked like me. So, walking into ColorComm for the first time was more than a conference experience – it was a homecoming. KEEP READING Explore All Insights
Insights

How To Guide: Influencer Marketing During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Influencer marketing plays a critical role in many brands’ overall marketing strategy. Yet even in normal times, it requires thoughtful planning and execution based on specific goals. As the coronavirus crisis prompts organisations across sectors to reconsider how and why they communicate, now is the time to think about partnering with the right influencers to engage your key stakeholders, deliver value and build trust. 

Social media is booming

Social media usage among consumers has seen a sharp increase during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to data from Kantar, social media engagement “in later stages of the pandemic” has increased by 61 percent over normal usage rates. The use of video platforms is also steadily increasing, and we are seeing celebrities and brands leveraging Instagram Live to entertain and connect with their audiences. Just in March, TikTok saw 6.2 million downloads, a 27 percent increase compared to February.

Trust is key

During this unprecedented event, trusted social media influencers continue to be a reliable source of information and an effective, authentic way to communicate with your audience. However, influencer marketing is only the right path forward if you are doing it for the right reasons and in partnership with trusted influencers – something that has never been more critical than it is today. The decisions you make now will have long-term effects on your brand. In fact, 71 percent of those surveyed for the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer; Special Report on Brand Trust and the Coronavirus Pandemic agreed that brands and companies seen placing profits before people during this crisis will lose their trust forever.

Ask the tough questions

So, how do you know if deploying a new – or continuing an existing – influencer marketing strategy in a Covid-19 world is the right move? Here are the key questions you should ask yourself, your team and your agency partners when deciding…

  • What is the goal of my proposed or current influencer marketing strategy?
  • How does my influencer marketing strategy solve a problem or bring value to the audience it is targeting?
  • Am I providing information they will perceive as valuable in the current landscape?
  • If I were someone who has been deeply affected by this pandemic, how would I respond to seeing this influencer campaign? Could it be perceived as insensitive, tone-deaf or opportunistic in any way?
  • How are we adding value to the community and our audience outside of our influencer marketing? Are we donating meals, money or time to help our community? 

Create an airtight plan

Once you have decided to move forward, ensure you have an airtight plan in place, with contingency plans for each step of the way. Below are the critical components of a compassionate, authentic influencer marketing strategy in a Covid-19 world… 

  • Audience integration: Take extra care to ensure you are choosing the right influencers and partners that match your brand’s voice and values, fit within your budget, and reach your target audiences on the right platforms for your campaign. The wrong influencer partner can make even the most inspiring campaigns fall flat. Consider: who is the audience I am trying to reach? What do I want them to do once I reach them? What tier of influencer makes the most sense for my campaign – micro-influencer, top-tier influencer, celebrity?
  • Intelligent vetting: We know partnering with trusted influencers is more important now than ever. Ensure you are getting true impact with your target audience through intelligent vetting. Use influencer marketing tools and spend time manually vetting potential influencers to review and analyse important metrics, such as engagement, follower spikes, audience geography, comment quality, percentage of fake followers/likes and social history for offensive content, competitive partnerships and their approach to Covid-19.
  • Co-creation: Influencer content cannot be directed or created in a vacuum by the influencer or the brand alone. The most impactful influencer marketing campaigns will be the result of genuine collaboration between the brand and the influencer, resulting in compelling and compassionate content that leaves a lasting impression on its intended audience.
  • True impact: Your influencer marketing strategy is only as successful as your measurement plan. If you are not accurately analysing and measuring your influencer campaign from start to finish, there is no clear way to understand its impact. Spend time developing a measurement strategy by establishing KPIs to ensure your influencer marketing strategy is delivering its intended effect. In addition to measuring traditional outcomes, like impressions, engagements and link clicks, make sure you are evaluating audience sentiment in the context of Covid-19.

Visit the Edelman Coronavirus Hub for more practical advice on how your organisation can communicate effectively during the coronavirus pandemic to boost resilience, protect employees and ensure business continuity. 

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Insights

2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Spring Update: Trust and the Covid-19 Pandemic

The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Spring Update: Trust and the Covid-19 Pandemic reveals a remarkable shift in the landscape of trust since January. The Spring Update shows that amid the Covid-19 pandemic, government trust surged 11 points to an all-time high of 65 percent, making it the most trusted institution for the first time in our 20 years of study.

Despite a four-point increase in trust in business and several high-profile actions taken by companies and CEOs to help those in need, there is marked disappointment in how the private sector has performed during the crisis. This is a moment of reckoning for business, which must now deliver on the promise of stakeholder capitalism.

Click here to download the Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 Spring Update.

 

A Shift in Trust: Government Takes the Lead

Since 2011, government had languished in distrust globally, as gridlock in the EU over Greek debt and several corruption scandals in developing nations eroded trust. The Spring Update shows a striking comeback for government: at 65 percent trust (+11 points since January), the public is relying on government to protect them in a manner not seen since World War II. Trust in government is not only up by double digits in six of 11 markets surveyed, it is the only institution trusted by the mass population (62 percent).

During an unprecedented time when government response at all levels could mean the difference between life and death, the public is placing its faith in government to lead the fight against the virus. In fact, respondents want government out front in all areas of the pandemic response: to provide economic relief (86 percent), to get the country back to normal (79 percent), to contain Covid-19 (73 percent), and to inform the public (72 percent).

 

Societal Fears

Despite the high trust in government, the pandemic appears to have cast a spotlight on systemic inequity. The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer in January showed that a growing sense of unfairness in the system was driving distrust across institutions. The Spring Update shows that 67 percent of respondents believe that those with less education, less money and fewer resources are bearing a disproportionate burden of the suffering, risk of illness and need to sacrifice in the pandemic, and more than half are very worried about long-term, Covid-related job loss.

