Project Description
Case study 2: Could spin doctors sell the brand leadership:
Sybil Rose Advertising and PR was approached by an organisation which had recently made a political appointment. The individual had the qualifications, the experience but lacked brand presence. She was also not trusted as she was not one of them within the organisation.
In addition, she was also not known in the media.
The starting point was to ensure the appointee’s brand was strengthened internally. People needed to buy into the brand and then we would capitalise on word of mouth marketing.
We set out timelines of six months to ensure how the brand perceptions would change.
We looked at what the vibes were internally and how she could be positioned as one of them. At the time of her appointment, 65% of the work force was seen as redundant. They lacked relevant skills and had timeously been reminded that new blood was needed.
Our first task was to ensure that she was perceived as someone with high levels of EQ. We created a plan for her where she would have consultations from top down to bottom up. She had already familiarised herself with policies as well as what the reality on the ground was. In each of these meetings; she was accompanied by the Heads of Human Capital and Communications, respectively.
The meetings were covered in the internal newsletter and there were opportunities for interaction through on-line and offline communication channels. Programmes were fast-tracked to assist some of the employees with repurposing their skills, social events were created that enabled to bridge the divide between those that had been made to feel as incompetent and useless against those suited for positions. Within nine months people were feeling appreciated as well as that they had a potential within the organisation. They were championing the presence of the ‘political appointee’. A narrative was created internally that the ‘political appointee’ was a breath of fresh air. The narrative was being taken externally and the media that had been at the forefront of vindicating the ‘appointee’ began to listen to the good things the CEO was doing.
Press briefings were held to showcase the accomplishments the CEO was making.
Internally, YouTube conversations were created for her to communicate with the workforce on weekly basis. The walk-abouts continued and more and more avenues of staff interaction were created.
The major success was that staff had to focus on the business agenda and regained confidence within the organisation.