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The many forms of communication are often discussed in terms of how they can develop and generate opportunities. Little is said however of its uses when everything is going wrong and the only coverage you are getting is negative. Why is this?

When it is, it is often spoke of as being better than none at all. As Oscar Wilde once said “the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” What is meant by this is If you can ride the difficulties there is the opportunity to emerge with your rise drawing substantial attention and interest which, accompanied by that already generated by the negative coverage, can lead to further success.

How accurate though is such an assumption? Is it better to be discussed in any light than not at all or is it simply good fortune that brings future accomplishments after an unfavourable spotlight?

Media coverage of BP’s disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico can hardly be described as promotional. Huge financial costs and a drop in confidence has seen share prices plummet. The terrible loss of life in the initial disaster and features showing the effect on iconic, helpless wildlife has even led to BP Chief Executive Tony Haywood being labelled as the most hated man in the USA.

BP’s response has been to document its attempts to rectify the leak but this has been somewhat undermined by its failure to do so and the emergence of details accounting the accident to BP negligence. Its most recent attempt to null the criticisms has been to allow journalists access to the company’s crisis centre. Although showing it is working hard to fix the leak it has not come early enough and its effect will be limited amongst the allegations of cost cutting influences.  

The severity and length of the problems means there is very little for BP to attain from the situation unlike suggested by assumptions valuing all communication. It is hard not to speculate though that had the leak been swiftly stopped, it would have drawn valuable public and business interest despite the severity.

Presentation of BP as being a company which valued and put procedures in place to ensure and reflect its social responsibilities rather than being driven solely by profit margins at any cost, as commonly thought of the oil industry, would have recovered some of the reputation lost by the initial disaster if it had been done in the early stages. This could have prevented them being dragged through what can be described as a lengthy, hostile media portrayal. 

With its communication of attempted solutions being out weighted, BP’s recovery will be reliant on its previously strong identity. The extent to which its identity and reputation can be recovered however remains to be seen.   

The foundations of any company’s business model, irrespective of their size or sector, are formed by their corporate identity and brand positioning. This is somewhat common knowledge but of increasing importance as marketing budgets are tightened.

Establishing a strong, well known identity is not an easy task but the gains of successfully doing so are prosperous. Recent weeks have seen Apple overtake Microsoft as the most valuable technology producing company thanks to its extensive profits.

Effective communication of Apple’s identity and product lines means very few would fail to recognise their logo, associate them as a leader of ground breaking home and office technology or name any of its products. Mass enthusiasm surrounds Apple’s identity as consumers aim to get their hands on the technology and suppliers compete to sell it. 

The question that dominates in the current economic climate is where do you prioritise your marketing communications spending to raise the profile of your organisation? An especially tough decision when tight budgets increase the pressure for clearly visible results.  

Such budget management is even more difficult with specialised communication agencies competing for a large share. Full service agencies offer an attractive means of consolidating marketing, advertising and public relations under one roof with many also having a digital arm to coincide with the expanding opportunities offered by interactive media thus offering multi platform reach.

Using such agencies allows all areas of your marketing strategy to be easily co-ordinated to communicate consistent, clear and direct messages. These are key to any branding campaign as the profiles and values expressed build a relationship between the audience and your corporate, product and/or service identity; an awareness that encourages future business.

The communication of success stories and strong products and/or services through PR, advertising and marketing alongside an establishing identity further enhances brand strength. A strength which continues to grow as awareness of your brand does, opening more opportunities for future business and expansion.

Such growth reflects the need for the continuous management of your identity and brand positioning. Once established, they need to prosper through regular up to date communication rather than fade into the background if they are to be successful.  

This is as time consuming as it sounds but it is essential. Again a full service agency can be of great use here as they can tailor and progress communication activity across all areas with this purpose in mind.  

Although just the roots of marketing activity, it offers the foundations from which future campaigns can be built. Once established, corporate identity is further enhanced by all positive future communication increasing business opportunities and therefore providing significant returns on investments in it. 

The importance of effective marketing and PR has never been so apparent. Take the recent election for example. Much has been made of forgotten microphones, misplaced statements, media appearances and if the formation of a coalition government will be accepted.

What is clear is the power of our, the public’s, perceptions. Reputation management, whether it be how you market services or products, present your current affairs and the way in which you recruit and expand is crucial for success especially in such a tough economic environment.

One slip, even of the tongue, could be very costly!

This month Experian released a new report entitled ‘Engaging online with the Empowered Consumer’ which looks at how effectively businesses are using their website and e-channels to market to their customers.

Essentially the report found that many retailer and e-commerce businesses are not doing everything they could to nurture and grow their customerbase.

Using the home shopping sector as an example, Experian’s analysis reveals the harsh reality of customer engagement:

- 45% of customers are single purchasers, with figures rising as high as 75% in some cases.

- 60-70% of ‘best’ customers have not purchased in the last 12 months, signifying that companies are taking one or two seasons to recognise that high value customers have lapsed.

- 30% of customers generate nearly 70% of revenues.

The moral of all this, is to make sure your valuable existing and previous customers don’t forget about you! How can this be achieved? Well, if you’ve built up a database of customers’ email addresses who have either opted in to receive information from yourself, or indeed previously used your services or bought from your e-commerce store, you can gently remind them of your wonderful products and services through well placed e-newsletters.

The way to keep your subscribers paying attention to your unashamed marketing is to offer incentives along with the pushing of products. Promo codes on e-newsletters for certain products shows the receiver it’s worth keeping on the mailing list.As an perhaps coming up to Mother’s Day, your e-newsletter could suggest suitable gifts for the number one woman in your life.