Public sphere-like communications develop in UK financial sector

We are starting to see a number of organisations realising that the issues they are facing are too great to be resolved by their own actions.  They need help.  They need to share the pain, even the guilt in the public sphere.  The method which seems to be developing is by commissioning a report from an outside expert or organisation and by doing so opening up problems and agendas to public debate.  

This is what might be termed an emerging form of public sphere communications which Inger Jensen from Roskilde University anticipated in her 2001 paper titled Public Relations and emerging functions of the public sphere. To gain legitimacy, companies need to "launch problems in public as being of common concern."

We are seeing this develop most noticeably in the banking sector.

• In 2012 Barclays commissioned Anthony Salz, to lead an external review of Barclays' business practices. 

• This approach has now been followed by RBS which following receipt of the Lending Review Report which it commissioned from Sir Andrew Large, a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England has today commissioned a further report from Clifford Chance to investigate further. 

While in contrast, these are very different from the process which has been inflicted on the poor Co-operative Bank with major government and regulatory enquiries heaped upon it.  There is no sense that the Co-op Bank is in control of the gathering debate even terminal crisis facing the brand at least in banking.   A media firestorm created around the Chairman of the bank has influenced the Treasury and government to use the bank as a political football which may do immense damage to the mutual sector in the UK.  A very different form of communicative process with very little rational discussion at the heart of it.

This is an area which I am wanting to explore in my doctorate and I would welcome input from practitioners and academics.

Euprera 2013 in Barcelona

The European PR Research Association, Euprera, has just completed its 2013 conference in Barcelona. Great location and great networking event and appeared to be much more international than two years ago when I last attended.  Highlights on the presentations and events I attended included:

                                              (http://www.panoramio.com/photo/45068230)

• A very impressive opening speech from Robert Heath, Emeritus Professor at University of Houston placing organisational agendas at heart of PR practice.  Some good lines such as "organisation is product of communicative events" and "legitimacy is prerequisite for institutionalisation."  Encouraged PR as a discipline to think of what it has to offer other disciplines not just draw on them.  
• Professor Ralph Tench at Leeds Metropolitan University has led important pan-European research programme to assess competences and skills of European PR practitioners.  This will enhance the professionalisation of the industry over time and provide very useful insights for academic teams running PR programmes.  There is also a new site being developed for practitioners and students to assess their own competences.  
• Social media is now being supported by some major research into how organisations are using it and the answer is not very well particularly when it comes to using the interactive potential of the media. Dr Uta Russman at the University of Applied Sciences for Management and Communication in Vienna presented data on the top 500 companies in Austria and use of social media.  This was similar to data from German companies presented by researchers from University of Leipzig.  Don't be fooled by social media leaders, many companies are happy using it as a form of one way communication. 
• Attended the opening meeting of the European Public Relations History Network, a development of Professor Tom Watson's successful History of PR Conference at Bournemouth.  This is opening up important new avenues of research and links with other academic disciplines.  Currently reading The Sleepwalkers - How Europe went to war in 1914 by Christopher Clark, Professor of Modern History at Cambridge and it is interesting to note the author's focus on  public opinion and media coverage in the lead up to war, reflecting the potential opportunities for this new initiative as both historians and PR historians focus on the role of communications.  In fact the book is a fascinating resource and argument for the role of public diplomacy in the modern age - something significantly lacking in 1913/14 as the author highights.

Propaganda - Power and Persuasion

The British Library in London has been hosting a very interesting exhibition on Propaganda by the state which is in its last few weeks.  The exhibition and accompanying book by Professor David Welch of the University of Kent  provides a good framework for understanding its origins around the role of persuasion as part of rhetoric in Ancient Greece; its use in building national identity; its use in fanning the flames of hatred through the centuries and in wartime particularly in the last century; but also its use in public information campaigns around health and nutrition.  The exhibition felt as though it was covering too much ground and both the book and exhibition are perhaps stronger when looking at propaganda in the context of war.                                  
                                               

                                   http://www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/propaganda/index.html

David Welch says that "...in 1991 the military were firmly in control of the media (Gulf War) but by 2003 and the invasion of Iraq, power had shifted to politicians who were now in control of state-media relations and the information environment...resulted in an unprecedented concentration of "communications power" within political elites." (Welch, D, 2013, p.194).  Has this "concentration" survived the last 8 years as Facebook, Twitter and the growth of social media are all products which have come to the fore since this period?  He does finish his book with a section entitled "Are we all propagandists now?"  However perhaps his earlier statement is not far off, with the news which came out in the last two months of the vast monitoring undertaken by the NSA and GCHQ of online communications and social media, as a product of the "War on Terror" suggesting that "communications power" takes many forms.

