Realigning Reputations. Using Public Relations to reshape corporate brands such as BP, KFC and NAB.

By: Sarah Arrowsmith

Why is KFC on a mission to transform the understanding of its role in society? Who are the publics or stakeholders it needs to convince? Do you think KFCs efforts will be successful in this regard? Why or why not? In todays society, values and attitudes continue to change as social trends do. People are now becoming more aware of health risks, diet and exercise. In Australia, there has especially been much focus on obesity. According to the Australian Government Preventive Taskforce, in 2008, 242,033 Australians had type 2 diabetes as a result of being obese. 644,843 Australians had CVD as a result of being obese, 422,274 Australians had osteoarthritis as a result of being obese and 30,127 Australians had colorectal, breast, uterine or kidney cancer as a result of being obese(The Australian Government 2009). This has had a major impact on the fast food industry as society has begun to recognise this issue, therefore KFC needs to transform their role in society through new healthy options. As retailers are encouraged to reflect the changing demands of the customer, the adoption and implementation of ethical trading principles is integral to an organisation's overall marketing strategy (Schrder and McEachern 2005). Similarly, McDonalds have released products that have the heart foundations tick of approval, which shows how they are responding to health trends. In order for KFC to do this, they needs to convince their publics which includes employees, government, suppliers, customers, Ngos, stockholders and media Also, it is important to recognise how one of the important attributes of publics- the ability to change from active to passive and back again(Johnston and Zawawi 2009); therefore companies need to keep their publics active through new initiatives such as healthy food options. Also, There is a potential conflict between systems designed to encourage consumption of healthier products and those designed to encourage consumption of healthy products. (Lobstein and Davies 2008) so what is deemed healthy needs to be proven. Employees especially represent their company and in order to change the way people see KFC, employees need to believe in the brand and send positive messages to their friends and family.

Similarly, the Government needs to be convinced as there are health regulations regarding fat intake, labelling and nutritional content of the product. If they do not meet the standards, they will not be acknowledged as a health food option. Suppliers also need to be taken into account as changing the menu, changes ingredients. For example, McDonalds have begun to use free range eggs for their menu McDonald's plan to switch comes as retail giant Woolworths reaffirmed last night it was reducing its reliance on cage eggs in line with a customer trend towards free-range and barn-laid(Watson 2009). Therefore, suppliers would need to be convinced. Also, customers are very important as sales largely depend on them. By changing their role in society as a more healthy company, this may increase buying power for customers over other fast food outlets. Ngo's are also important as they have a lot of power in terms of determining a companys reputation. McDonalds is a good example of how getting on board with an Ngo's such as the Ronald McDonald charity will help a companys image. Also, stockholders need to be convinced, as they are the financial and organisational powerhouse of the company. Media publics also need to be convinced as they play a major role in communicating effective messages to the public. Therefore, they need to be convinced KFC is healthy and this will reflect in the messages the media sends to the public. KFCs effort to transform the perception of the brand was successful in terms of sales and product labelling and ingredients. KFC released a number of healthy food options as part of their new menu. One of these are grilled chicken meals instead of their usual fried chicken. The introduction of this product created a massive increase in sales, the company says sales have been robust - set to almost top the US$1 billion mark in its first year(Palmer 2010). KFC also provided evidence to the public of the fat content and ingredients on the products, as well as changed the oil to reduce the saturated fat content. Most importantly, the company was proactive in promoting sustainability through initiatives against deforestation, as well as contributing to charities such as the McGrath foundation and World Hunger Relief 2010. This is a great example of

Corporate Social Responsibility, which is incredibly important to maintain a good perception of the company. However, an experiment in the British Journal showed that even after introducing healthier food options, people still felt that A significant theme from the focus groups was one of skepticism about the motivations underlying McDonald's and KFC's CSR initiatives, with respondents classifying them as no more than marketing strategies aimed at increasing company profits (Schrder and McEachern 2005). Interestingly, this has been shown in the media recently. After all the effort put in to improve the look of the company, KFC introduced the Double down burger which is said to contain 22.3 grams of fat. This shows how the companys main aim is still to make money, even though there are health risks to it and this will affect their new perception. Ultimately, in order to be successful in changing their role in society, the relationship between KFC and consumers needs to be improved, as well as establishing a permanent change in their products so consumers see them as a true healthy food option.

What is BP trying to achieve by sponsoring the 2012 Olympics as well as other high profile events and organizations? Is there a danger its sponsorship initiatives will backfire?

