Hill+Knowlton Strategies

This is a guest post by John Tilbrook, consultant in Hill & Knowlton’s Change & Internal Communications practice

This is the first blog I’ve ever written and it’s taken some time for me to get my act together and write it. You see, I’m one of those ‘too old for my age’ young kids who sits on the suspicious side of the technology divide.

In fact my boss Scott, whose blog this is, constantly reminds me that I’m a Luddite and while I always remonstrate (at the same time feeling secretly proud that I know what a Luddite is), he probably is partly right… and he certainly has more followers on Twitter… whatever that means!

So you’ll probably expect me to agree with the 31% of companies that still block employees from using social media such as Facebook and YouTube at work.

Well actually, no.

Once described as recreational, these technologies are now considered to be important business tools for companies. But for me, from an internal communications perspective, it’s more than this.

I think companies should be encouraging the use of social media. Firstly, it shows employees that you trust them. Secondly, it allows them freedom to share their views – which transcend your corporate image – on what the company stands for, its products and its services, which will inevitably result in better customer interaction, more customers and business results.

In fact, as David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan state in the book ‘Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead’, your trust in employees will be rewarded as they build followings who will eventually buy your products or services.

So why not let employees guest blog on your company website, tweet about your products or contribute to your company Facebook page? You should probably put some guidelines in place, so they know what they are doing, but leave it at that.

Ok, they might do something wrong, but if they do, own up and move on. Your customers will respect this more than an attempted cover up. Embrace technology and you’ll find it has mutual benefits to your employees and your company.

We’ll see, this may be the last blog I’m ever asked to write, but I’m learning… I’ve even just joined LinkedIn. I may not be playing Angry Birds all day long, but at least I’m not smashing up computers either.

John Tilbrook, Consultant, Change & Internal Communications, Hill & Knowlton

So I’m back… In truth I’ve been back from my Paternity Leave for a few weeks but it has been a fairly hectic schedule involving projectile vomit, screaming fits and sleepless nights… and that was just my wife’s reaction to my business trips to Switzerland and New York…

So it’s not been easy to find the time to update the blog. For the record Niamh Frances McKenzie was born on 26th June. She is thriving well… even if sleeping in the evening is not one of her favourite pastimes.

To be honest it has been a wonderful experience. I’m genuinely enjoying being a new parent for the second time.

But one of the things they don’t tell you before you become a parent is that you become incredibly sensitive to stories which involve the unnecessary death, or injury to children. Following this story about a mother accused of killing her children has been particularly harrowing.

When I look at my two little girls I want to imagine that they are going to live long, happy and fulfilled lives. Obviously Sarah and I will do everything we can to make that happen.

Indeed, I was hugely touched by the simple but desperately sad words Mitch Winehouse used at his daughter’s funeral last week. When he said, “Goodnight, my angel, sleep tight. Mummy and Daddy love you ever so much,” any father in the world could have been uttering those words at bedtime…

The tragic context of the words being spoken at his daughter’s funeral make the words more moving. More powerful.  More raw.

And yet the story which has touched me most in recent week is the unfolding tragedy in Somalia. Children are starving to death on an unprecedented scale.  It is catastrophic.

Yet, this is a story that has struggled to compete for airtime. And while I don’t want to underplay the understandable media attention paid to the loss of a true icon like Amy Winehouse – we all need to pay far more attention to the story unfolding in East Africa.

FYI – You can donate to the charity appeal through this site.

And so the waiting game continues. By any standards this week could be a big week in the McKenzie household. We are hoping to finally exchange on the sale and purchase of a new house.

This has been a process that has been delayed seemingly by endless minutiae, and has required some fairly tough phone calls and emails this morning to various solicitors, estate agents, vendors and buyers to get the transaction (hopefully) to the right place. I now have to sit and wait to see if  it will all finally fall into place. Or not.

At the same time my wife is 9 months pregnant. Our due date came and went yesterday. But no new arrival. This situation is even more difficult – while I can (at least try to) negotiate and influence my way to a successful house purchase there is nothing I can do to make our second child arrive any quicker.

Although the mysterious purchase of big packets of liquorice, whole pineapples and red hot chillies suggests my wife doesn’t share my fatalism.

Meanwhile work carries on unchecked. Lots more new business opportunities this week. A client call scheduled for a Sunday afternoon. Another client asking if I can meet on Monday. And at the back of my mind I’m thinking “will I really be at that meeting?”…

Meanwhile my colleagues have been incredibly supportive. Filling in for me when I am pulled in one direction too many. Helping me manage the transitions in my life.

They have demonstrated the levels of patience, empathy and understanding that should be the template for all great teams, all great workplaces.

I took the above picture after dropping my daughter off at nursery the other day. I was walking past a large construction site and noticed this  eye-catching window.It had clearly been deliberately created to encourage passersby to take a look.  I then had to do a double-take. Someone had blocked the peephole. 