A Vital Role for Media and NGOs

The search for reliable information related to the pandemic has driven trust in news sources to an all-time high. Traditional media (+7 points) and owned media (+8) saw the biggest gains. Despite these high levels of trust in news sources, there is an urgent need for credible and unbiased journalism. Concerns about fake news still loom large, with 67 percent of respondents worried about false and inaccurate information being spread about the virus.

 

There is a strong public demand for expert voices, as people want to hear from the most trusted sources of information on the pandemic: doctors (80 percent), scientists (79 percent) and national health officials (71 percent).

NGOs, which saw a four-point uptick in trust, are nevertheless under pressure to step up: to take care of people who are suffering, to raise money for pandemic relief and to help coordinate local efforts to support the most vulnerable members of our communities. Respondents in seven of the 11 markets surveyed believe their local NGOs are not prepared to deal with the crisis, including Germany, the U.S. and Canada.

 

Moment of Reckoning for Business

While business saw a four-point uptick in trust to 62 percent, the pandemic has exposed several areas of deep concern: Half of people believe business is doing poorly, mediocre or completely failing at putting people before profits; only 43 percent believe that companies are protecting their employees sufficiently from Covid-19, and 46 percent do not believe business is helping smaller suppliers and business customers stay afloat. In addition:

  • Only 38 percent believe business is doing well or very well at putting people before profits
  • Only 39 percent believe business is doing well or very well at protecting their employees' financial wellbeing and safeguarding their jobs
  • Only 38 percent believe business is doing well or very well at helping their smaller suppliers and business customers stay in business by extending them credit or giving them more time to pay

The poor performance of business during the Covid-19 crisis is further seen in the lackluster assessment of CEOs. Fewer than one in three respondents (29 percent) believe CEOs are doing an outstanding job responding to demands on them placed by the pandemic as compared to scientists (53 percent) and government leaders (45 percent). To increase trust, business should focus on solutions, not selling, with respondents calling for the private sector to collaborate with competitors, redefine their company’s purpose and goals around fighting the pandemic, and switching production of what they currently make to masks, respirators, and other items in short supply due to the crisis.

 

Business is being called upon to demonstrate both its ability and integrity—the key building blocks of trust. As the focus shifts to reopening the economy, business should leave the back seat it has taken to government the past three months and join government in charting the path forward.

 

Towards a new normal

The public wants to see a vibrant partnership between government and business in getting people back to work and revitalizing the economy. Health and safety is paramount. More than two-thirds of respondents (67 percent) want saving lives prioritized over saving jobs, and 75 percent say CEOs should be cautious in getting their companies back to normal even if it means waiting longer to reopen workplaces.

Above all, it is CEOs who must demonstrate public leadership and show that business is ready to live up to the promise of stakeholder capitalism. Business must take on automation-related job loss with upskilling and retraining, price products affordably to address inequity and unemployment, make supply chains sustainable and inclusive of small business, and be a source of factual, unbiased information for their employees to share out with the community.

Despite the twin health and economic crises, people are strikingly optimistic that long-term, positive change will emerge. More than two-thirds of respondents say they believe the pandemic will result in valuable innovations and improvements in how we work, live, and treat each other. It’s now up to the four institutions—government, business, media, and NGOs—to deliver on expectations and build a more resilient system for the future.

Click here to download the Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 Spring Update.

 

About The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Spring Update:
Trust and the Covid-19 Pandemic

The 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Spring Update: Trust and the Covid-19 Pandemic is an update to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer. The survey was conducted by Edelman Intelligence between April 15 and April 23, and sampled more than 13,200 respondents in 11 markets: Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, S. Korea, U.K. and U.S. 1,200 people were surveyed in each market, 100 of which were informed public. All informed public respondents met the following criteria: aged 25-64, college-educated; household income in the top quartile for their age in their country; read or watch business/news media at least several times a week; follow public policy issues in the news at least several times a week.

Please complete the form below to discuss the findings with an Edelman advisor.

Insights

What’s Next for Brand and Business

Darragh Rea /

In Edelman we have always firmly believed that the more we share and talk the better the solutions we’ll find. In the past few weeks and month, working and living in a COVID-19 defined world, has only reinforced the importance of community. That’s why we’ve committed to share ongoing research and insights from around the globe.

What follows are some insights taken from our Brand Trust research, and learnings we in Edelman have developed since this crisis emerged, based on our work with clients to help guide you through the role for business and brands in managing COVID-19.

Situation Analysis

In dealing with COVID-19 we need to understand how do brands ensure that their actions have value, meet the expectations of stakeholders and are in-step with people in their real lives? We’ve looked at 4 major resources to come up with answers and ask the fundamental questions that marketers should consider.

Firstly, Edelman’s international network provides us with a global view of the crisis, and we can draw learnings from our teams in Asia specifically China, South Korea and Japan who are further down the path with this crisis.

We’ve conducted our own primary research speaking to over 30,000 people in March and April across multiple geographies on Trust and the Coronavirus.

In terms of secondary research, we have drawn on industry sources and academic research to build a comprehensive view of what audiences expect.

We are also constantly reviewing media and social media to understand how these expectations are evolving in real time.

Many businesses are already doing so much; acting generously and swiftly to show solidarity with people and their challenges.

But, as the crisis lengthens, these expectations will stretch too, and the question will soon be what more can brands do? This requires an ongoing understanding of what matters to people so brands can step in with decisive action that responds authentically to what people need.

 Role for Business and Brands

The world suddenly feels very fragile, and many people are looking to organisations and institutions to help them through this time. Many brands have stood up to plate at this time and offered solutions to some of the challenges we face.

