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Public Relations Firms

Written by: Susan Lane

Article Overview: Coca-Cola announces a water conservation initiative with the World Wildlife Federation. McDonald’s recruits mothers to report on the quality of operations in its outlets. No matter where you look, the handy work of public relations firms is apparent. Around the world, these agencies are finding ways to make their clients look even better than we ever knew they could. Whether or not we agree with the politics behind the issues, we can surely agree that they are doing one heck of a good job. And, we can learn from all of their successes, their failures, and the roads in between.

Public Relations Firms

Coca-Cola announces a water conservation initiative with the World Wildlife Federation. McDonald’s recruits mothers to report on the quality of operations in its outlets. No matter where you look, the handy work of public relations firms is apparent. Around the world, these agencies are finding ways to make their clients look even better than we ever knew they could. Whether or not we agree with the politics behind the issues, we can surely agree that they are doing one heck of a good job. And, we can learn from all of their successes, their failures, and the roads in between.

For years, Coca-Cola has been the target of much criticism on a global scale. Whether it is concerning human rights violations on the part of Coca-Cola executives, or the environmental damage caused by their production plants, the company has found it difficult to escape much of the public’s condemning glare.

All the while, the company’s public relations department has been trying to keep up. Recently, the company announced a joint water conservation initiative with WWF, identifying seven areas around the world where it would fund projects. And, rather than leaving it at that, it created a b-roll video to be broadcast in media outlets around the world, publicizing the announcement in an effort to boost its corporate image and reputation.

Wherever corporate criticism seems to lie, public relations firms are not far behind. Another major multinational that has been at the forefront of global criticism is McDonald’s. As the problem of childhood obesity continues to climb, fingers have begun to point at McDonald’s. In response, the company recruited mothers to act as “quality correspondents,” observing on its production operations and the quality of its food. It then said it would give these mothers “avenues to be able to share their findings.”

Neither public relations campaigns, albeit relatively recent, have been able to completely rebuild the companies’ images in much of the public’s mind. Both companies remain two of the largest targets for advocates of corporate social responsibility. And, while both demonstrate the creativity that is behind the industry’s most successful firms, they also offer another lesson, that of responding too late.

Public relations firms are often in the business of crisis management, trying to restore whatever damage to a company’s public image that an event might have caused, and assuring stakeholders that things are on the mend. However, if crisis management alone is your strategy, then you are not going to get very far.

While crisis response is undoubtedly an important factor in the future of any company, so too is crisis prevention. As the saying goes, it takes a second to forgive someone, but a lifetime to forget. It is far easier to promote your company before it becomes known for poor working conditions or corrupt executives, than it is after the fact. By staying on top of your game, and trying to avoid crises of poor reputation, you will minimize the amount of damage control you will need to do later on.

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