CEO's see themselves as the stewards of reputation of the oganization - they want to turn it over to their successor in a better shape than they received it. In this slideshow, we highlight research on CEOs and reputation management, pr, crisis communication, employer branding and much more.

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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

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the ceo as a pr weapon
#FINNwebinar
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slideshare

3. context
gevolgen
praktijk
finn
what do ceos expect
from pr?
finn

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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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the ceo as a pr weapon
http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/14/adobe-ceo-dodges-pricing-questions/

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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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the ceo as a pr weapon
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

10. how does the press look
at ceos?
finn

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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,

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the ceo as a pr weapon
finn research
shows the:
same picture
in belgium.
Ceo “stars”

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

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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.”
“Media Coverage of CEOs: Who? What? Where? When? Why?”, James T. Hamilton (Duke), Richard Zeckhauser
(Harvard University), 2004,

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

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“Media Coverage of CEOs: Who? What? Where? When? Why?”, James T. Hamilton (Duke), Richard Zeckhauser
(Harvard University), 2004,
not
so
fast

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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.”
“Media Coverage of CEOs: Who? What? Where? When? Why?”, James T. Hamilton (Duke), Richard Zeckhauser
(Harvard University), 2004,

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“...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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the ceo as a pr weapon
celebrity can be distractive, and even worse:

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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”.
“Media Coverage of CEOs: Who? What? Where? When? Why?”, James T. Hamilton (Duke), Richard Zeckhauser
(Harvard University), 2004,

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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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the ceo as a pr weapon
ceo branding and communication is
not easy. It requires skill, attention and
moderation, but it is necessary.

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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”
“CEOs’ views on reputation management,” Journal of Communication Management Vol. 9

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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.)

25. some case studies:
finn

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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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the ceo as a pr weapon
“delivering happiness”
tony hsieh
(zappos)

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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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the ceo as a pr weapon
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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the ceo as a pr weapon
wouter torfs (2011)
http://www.finn.be/sites/default/files/text_images/finn_auxipress_ceo_media_ranking_2011.pdf

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the ceo as a pr weapon
duco sickinghe (2011)
http://www.finn.be/sites/default/files/text_images/finn_auxipress_ceo_media_ranking_2011.pdf

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the ceo as a pr weapon
didier bellens (2011)

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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.”
“Media Coverage of CEOs: Who? What? Where? When? Why?”, James T. Hamilton (Duke), Richard Zeckhauser
(Harvard University), 2004,

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the ceo as a pr weapon
you should also look further than traditional media:

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the ceo as a pr weapon

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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”

37. when & how is ceo
communication useful
and effective?
finn

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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
“Media Coverage of CEOs: Who? What? Where? When? Why?”, James T. Hamilton (Duke), Richard Zeckhauser
(Harvard University), 2004,

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

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“...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

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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.

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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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the ceo as a pr weapon
product communication is, however, not the best way to use the ceo
in communication:

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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
“Media Coverage of CEOs: Who? What? Where? When? Why?”, James T. Hamilton (Duke), Richard Zeckhauser
(Harvard University), 2004,

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the ceo as a pr weapon
"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."
“CEOs’ views on reputation management,” Journal of Communication Management Vol. 9
HUMAN RESOURCES &
CORPORATE CULTURE

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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

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the ceo as a pr weapon
“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

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the ceo as a pr weapon
strategy/
business/
public affairs:
“thought leadership”

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the ceo as a pr weapon

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the ceo as a pr weapon

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

52. the ceo is king in crisis
finn

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the ceo as a pr weapon
when and how should
the ceo communicate?

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the ceo as a pr weapon
tony hayward, ceo
>>>BP
2010:“i want my life back”

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

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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)

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the ceo as a pr weapon
newsrooms: “who
haven’t we heard about
this?”
“hamlet ends by a lack
of players”

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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

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the ceo as a pr weapon
philippe muyters in
reyers laat:
<<<<<<<<emotion
“i gave up too much to
resign now”

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the ceo as a pr weapon

61. about us
finn

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the ceo as a pr weapon
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