I imagined some Marketing person sitting in the Construction company’s head office.  I am sure they are really proud of their “peep hole” concept. Perhaps they talk about how it demonstrates openness and transparency across all of their sites. I can almost hear them saying: “We have nothing to hide in our working practices”.

Move then to the site manager and his crew arriving on site one morning. I can envisage the conversation taking place when they spot the “peep holes” and thinking “what is that all about?”.  Would they welcome the increased scrutiny? Has anyone even consulted them about it?

Perhaps not. Which is why the “peep hole” is now covered by a huge bit of plywood!

Of course there may be a simpler explanation but nonetheless it provided a nice flight of fancy as I walked to work. And demonstrating what can happen when there is poor communication between those making the promises on behalf of your brand, and those who have to fulfil that promise on a day-to-day basis.

So Budweiser are now going to sponsor the FA Cup. One iconic US brand sponsors an equally iconic brand synonymous with England.

My colleague Andy Sutherden makes some great points about this deal which you can see here.

The deal certainly looks a little incongruous at first glance. And I wondered how Anheuser-Busch are going to explain it to their employees.

I know Andy is equally passionate about the role employees can play in effective sponsorships. But often they are not front of mind when brands are making decisions  around investing in a sponsorship property.

However, it was certainly front of mind for the panel discussion we hosted here at H&K last week. Thanks to those of you who braved the inclement weather to get along. I hope you found it worthwhile.

For those of you not able to join us, we were fortunate to have three great panellists Louisa Cheetham from Aviva, Morag Taylor, from British Gas and David Stubley from Soho Partners.

The case studies Morag and Louisa presented were incredibly impressive and persuasive.

It’s clear that Aviva makes incredible use of their vasy array of sponsorship properties to engage employees. From the use of access to events (providing employees with tickets), to call centre visits from athletes, to the creating experiences that money just can’t buy as incentives… you can see the vast potential in using sponsorship as a lever to connect employees with the brand.

Similarly I was struck by how effectively British Gas had tapped into their partnership with British Swimming. They have worked hard to get employees in the pool as part of a health and wellbeing agenda. This included inter-company swim galas, the establishment of a community of interest (essentially swim champions)  as well as local events targeted at employee’s friends and family.  I thought this was  relaly, really great. The idea of British Gas providing something that actively engages the families of employees with what British Gas is about as company really works for me.

I think of my own growing family and wonder if they know why I choose to invest the effort I do at work… Anything which helps bridge that work/life balance divide is surely worth exploring?

But is this just me being soft and fluffy?

I don’t think so. We have long know the power of “word of mouth”… even before we had some of the fruitless, recent debates about measuring the effectiveness of employee engagement.

Indeed when I look at employee engagement surveys I tend to ignore most of the questions (some critics would say ignore all of them!). But the one I always seek out is the question around whether you would “recommend this as a good place to work to your friends and family”. This score – sometimes known as the “net promoter score” – really tells you whether an organisation has employees who are engaged, who are proud and who are committed to the organisation.

So, can we we connect sponsorship to engaging employees? Yes. And can we use this engagement to drive pride and productivity. Absolutely.

My friend Henri has just asked me a great question: what is the difference between strategic marketing and strategic communications?

Marketers would probably see PR (or communications ) as just one component part of the marketing mix. I would challenge this assertion. 

In fact I would see strategic marketing as essentially being part of strategic communications. And to be clear I don’t necessarily see marketers as “owners” of the brand. Marketers may make promises on behalf of the brand but it is down to employees (and other touchpoints) to deliver on that brand promise.

Indeed this is a topic we will be tackling head on at our event next Wednesday here at H&K London. We have great speakers from Aviva, British Gas and Soho Partners lined up on our panel. It’s invite only but if you would like to get along drop me a note.

So going back to Henri’s question I would define strategic communications along the lines of: 

“Shaping conversations with key publics, influencers and opinion formers in ways which fulfil the organisation’s strategic objectives, reputation and brand”

What do you think? What would your definition be?

I despair I really do. Today’s news on Bank of Scotland’s handling of complaints is the latest in a long line of self-inflicted injuries by the Banking sector.

I spent 10 years working in Banking and here at H&K we work with a number of Financial Services companies manage their reputation, engage their employees and deal with issues and crises.

And there have been a few. We have witnessed banks stumble from one self-inflicted PR disaster to another. From the nadir of the economic crisis to unjustifiable overdraft charges and the shambles of Payment Protection Insurance.

What is so difficult to understand? The brand really does matter. And frankly it doesn’t matter how fluffy and people-centric your advertsising is (stand up NatWest)… if you treat your customers with such wanton disregard your brand will be in tatters.

Yes balance sheets are important. But so is trust. So is reputation. The Banks really need to up their game on customer service, on handling complaints on having greater transparency on pricing.

The new UK regulatory regime likely to be far more punitive when banks get it wrong. Rightly so. But we all have a role to play.

In his wonderful book “Whoops: Why everyone owes everyone and no one can pay…”,  John Lanchester brilliantly explains how banks make their money in a wonderfully simple and clear way. We should demand the same transparency. The banks have a right to make (lots of) money. But they should be doing it the right way. And we all have a duty to hold them to account.

