Category Archives: Blog

It’s true what they say: prevention is better than cure

In light of the recent H&M debacle, I think many in the industry will agree that it’s time a chair is permanently reserved for a Public Relations or Reputation Management Specialist at the table where Marketing and Ad Execs conceptualise, build and sign off campaigns. This, I believe, is a critical move, especially as multi-national companies are fighting for relevance and market share in different markets – markets with varying sensitivities and histories.

Being aware of and sensitive to market nuances where a campaign will be launched, and having PR approve – and sanitise, if need be – the campaign could mean the difference between its success and having your PR team later writing holding statements, answering a barrage of media queries and putting out social media fires lit by incensed consumers inspired by what was once thought of as a genius idea.

Taking a moment to reflect on a potential campaign by applying the PR and Reputation Management lens will save a lot of people a lot of trouble, including that poor junior staff member who is always thrown under the bus in place of incompetent senior executives too drunk on their own brilliance to have someone look through their work with said lens.

(I should, at this point, express that judging the credibility of campaigns is not necessarily an exclusive function of PR; in the absence of a PR or Reputation Management Specialist, bouncing the idea off any qualified third-party person or group should suffice.)

However, it’s not enough to let your PR and Reputation Management team know of a campaign when all has been finalised or at roll-out stage. A good brand campaign is one that has been tested on all marketing elements to whom reputation is critical. PR teams generally have access to case studies from different industries and markets which they can consult and from which they formulate probabilities that may impact specific campaigns.

Prevention is always better than any of the strategies PR can employ to stop the brand haemorrhaging any equity should a campaign cause widespread offense. Consequences are just too high, and the road to recovery that much harder. A temporary inconvenience could potentially save a brand’s reputation and millions in revenue.

Reserving a chair for a PR and Reputational expert will add value in more ways than one: having campaigns that are likely to surpass expectations, take consumers on a journey through on-point messaging, and build brand affinity are only a few.

Thandukwazi Gcabashe – Account Director 

Corporate reputation in the financial sector – Insights by Magna Carta  

The banking industry was turbulent in 2016. Among many other high profile events, Barclays sold its shares in Barclay’s Africa, announced in March 2016[1]. The banks became embroiled in the volatile political climate of the country, and banking for the working class became more topical, resulting in the South African Post Office being granted approval to establish its own bank[2], while African Bank was relaunched after being placed on Curatorship in August 2014[3]. The prevalence of these crises and the importance of this industry to the South African economy inspired Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants to include this sector in our recent research project on corporate reputation.

The Africa Reputation Index (ARI) is an instrument designed to measure corporate reputation in 5 separate industries, including the financial sector.  We began with a focus on South Africa and plan to roll the index out to additional countries in Africa in the future.

The ARI found that the top driver of corporate reputation in the banking sector is ‘being available and responsive to customer needs’, a driver of customer satisfaction (CS). In fact, collectively, all drivers of customer satisfaction are highly ranked, resulting in the CS attribute coming out as most important in this sector. In general, banks should prioritise the service acumen of their staff, especially those who deal directly with clients at the first touchpoint.

There is no doubt South Africa has a well-developed and well-regulated banking system[4]. We tend to talk about the big 5 banks, with the recent addition of Capitec to the traditional big 4 (Standard Bank, ABSA, Nedbank and FNB)[5]. Capitec is not a full service bank, but with a 26% increase in headline earnings at the end of February, 2016 to R3.2 Billion and over 7 million clients[6], Capitec is now established as a major contender in the consumer banking industry. Consumers agree that our banking industry is well-established, and according to the ARI, most are known for maintaining a good standard.

Capitec’s strategy has been to focus on customer service and this is reflected in the results of the SA Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi) by research firm, Consulta, where consumers consistently rate Capitec has having the highest customer satisfaction scores[7]. When looking at corporate reputation, Magna Carta’s ranking of the banks varies somewhat from Consulta’s customer satisfaction scale, but customer satisfaction is just one element of corporate reputation.