We’ve seen Coca Cola redirecting its ATL spend across markets to deliver clear, simple public health messages; Supermarkets introducing early morning shopping hours for those at risk; Airbnb putting aside $250 million for hosts over cancellations.

Consumers want to hear from brands and business who can foster connections and belonging. Those brands have an opportunity to grow their reputations positively by helping people to connect, have fun or blow off the steam they need to keep going.

Big infrastructure businesses have an opportunity to leverage their logistical capabilities and marketing spend to create communications that address people’s new priorities.

People are relying more heavily on services they are already familiar with and looking for support from them, for example total messaging activity across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is up by 50%.

Another great example of a trusted brand leveraging their position in society is An Post which has implemented a range of measures to support the most vulnerable in society and keep Ireland connected; from delivering the newspaper to those cocooning, to sending a postcard to every home to connect with loved ones.

At the same time, people are hungry for authoritative sources of information. 7 in 10 respondents to Edelman’s Trust Barometer told us that they are following COVID-19 news at least once a day. This is driving a global spike in news consumption that shows people are seeking out reliable information and clear guidance.

In an Irish context, RTE as the state broadcaster has played a huge role with 1.6 million people watching Leo Varadkar's St Patrick’s Day address. Online sites of Irish newspapers have seen an increase of 49% in unique users and, to combat the spread of fake news, social media platforms have partnered with the HSE to install a banner that brings users to their site.

While there are ample opportunities for brands, it is important to have guidelines to help steer your efforts. First of all, be conscious of your new permission space. At a time of crisis, people want communications that allay their concerns about their material and social needs.  This means indexing toward solving rather than selling.  Brands are being called out for their missteps, for being exploitative and overly commercial rather than showing solidarity with people. They are expected first and foremost to bring solutions.

Sitting it out is not an option.  This includes being a voice that amplifies the facts and leveraging customer relationships and using marketing spend to point people towards the authoritative information and the good advice that they crave at this time.

People Expect Business to Play a Role

The additional Trust Barometer research Edelman carried showed clearly that the public believe business must act to protect employees and the local community, with 90% of people across 12 markets expecting businesses to act proactively for them.

9 in 10 said that they don’t want brands to let down those who work for them or depend on them. This tells us that brands must do everything they can to protect the well-being and financial security of their employees and their suppliers, even if it means suffering financial losses until the pandemic ends.

The research also found that business as usual is not an option because more than half the population are not listening.  54% will not pay attention to new products right now and they want products produced that can assist people.  

45% believing that businesses and government are trusted more when they work together. The key point here is that brands don’t have to act alone and are not expected to; they are expected to partner with government and find places where they can fill the gaps.

Adapt & Act Now to See the Benefits

The actions that brands take now will define how they are perceived for years to come. The response of brands to the pandemic is already influencing what people buy. 37% of those surveyed said that they recently started using a new brand because of the innovative or compassionate way they have responded to the virus outbreak. On the other hand, 1 in 3 are already divesting from brands who did not respond well.

Brands can build trust for the long term by delivering tangible solutions, by evolving with the needs of the community – all stages of this crisis will not look the same – and by showing solidarity with people.

This is the time when trust matters more than ever. More than 60% of people revert to brands they trust and have a relationship with at this time.

Having a solid understanding of the 4 key traits of trust can help business navigate through the crisis. These are:

  • Ability – be good at what you do, take action effectively and fix mistakes swiftly.
  • Integrity – be honest, clear on your intentions, communicate openly and inclusively.
  • Dependability – keep your promises for the longer term and be a reliable partner to communities, your employees and the government to try and solve this crisis.
  • Purpose – show that you are working hard to have a positive impact on society.

By following these 4 principles a brand can be built for the long term, demonstrating that it cares about the same things its community and customers care about. Now is the time for brands to ask what they can give not receive.

Brand Communication Should Be COVID-19 Appropriate

Our research shows that 89% of people think brands should keep the public fully informed regarding how the brand is supporting and protecting their employees and customers.

There is an opportunity for brands to serve as an educator and amplify the messages that help customers understand the virus and how to protect themselves.  This means brands using their channels to communicate relevant HSE and WHO advice. 

Marketers are great at creative problem solving. This is now more important than ever we must look at how we take our brands out into the world, become problem solvers in a broader sense, developing new products and services that show creativity but also empathy and solidarity.

Building a Valuable Action Plan

The next step is to turn all these learnings into a valuable action plan. There are 4 main principles of action to establish a brand as a trusted partner in the present situation.

Firstly, brands must show up and do their part. Brands have a vital role to play. Now is not the time to disappear, but to show up and use all your resources and creativity to make a difference.

Secondly, don’t act alone, and don’t think you have to act alone. There is strength in collaboration. To truly help people during this crisis requires joining forces with others, most critically government. 

Thirdly, solve don’t sell. Brands should focus all efforts on finding appropriate and meaningful solutions to the problems people are facing today.

Finally, communicate with emotion, compassion, and facts. People are reassured by positive brand actions and commitments. Communicate with empathy to help both inform and calm. 

There will be implications across the different phases of business disruption around COVID-19 including Continuity, Stability and Recovery. This will require brands to be agile before they reach a position of understanding their new role.

Remaining relevant and credible as the context evolves should be the objective. To achieve this, we suggest a three-step approach which will allow you to adapt and improve your brand’s impact.

Firstly, define a valuable role. Ask yourself, what is an appropriate, valuable place for the brand to be active? How can it best play a role and communicate that role? It might be throughout the phases of the crisis, or only in one.

