Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, the Seattle area has become the epicenter of the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the U.S. While the human toll of this crisis is at the forefront of our minds and our communications are focused on helping ensure safety, the economic impacts cannot be ignored.
Businesses have been forced to dust off their crisis communication plans for internal and external communication in the wake of the increasing number of confirmed diagnoses, employee concerns, supply chain disruption, office closures and event cancellations.
At Communiqué, we have been working with our clients on their communications with key stakeholders, whether employees, students, customers, investors, healthcare providers or patients. This entails gathering critical details that inform business operation decisions, evaluating how to proceed with events and activities, and developing media statements.
We also continue to actively monitor the situation and provide information and recommendations to our clients, so their business decision making is well informed.
A recent Harvard Business Review article “Lead Your Business Through the Coronavirus Crisis,” written by Martin Reeves, Nikolaus Lang and Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, offers useful guidance and initial reflections.
The article outlines “12 lessons for responding to unfolding events, communicating, and extracting and applying learnings.” We want to share a few of those lessons that we found most helpful. Below are a few excerpts from the article:
- “Update intelligence on a daily basis.
Events are unfolding with astounding speed, and the picture changes on a daily basis….More recently, a number of fast-growing epicenters of infection have sprung up beyond China, signaling a new phase and potentially necessitating new strategies of mitigation rather than containment.”
- “Don’t assume that information creates informedness.
In our connected world, employees have direct access to many sources of information. Leaders might reasonably conclude that there is so much information and commentary available externally that they don’t need to do anything additional. We have found, however, that creating and widely sharing a regularly updated summary of facts and implications is invaluable, so that time is not wasted debating what the facts are — or worse, making different assumptions about facts.”
- “Prepare for a changed world.
We should expect that the Covid-19 crisis will change our businesses and society in important ways. It is likely to fuel areas like online shopping, online education, and public health investments, for example. It is also likely to change how companies configure their supply chains and reinforce the trend away from dependence on few mega-factories.”
It’s clear from the developing coronavirus outbreak that businesses and their communication teams will need to actively monitor, be prepared to adapt and change, react but not overreact, while applying gained knowledge along the way.
As Reeves, Lang and Carlsson-Szlezak tell us, “Unanticipated twists and turns will be revealed with each news cycle, and we will only have a complete picture in retrospect.” This makes ongoing reflection to extract lessons a learned essential.
Given this, when this crisis has passed, we’ll work with our clients to consider what was learned and what changes need to be made to existing crisis plans to prepare for the future.
For more information and guidance around crisis communication consider the following:
The past six months have been nothing short of a rollercoaster for me. Along with my regular class schedule and internship, I started a company through the Entrepreneurship Minor at the University of Washington. That’s right – I started a company as a college senior! How many college students do you know that have this type of opportunity with no financial risk? With this crazy experience under my belt I thought I’d share a few lessons I learned along the way.
My team, comprised of four women, came together under one mission: to empower women in Seattle. We went through dozens of ideas for how we could help women feel empowered and finally settled on a product that provided long-lasting energy with health benefits: ginseng-infused kombucha.
Our beverage, Boss Boocha, provided sustainable energy from ginseng and a low-sugar content while preserving the amazing probiotic benefits of kombucha. Our goal was to target the millennial women demographic and provide a healthy alternative to Red Bull or coffee, helping fuel their day naturally. We chose to compete with these drinks because they were on-the-go beverages that many people reached for when craving energy. Our beverage was different because of the sustainable energy from ginseng and the health-benefits from the probiotics. We knew we had hit the jackpot with this all-in-one beverage that naturally energized women to get work done.
Lesson 1: Don’t Be Terrified to Look for Outside Support
With a clear vision in mind, the next step was execution. Initially, we tried to create the beverage in my sorority’s kitchen. It did not take long for us to realize that we were not fermentation experts and lacked the ability to create a delicious beverage.
Miraculously, we found a local co-packer, Seattle Kombucha Company, to start producing Boss Boocha for us. Seattle Kombucha Company created our entire product—from creating the recipe to supplying our labels. He had perfected a mango flavor base and through testing, this was the best pairing with ginseng. This allowed us to fully concentrate on the marketing and financial side of our business. As a CFO and CCO with minimal accounting experience, I was grateful to lean on seasoned experts to focus on product development. Without the support from Seattle Kombucha Company we would have directed our attention to perfecting the beverage without spending the time necessary to research our target market. Our partner’s involvement was key to our success.
Lesson 2: Trust Your Gut and Run the Risk
There were many hurdles our team faced throughout the process of starting Boss Boocha. After conducting research and customer interviews, we decided to make working moms our target demographic. Through in-depth interviews, we learned that many working moms found a lack of appealing healthy energy drinks in the current market.
Although some experts said our target demographic was too small and, in turn, our product would not be profitable, our market research told us that there would be demand for a beverage like Boss Boocha. With the support of our teacher and co-packer, we continued forward. Having a support system was crucial to our success in the beginning stages of the company. That support encouraged us to trust our instincts.
