PR for CEO's: strategy and tips

finnwebinar
the ceo as a pr
weapon
25/
04/
2013
FINN Public Relations
kristien vermoesen
managing partner
www.finn.be
kristien.vermoesen@finn.be
Twitter: @kris10vermoesen
FB: facebook.com/FINNPR

finn
the ceo as a pr weapon
#FINNwebinar
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slideshare

context
gevolgen
praktijk
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what do ceos expect
from pr?
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“We can
afford to
lose a lot
of money.
We cannot
afford to
lose even
a shred of
reputation.” berkshire hathaway letter to shareholders, 2010

finn
“Satisfaction, corporate credibility, CEO reputation and leadership effects on public relationships”, Journal of Targeting,
Measurement and Analysis for Marketing (2011) 19
is credited with playing a major role in generating market
capitalization for a company, and many argue that it should be
treated as its most important long-term asset.”
reputation

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“there is a strong (and potentially
dangerous) link between the reputation
of the organisation and the person who
heads it.
One CEO went so far as to say that the
reputation of the company and the
reputation of the CEO are one and the
same thing.”“CEOs’ views on reputation management,” Journal of Communication Management Vol. 9

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http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/14/adobe-ceo-dodges-pricing-questions/

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“Maybe you feel like you actually own the software this way, and I
understand that. Maybe you don’t trust Adobe for various reasons
including the shady, dodgy way that the CEO avoids talking about
real issues. I get that too. “
http://fstoppers.com/objectively-analyzing-the-adobe-creative-cloud-should-you-want-it

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conclusion: the ceo personal brand is not a vanity project:
“stakeholders project a personal brand onto the CEO in any event
and unless this is actively managed, a false and detrimental image
can emerge. In some cases, the impact on personal and corporate
reputation can be profound.”
“CEOs’ views on reputation management,” Journal of Communication Management Vol. 9

how does the press look
at ceos?
finn

finn
how does press write about ceos?
“reporters choose to focus on a relatively small set of winners and
losers when casting business coverage in terms of CEOs.”
“The top 5 CEOs, however, accounted for 48% of the stories men-
tioning the chief executives of these firms.
“Media Coverage of CEOs: Who? What? Where? When? Why?”, James T. Hamilton (Duke), Richard Zeckhauser
(Harvard University), 2004,

finn
finn research
shows the:
same picture
in belgium.
Ceo “stars”

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we call
this the
“matthew
effect”
http://www.finn.be/blogs/how-journalists-choose-experts-matthew-effect

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yes, but we’re too small to be a “star”
WRONG. “there are not a consistent set of characteristics that
predict which companies will have chief executives treated as
celebrity CEOs by major papers.”

great! let’s make our ceo
famous!!
finn

finn
not
so
fast

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“In some cases the pursuit of celebrity levels of coverage may
come at the expense of shareholder interests, as a CEO uses
company resources for publicity and devotes less time to firm
business. In cases where CEO reputation building adds little to a
firm’s fortunes but builds the external reputation of an executive,
publicity can promote a CEO’s mobility and ultimately leave the
company with more training costs to bear when the executive
moves on.”

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“...headed the Statue of
Liberty renovation, joined a
congressional commission on
budget reduction and wrote
a second book, a syndicated
newspaper column, bought an
Italian villa where he started
bottling his own wine and olive
oil .... Critics contend it all
distracted him, and was a root
cause of Chrysler’s current
problems .... it’s clear that being a
folk hero is a demanding sideline.”
wall street journal on lee iacocca (as quoted in “good to great”)

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celebrity can be distractive, and even worse:

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“The greater the percentage of stories
about the CEO, the more likely the firm
was to be involved in scandal in 2001-2002.
(...)”
“CEOs who give interviews and search out
soft news coverage are more likely to be
the ones that abuse the principal-agent
relationship in ways that result in their
indictment or resignation later”.

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being a “star” communicator is not the
same as becoming a celebrity. It’s about
using the ceo in a way that helps the
reputation of the company

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ceo branding and communication is
not easy. It requires skill, attention and
moderation, but it is necessary.

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additionally, communication is a two-way process. by engaging
stakeholders in a dialogue, the ceo/organization can show empathy
and closeness to the community. communication is also important
to gain insights from the community of stakeholders:
“The ceo has an important role in the creation of a listening organi-
zation”

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“The modern day
business leader must
be like the samurai
- able to master
the martial arts of
business combat, but
also able to learn the
skills of the poet or
philosopher”
“Managing corporate communications”, Rosella Gambetti (Ed.)

finn
six lessons of steve
jobs:
1. pr is mission critical
2. exclusive interviews
3. product launches
4. a powerful brand
5. the ceo is a brand,
too
6. push back in crisis
http://www.finn.be/en/blogs/6-pr-lessons-steve-jobs

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“delivering happiness”
tony hsieh
(zappos)

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Tony hsieh (zappos, sold to amazon.com for $ 1.2 bn)
“delivering happiness” book
“delivering happiness” bus tour (!)
thought leadership
communicate about values

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7 pr laws of wouter torfs:
1. don’t be afraid of the me-
dia
2. be available, honest and
relevant
3. write a book!
4. don’t communicate when
you have nothing to say
5. it’s okay to have opinions
6. keep your ego under con-
trol
7. Experiment!