Once you’ve settled on a role you must activate distinctly through a programme of activity and communication which adds value and builds trust amongst internal and external stakeholders.

Thirdly, prepare to be constantly adapting by learning from China and other countries already recovering through the pandemic. Evolve the role that your brand can play as the context changes.

The situation is evolving rapidly and by sharing our insights and learnings along the way we’ll all have far better outcomes.

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Insights

Beyond conferences: How B2B marketers should approach a Covid-19 world

Joe Kingsbury and Ben Laws /

With the sudden cancellation of industry events and in-person meetings due to Covid-19, many B2B companies are now scrambling to figure out how they can stay close to customers and prospects. At the same time, customers are grappling with professional and personal challenges: employee safety, business resilience, working from home, perhaps wrangling kids while trying to stay productive.

This situation raises two key questions for B2B marketers: When and how is it appropriate to engage clients and prospects in the short-term, and what will the future of B2B marketing look like on the other side of this crisis?

First, Do No Harm

Every action you take right now as a marketer can and will reflect on your brand, positively or negatively. To protect brand reputation, marketers should partner with their PR colleagues to align on what kind of customer engagement is appropriate. Are you adding value that can help a customer solve a current challenge, or simply pushing a thinly veiled sales message? Understanding how receptive customers will be to certain messages and the timing of outreach is critical to avoid appearing tone deaf or insensitive to their current reality.

For example, B2B companies that rely on marketing automation systems to deliver communications to customers and prospects should evaluate automated email and advertising campaigns for suitability. For certain customers who are especially impacted during this time, companies might even consider putting these automated communications on hold.

Looking Past the Near-Term

Even if a “return to normal” is achieved, the disruptions created by Covid-19 will have lasting effects on the way marketers work and behave long-term that should be anticipated and reckoned with in advance. For many of our clients, re-thinking their strategies for conferences and events will be at or near the top of the list.

Companies have been taking a hard look at conference and event spending relative to ROI for some time now. Not only are there measurement difficulties inherent in these activities, but also the buyer journey has become increasingly influenced by digital experiences and thought leadership.

We are advising our B2B clients to evaluate their efforts in three areas:

1. Virtual Events

As companies grapple with the impact of Covid-19, marketers know that not every aspect of business can be brought to a complete halt. Companies seeking to pivot their communications and marketing approach due to canceled events should consider the following:

  • Understand goals and KPIs: Not all events are equal. Some events are pure networking opportunities while others are key lead drivers for sales. Scrutinize the goals and KPIs for specific events and consider the scale of your typical presence and investment to help determine what type of digital activation is needed to drive maximum impact.
  • Identify creative opportunities “beyond the booth”: Digital marketing provides unique opportunities for cross-promotion in partnership with customers, vertical media and influencers. In certain industries, trade media now have robust offerings for co-creating content and targeting high value decision-makers before, during and after events. Geo-targeting of attendees at physical events is another effective way to deliver relevant communications to narrow sets of people and maximize ROI on digital spend.
  • Think about post-event extensions: Events come and go, but the topics they focus on remain relevant over time. Webinars and other content developed for virtual events can have a second life as assets or even “engagement hubs” to nurture engagement with high-value targets long after an event has ended.
  • Catch up on the tech landscape: Today there’s no shortage of platforms for executing virtual events, webinars and other interactive experiences. Even standard enterprise communications tools can be used in creative ways to live-stream, record virtual gatherings and share content with attendees. Unlike physical meetings, these tools can also provide performance data and insights about content interactions, individual engagement and calls to action that can be used to customize post-event nurturing and communications.

2. Ongoing Customer Engagement

Beyond specific events and newsworthy announcements, we recognize that B2B companies will quickly need other ways to fill the void and maintain ongoing interaction with their customers and prospects. We believe that highly relevant and timely communications—not “spray and pray” tactics—will matter now more than ever as customers focus on their most pressing needs for the foreseeable future and filter out the rest.

  • Create better personalized content: B2B brands must strive to go beyond static personas and reflect current customer pain points through strategic segmentation, personalized messaging and compelling editorial that speaks to customer pain points.
  • Target audiences with more precision: B2B targeting strategies and tools such as Account Based Marketing (ABM) and Predictive Intent Data now enable companies to reach extremely narrow audiences including specific sets of companies and even individual decision-makers across the buyer committee when they are demonstrating potential buying behaviors.
  • Embrace martech that fuels creative editorial content: Instead of a one-to-many editorial approach, embrace publishing technologies that enable granular personalization and tailored content experiences to niche audiences.
  • Seize the sales enablement role: Marketing has a role to play in not just demand gen but also providing sales teams with vital intel, such as buyer intent signals, what topics and content assets are resonating and even competitor insights that can help sales be better prepared to engage with prospects.

3. Thought Leadership

Longer term, B2B marketers should be thinking about ways to not only adjust but also improve their customer engagement strategies coming out of this period. Because many customer organizations may need to navigate through a period of post-crisis stabilization, we believe companies that can provide valuable insights into their customers’ challenges will earn their attention.

  • Find customer insights in the trenches: Engage frontline sales teams and customer relationship managers to uncover what topics most concern current customers and prospects during this period of disruption.
  • Focus on elevating thought leaders rather than pure sales promotion: Edelman and LinkedIn’s B2B Thought Leadership Study shows that thought leadership impacts each stage of the buying process. Promoting executive POVs, subject matter experts and solutions to problems rather than just products and corporate messaging can generate higher levels of engagement and mid to low funnel activity.
  • Use big picture thinking to condition the marketplace: Many companies focus on chasing down leads with a “last-click” mindset. Fewer invest the effort to earn credibility in the minds of customers and create an environment that stimulates lasting demand. Especially now, timely insights that add value are more likely to resonate with senior decision-makers who are thinking about the highest priority needs of their own business.