Meanwhile, the decision by some of the top banks to close the accounts of certain politically connected people in 2016 landed them in the middle of the South African political narrative. Consumers may hold diverse opinions on the banks’ position, but either way the action links to overall integrity perceptions of this industry. Integrity was found to be the second ranked reputation attribute in the financial services industry, according to the ARI.

As a close third to integrity, offering a good working environment is an important driver of corporate reputation. In general, none of the banks stand out on their employment offerings.

The banking industry has dealt with a series of retrenchments over the years which may influence perceptions around job stability at these companies. Surveys conducted by organisations such as the Top Employers Institute do not see South African banks in the top 10 employers, unless divided by industry where the major players stand out over lesser known banks[8],[9],[10],[11]. Standard Bank received recognition for having best employee policies in the SAGEA Employer Awards, 2016[12].

Consistent with other industries explored, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) drivers were rated as least important in driving corporate reputation in the financial services industry (motor vehicles was 8/9). This is not to say that these drivers aren’t important, but others are more likely to improve reputation perceptions. CSI is often recognised more by employees and is part of the internal corporate culture than external corporate reputation. Despite the extensive CSI undertakings that banks engage in, they are generally not well defined on giving back to the community or other CSI initiatives. CSI is often deeply connected to an individual’s value systems and so, while these initiatives may do wonderful work, they are perhaps less impactful when viewed from the broader societal viewpoint. Insights from our qualitative research showed that CSI is more important to middle income consumers than lower or higher income individuals.

By taking research and insights provided by the ARI on board financial services companies can radically improve their reputations. It all starts by closing the gap between what they perceive they are doing right and what consumers actually believe.

 

About Magna Carta’s Africa Reputation Index

Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants, in collaboration with Yellowwood, a leading marketing strategy consultancy, developed a Reputation Index with the aim of measuring corporate reputation in the African context. Data was collated using a robust research study from a sample of 1 304 South Africans. Respondents were asked to select an industry, identify different companies in the industry, and then rate the companies on a series of 44 reputational drivers that had been identified from the focus groups and in-depth Interviews.

About Magna Carta

Magna Carta is a seasoned African consultancy that thinks globally and delivers full reputation management solutions to organisations and individuals that take their reputations seriously. We have affiliates in 18 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and are part of the Omnicom group which has 265 offices in 100 countries. We have also been named African Consultancy of the Year 2016 by The Holmes Report.

Founded in 1994, the year of South Africa’s democracy, Magna Carta understands the value of freedom and liberty for all people as well as the responsibility that comes with that freedom, and has since grown into one of Africa’s largest and most respected reputational management consultancies.

[1] http://www.enca.com/money/barclays-confirms-it-exiting-africa

[2] http://ewn.co.za/2016/07/09/Post-Office-to-launch-its-own-bank

[3] https://mybroadband.co.za/news/banking/160466-african-bank-relaunches-in-south-africa.html

[4] http://www.banking.org.za/docs/default-source/publication/banking-sector-overview.pdf?sfvrsn=6

[5] https://businesstech.co.za/news/banking/118310/south-africa-has-a-new-big-five/

[6] https://businesstech.co.za/news/banking/118310/south-africa-has-a-new-big-five/

[7] http://www.destinyconnect.com/2017/03/06/consumers-give-capitec-thumbs-5th-consecutive-year/

[8] https://www.investec.co.za/content/dam/investec/investec.co.za/documents/ca-programme/SAGEA%20Surveys%20Awards%20Press%20Release%202016.pdf

[9] http://www.timeslive.co.za/lifestyle/article1627159.ece

[10] http://www.fin24.com/Economy/SAs-best-employer-named-20131003

[11] http://www.fin24.com/Economy/the-best-company-to-work-for-in-africa-is-20160124

[12] https://m.careers24.com/career-advice/career-growth/5-south-african-employers-with-the-best-policies-20160805

 

Corporate reputation in the financial sector – Insights by Magna Carta

The banking industry was turbulent in 2016. Among many other high profile events, Barclays sold its shares in Barclay’s Africa, announced in March 2016 . The banks became embroiled in the volatile political climate of the country, and banking for the working class became more topical, resulting in the South African Post Office being granted approval to establish its own bank , while African Bank was relaunched after being placed on Curatorship in August 2014 . The prevalence of these crises and the importance of this industry to the South African economy inspired Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants to include this sector in our recent research project on corporate reputation.