The BP oil spill marked a massive loss in support for the company. The failure to take responsibility and deal with the problem has largely affected BPs reputation. The incident has largely manifested through huge international protests and debates; therefore, there is a big danger that initiatives used to help regain their reputation may backfire such as sponsoring the 2012 Olympics. The Olympics attracts a massive international media and with that comes many risks. The company is ultimately opening itself from one world stage to another and this could be worsen the situation as What happens when an organisation (such as an alcohol company, motor vehicle company or public safety campaign for road safety) sponsors an athlete only to read the headlines of our sports star gets caught drink driving(Johnston and Zawawi 2009). So BPs reputation could be further damaged even from a small aggressive protest, as it would be broadcasted worldwide. Instead of putting itself in front of all the action, BP should relaunch itself in a more localised setting, where the risk is less. An example of a company that has sponsored the Olympic games in the past is Coca cola in 2010. They introduced new carbon neutral initiatives such as collecting and recycling bottles, and using hybrid delivery vehicles at the games. The company received tremendous media exposure and publicity worldwide, which dramatically improved their perception. However, BPs situation is different. Even though they are providing fuel for the vehicles and has partnered with cultural projects in the UK, this could backfire, as people are still angry. After the oil spills there were masses of protestors at British Art Galleries sponsored by BP such as the Tate Modern gallery and The Easter Island Exhibition. Protestors poured oil and feathers outside the galleries before VIPs showed up, as well as released black balloons with dead fish attached to it. Also, many people have been questioning BPs method of teaching, as some believe it may have contributed to the spill. People are concerned that BP is spending too much teaching their employees personal safety but not enough on major hazards, risks and engineering equipment and operations, BP had strict guidelines barring employees from carrying a cup of coffee without a lid but no standard procedure for how to conduct a negative-pressure test, a critical

last step in avoiding a well blowout(Elkind, Whitford, and Burke 2011). These examples show how the conflict of attitudes makes sponsoring a worldwide event such as the Olympics is too much of a risk for BP.

In terms of the four models of public relations, how would you characterise NABs break-up campaign? How is NAB using social media to enhance its

campaign effectiveness and how successful do you believe this approach is likely to be? Nabs breakup campaign was a clever way to connect the consumers with the company. Nabs breakup campaign would be characterised as The Press Agentry or publicity model of public relations, This model is associated with publicity stunts such as old-style circus animal parades through towns to drum up audiences (Johnston and Zawawi 2009). This is because Nabs message is communicated to appeal to people in an attention grabbing way. This is shown through their eccentric forms of advertising and publicity such as singing breakup songs on a truck in Sydney as well as videos such as bankers breaking up all over Australia, The breakup letter that explains it all, and NAB leaves a mark on Westpacs windows. Also, CDs were given away at railway stations with break-up songs, signs were scrawled on footpaths, planes and helicopters carried banners and actors performed mock break-ups around the country(Thomson 2011).

The campaign aims to target people in society who for many reasons choose to stay in a relationship that isnt right for them anymore. Similarly, people have these relationships with banks. By comparing relationships with businesses and relationships with people, this captures the audiences attention and clearly changes the perception of NAB in comparison to other banks, which lack a certain personal feel. In contrast, other banks such as Members Equity takes on the informative, accurate and straightforward model through their advertising and promotion. Many people may respond to this approach, however NABS campaign has stood out as being incredibly successful due to the use of social media.

Social media includes the various online technology tools that enable people to communicate easily via the Internet to share information and resources

(Liewellyn 2011). NAB is especially using social media to enhance the campaigns effectiveness through twitter, facebook and especially YouTube. YouTube is a content community, The main objective of content communities is the sharing of media content between users (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010). This approach is successful as it connects the viewers to the company through various social mediums. This helps distinguish NAB bank from other banks who dont advertise on social media. Social media also dramatically improves customer service and helps keep communication highly accessible and easy. It allow firms to engage in timely and direct end-consumer contact at relatively low cost and higher levels of efficiency than can be achieved with more traditional communication tools(Kaplan and Haenlein 2010). This approach has been proven to be successful as the Canstar bank survey shows The National Australia Bank showed a dramatic improvement on last years results by bolting in from last to first in the comparison between the big banks (Canstar Blue 2011). Therefore, using social media in NABs break up campaign has highly enhanced the campaigns effectiveness, and thus attracted future customers.

References

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Elkind, Peter, David Whitford, and Doris Burke. 2011. Bp: An Accident Waiting to Happen. Fortune. http://royaldutchshellplc.com/category/cnnmoneycom/.

Johnston, Jane, and Clara Zawawi. 2009. Public Relations -Theory and Practice. 3rd Edition Ed: Griffin Press.

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Watson, Rhett. 2009. "McDonalds to Move to Using Free-Range Eggs." Herald Sun http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/mcdonalds-to-move-to-using-freerange-eggs/story-e6frf7jo-1225761761708.