We are only just beginning to recognize and respond to the effects of this pandemic on business activity. The duration and severity of Covid-19 will matter greatly in determining the right (and wrong) types of B2B marketing activity. Collaboration and information sharing are essential. We will continue to share what we learn as the situation evolves and shine a light on best-in-class strategies.

Joe Kingsbury is U.S. Managing Director, Business Marketing. Ben Laws is Executive Vice President & Market Lead, West.

A version of this post first appeared on Edelman.com 

Insights

Sustainability Communications During the Coronavirus Pandemic

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Yet as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world, many companies are asking whether it is appropriate to talk about their climate commitments. In this document, we reveal the key questions to ask when deciding if, when and how to communicate about sustainability at a time of global health crisis.

1. Do you have meaningful news to share?

Even in the midst of the pandemic, companies that have made significant sustainability announcements have received positive feedback from media and peers. So, if you have positive progress to report against previously stated climate goals, you should share it. However, avoid saying something simply because it is Earth Day. At a time when people are more sensitive than ever to being deceived or sold to, you risk seriously damaging your reputation with announcements that are perceived as spurious or not sufficiently action-led to warrant promotion.

2. Have you put people, health and safety first?

In the current crisis, it is critical that companies communicate how they are protecting the health, safety and job security of employees. You should therefore evaluate whether you have done and said enough to support the wellbeing of workers before publicly discussing your sustainability commitments. Organisations in the hospitality, health or travel industries, that are facing specific outbreaks of Covid-19 in their workforce, or are making redundancies and/or furloughs should refrain from proactively talking about sustainability at the moment.

3. How will your announcement be viewed in the context of the coronavirus?

At a time when millions of people are living under lockdown, social distancing is in full force and livelihoods are under threat, you must be thoughtful about the type of sustainability innovations you announce. For example, introducing reusable items to combat waste or encouraging shared transportation solutions may come across as out of touch with the current situation and leave you vulnerable to criticism.

4. What channels and tone are appropriate?

As well as deciding what you share, you should think about how and where you share it too. Consider using your executives’ platforms channels, such as your chief Sustainability Officer’s LinkedIn page, to announce sustainability news instead of a company page or social channel. Earned media consumption is also extremely high at the moment, so is there a way you can let your story play out there? Be wary of overstating though. In fact, if possible, you should ask a sustainability partner to review what you are planning to say so they can help determine if the tone and timing are appropriate in the current environment.

5. Are you prepared for sensitive questions and last-minute changes?

If you do plan to go out with a proactive sustainability announcement, ensure you – and especially any spokespeople – are prepared to answer questions about how the coronavirus crisis may impact your sustainability commitments in the short- and long-term. Make sure you constantly monitor the conversation around both Covid-19 and sustainability in the lead-up to your announcement too. You need to be ready to amend, delay or even cancel it should the situation change and make what you are going to say inappropriate.

6. Have you thought about the long-term?

No matter how far off it may seem right now, this pandemic will come to an end. How will key audiences and stakeholders evaluate your progress on sustainability at that time? As Helen Clarkson, CEO of The Climate Group, recently said: “We cannot afford to cancel or delay the important conversations, commitments and negotiations that need to take place.” So, even if you decide not to talk about them publicly during the coronavirus crisis, it is important that any sustainability actions, commitments and communications plans stay on track within your organisation to ensure you can hit the ground running in the future.

Visit the Edelman Coronavirus Hub for more practical advice on how your organisation can communicate effectively during the coronavirus pandemic to boost resilience, protect employees and ensure business continuity.

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Insights

How To Guide: Public Sector PR & Communications During the Coronavirus Pandemic

In the current environment, the public sector has a unique and central role, both in providing medical, financial and logistical support to individuals and communities and as a trusted source of information. But it is also a sector under unprecedented pressure. You need to think carefully about how, when and why you communicate with them.

  1. Establish an open line of communication. If at all possible, you should try to set up a line of communication between your organisation and local public authorities. Or, if not, at least ensure you and your organisation’s leadership know whom to contact and how if you experience a confirmed case of Covid-19.
  2. Demonstrate competency and accountability. When engaging with public officials, you should be prepared to outline the measures your organisation is taking to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in line with medical guidelines as well as any further steps you are taking to protect the health of employees, your communities and the wider public.
  3. Get your timing right. The public sector is facing perhaps the greatest challenge of its modern history, especially the medical community. You should therefore be choiceful about communicating with them. When messages or campaigns targeting public organisations can be delayed without negatively impacting your own business, consider doing so. Where they cannot, approach public entities transparently with facts, challenges and, if possible, solutions. 
  4. Focus on social impacts. When engaging with the public sector, it is vital to demonstrate empathy, compassion and action, focusing first and foremost on employee and community impacts. Unless absolutely necessary, you should avoid any proactive discussion of the economic issues you are experiencing. Your organisation should be seen as protecting and fighting for its people, not its business interests.
  5. Be aware of freedom of information requests. In many countries, including the UK, public sector organisations are subject to various forms of freedom of information requests. When working with them, it is therefore important to understand that any written communications may one today become publicly available to media and consumers.
  6. Consider the local landscape. If you are an international company working in multiple countries, remember the level of government involvement in the local business community will vary. In some cases, there may be little difference between a business partner and a public entity. In these situations, consider how information may be shared and spread, the stakeholders that could be involved and the potential issues that could arise as a result.

Visit the Edelman Coronavirus Hub for more practical advice on how your organisation can communicate effectively during the coronavirus pandemic to boost resilience, protect employees and ensure business continuity.

