Ethics
What’s the key to selling a car? Or anything else?
PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards, 2011
It’s one word.Just five letters.
And it defines each of the following people.
__ __ __ __ __
See if you can fill in the blanks based on hints in the following slides.
James Earl JonesNo. 1 on this attribute
Tom HanksNo. 2
Michael J. FoxNo. 3
Morgan FreemanNo. 4
Forbes e-Poll 2010
Others in the Top Ten on this attribute
Sally Field
Ron Howard
Will Smith
Bill Cosby
Denzel Washington
Mike Rowe
Forbes e-Poll 2010
__ R __ __ __
Need a hint?Let’s reveal one letter at a
time…
__ R __ S __
__ R U S __
TRUSTIt’s critical to success in public relations.
How many of you would associate the word trust with PR?Do you trust PR’s?
What does it say about us that some celebrities are trusted so much and
business, government and other institutions so little?
“There is a pervading crisis of confidence and trust in the global corporate culture. Trust has been ruptured between many organizations and their constituencies.
Yet trust is at the basis of every relationship. The loss of trust leads to the loss of
reputation and, ultimately, to the loss of business.”
Ruder-Finn Public Relations
Trusted? Top 10?
Trusted?
Who would you trust more – and why?
Trusted?
Trusted?
Activity one
Make a list of 5 brands you trust – 1 being the most trusted
Make a list of 5 brands you do not trust – 1 being the least trusted
Most Trusted Brand In the U.S. 2010
Millward Brown research, 2010http://www.millwardbrown.com/Home.aspx
#2 Most Trusted Brand in America
Millward Brown research, 2010
Top 10 Most Trusted Brands
Amazon.com
FedEx
Downy
Huggies
Tide
Tylenol
Toyota (changing?)
WebMd
Pampers
UPS
Milward Brown research, 2010
What about this year – who do you think have made the top 10?
Most Trusted Brand In the U.S. 2011
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2011/forbes-top-brands/lander.html
Is trust important to business?
“Trust is something business can’t do without...It isn’t some fuzzy nice-to-have; it’s the lubricant
without which the City and Wall Street are as frozen as a rusted motor.
If there is debt or credit, there has to be trust.”
Business columnist Simon Caulkin, The Guardian
0 20 40 60
FOXNEWS
CNN
NBC
CBS
ABC
Trust Distrust
Who is trusted among TV News Networks in US?
Public Policy Poll, 2010
America’s Most Trusted “Newsman”
Jon Stewart
Why is he trusted?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200907/why-jon-stewart-is-the-most-trusted-man-in-america
“Research in communication and psychology clearly shows that to be trusted a communicator has to be seen as knowledgeable and credible.
Surface characteristics, such as physical attractiveness, being expressive and articulate, also are connected to perceptions of trust.
Jon Stewart has the basics - he's articulate, expressive and appears knowledgeable.”
Can “Experts” Be Trusted?
2011 Edelman Trust Barometerhttp://edelman.com/trust/2011/
2011Edelman Trust Barometer
Key Finding from this years research
What professions are most trusted?
Will you define your profession?Or will it define you?
#1 Profession for Honesty and Ethical Standards
Nurses
Best (and worst) Professionsfor Honesty and Ethics
Gallup Poll, Nov. 2011 http://www.gallup.com
Who do you think was at the bottom?
CAN I TRUST YOU?That’s what defines reputation.
Think about your reputation – how you define yourself and how do you think others
perceive you
What Affects Corporate Reputation?
2010 Edelman Trust Barometer*Ranked #1 in 2006**Ranked #3 in 2006
DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT?
Trust is the most important consideration I make, even more than political viewpoint, when I consider who to vote
for, and more important than price and quality when I consider who I do business with, or who I invest with.
Researchers asked:
Edelman Trust Barometer, 2007
DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT?
Trust is the most important consideration I make, even more than political viewpoint, when I consider who to vote
for, and more important than price and quality when I consider who I do business with, or who I invest with.
85% Agreed66% Agreed StronglyOnly 10% Disagreed
Edelman Trust Barometer, 2007
Ethical behavior is the right thing to do.
It’s also the foundation of long-term business success and
profitability.
How to earn trust
Code of Ethics
The Public Relations Society of AmericaA standard for ethical behavior and trust building
Basic Code Principles
HonestyAdhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth
in advancing the interests of those you represent and in communicating with the public.
Maintain the integrity of relationships with the media, government officials, and the public.
To ensure honesty, investigate the accuracy of information given to you. Reveal sponsors for causes/interests. Disclose financial interests.
Basic Code Principles
FairnessDeal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers, vendors, the media, and the general public. Respect all
opinions and support the right of free expression.
Build trust with the public by revealing all information needed for responsible decision making.
