Our Insights

Building reputational capital through crises

July 30, 2024

 

Julian Gwillim, Aprio Group CEO

 

Over many years, Aprio has represented several clients in the resources sector. This sector faces numerous challenges that can negatively impact reputation and long-term success, including labour and community protest action, safety accidents, environmental impacts and activist campaigns, among others. Given the specialised and sometimes technical nature of many processes in the resources space, and the labour dynamics involved with large workforces, the sector also often falls victim to uninformed media coverage.

 

One of Aprio’s resources clients recently faced a double blow – each constituting a reputational crisis on its own. Working closely with the client’s corporate affairs team, Aprio and the company succeeded in guiding the messaging in the public domain to a large degree. This outcome was aided by the close working relationship Aprio had developed with the client’s corporate affairs team and executive committee members, as well as Aprio’s deep knowledge of the sector and the media.

 

Within 30 hours of the first crisis, Aprio had assisted the client to issue three increasingly detailed media releases. Over the next three days, with our assistance the client issued one release per day, timed to feed the morning news cycle of the following day, in which it responded strategically to the shifts in tone identified. Every media release was simultaneously published to the company’s Twitter/X profile, enabling fast and egalitarian access to information. Engagement with the releases was high.

 

On learning of the crisis, Aprio advised the client to suspend its scheduled business-as-usual social media posts and mobilise vigorous and near round-the-clock online monitoring to assess public commentary. This near-live feedback greatly assisted in staying ahead of negative shifts in tone. As such, Aprio and the client were able to adapt and control the message as far as possible and position the client as the go-to source for accurate and transparent information.

 

The way the crisis played out in the public domain followed the predictable crisis lifecycle – finger-pointing and agenda-based and/or political grandstanding. If badly managed, this lifecycle can continue to develop into public rage and increased protest. However, commentary quietened down significantly after the first few days. We believe this was influenced by the client’s ongoing stakeholder engagement and public posture.

 

There was consistent external and independent praise for the company’s response – the crisis communications management was described as “benchmark,” and several Twitter/X users would respond positively to media updates released on the platform, thanking the client for the way it was communicating.

 

The sound stakeholder and media engagement foundation established during the first crisis paid dividends during the second crisis the client experienced a few weeks later. Non-business media, which had not previously engaged with the client on the regular basis, used their new liaison channels with the company, which were established during the first crisis. In addition, all media and other stakeholders, expected – and received – regular updates from the company, in the rhythm established during the first crisis.

 

With Aprio by its side, the client managed to build reputational capital through these crises by being accountable, accessible, predictable, clear, rapidly responsive and as transparent as possible.

Our Insights: View More Articles, Podcasts and video