Do ‘reputation campaigns’ actually improve reputation?
Can changing public perception of your brand be as simple as refreshing your slogan? Crisis comms specialist Tony Jaques looks at recent financial scandals to assess how well Australian banks are handling reputation management.
No-one loves the banks. And their generally poor reputation is pretty much universal. But is the glossy reputation campaign just launched by the Bankers Association the right answer? And is the slogan ‘We’re making banking better for Australia’ believable?
Many people think that banks fully deserve their dubious image. In fact ASIC Commissioner, John Price, recently cited a UK report which found 10 of the world’s leading banks racked up fines and misconduct costs of nearly £150 billion over a period of just five years. Which is impressive, even by banking standards.
The past few months have certainly seen banks in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. NAB and CBA caught out colluding on foreign currency trading. Westpac entities accused of failing their consumers’ “best interests duty.”
ANZ and Macquarie Bank admitting cartel conduct on foreign exchange. NAB returning almost $35 million for financial advice it never delivered.
A question that can easily be raised regarding people working in the public-relations game is whether they would end up being paid to run “personal reputation protection campaigns” for individuals with the money.
This article highlighted the issue of reputation management in the context of companies like the major banks who have suffered many blows in relationship to their customer perception. It is becoming more important for businesses of all sizes and trades who stand for their values yet are at risk of something like an Internet-driven consumer boycott.
But what I was raising in this comment was the issue where an individual can’t “get further in life” because of bad remarks spread around their community such as being accused of associating with “the wrong crowd” or of “holding the wrong beliefs”. It is even being underscored further thanks to social media being used as a tool to “spread gossip further” and could lead to, for example, a person being fired for no just cause, or being “beaten out of town”.
It’s pretty simple. You want to be seen as a leader? Act like one. Provide the evidence to your customer that you’re trustworthy and walk the talk then they will follow you wherever you go. You can’t buy that kind of loyalty, you’ve got to earn it. So in short “Do ‘reputation campaigns’ actually improve reputation?” Yes, providing you take the time and the effort to truly earn the respect and admiration of your audience.
What every Brand can see is that they are no longer in control of ‘the conversation’ and they are not always the most influential voice, when it comes to their reputation. ‘We’re making banking better for Australia’ is a small voice in a sea of much louder voices who are driving the conversation around, fairness, transparency, colluding, overcharging…
Consumers are tired of promises and will only genuinely respond to action that they can see is working. If Banks want a better reputation then they need to drive conversation through positive action. Do some of the things consumes are asking for and they will improve your reputation for you.
If you just change your slogan and not your behaviour, it’s going to have the opposite effect where the promise does not match the experience. That’s going to make your reputation even worse.