BTW – if you are interested in how employees can help brands really work you should come along to our event on the 15 June. It will be a panel discussion with great speakers from Bacardi, Aviva and British Gas. One you should not miss!

There is a story that George Best used to tell about a night he spent in a hotel with a former Miss World. He received a knock on the door from the hotel porter who was bringing up his bags. On surveying the scene… beautiful woman, a bed full of bank notes and a magnum of champagne on ice… the porter is said to have remarked “where did it all go wrong George?”.

This story came to mind this week as we see the story “hidden” by the super-injunction became public knowledge.

When Ryan Giggs first burst onto the scene in the early 90’s there were many comparisons with Best. Both were quick, skilful wingers. Both were dark, brooding Celts. Both played for Manchester United.

From there the comparions fall a little bit flat. George Best was probably the most talented player of his generation but was more or less washed up and retired by the time he was in his late 20’s.

Giggs by comparison is still a pivotal member of the United first team – a team which has just won the Premier League and is in the Champions League Final this coming Saturday. He is 37 years old. An age when most professional football players have long since retired.

But it is now matters off the pitch which threaten to damage the legacy, reputation and, dare I say, “brand” of Ryan Giggs. Up until now the Giggs brand has been more or less liked by everyone from mothers (including mine!) to blokes down the pub.  Indeed a friend who works in football once told me that Ryan Giggs was one of the nicest guys he’d ever met.

 Up until now, Ryan Giggs has been quietly regarded as a national treasure – not quite the Queen Mother but not far off it.

That reputation is now under severe threat. And while he has shied away from the limelight throughout his career  it will now be very much thrust upon him. Superinjunction or not.

Incidentally I don’t know of a single PR person who would have followed the same path as Schillings and threatened anyone and everyone talking about the case on Twitter… in my view this has caused the most long term reputational damage.

Much now will rest on the shoulders of wily Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Will he be able to give the right advice to Giggs? Will he be able to ensure that the United team provides the right level of support to their colleague? Will he be able to ensure that Giggs is still motivated and productive in his workplace? Most notably against the mighty Barcelona on Saturday night.

The nation, indeed the World, will be watching on Saturday night to see the results of Sir Alex’s work.

Those of you (the majority) who are not interested in the parochial world of Scottish football will have missed a quite disgraceful incident at a match that took place in Edinburgh last night.

Neil Lennon, the Celtic FC manager, was assaulted by a fan who ran a full 50 metres before police and stewards eventually caught up with him. What is more galling is that Mr Lennon has had to put up with death threats and indeed the very real threat of receiving mail bombs in the post. In that context he is very lucky indeed not to be seriously hurt.

So what does this incident tell us?

Well, frankly it makes me feel ashamed to be Scottish. The motives behind the assault and the death threats are purely sectarian. But I don’t want to dwell on the neanderthal nature of people who support this hatred (it’s just too depressing).

Instead I am keen to understand what other workplaces would see a leader have to put up with such public, intense and very personal danger? Professional boxers?  UN Peacekeepers? High profile politicians perhaps?

How do they focus on performing in the day job when the world around them is so chaotic and threatening? And what can those of us who work in high-intensity, but less life-threatening working environments learn from these experiences?  How do they perform already difficult tasks under such enormous pressure?

And for the record Celtic won 3-0 last night keeping their slim hopes of winning the championship alive. Perhaps we should invite Neil Lennon to talk at one of our H&K events…

Talking of which please keep 15th June free in your diaries. With the London Olympics just round the corner we’re planning an event around how employees can act as key advocates of brand and sponsorship campaigns. More details to follow in my upcoming blogs…

So after months of anticipation today is the big day.

Sitting here in my front room in the centre of London there is a real sense of excitement. Messages of support are coming in from all over the world. A brief scan of my twitter and facebook accounts make it clear that there is a feelgood factor beginning to build.

Yes there is no doubt that the world is watching with baited breath. Will my daughter finally crack this potty-training lark?

What you thought I was talking about something else?

Okay, okay I admit it. I am a curmudgeon. I see the Royal Family as an anachronistic institution. And while I wish the young couple the very best on their wedding day I am genuinely ambivalent about their big event. The constant hyperbolic media attention is leaving me cold. Surely this should not be a story that displaces war, revolution and natural disasters from the news headlines?

But it has. So what to do when you appear to be in a minority of one?

Grudgingly try to get into the spirit of things I guess. We are currently listening to the playlist from our own wedding last year. Sarah will switch the telly on at 10.50am to see that dress. And we will wander along to Rosemary Gardens for the specially arranged community fete later today…

Honestly? I will probably be wearing a pained expression for much of the day.

P.S. – Talking of big events you should really get along to the Engage Inside Expo on 5th May. It is an absolute bargain and you will have the opportunity to hear from some outstanding speakers including David MacLeod – who is leading the Government’s Employee Engagement Taskforce…