Lesson 3: Learn to Communicate and Negotiate for the Success of the Team
Our initial concern before launch was the lack of sampling events we had lined up. We knew potential customers loved our beverage after trying it, but would they blindly purchase it? When we launched in January, we were relieved to see our sales skyrocket. We had a wave of customers who were willing to give our product a try and trusted in our brand.
With this high demand, we became wrapped up in pleasing our customers and developed blind spots when it came to communication within our team. My team back peddled, losing our powerful bond and sense of transparency. Each team member was running in a different direction, and we were no longer seeing eye to eye. We quickly learned the need for in-person meetings and communication on important decisions. Prioritizing this allowed us to rejuvenate our bond and align around a common vision.
Starting a business taught me lessons that will translate into any job as I enter the workforce full-time. As an intern in public relations, I see the importance of support, negotiation and risk. Having learned these lessons from personal experience leads me to believe anyone would gain substantial skills from starting a company. The benefits are lasting. I now think twice about every product purchase. Choosing to support local businesses rather than big businesses may seem like a tough shift, but once you’ve been a business owner you understand how each customer’s support can have big impacts. I have a much deeper appreciation for each business owner I meet, now that I have glimpsed the blood, sweat and tears it takes to run a successful business.
As I begin to wrap up my last quarter at the University of Washington, I am extremely proud to look back on my experience in the Entrepreneurship Minor. We beat our sales goal by four weeks and have gained a huge following on Instagram with over 300 followers in just two months. Even better, we were profitable! Although we have decided not to continue our company, I now know how to start a business. I am looking forward to the day when I can start another one, implementing the lessons I learned from this course.
The past six months have been nothing short of a rollercoaster for me. Along with my regular class schedule and internship, I started a company through the Entrepreneurship Minor at the University of Washington. That’s right – I started a company as a college senior! How many college students do you know that have this type of opportunity with no financial risk? With this crazy experience under my belt I thought I’d share a few lessons I learned along the way.
My team, comprised of four women, came together under one mission: to empower women in Seattle. We went through dozens of ideas for how we could help women feel empowered and finally settled on a product that provided long-lasting energy with health benefits: ginseng-infused kombucha.
Our beverage, Boss Boocha, provided sustainable energy from ginseng and a low-sugar content while preserving the amazing probiotic benefits of kombucha. Our goal was to target the millennial women demographic and provide a healthy alternative to Red Bull or coffee, helping fuel their day naturally. We chose to compete with these drinks because they were on-the-go beverages that many people reached for when craving energy. Our beverage was different because of the sustainable energy from ginseng and the health-benefits from the probiotics. We knew we had hit the jackpot with this all-in-one beverage that naturally energized women to get work done.
Lesson 1: Don’t Be Terrified to Look for Outside Support
With a clear vision in mind, the next step was execution. Initially, we tried to create the beverage in my sorority’s kitchen. It did not take long for us to realize that we were not fermentation experts and lacked the ability to create a delicious beverage.
Miraculously, we found a local co-packer, Seattle Kombucha Company, to start producing Boss Boocha for us. Seattle Kombucha Company created our entire product—from creating the recipe to supplying our labels. He had perfected a mango flavor base and through testing, this was the best pairing with ginseng. This allowed us to fully concentrate on the marketing and financial side of our business. As a CFO and CCO with minimal accounting experience, I was grateful to lean on seasoned experts to focus on product development. Without the support from Seattle Kombucha Company we would have directed our attention to perfecting the beverage without spending the time necessary to research our target market. Our partner’s involvement was key to our success.
Lesson 2: Trust Your Gut and Run the Risk
There were many hurdles our team faced throughout the process of starting Boss Boocha. After conducting research and customer interviews, we decided to make working moms our target demographic. Through in-depth interviews, we learned that many working moms found a lack of appealing healthy energy drinks in the current market.
Although some experts said our target demographic was too small and, in turn, our product would not be profitable, our market research told us that there would be demand for a beverage like Boss Boocha. With the support of our teacher and co-packer, we continued forward. Having a support system was crucial to our success in the beginning stages of the company. That support encouraged us to trust our instincts.
Lesson 3: Learn to Communicate and Negotiate for the Success of the Team
Our initial concern before launch was the lack of sampling events we had lined up. We knew potential customers loved our beverage after trying it, but would they blindly purchase it? When we launched in January, we were relieved to see our sales skyrocket. We had a wave of customers who were willing to give our product a try and trusted in our brand.
With this high demand, we became wrapped up in pleasing our customers and developed blind spots when it came to communication within our team. My team back peddled, losing our powerful bond and sense of transparency. Each team member was running in a different direction, and we were no longer seeing eye to eye. We quickly learned the need for in-person meetings and communication on important decisions. Prioritizing this allowed us to rejuvenate our bond and align around a common vision.
Starting a business taught me lessons that will translate into any job as I enter the workforce full-time. As an intern in public relations, I see the importance of support, negotiation and risk. Having learned these lessons from personal experience leads me to believe anyone would gain substantial skills from starting a company. The benefits are lasting. I now think twice about every product purchase. Choosing to support local businesses rather than big businesses may seem like a tough shift, but once you’ve been a business owner you understand how each customer’s support can have big impacts. I have a much deeper appreciation for each business owner I meet, now that I have glimpsed the blood, sweat and tears it takes to run a successful business.