The Africa Reputation Index (ARI) is an instrument designed to measure corporate reputation in 5 separate industries, including the financial sector. We began with a focus on South Africa and plan to roll the index out to additional countries in Africa in the future.
The ARI found that the top driver of corporate reputation in the banking sector is ‘being available and responsive to customer needs’, a driver of customer satisfaction (CS). In fact, collectively, all drivers of customer satisfaction are highly ranked, resulting in the CS attribute coming out as most important in this sector. In general, banks should prioritise the service acumen of their staff, especially those who deal directly with clients at the first touchpoint.

 
There is no doubt South Africa has a well-developed and well-regulated banking system . We tend to talk about the big 5 banks, with the recent addition of Capitec to the traditional big 4 (Standard Bank, ABSA, Nedbank and FNB) . Capitec is not a full service bank, but with a 26% increase in headline earnings at the end of February, 2016 to R3.2 Billion and over 7 million clients , Capitec is now established as a major contender in the consumer banking industry. Consumers agree that our banking industry is well-established, and according to the ARI, most are known for maintaining a good standard.

Capitec’s strategy has been to focus on customer service and this is reflected in the results of the SA Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi) by research firm, Consulta, where consumers consistently rate Capitec has having the highest customer satisfaction scores . When looking at corporate reputation, Magna Carta’s ranking of the banks varies somewhat from Consulta’s customer satisfaction scale, but customer satisfaction is just one element of corporate reputation.

Meanwhile, the decision by some of the top banks to close the accounts of certain politically connected people in 2016 landed them in the middle of the South African political narrative. Consumers may hold diverse opinions on the banks’ position, but either way the action links to overall integrity perceptions of this industry. Integrity was found to be the second ranked reputation attribute in the financial services industry, according to the ARI.

As a close third to integrity, offering a good working environment is an important driver of corporate reputation. In general, none of the banks stand out on their employment offerings. The banking industry has dealt with a series of retrenchments over the years which may influence perceptions around job stability at these companies. Surveys conducted by organisations such as the Top Employers Institute do not see South African banks in the top 10 employers, unless divided by industry where the major players stand out over lesser known banks , , , . Standard Bank received recognition for having best employee policies in the SAGEA Employer Awards, 2016 .

 
Consistent with other industries explored, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) drivers were rated as least important in driving corporate reputation in the financial services industry (motor vehicles was 8/9). This is not to say that these drivers aren’t important, but others are more likely to improve reputation perceptions. CSI is often recognised more by employees and is part of the internal corporate culture than external corporate reputation. Despite the extensive CSI undertakings that banks engage in, they are generally not well defined on giving back to the community or other CSI initiatives. CSI is often deeply connected to an individual’s value systems and so, while these initiatives may do wonderful work, they are perhaps less impactful when viewed from the broader societal viewpoint. Insights from our qualitative research showed that CSI is more important to middle income consumers than lower or higher income individuals. By taking research and insights provided by the ARI on board financial services companies can radically improve their reputations. It all starts by closing the gap between what they perceive they are doing right and what consumers actually believe.

About Magna Carta’s Africa Reputation Index

Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants, in collaboration with Yellowwood, a leading marketing strategy consultancy, developed a Reputation Index with the aim of measuring corporate reputation in the African context. Data was collated using a robust research study from a sample of 1 304 South Africans. Respondents were asked to select an industry, identify different companies in the industry, and then rate the companies on a series of 44 reputational drivers that had been identified from the focus groups and in-depth Interviews.
About Magna Carta

Magna Carta is a seasoned African consultancy that thinks globally and delivers full reputation management solutions to organisations and individuals that take their reputations seriously. We have affiliates in 18 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and are part of the Omnicom group which has 265 offices in 100 countries. We have also been named African Consultancy of the Year 2016 by The Holmes Report.