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Insights

Managing Comms During COVID-19: 4 Key Tips for Brands

Joe Carmody /

“Now all them things that seemed so important… they vanished right into the air.” 

Yes, you’re right, that’s Bruce Springsteen’s, The River. Music often provides great succor in straitened times and no little wisdom too. Language can resonate and give focus to our thoughts and feelings. We are living in a COVID-19 world right now and that’s challenging for businesses and individuals alike. It is just a line from a song but some things have indeed vanished right into the air, there’s been an upheaval in conventional thinking, and from a brand and business perspective the role that people expect them to play has been transformed. So, what exactly is expected from brands in a coronavirus defined environment?   

Joe Carmody, Managing Director, and Feargal Purcell, Head of Public Affairs, are two members of the Edelman Dublin team who , from the outset of the current crisis, have been advising on how best  brands and businesses can operate in an unprecedented, unpredictable and ever-evolving environment .  

While there is no crisis playbook or manual that can be taken off a shelf, in fact there is a new freedom in how we can act and think. The scale of the challenge demands it. Basic pillars of behaviour still apply but many of the old restrictions have fallen away.  

See below 4 key tips for brands on how to communicate at this time, based on our experience of how we are seeing organisations respond to this crisis. This has also been informed by new Trust research we have undertaken in 12 markets on the critical role brands are expected to play during the coronavirus pandemic. You can view the latest results of our Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust and the Coronavirus Pandemic here 

  1. People want brands to Solve rather than sell  

People want brands to offer solutions to help address the societal challenges posed by COVID-19.Our Trust research shows that brands are being asked to shift to producing products that help consumers meet the challenges of today (89%), to offer free or lower-priced products to health workers, people at high risk, and those whose jobs have been affected (89%). 

One of the key findings of the Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report is that 7 in 10 people stated that if they perceive that a brand is putting profit over people, they will lose trust in that brand permanently.  

We have seen many brands step up to respond to the needs that people and organisations have at this time; Dove and Irish Distillers are making hand sanitiser soap; RTE has brought the school room into sitting rooms; O’Neills have shifted from GAA equipment to personal protection equipment.  

To sustain trust through this crisis, brands must help solve the most urgent problems that people face. It must be about solving rather than selling.  

  1. Brands Must Sacrifice Self-interest, for Community Interest   

Our COVID-19 Trust Report shows that there is unanimity on this point; over 90% of people globally want brands to do everything they can to protect the well-being and financial security of their employees and suppliers, even if it means incurring losses until the pandemic ends.  

In an Irish context, again many businesses are responding well in this regard, providing bonuses to employees for the sacrifices and efforts they are making, investing in protection equipment in their workplaces and suppliers are being provided with fairer terms.   

Brands that are looking after themselves first are out of step and will suffer. Some brands drew significant fire with communications that focused on business continuity first and worker and customer safety second. This is a damaging place for a brand to find themselves in at this time, being forced to act under pressure after their initial response was out of step. 

The public expect businesses to act proactively for them, for their employees and their suppliers.  

  1. Communicate with Empathy & Facts 

What we have seen is that there is little appetite or space for messages other than the actions that brands are taking to provide help and offer solutions. At a time of crisis, people want communications that allay their concerns about their material and social needs.  

The reality is that before communications we must have credible action. Pretending existing marketing initiatives can be reshaped as a response to COVID-19 lacks authenticity and credibility. Clever wordsmithing only emphasizes the absence of action.  

People are looking for actions that help them in their real lives. If that is happening the job of communications is straight forward. It is simply to amplify those actions. 

This theme is also coming through in our Trust research. 84% of respondents said they want brand advertising to focus on how brands can help people cope with pandemic-related life challenges.  

As ever, in every crisis, there is opportunity. Brands can build a new level of connection with consumers or damage the relationship forever based on how they are communicating. 65% of respondents said that a brand’s response in the crisis will have a huge impact on their likelihood of purchasing it in the future. By contrast, there is great risk to brands that are perceived to be acting unsympathetically.  

  1. Partnership with Government  

In our work with clients over the past few weeks we have seen a significant theme in the potential for brands to partner with government as well as unique opportunities arising for long-term trust building.  

The overarching advice on how to insulate your brand at this time is ‘don’t go dark.’ You have the permission to communicate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and in fact people expect brands to communicate and what’s expected is calm, considered action. 

So, what does ‘good’ look like in the current environment? To help shape the correct course of action for your brand, we advise you to ask three questions: “who am i?’’ and “where am I?” in the current environment, and, based on that context, “how can I help?”  

The feedback that we are getting from government is that the amount of lean ins, the offers of help and the added value is unprecedented but also that their doors are open. However, brands must go to government with an offer, not an ask. Anyone who is asking for something at this time will not be heard and if you are offering to help, it becomes very clear, very quickly if the offer to help isn’t sincere. 

When they write the story of COVID-19, there will be a chapter titled ‘Who Did What?’ The benefits of doing the right thing at this time and how a brand behaves will define both its reputation and its bottom line in a post-coronavirus world.   

Insights

Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust and the Coronavirus Pandemic

Richard Edelman /

Edelman has just conducted a 12-market study on the critical role brands are expected to play during the coronavirus pandemic, completed on March 26. We interviewed 12,000 people in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, the UK and U.S. This follows on a study that we released two weeks ago on the role of the private sector during the pandemic. If you were ever in doubt that brands matter, this new data reveals the power and necessity of brand as well as their urgent need to act. Brands should find solutions instead of selling passion or image. They need to be tangible and fast, not impressionistic and conceptual.

