Activation:Managing the Decision

Making Process

The CommercialChallenges ofSponsorship

2

Communications Decisions

The communications landscape has evolved beyond all recognition. The introduction, and rapid adoption, of social media and digital technologies has established a real-time, two-way dialogue between brands and their audiences all over the world.

Some might argue that it’s an incredible opportunity for brands to connect with their customers, understand them, indulge them and drive loyalty beyond their wildest dreams.

But the reality for many brands is that while this presents great opportunity, it also potentially presents a range of challenges. After the initial excitement of setting up new social media channels and working up compelling content plans, it began to dawn on brands that their social media ecosystem was more than just an outlet to showcase their brand; it also became a forum for customers to air their negative feedback, not to mention a global network via which undesirable news or views can, and do, spread like wildfire.

This was the point when marketers, communications specialists and PR professionals had to step up to the plate and develop strategies to monitor and protect their brands’ reputations. In the face of a potential crisis, some brands have responded in a manner that has flipped the odds back in their favour, while others have not fared so well, being left with a damaged reputation. The frequency and potential scope of these threats continues to increase along with the number of people engaging with them.

The result; brand guardians have a number of different communications decisions to make on a daily basis.

The types of big decisions are varied but can all be plotted, based on two defining factors:

• The severity of the decision• The speed with which the decision must be made

Plotted in the graph below are four of the key decisions based on the two factors outlined above:

► Minor v Instant

► Major v Instant

► Major v Planned

► Flexible

Seve

rity

of d

ecis

ion ►

Speed of reaction ►

3

Communications Decisions

Severity versus speedThese decisions can also be described in the following ways:

► Minor v Instant: reacting to an incident in real-time, via social media, as a means of generating brand awareness and conversation

► Major v Instant: reacting to an incident in real-time, the outcome of which may have important consequences for the brand and its communications strategy

► Major v Planned: development of a full brand communications strategy

► Flexible: overcoming marketing, social, political and economic factors during the implementation and delivery period of a brand communications strategy

While these decisions make a good framework, in reality there are an infinite number of points that can be plotted on this graph and, by default, an infinite number of decisions that will require careful consideration.

The nature of each decision will clearly be different depending on the context within which it exists, consisting of the brand, the activities that are taking place, as well as the behaviour and reaction of external and intended audiences.

The social landscapeIn fact, in the context of the ‘social ecosystem’ there exists an ever-changing backdrop to everything a brand does, presenting a minefield of internal and external factors, influences, opportunities and potential challenges. For example:

► Real-time Thanks to the ‘always-on’ social landscape in which we now live, brands face an increasing demand on their time and, therefore, an increasing need to react with immediacy – their stakeholders expect nothing less. With this in mind, brands must keep pace with the day-to-day and moment to moment conversations generated by external audiences

► Political/Social/Economical factors It has never been more important for brands to be aware of what is happening in the world outside of their own activity, in order to take advantage of new opportunities and also protect their integrity and reputation against new threats. Failure to do so means brands risk being mocked and exposed instantaneously – to potentially devastating consequences

► Brand defence With ambush marketers benefitting from the rise in social and digital channels and the speed to market their own strategies can achieve, brand awareness of these actions must be combined with a means of defense

Social media has created a public platform for people to voice their opinion; it actively encourages people to share their thoughts and views, creating a window on how things can, and do, play out with wider audiences.

There is a lot of talk of social listening, actionable insight and social being ‘two-way’, but what is the reality and practicality of using social and audience insight, be it from real-time surveys or social media analysis, to make communications decisions?

4

Activating Social Sponsorship

To illustrate the point using a real-life example, let’s consider each of the four communications decisions in the context of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which brand sponsors, and non-sponsors, invested in heavily. During a key event such as this, brands are faced with a multitude of communications decisions based on the ‘severity vs. speed’ model, as follows:

evidenceA survey of UK consumers conducted by Gorkana Group revealed 36% of people changed the way they perceive brands associated with Suarez following the incident. Insight such as this provides a snapshot of the social conversation and informs brands that not everyone found this to be a laughing matter.

► Minor v Instant

Luis Suarez’s bite on Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini captured the attention of the world’s media and became one of the most talked about topics in social media in sporting history. It created the perfect opportunity for brands, unaffiliated to the World Cup, to react powerfully through the immediacy of social channels, and react they did! But how did brands choose whether to react or not, the stance they should take and the impact it may have on their audiences?

actionThis is a pivotal moment for non-sponsors to decide how best to react to an incident of any sort – or even to react at all. Obviously humour can backfire if a company fails to sense the tone and shares a joke with an unappreciative audience, but how can brands understand consumer perception of an incident such as ‘the bite’? Quite simply, ask them! A quick fire survey tool that provides rapid responses will arm brands with valuable insight on the attitudes of their target audience, so big decisions around communication and partnerships can be tailored accordingly.

Hey @luis16suarez. Next time you’re hungry just grab a Snickers. #worldcup#luissuarez#EatASNICKERS

SNICKERS®@SNICKERS

About Gorkana Group

Gorkana Group is the market leader in global media intelligence and connects brand owners and organisations to critical information and insight to help them control and manage their reputation across all media platforms. In today’s fast-paced media landscape, Gorkana’s unique blend of smart technology and bright analysts give its clients a clear competitive advantage.

With offices in London and New York, Gorkana provides a global media database and monitoring service with content analysed from over 150 countries in more than 50 languages. This is why 35,000 communication professionals rely on Gorkana every day.