Founded in 1994, the year of South Africa’s democracy, Magna Carta understands the value of freedom and liberty for all people as well as the responsibility that comes with that freedom, and has since grown into one of Africa’s largest and most respected reputational management consultancies.

Magna Carta Africa Reputation Index zones in on telecoms: How telecoms companies can close reputational gaps

Managing corporate reputation is vital and can go a long way in improving consumer loyalty and assisting with stakeholder negotiations. However, companies need to begin by asking: What drives reputation? Where should they focus their attention?

Telecommunications companies are not only facing threats to their reputations by falling foul of regulators, but also increasingly from consumers who are quite happy airing their grievances in the court of public opinion online.

To assist corporates to improve reputation management and close gaps that exist between perception and reality, Magna Carta in 2016 invested in the development of the Africa Reputation Index, an instrument designed to measure corporate reputation in 5 separate industries, including telecommunications.  We started with a focus on South Africa and plan to roll the index out to additional countries in Africa in the future.

315 South African consumers took part in the telecommunications survey. The results allowed us to derive the important drivers of reputation in the industry, rate how companies performed on these drivers, and allocate an index score to each organisation comparative purposes. The results not only allow companies to see how they perform, but more importantly, how they perform based on what consumers actually think is important.

In this industry, the top driver of reputation is recommendation. For word of mouth (WOM) recommendation to happen, a consumer must want to put their own reputation on the line. Recommendation in this industry is synergistic with the deep personal connection consumer feel with their mobile devices. Our research findings show that no players in this industry are defined by recommendation. That is, consumers don’t see any of the companies as one they would recommend over any other.

This is important to address. WOM is a natural form of communication that occurs when consumers feel that the company is listening to them and responding. It is related to many other drivers of reputation such as customer service, governance and trust. Because we know that consumers are less than happy with the available service offerings, a first place to start would be to look at how companies respond to consumers on various platforms.

Interestingly, even though South Africans are campaigning for cheap data (#datamustfal) value for money was ranked #27 out of 44. While companies are not known for offering good value, this is less important than other drivers such as a good business focus and having good management.

Drivers that related to ‘Good Governance’ had the strongest influence of reputation in telecommunications. This suggests that media reports have had a strong impact on how the public perceives this industry. With little differentiation between the major telecommunications companies, news is likely to shift industry perceptions as well as company perceptions. Companies in this sector struggle with perceptions around integrity – consumers who don’t trust a company are unlikely to recommend it.

Corporate Social Investment has minimal influence over corporate reputation. This is not to say that CSI is unimportant, but other drivers have a stronger influence than CSI. CSI initiatives are often better known to employees than consumers, and perhaps there are other areas to address first before consumers feel that CSI initiatives can increase in priority.

About Magna Carta’s Africa Reputation Index

Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants, in collaboration with Yellowwood, a leading marketing strategy consultancy, developed a Reputation Index with the aim of measuring corporate reputation in the African context. Data was collated using a robust research study from a sample of 1 304 South Africans. Respondents were asked to select an industry, identify different companies in the industry, and then rate the companies on a series of 44 reputational drivers that had been identified from the focus groups and in-depth Interviews.

About Magna Carta
Magna Carta is a seasoned African consultancy that thinks globally and delivers full reputation management solutions to organisations and individuals that take their reputations seriously. We have affiliates in 18 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and are part of the Omnicom group which has 265 offices in 100 countries. We have also been named African Consultancy of the Year 2016 by The Holmes Report.

Founded in 1994, the year of South Africa’s democracy, Magna Carta understands the value of freedom and liberty for all people as well as the responsibility that comes with that freedom, and has since grown into one of Africa’s largest and most respected reputational management consultancies.