Expectation of Brands

Respondents recognized the need for specific brand action to help address the societal challenges posed by Covid-19, from protecting the well-being of employees to shifting products and pricing to creating a sense of community. Sixty-two percent of respondents said that their country will not make it through this crisis without brands playing a critical role in addressing the challenges. Fifty-five percent said that brands and companies are responding more quickly and effectively than government. At the same time, 71 percent agree that if they perceive that a brand is putting profit over people, they will lose trust in that brand forever. About a year ago, our Edelman Trust Barometer special report on brands showed that brand trust is on par with quality, value, convenience and ingredients as a purchase consideration.

Protect and Partner

There is unanimity across markets (90 percent globally) that people want brands to do everything they can to protect the well-being and financial security of their employees and suppliers, even if it means substantial financial losses until the pandemic ends. Brands such as KFC have allowed sick leave to be taken and guaranteed wages for employees unable to work because retail locations are closed by government order. Brands are also being asked to shift to producing products that help consumers meet the challenges of today (89 percent) and to offer free or lower-priced products to health workers, people at high risk, and those whose jobs have been affected (89 percent). Finally, there is a clear desire that brands both partner with government (90 percent) and be a safety net stepping in to fill gaps in the government’s response to the virus (86 percent).

Inform and Empathize

Brands must focus their messaging on solutions, not selling. Eighty-four percent of respondents said they want brand advertising to focus on how brands help people cope with pandemic-related life challenges. Seventy-seven percent said they want brands only to speak about products in ways that show they are aware of the crisis and the impact on people’s lives. There is deep desire for expertise, with 78 percent rating medical doctors as credible spokespeople for the brand’s virus-related actions, with celebrities (26 percent) and influencers deeply discounted (28 percent). More than half of the respondents (57 percent) want brands to stop any advertising or marketing that is humorous or light-hearted. Fifty-four percent said they are not paying attention to new products at present unless they are designed to help with their pandemic-related life challenges. In short, respondents believe that brands can and should make a difference throughout the coronavirus crisis. HP’s donation of 3-D printers to hospitals to produce masks is an important example.

Brands are a key source of information during the crisis. Eighty-four percent of respondents globally said that they want brands to be a reliable news source that keeps people informed. They want to receive this information from multiple sources, in part because they are skeptical about any individual medium given the epidemic of fake news. The most credible combination is mainstream media plus email. In markets with high politicization and low trust in media (U.S., UK, Canada), email is the first choice. A brand’s website plays a critical role in developing markets, notably Brazil, China and India. There is more belief in earned media (national media at 64 percent and local media at 62 percent) than in brand advertising (53 percent) and brand social media (51 percent).

Educate and Connect

People want brands to use their power to educate (85 percent). That means offering instructional information about how to protect themselves. An example of this is Microsoft’s Healthcare bot offered on the CDC website, which enables people to ask questions about their symptoms. People want to know that the brand is helping (89 percent) and how they can best access its product and services (88 percent).

Brands should bring us together at this difficult time. Club Med has done this by repurposing its talent to design sports fitness at home. Respondents told us that they want emotional connection, which means helping them stay close to people they are being forced to physically distance from (83 percent). They also want compassionate connection, including brand messaging that communicates empathy and support with the struggles they face (83 percent). They want brand social channels to facilitate a sense of community and offer support to those in need (84 percent). Hearing from brands they use about what they are doing in response to the pandemic is comforting and reassuring to them (65 percent).

Brands can build a new level of connection with consumers or lose the relationship forever. Sixty-five percent of respondents said that a brand’s response in the crisis will have a huge impact on their likelihood of purchasing it in the future. Sixty percent said that they are turning to brands that they absolutely can trust. Over one-third of consumers (82 percent in China, 60 percent in India) said that they have started using a new brand because of the innovative or compassionate way that it has responded. By contrast, there is great risk to brands that are perceived to be acting unsympathetically. One-third of respondents have already convinced other people to stop using a brand that was not acting appropriately (China 76 percent; India 60 percent).

A New Role for Brands

This global crisis will fundamentally change how we think, behave, and consume. There is no rapid return to normal. The new world will have trust at its core, with the brand mandate expanded to solve problems for all, protect all, care for all, collaborate with all and innovate in the public interest. At this moment of deepest global crisis, the public wants brands to step up, keep us safe, guide us and help us. Brands that act in the interest of their employees, stakeholders and society at large will reinforce their expertise, leadership and trust and immeasurably strengthen the bond they have with consumers.

This is a moment when brands can prove that they put people, not profits, first. Respond with compassion and make a difference; this is the true test for purpose-driven leaders. The people are counting on us to deliver.

Richard Edelman is CEO of Edelman.

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Edelman is supporting businesses and organisations looking to better understand the COVID-19 pandemic and its public health implications; manage communications with employees and customers; and receive guidance on strategies and policies for effective preparedness and response efforts.

Please complete the below form to speak to Edelman's COVID-19 advisory team:

Insights

How To Guide: Social Media & Community Management During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Now more than ever, social media is a valuable and important tool – a way to stay on top of the latest Covid-19 conversation and a means through which to communicate with customers, employees and other stakeholders. Read on for some practical guidance for using social media in the current environment. Note that these are not intended to be sequential steps. Rather, they are pillars of activity designed to be performed simultaneously, continuously and interdependently.

