Corporate online communications during the global financial crisis
WFE Workshop on Leadership & Communication
Zurich, February 19, 2009
Joakim Lundquist
Online communication and the crisis Defining features of communications during the crisis
Scarcity of information Widened interested audience Short window of opportunity to communicate
A unique opportunity to look at how companies communicate Allowed us to see what kind of crisis response companies had developed Allowed us to see what priority they placed on online communication Allowed us to see how present the management was
During a crisis the demand for information on companies goes beyond investors and journalists who are interested in the company on a day to day basis, but also extends to depositors and the general public, who are worried about the possible failure of financial institutions, and the consequences for the general economy
In this situation companies have a responsibility to be proactive in communicating with stakeholders and the public and inform them about the crisis and how the company is being affected
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Why the web?
Allows you to get your message across
Can provide context for the information presented
Hub for communicating
Reach a wider audience, 24 hours a day
Cost and time effective
Ability to supply greater amounts of company information
Interactivity
Information demand
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Jun
1 20
08
Jun
8 20
08
Jun
15 2
008
Jun
22 2
008
Jun
29 2
008
Jul 6
200
8
Jul 1
3 20
08
Jul 2
0 20
08
Jul 2
7 20
08
Aug
3 2
008
Aug
10
2008
Aug
17
2008
Aug
24
2008
Aug
31
2008
Sep
7 2
008
Sep
14
2008
Sep
21
2008
Sep
28
2008
Oct
5 2
008
Oct
12
2008
Oct
19
2008
Oct
26
2008
Nov
2 2
008
Financial Crisis Stock Market Core Capital
4
What people want to know what happened, what they can do, and how the crisis will affect them
Response is huge in terms of searches regarding the crisis in general and companies specifically
Reaction is immediate but short-lived
Short window of opportunity to respond
Financial news and research sites have also seen enormous increases in traffic over this period
Proliferating sources of information
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
Sep 1 2008
Sep 3 2008
Sep 5 2008
Sep 7 2008
Sep 9 2008
Sep 11 2008
Sep 13 2008
Sep 15 2008
Sep 17 2008
Sep 19 2008
Sep 21 2008
Sep 23 2008
Sep 25 2008
Sep 27 2008
Sep 29 2008
Lehman Brothers
Merril lynch
The Research – the supply of information Survey of 51 of the world’s
largest financial institutions and how the communicated during the month of October 2008
Looked at forms and types of ways they used the web
13 criteria examined
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CRITERIA:
Press releases
Web pages
Webcast
Management Statement
External links
Newsletter
Q&A
Home page
Direct reference to the crisis
Background to the crisis
Statements on financial stability
Economic analysis
Information about government action
CRITERIA:
Press releases
Web pages
Webcast
Management Statement
External links
Newsletter
Q&A
Home page
Direct reference to the crisis
Background to the crisis
Statements on financial stability
Economic analysis
Information about government action
Companies surveyed Company Country
Bank of America USA
Citigroup USA
Fannie Mae USA
Freddie Mac USA
Goldman Sachs USA
JP Morgan USA
Lehman Brothers USA
Merrill Lynch USA
NewYork Life USA
Wachovia USA
WAMU USA
Wells Fargo USA
Barclays UK
Bradford and Bingley UK
HBOS UK
Lloyds Tsb UK
RBS UK
Company Country
Swedbank SE
Danske Bank Nordic
Aegon Netherlands
ING Netherlands
Mitsubishi UFG Japan
Mizuho Financial Group Japan
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Italy
Intesa Sanpaolo Italy
Mediobanca Italy
Mediolanum Italy
UBI Banca Italy
Unicredit Italy
Glitnir Iceland
Kaupthing Iceland
Landsbanki Iceland
Banque Populaire France
BNP Paribas France
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Company Country
Caisse d'Epargne France
Crédit Agricole France
Crédit Mutuel France
Société Générale France
BBVA Spain
Santander Spain
Commerzbank Germany
Deutsche Bank Germany
Hypo Real Estate Germany
Credit Suisse Switzerland
UBS Switzerland
CIBC Canada
Royal Bank of Canada Canada
Dexia Belgium
Fortis Belgium
KBC Belgium
Main results Results can be analysed in 3 ways:
By overall types of responses used to the crisis
Geographical perspective By reaction based on what happened to the
company
Revealed: Companies ignored the crisis online (only
17 made a direct reference to it on their site) – “business as usual”
Management absent Companies were slow to react Failure to contextualize the crisis Little use of the homepage
Best companies (13 criteria,max 13 points):
Wells Fargo (10/13), BNP Paribas (9), Glitnir (9), Danske Bank (9), RBS (9), Aegon (8), Kapupthing (8), Swedbank (8) – Average score 4.5
Type of Information Percentage of companies
providing information
Press releases 76%
Dedicated webpage 27%
Webcast 29%
Management statement 31%
External links 16%
Newsletter 24%
Q&A 25%
Home page 73%
Direct reference to financial crisis? 35%
Background to the economic crisis 14%
Statements on financial stability 47%
Economic analysis 25%
Information about government action 24%
Online leadership
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Contextualised and accessible
Ways forward…
SpeedSpeed
Tell it allTell it all
Be transparent
Be transparent
Tell your story quickly or else other sources will rush to fill the vacuum
If you do not talk to the press, there is always someone else who will
Explain and contextualise
Management should be up-front and present
Use the web effectively – make the information easy-to-find, accessible and interactive
This requires…
Management commitment
Internal culture
Built up web capabilities
Organisation – standard operating procedures, dedicated resources
Make sure your message is consistent and coordinated
Live up to your brand promise!
Thank you
Lundquist Srl
Joakim Lundquist
Piazza XXV Aprile, 1
20121 Milan, Italy
Tel. +39 (0) 2 4547 7681