 

The Big Lesson from 2016 – Enterprise Internet Reputation Management is Vital

Digital is driving business and is vital for any enterprise’s growth but it has created big reputational pitfalls as seen during 2016. We all know that digital allows enterprises to engage directly with their customers, provides new marketing channels and also allows customers to let you know about their problems, but and there is a BIG BUT!

The challenge is that now we want direct access to company executives and expect them to not only be online, but responsive and engaging. The pitfalls that we have seen this year from executives include expressing damaging opinions in the heat of the moment, or without context (which cannot be expressed in 140 characters).

This is why internet reputation management is a must for every business organisation. The tracking of public opinion, analysing of these, and finally interpreting meaningful information out of it can be used to build your reputation management strategy.

Social profiler training is also vital in that it prepares C-suite executives to enter the digital world and understand that everything posted on the internet lives forever – deleting a tweet doesn’t mean someone hasn’t screen grabbed it.

Internet reputation management includes the creation and implementation of social media policies as well as social media crisis communications strategies.

We at Magna Carta leverage the powerful role that reputation management and PR play in the marketing mix, through our social media profiler for C-suite executives, media training for business leaders and spokespeople and full reputation management services and crisis communication workshops. Don’t wait until you or your enterprises is in need of crisis communication, contact us today to keep your reputation intact.

For more info contact:  Kalay Maistry, Business Unit Head

Digital and Strategic Advisory services

Magna Carta wins Best marketing & communications consultancy in AGF Service Providers Awards

Magna Carta has just been named Best marketing & communications consultancy 2016 by the Africa Global Fund Service Providers Awards. With 29 categories all in all, we’re proud to have gone up against great agencies, like Cambial Communications and Frontier Funds, in this category.

magna-award2

 
Business Unit Head Moliehi Molekoa and Senior Account Director Lee Stokes flew down from our Johannesburg office to attend the awards at Rotunda Bay Hotel.

magna-award

We would like to thank Africa Global Fund for this prestigious award, and most importantly our entire Magna Carta staff for continuously delivering great work and going above and beyond what is required.

Tiisetso Gama, Internal Communications

The Sponsors Who Captured the Most Social Engagement during Rio 2016

With any major sporting event, we know that brands will fight not only to sponsor the world’s greatest athletes, but to push their international marketing efforts, especially using social and digital media. This year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, hosted in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, were no different as sponsors jostled to capture the most social engagement.

The Rio Olympics received official sponsorships from the world’s biggest brands – Samsung, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s – giving us a front row seat to watch innovative marketing campaigns unfold, and causing this year’s Game’s to be declared the most social ever. Ratings on traditional media channels, such as TV, continue to drop; thus social media was the perfect platform to connect with fans and athletes alike. Platforms used included Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, which helped the brands solidify their presence and reach with round-the-clock coverage, while talking to their customers directly where they are.

“That includes behind-the-scenes access, Facebook Live interviews, social media takeovers by athletes, real-time score updates, tune-in streaming info, social polls, articles, videos and photo galleries from NBCOlympics.com.”- adweek.com

While Facebook was the main social platform used to share official content, Instagram came out on top when it came to engagement.

Samsung’s #DoWhatYouCant campaign mini-series “highlights personal battles of sacrifice, illness and never giving up”. However, what landed them on the top spot is their ‘connections without borders’ mantra that showcased their Galaxy S7 Edge. They achieved global interest and recognition through emotive and motivational ads, namely “The Chant” and “The Anthem”. The Chant features South Sudan’s first ever Olympic team member, athlete Margret Rumat Rumat Hassan. The Anthem combines the world’s national anthems into one song, showing how we only have geographical barriers that can be broken if we unify and connect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBxMpuiBO7Q

Timepiece brand Omega won overall engagement on Instagram with their hashtag #recordingdreams, a ‘movement’ supported by brand ambassadors Michael Phelps, Chad Le Clos, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Sergio Garcia. They achieved this through rich imagery, influencer marketing, and relevant and timely content, although Samsung had the most engaging posts on Instagram.

chad

However, some brands that weren’t official sponsors still managed to break through: National Lottery sponsored Team Great Britain, who boasted a record-breaking result as they won more medals this year than the Olympics they hosted. @TeamGB saw over 100 000 new followers and players’ paid tribute to the continued support and sponsorship from the brand that afforded the athletes the opportunity to train, compete and excel.