  1. Plan. It is important to establish clear, executable plans for how your organisation is using and managing social media. In particular, you should determine the role of each of your different owned social channels based on an ongoing evaluation of how your different audience groups – customers, employees, media, etc. – are using them.
  2. Monitor. Social media can help you understand what your key audience groups are saying – both in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic and as regards to more general life and/or business challenges. Ensure you have a person or team dedicated to monitoring social media conversation and updating the wider organisation on the latest audience trends, policies and news. This may require a temporary change to working practices, with teams operating in shifts to cover different timezones. You can also sign up to Edelman Intelligence’s Daily Media Update to stay on top of the latest COVID-19 developments.
  3. Guide. From owned company social media platforms to the personal accounts of individual leaders and employees, everyone needs to understand what content is appropriate to share, be aware of response protocols and feel comfortable with how to escalate potential issues. Ensure passwords and access to corporate social media channels are not confined to one person too. That way, you can mitigate the impact of team members becoming unwell or unavailable.
  4. Assess. Are your planned social media content, influencer campaigns or ad buys relevant and appropriate in the current environment? What would your harshest or most cynical critic say? At a time of unprecedented crisis, everyone is watching what organisations say and do. Being seen as opportunistic or insensitive risks doing serious and lasting damage to your reputation. Ensure, also, that your content does not contradict any local guidelines around managing Covid-19.
  5. Respond. How you respond to social media enquiries and interactions is key to preserving trust among your stakeholders, especially in the case of a Covid-19 outbreak within your organisation or local area. You should develop coronavirus-specific messaging and, if possible, aim to hold a daily conference with your community manager(s), setting clear guidelines for how, when and where to respond. Often, you will need to act fast, but getting your reply right still takes precedent. Be cautious and meticulous in every response, no matter how innocuous the interaction may seem at the time.

Visit the Edelman Coronavirus Hub for more practical advice on how your organisation can communicate effectively during the coronavirus pandemic to boost resilience, protect employees and ensure business continuity.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Edelman is supporting businesses and organisations looking to better understand the COVID-19 pandemic and its public health implications; manage communications with employees and customers; and receive guidance on strategies and policies for effective preparedness and response efforts.

Please complete the below form to speak to Edelman's COVID-19 advisory team:

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Edelman Trust Barometer Coronavirus Special Report

How the private sector can lead during the current COVID-19 crisis 

The world is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. Every single country will be impacted negatively by the Coronavirus, and every business, from sole traders to publicly listed corporations must learn to survive in our new reality. Yet as strange as this new world is, the golden rule still exists – trust is key. 

To help our clients to act in the most appropriate way during this time, Edelman commissioned a Trust Barometer Special Report on Trust and the Coronavirus. This 10-country study was conducted from March 6th to 10th in the UK, Italy, Germany, France Brazil, Canada, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, and the U.S. The findings focus on information flow, media channels, spokespeople and expectations of business during the pandemic. 

While the study did not include Ireland, the findings are still relevant to companies based here. Together with our counterparts in other countries, we in Ireland are also dealing with the effects of this international pandemic. We at Edelman hope these findings will help to inform you and your business at this difficult time. 

SPECIAL REPORT ON TRUST AND THE CORONAVIRUS: KEY FINDINGS 

HIGH EXPECTATIONS ON BUSINESS TO ACT 

  • • 78 per cent of respondents to the global report expect business to act to protect employees and the local community. 
  • • 79 per cent expect business to adapt its operations, including remote working, cancelling non-essential events, reducing direct contact, introducing contingency plans and business travel bans. 
  • • 73 per cent expect business to adapt HR policies, including encouraging employees with symptoms to stay at home, offering paid sick leave and stopping at-risk employees from coming to work. 

What does this mean for you? 

Businesses are expected to do “the right thing” by staff and wider society in the current climate. In Ireland, this can be supported through special measures introduced by the Irish government to deal with the current crisis. 

EMPLOYER COMMUNICATIONS ARE VITAL 

  • • Seven in ten people are following Coronavirus news in media at least once a day, with 32 per cent saying they are checking several times a day. 
  • • 74 per cent worry that there is a lot of fake news and false information being spread about the virus. 
  • • 63 per cent of respondents said that they would believe information from their employer after one or two exposures. In comparison, 58 per cent said the same for information from a government website and 51 per cent for information from traditional media. 
  • • This aligns with data we have from Ireland. The 2020 Edelman Ireland Trust Barometer showed that “my employer” was the most trusted societal institution with 72 per cent of respondents agreeing, compared to 41 per cent for government and 37 per cent for media. 

What does this mean for you? 

Employers are expected to update information regularly on COVID-19, with 63 per cent asking for daily updates from their employer. 

What information should be shared? 

- Employees want information on what they can do to avoid bringing the virus into the company, steps they can take to avoid spreading the virus, how many of their colleagues have contracted the virus, and what the company is doing to win the battle against the virus. 

- They want to get the information via company emails or newsletters (48 per cent), posts on the internal company website (33 per cent) and phone/video conferences (23 per cent). 

- The information should be based on communications from scientists, doctors, the WHO and local health authorities, for example, Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan and HSE CEO Paul Reid. 

BUSINESS MUST PARTNER WITH GOVERNMENT 

  • • After health authorities, people said they trusted their employers (62 per cent) most to respond to the crisis effectively and responsibly, ahead of trust in health insurance companies, schools and educational facilities, and the government. 
  • • In fact, government was actually seen as far more effective when it partnered with business. There is twice as much trust in a combined business/government effort than in government combatting the virus alone (45 per cent versus 20 per cent). 

What does this mean for you? 

As a business, think about what help, support or advice you can offer to government, your stakeholders and your community at this time. 

Businesses must: 

1. Protect employees, customers and the local community 

2. Communicate trustworthy information daily 

3. Partner with government to respond effectively to COVID-19 

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT 

Edelman is supporting businesses and organisations looking to better understand the COVID-19 pandemic and its public health implications; manage communications with employees and customers; and receive guidance on strategies and policies for effective preparedness and response efforts.

Please complete the below form to speak to Edelman's COVID-19 advisory team:

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