The exhibition comes at an interesting time with PR increasingly researching the history of propaganda and its influence on PR as recent papers at the International History of PR conference at the University of Bournemouth highlight.  A recent history of Sir Stephen Tallents who was a pioneer of cultural activity as a form of nation branding is just one example.  Sir Stephen was part of a very influential generation of PR practitioners from the 1930s onwards who were influenced according to his biographer, Scott Anthony, by the strong reaction after the First War where Britain's crude use of atrocity propaganda against the Germans led to a breakdown in trust in government communications as the "truth" came out and led to new approaches in government communications led by the Civil Service.

  

Students gather in Belgium for second Erasmus IP on lobbying

Thirteen students from the University of Greenwich are now in Gent in Belgium, joining up with a further 40 PR and Communications students from across Europe, studying lobbying and government relations in the EU.  The two week study period is funded under the EU Erasmus programme and involves students from seven universities across Europe.  Next year we will be joined by students from Lund in Sweden.

Going by last year, for students and academics a great cross-cultural learning experience and an excellent environment for exploring practice and theory.  The Erasmus IP (intensive programme) enjoys great support from industry, trade associations, politicians and lobbying consultants and this year we have even more NGOs involved such as Finance Watch.  We will also be meeting Philippe Lamberts, the Wallonian MEP, who has led the campaign in the European Parliament against the scale of bank bonuses, when we visit Brussels in the second week.

The timing for PR to explore lobbying in depth is timely.   Although the EU has been talking about greater transparency in the lobbying process since 2003, it is only over the last 12 months that the Commission and Parliament have set up a joint register (previously two) for all parties involved in lobbying in the EU.  As part of this process a Transparency Register web site has also been created and there will be a review of the whole process later this year.   It is a process of transparency not backed by regulation such as in Canada and the USA, but the last 12 months do suggest that action is now starting to be taken. It will be interesting to hear the view of participants in the IP and what impact if any they are noticing - certainly our experience from the Erasmus IP last year, was that the new register or wider transparency agendas were not figuring strongly on organisations' radars.

(Source: Public Service Europe. 2013.  http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/3245/eu-being-investigated-over-lobbying-and-ethics-again)

Public opinion takes centre stage in Cyprus banks' levy

The initial announcement by the European Bank and also the IMF of the rescue of the Cyprus banking system which included measures to take a percentage from all customers accounts above and below 100,000 euros did seem particularly inept.  Banks picking on the small customer and taking hard earned cash from their accounts after all the bailing out of European banks by European taxpayers did seem an extraordinary own-goal.

Certainly that was what the media thought and a media firestorm followed starting on Friday and going over the weekend.   Even the UK's Financial Times expressed strong concerns as well as the BBC's Robert Peston, a highly influential financial commentator, highlighting that it went against more recent financial developments of protecting small investors across Europe.  Round the world the story has played to a continuing media agenda that Europe is not properly sorted out, just the type of headlines which Europe and the EU have been working hard to move on from.

How did it happen?  It certainly suggests there was no insight of the impact of the story on local, international media and in turn wider public opinion. Interestingly it appeared that there was no announcement made on the ECB web site suggesting a lack of insight over its significance or it was seen as a technical event not with wider significance requiring PR input.   Today's FT highlights how damaging it has become to European banking raising serious questions about protection for small savers across the EU with one banker saying “This is a totally crazy decision,” said one European bank chief. “This is the biggest policy mistake that the [European Central Bank] has subscribed to.” 