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wouter torfs (2011)
http://www.finn.be/sites/default/files/text_images/finn_auxipress_ceo_media_ranking_2011.pdf

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duco sickinghe (2011)
http://www.finn.be/sites/default/files/text_images/finn_auxipress_ceo_media_ranking_2011.pdf

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didier bellens (2011)

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“Public relations practitioners working with organizations that
have CEOs with positive tonality may find opportunities to gener-
ate positive media coverage, especially if they involve the CEOs in the
stories.”

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you should also look further than traditional media:

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leveson inquiry: Murdoch = “backroom
deals”, “lack of transparency”, “master of
puppets”, “no accountability”
Murdoch on twitter = “Hey, here I am, ask me
anything.” voice, personality, “humility”

when & how is ceo
communication useful
and effective?
finn

finn
careful with highly paid executives (& bonuses): issue can be toxic -
especially touchy subjects like crisis:
“These findings are consistent with findings from the advertising
field that frontline employees are more effective than CEOs when
communicating about topics related” to customer experience (Ste-
phens & Faranda, 1993).”
research

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coke “scare” (1999), open letter to belgian consumers from douglas
ivester: “who is this strange guy?” (HUMO: “Dear doug”)

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“...a celebrity CEO can be enormously
helpful. Where would Ben & Jerry’s be
without Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield?
They made Ben & Jerry’s the brand it is
today”.
al & laura ries, “the fall of advertising and the rise of pr”, p. 137

finn
for ceos of small and medium sized companies, there is almost no
downside to being the face of the company. for larger companies
with multiple and/or international stakeholders (unions, share-
holders, countries and governments...) the situation is more com-
plex.

finn
“I can’t measure it exactly, but
we’ve had a very good year -
more than 5% in a crisis year.
I think our pr has helped us, es-
pecially if you get consistently
positive media coverage.
I’m quite confident that it helps
if people know and trust your
brand when the moment comes
to choose where to spend their
money.”
Torfs shoes

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product communication is, however, not the best way to use the ceo
in communication:

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“The tone of product-related coverage had the lowest correla-
tion with CEO tone, which suggests that a CEO’s media image is not
closely tied to how the media cover a company’s products. Because
of this, public relations practitioners working with a CEO who has a
negative image may wish to highlight their company’s products rath-
er than other organization news.”
research

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"increasingly public relations is seen to benefit CEOs in helping them
to align and inspire employees. Again, these are extremely important
issues for communications directors to focus on."
HUMAN RESOURCES &
CORPORATE CULTURE

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the importance
of corporate cul-
ture in 2013:
“generation y is
really looking
for a leader who
shares their val-
ues, a standard
beared that they
can follow.”
Prof. pedro debruyckere

finn
“most of the readers view the CEO as a corporate spokesperson rep-
resenting company’s values and are eager to listen to the ‘master’s
voice ‘
The specific area of CSR is consistent with research done on using
CEOs as spokespeople in CSR reports (Ferns et al., 2008).”
corporate social
responsibility

finn
strategy/
business/
public affairs:
“thought leadership”

finn
“Should CEO’s blog?
Blogging is a must for
corporate CEOs today”
“Managing corporate communications”, Rosella Gambetti (Ed.)

the ceo is king in crisis
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finn
when and how should
the ceo communicate?

finn
tony hayward, ceo
>>>BP
2010:“i want my life back”

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tony hayward
ex-ceo Bp//
2011: “i should have surrounded myself
with a more senior media team”

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current thinking: the ceo should commu-
nicate:
• at the start of the crisis (show empathy)
• when a change in communication is
necessary
• at the end of the crisis (return normal-
cy)
the ceo is the “king” in the chess play. Can
be crucial, but must be protected and
never “sacrificed”
(this is the short version)

finn
newsrooms: “who
haven’t we heard about
this?”
“hamlet ends by a lack
of players”

finn
communication by the ceo will often end
the issue - this tendency can be used to
proactively end it. (finn research)
this is a high risk strategy. Be sure that no
more skeletons are hiding in the closet

finn
philippe muyters in
reyers laat:
<<<<<<<<emotion
“i gave up too much to
resign now”

finn
pr | social | communication | branding

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