Basic Code Principles
ExpertiseAdvance your profession through your continued
professional development, research, and education. Build mutual understanding, credibility and
relationships among a wide array of institutions and audiences.
Basic Code Principles
AdvocacyServe the public interest by acting as responsible
advocates for those you represent. Provide a voice for the organization through ideas, facts and viewpoints to
aid informed public debate.
Basic Code Principles
IndependenceProvide objective counsel to those you represent.
Avoid real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest you will build the trust of clients, employers and the
public.
Professional Standards Advisories
(Code Additions & Updates) Plagiarism
Falsely representing another’s ideas or words as your own
Be aware of copyright infringement
Must give proper credit to creator
Professional Standards Advisories
(Code Additions & Updates) Looking the Other Way
Failing to sound alarm for ethical dilemmas
Some professions don’t tell by custom
Too much “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”
Professional Standards Advisories
(Code Additions & Updates) Expropriation of Intellectual Property of
Others
Stealing ideas from business presentations
Can happen when ideas are presented as part of RFP (request for proposal)
Must have an upfront understanding and presentation must be presented with a copyright indicated
Professional Standards Advisories
(Code Additions & Updates) Use of Video News Releases as a Public
Relations Tool
Increasing scrutiny by governments and other large orgnisations
News stories, B-roll and clips on video are VNRs
Producers of VNRs must indicate their origin
TV stations must indicate the origin of a VNR
B-roll,B roll, orBrollis the supplemental or alternatefootageintercut with the main shot in ininterviewordocumentary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-roll VNR = Video News Release
DWYSYDCREDIBILITY IS:
DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO
The Page Principles(The Arthur W. Page Society includes PR leaders from America’s leading corporations)
http://www.awpagesociety.com/insights/winning-case-studies/
Tell the truth.
Prove it with action.
Listen to the customer.
Manage for tomorrow.
Conduct public relations as if the whole company depends on it.
Realize a company’s true character is expressed by its people.
Remain calm, patient and good-humored.
How does trust pay out?
Efficiency. Business transactions take longer and cost more when trust is absent.
Improved employee performance. One study showed trust in senior management improved profitability 13%.
Customer retention. Trust in salespeople has a significant impact on customer retention.
Vendor Selection. A survey of purchasing managers shows trust is a top criteria for selecting vendors.
Innovation. Product innovation increases when there is trust between business units.
Arthur W. Page Special Report, 2009
BAD PR...
Burson-Marsteller: Shame on BM for undertaking a whisper campaign against Google by its undisclosed client Facebook. To add insult to injury, the media pitches were made by two former senior journalists.
http://www.nevillehobson.com/2011/05/14/how-burson-marsteller-can-emerge-from-its-facebook-pr-fiasco/
http://www.theprcoach.com/b-m%E2%80%99s-bad-pr-adventure-ethics-lessons/
Reverb Communications: Phony technology product reviews can ruin your day, your agency reputation and make clients crazy. The FTC ordered the PR and marketing company to remove the fake iTunes reviews.
“Reverb Communications, a PR firm that represents dozens of game publishers and developers, has managed to find astounding success onApple’s App Storefor its clients. Among its various tactics? It hires a team of interns to trawl iTunes and other community forums posing as real users, and has them write positive reviews for their client’s applications. “http://techcrunch.com/2009/08/22/cheating-the-app-store-pr-firm-has-interns-post-positive-reviews-for-clients/
Board of Ethics and Professional StandardsPublic Relations Society of America
Sample Case Studies:Case #1: Entertainment is big among your readers. Several staff members want to review movies, and all of them want to review R-rated movies. How would you handle this situation?
Case #2: Mrs. Hayes is a dynamic, well-liked math teacher. She teaches mostly courses to advanced placement students. Over the summer she commits suicide. The newspaper staff has heard rumors that Mrs. Hayes was fired before her death. Several reporters want to write a story. How would you handle this decision?
Case #3: Yesterday the police arrested five students in a drug raid. The students were all smoking marijuana in a nearby drug house. Some staff members comment that there are several such houses nearby and that marijuana is available every day in school. They want to do a big story on the school's drug scene. How would you handle their request?
Case #4: Teen pregnancy has never been too prevalent in your school until recently. Now several reporters know of a handful of girls in your school that are pregnant. One girl is showing, and she's willing to talk about her situation. The others, however, seem to want their situation to stay under wraps. These reporters want to do a story on the recent wave of teen pregnancies in your school. How would you handle their request?
Case #5: Most students on the staff hold part-time jobs. One student who works at Pizza Jack's tells the staff about the cool new location opening up, and how the restaurant is going to have free prizes, food, and music to kick off the grand opening. This student asks if he can write a story about the event. What are the issues surrounding this, and what do you think about his request?