Under Armour, an American sports clothing and accessories company, got everyone talking as USA’s gymnastics team and new star of Team USA Simone Biles performed their routines in their apparel; while the Michael Phelps video that was part of the Rule Yourself campaign created a social stir.

One thing that is clear is that brands need to capitalise on social media and new digital streams in order to make an impact, whether they are sponsors or not. And just for good measure, although not on our list, we have to share this brilliant Nike ad that features our golden girl Caster Semenya, who came home with a gold medal for her world-class performance in the women’s 1 500m race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ6vJ5o4GDE

Tiisetso Gama, Internal Communications Manager

The Craft of Visual Storytelling

As a PR professional, I often find myself in a lot of meetings where the term ‘storytelling’ is thrown around by the advertising agency, digital agency and, of course, by us, the PR agency.

So, what’s all the fuss about, and is this just the next short-lived marketing fad or something more sustainable?

My gut tells me branded content and visual storytelling is here to stay, here are a few reasons why I believe this to be true:

Images win over text

tanya blog visual
Image : Urs Fischer exhibition at Garage Gallery of Modern Art Moscow.

Text can be complex, pictures, by contrast, are simple.

Every day, we face a flood of messages and information for which we have little time to process. Text takes time to read and comprehend, but pictures function quickly, breaking through to consumers to grab their attention.

The world is global, and so our communication needs to work globally. Text must be translated, while images effortlessly tell a story across cultures and languages.

 

Storytelling toolbox delivers

We now have a number of tools to help us craft visual stories: The infographic is already considered ‘so yesterday’; multimedia and video continue to gain popularity; and gifs are on the rise along with cinematography, not to mention the growing use of virtual and augmented reality.

All of these are aimed at grabbing our attention, decorating the story, entertaining, inspiring and motivating, and forcing us to visualise.

The new grammar of storytelling includes colour, focus, style, contrast, frames, and perspective.

We all see the value

The rise of Netflix has recently taken branded content to a new level; communicators have realised that to advertise effectively, to peak attention and interest, they have to break out of old habits and set new, compelling standards for branded content and video advertising.

A great example is Farmland, a documentary sponsored by major U.S. agricultural companies that offers an absorbing first-hand look into the lives of six farmers.

While sponsoring content may not seem particularly game changing, it’s Netflix’s market dominance combined with a willingness to test new advertising methods that’s changing the game for the better.

None of this is particularly surprising to us, right? Right, but finding, sourcing, licensing, publishing and sharing images that tell a story isn’t as easy as it sounds. Fortunately, now is the time to ride the tide of a visual tsunami to get our clients to see the value of visual storytelling .

Tanya Buckley
Head of Content

Magna Carta wins African PR Consultancy of the Year 2016

Reputation Management agency, Magna Carta, won the Africa PR Consultancy of the year category at the SABRE Awards in Berlin, Germany last night.

Vincent Holmes

The awards were hosted by the Holmes Report, with their editors having reviewed the performance of 400 agencies based on their Report Card research process.  The judging process was extensive, involving hundreds of submissions from the best public relations and strategic communications firms from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Five African PR agencies were in the running for the prestigious Africa PR Agency of the Year award: Epic MSGLROUP, Atmosphere, Burson-Marsteller, Djembe Communications and Magna Carta.

SABRE Awards EMEA.jpg-large

“We were delighted to be amongst top agencies as finalists for Africa PR Agency of the Year and we are thrilled to be recognised by the industry and our peers,” says CEO Vincent Magwenya.

With an ever-growing pan-African network of 19 countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Angola, Mozambique and, most recently, Zimbabwe, Magna Carta’s philosophy of continuous evolution remains a key driver in integrating global best practice, while keeping a finger on the pulse of local services and offerings