The story is also rather a good example of the impact of generalised public opinion on events which in this case is or has the potential to be a crisis event.  Public opinion fanned by intensive media coverage some of its hostile to Europe along with market concerns is now forcing the authorities to react.  Pictures of citizens queuing up to take money out of a bank carries considerable power and understandably banks in Cyprus are now closed till Thursday.  Were the interests of ordinary citizens put beneath the interests of key stakeholders such as Russian large account holders, the major banks and bondholders?   Was there any consideration of wider public sphere discussions as certainly the ECB were setting a terrible precedent and we can thank public opinion and the media for ensuring that a more considered position on ordinary savers deposit accounts will finally evolve.  Inge Jensen says in her excellent paper on emerging functions of the public sphere (2001) that "essential aspect of public relations (is) concerned with issues and values which are considered publicly relevant, which means relating to the public sphere."  This dimension appeared to be missing from the discussions last week at the ECB.

Coca-Cola and obesity - 2

Coca Cola has responded to the major Financial Times article from Friday, covered in my last blog, with a letter yesterday from the Senior VP of Public Affairs and Communications.  It is a well-judged message of collaboration and Coca-Cola's intent to be part of society's response to the issue of obesity.

However having discussed the original article in the MA PR Consumer and Celebrity lecture with the students, one aspect comes out.  The fast food outlets and large branded restaurant chains encourage staff to get customers to consume more Coca-Cola.   Glasses are large and are refilled automatically when half full.  It is this culture of consumption which Coca-Cola's sales operation must be behind with incentives for scale of consumption by these chains which needs to be addressed.   Just as the drinks industry is having to get rid of incentives to binge drinking; so Coca-Cola and other soft drinks companies need to follow a similar path of reducing excessive consumption.  That is an action which can be taken now by Coca-Cola.

The issue of Coca-Cola and obesity is an example where new thinking and wider stakeholder perspectives in particular need to be part of the discussions and input at a senior level in major consumer brands.

Coca Cola and obesity - is it a crisis event?

Reading the very good Handbook of Crisis Communications (Coombs and Holladay, 2012) and several definitions of a crisis event suggest that Coca Cola's developing problems with obesity and the threat of growing regulation in the USA, also discussed in last week's Financial Times, could be termed a crisis event.   Coombs citing Hearit (p.30) says that a "crisis is a threat to an organisation's social legitimacy.." and it could be considered in that context.   Also Benoit's image restoration theory (p.31) says that a crisis has two elements - an offensive act and an accusation of responsibility; both approaches could be seen to apply to Coca Cola.

(Source:http://www.nickcampos.com/2011/10/)

Certainly looking at the views and comments on YouTube ( Coca Cola's communications on the subject and opponents.)  and also now in the medical media and it does appear to be an issue with significant and growing public resonance.  As an issue this has grown relatively quickly and you can understand Coca Cola being wrong footed but a defence of large portions which appears to be part of Coca Cola's strategy is not a sustainable position.  It would be interesting to know if Coca Cola's approach to the issue is based on a crisis communications strategy and slow retreat.

From a consumer PR perspective, it does highlight that influential consumer brands are facing a growing range of stakeholder agendas.  

Cameron's speech on Europe pre-releases extracts set to raise pressure

The pre-release strategy of the Prime Minister's media team for his major speech on Europe with extracts made available to the media Thursday evening, makes clear how far the Conservatives have moved on Europe.  Bloomberg's, BBC and Le Figaro online coverage suggest that an exit from the EU is a very real possibility if the Conservatives win the next election.  Extracts of the speech released early are widely available online.  The Prime Minister was due to make the speech this evening in Amsterdam but it was cancelled due to events in Algeria.

Releasing extracts prior to the speech was clearly a decision taken after they knew that the speech would be postponed till next week as they wanted to dominate the agenda for the weekend's media, I assume.   The choice of extracts is fairly stark and will raise concerns as they suggest the speech is more negative on the EU than earlier briefings to the media which suggested that Cameron is determined to keep the UK in the EU.   I assume that the way the media would interpret the extracts was considered and so the choice of extracts was deliberate.  Could it be that the extracts are more extreme and the final speech will be more pro-EU - we shall see, but it will certainly raise international and business concerns.

Certainly the impression in international media, growing concerns in the USA government and UK business even some UK media is that the UK has taken leave of its senses over the whole issue.  What price will UK plc pay over this process in the short, medium and long term?