{"id":721,"date":"2018-01-09T18:10:32","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T16:10:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2017.liberty.ua?p=721"},"modified":"2018-05-04T10:14:44","modified_gmt":"2018-05-04T07:14:44","slug":"doverie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/library\/pr-campaigns\/doverie\/","title":{"rendered":"Building trust at a new stage of the company's operations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eastman Kodak Company
\ntogether with the Shandwick agency
\nSilver Anvil Award for 1999.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Overview<\/h3>\n

\"Can George Fisher turn Kodak around?\" wondered the author of a Business Week editorial on 20 October 1997. The much-talked-about change in the company's market behaviour was not going to be easy. Growing losses from investments in new projects, loss of market share due to aggressive behaviour of competitors, and the devastating impact of currency fluctuations only contributed to a sharp decline in revenues and profits, adversely affecting all target audiences - customers, employees, the media, investors and the local community.<\/p>\n

From the very beginning of his tenure at Kodak (late 1993), CEO George Fisher, together with President Dan Carp, managed to implement what many consider to be a remarkable change in the company's course. But in 1997, market conditions changed dramatically, causing Kodak's management to question their management skills. To remedy the situation, managers had to make a number of bold decisions, which could take up to two years to implement. The work of any company's management team is most fruitful in an environment of trust and understanding. If you manage to gain the support of your staff, customers, investors and the local community, then a well-managed business can solve any problem. But achieving such a high degree of trust can sometimes be very difficult, especially in an environment of widespread scepticism. The following is a look at how Kodak's vital corporate transformation was built on this trust.<\/p>\n

Research.<\/h3>\n

The Marketing Research Department studied the impact of the market situation on the company's reputation. The aim of the research was to determine what kind of problems the company would face if it changed its course to a more effective one. The two parts of the study helped to determine the attitude towards the company and develop a strategy for its PR departments.<\/p>\n

1. How it all started.<\/strong>\u00a0According to the results of biannual public opinion surveys, by the end of 1997, Kodak's perception of the company had changed for the worse. This was particularly true in terms of well-being and management effectiveness. Every six months, the company surveys several thousand of its workers and employees worldwide to take steps to improve working conditions, including steps to build trust in management. All indicators showed a sharp decline. CARMA International analysed the media coverage of Kodak's activities: it found that 63% of the press coverage was negative and only 28% was positive.<\/p>\n

2. What was to be done.<\/strong>\u00a0An independent study of the opinions of key media outlets covering Kodak's work showed that journalists believed the company should pay more attention to its press relations. A survey of investors revealed a lack of trust in the actions of the company's management, dissatisfaction with the way the company discloses information, and a pessimistic assessment of any change in the company's structure. The extremely negative perception of the company by the press and investors was exacerbated by the fact that many questioned the ability of managers to solve the problems it faced. This research helped the management to develop the company's communication policy.<\/p>\n

\nPlanning<\/h3>\n

The business plan concerned all employees of the company and required everyone to be fully committed to success.<\/p>\n

Objectives.<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Reducing the company's assets by at least USD 1 billion by selling some of its assets, reducing portfolio investments and cutting 20,000 jobs among the company's 101,000 employees worldwide.<\/li>\n
  • To use reserve funds for economic growth and to strengthen the company's market position.<\/li>\n
  • Focus on digital imaging technologies, attracting partners, like-minded people and shareholders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Strategy.<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Kodak's Communications & Public Affairs Department developed and implemented a bold plan. The goal was to communicate to customers, employees, media, investors and local communities about the tough but necessary steps that were coming and how they would help the company improve its performance and make a long-term change in course. The development of an effective communication strategy went against the plans of the company's managers. From the very beginning of its implementation, the department's representatives coordinated the actions of managers. The department worked with Kodak Investor Relations and the Shandwick PR agency to develop and implement the business plan. Based on research conducted in 1997, it set the goal for 1998 as restoring confidence in the competence of the managers who are changing the company's course, both internally and externally.<\/li>\n
    • To achieve this goal, the Communications and Public Affairs Department developed a programme of action called Rolling Thunder, which was designed to promote the company's turnaround efforts. This two-stage strategy was intended to help Kodak cope with the unfavourable market conditions of 1997 and plan for further successful development of the company starting in 1998. According to this document, it was planned to make extensive use of all means of communication and PR. The primary focus was on keeping employees informed, while at the same time keeping it within the bounds of reason.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The key message was that by reducing its assets by $1 billion, Kodak would be able to strengthen its market position, take the initiative and achieve profit growth.
      \nBudget. In 1998, the company spent about $965,000 on the implementation of the Thunderbolts plan. Of this amount, 10% was spent on planning, 10% on evaluation and analysis, and 80% on financing the work of the company's PR departments.
      \nImplementation<\/p>\n

        \n
      • \u00a0Kodak used every opportunity to influence its target audiences. During the last four months of 1997, various announcements were made about the restructuring plan, which included job cuts and other austerity measures. In 1998 and early 1999, the Communications and Public Affairs Department focused on educating target audiences about the company's plans for the future.<\/li>\n
      • \u00a0At the end of 1997, the communication policy implemented by Fisher, Karp and their colleagues included contact with staff through newsletters, internal information networks and the production of special videos.<\/li>\n
      • External audiences learned about the corporate changes through press releases and interviews published in key media outlets, which paved the way for a major investor and press meeting scheduled for 11 November 1997. The meeting was to approve the company's restructuring plan. Later, on 18 December 1997, concrete steps were announced. In 1998, the company organised:<\/li>\n
      • A number of events ranging from press conferences to meetings to develop a strategy for the company's behaviour in the Chinese market and to establish partnerships with America Online (AOL) and Intel to improve the way we implement digital technologies and ultimately influence consumers;<\/li>\n
      • management issued newsletters, a newspaper (including the Our Business in Pictures supplement), internal information networks, and meetings between management and employees, which helped to influence customers;<\/li>\n
      • Focused press communication programmes to better inform journalists;<\/li>\n
      • three important meetings held in both the US and Europe to better inform investors;<\/li>\n
      • Meetings with representatives of local governments and elected officials in Albany, Rochester (where the company's headquarters are located) and Washington, DC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Evaluation<\/h3>\n

        The programme, which was based on research carried out in late 1998 and early 1999, was very successful in meeting almost all of the company's plans, as the final analysis showed.
        \nConsumers. For the first time in the last 10 years, the company won the battle for consumers of photographic products in the US market. The company's new products for professionals have regained the market share it had previously lost to competitors. According to surveys, the popularity of digital technologies has exceeded all expectations.
        \nPublic. According to the surveys, attitudes towards Kodak have improved on three of the six indicators.<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Employees. An internal survey showed that the overall level of positive perception of the company rose by 8 points, and the indicator of trust in management's actions increased by 5 points.<\/li>\n
        • According to an independent study, the company's popularity has literally transformed. While in 1997 60% of the articles about the company in the press were negative, in 1998 In 1998, 60% of the articles were positive.<\/li>\n
        • Investors. According to the survey, more than 75% investors were positive about the company's strategic development plan. They liked the fact that the company's management and disclosure of information had become more transparent.<\/li>\n
        • Local communities. According to the survey, 75% of local community leaders rated the company's performance very highly. They understood the company's development strategy and recognised its contribution to the community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Barron's editorial of 24 August read: \"Kodak is finally a leader\". The article about the company in Forbes magazine on 7 September was titled \"Defence\". It said that Fisher \"has definitely managed to turn this supertanker around\". In October, a joint programme between CNN and Fortune magazine (NewsStand) featured a major report on Kodak. US News & World Report reversed its negative attitude to the company by publishing two positive articles: one in July (about the company's market in China) and the other (a profile of the company) in November 1998. The latter read: \"Kodak's Fisher revives company\". Business Week changed its gloomy attitude to the company, writing on 27 July: \"At last, Kodak has succeeded!\"<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          \u041a\u043e\u043c\u043f\u0430\u043d\u0438\u044f Eastman Kodak \u0441\u043e\u0432\u043c\u0435\u0441\u0442\u043d\u043e \u0441 \u0430\u0433\u0435\u043d\u0442\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e\u043c Shandwick \u041f\u0440\u0435\u043c\u0438\u044f \u00ab\u0421\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0431\u0440\u044f\u043d\u0430\u044f \u043d\u0430\u043a\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043b\u044c\u043d\u044f\u00bb \u0437\u0430 1999 \u0433.   \u041e\u0431\u0437\u043e\u0440 \u00ab\u0421\u043c\u043e\u0436\u0435\u0442 \u043b\u0438 \u0414\u0436\u043e\u0440\u0434\u0436 \u0424\u0438\u0448\u0435\u0440 (George…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pr-campaigns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=721"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2060,"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721\/revisions\/2060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liberty.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}