As I begin to wrap up my last quarter at the University of Washington, I am extremely proud to look back on my experience in the Entrepreneurship Minor. We beat our sales goal by four weeks and have gained a huge following on Instagram with over 300 followers in just two months. Even better, we were profitable! Although we have decided not to continue our company, I now know how to start a business. I am looking forward to the day when I can start another one, implementing the lessons I learned from this course.
We’re seldom prepared when death touches our lives. We often feel blindsided and left in a daze, wondering how to move forward. Yet, like clockwork Monday comes, and we’re expected to be at the office. Sometimes that Monday is a few months away, sometimes it’s a few weeks and sometimes Monday is the very next day. Regardless, it always seems to come too soon.
Recently I read an article in Fortune that explored how to navigate grief in the workplace. The piece really hit home, so I wanted to share a few key takeaways.
1: There are multiple ways to approach returning to the workplace after the death of a loved one
According to Megan Devine, psychotherapist and grief advocate, grieving employees may return to the office and want their coworkers to acknowledge the loss. Others might prefer not to talk about it. Some might opt for extended leave or quit altogether. Everyone’s grief journey is different, so everyone’s experience at work will be too. A best practice is to ask how you can support the needs of the grieving individual. What’s helpful? What do they prefer? Sensitively opening a dialogue can create an environment of trust and align expectations for the betterment of the individual and team.
2: Companies should implement policies for handling grief
Devine argues that while bereavement policies are a great start, we should really aim for “grief-in-the-workplace” policies. Like any effective plan, it should be in place before it’s required. Devine reasons that conversations around grief-in-the-workplace policies should occur on HR teams before a loss happens. That way, employees can be best supported in the event they lose a loved one.
3: Investing in grief support in the workplace has positive financial impact
Often, upon returning to work, grieving employees find they are unable to perform at the same level as before. They may find that their memory is lacking, they’re unable to concentrate or they can’t think clearly. The Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation predicts the average annual cost in lost productivity, lost business and poor performance resulting from the death of a loved one is more than $37.5 billion. These losses could be decreased if employers provided flexible time off, reduced hours, an option to work remotely, and financial assistance.
4: Patience is key
Grief is an incredibly complex and personal experience. There’s no right or wrong way to grieve, so it’s important to be patient whether you’re the one grieving or you’re reporting to a grieving manager. With time, the effects of loss will hopefully fade, but getting ahead of the situation will surely benefit everyone involved.
If you or someone you know is grieving and in need of a resource to aid in navigating the complicated process, I recommend checking out Refuge in Grief.
On Feb. 11, 2020, our long-time client Spaceflight Industries, the parent company of Spaceflight and BlackSky, announced the signing of a definite agreement to sell Spaceflight, Inc., the company’s rideshare launch business. Mitsui & Co., Ltd., in partnership with Yamasa, Co., plans to acquire the launch company to expand its portfolio and enter the space industry through an established and influential company.
The acquisition transaction will now undergo review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which evaluates the national security aspects of foreign direct investment in the U.S. economy. The review process takes several months, and the companies anticipate the deal to be approved in the second quarter of 2020.
As you’d assume, this news was incredibly important to all parties involved as it signified a considerable change, which would position all companies for growth that would support their long-term goals. For this announcement we worked closely with teams from both Spaceflight and BlackSky to develop a detailed FAQ that addressed anticipated questions from all audiences. This included considering customers for both companies, partners, key industry players, potential customers and even the varying teams at Spaceflight Industries.
Once we secured the necessary input on the FAQ, we used this as a foundational material to develop other content, such as the press release, blog posts, external Q&As and social content. Then it came time to consider the announcement strategy. Normally for news of this significance, we would have offered it to a handful of key media contacts under embargo, however, due to contractual obligations, we were unable to do so.
As soon as the announcement crossed the wire, we delivered the release to more than 100 media contacts. This included individuals who have covered Spaceflight Industries, Spaceflight or BlackSky in the past, and those who cover industry news. As anticipated, there were several inquiries from reporters seeking more details about the deal. We scheduled a handful of briefings, with both the Spaceflight Industries president/BlackSky CEO and the Spaceflight CEO, so the journalists could understand how each business will benefit from the deal and what this means for the future of each business. The briefings led to a couple of follow-up articles.
The announcement generated a lot of interest and resulted in a significant amount of coverage. Below is an overview of most of the coverage secured.
Congratulations to Spaceflight Industries, BlackSky and Spaceflight on this important milestone and their continued success!
Spaceflight Industries Coverage Overview
- Spaceflight, BlackSky Separation Will Bring ‘Focus’ to Both Businesses, Execs Say—Via Satellite, 2/19/20
- Spaceflight Industries says sale of rideshare business a “win-win” for all parties—SpaceNews, 2/19/20
- Japanese Companies Agree to Buy Spaceflight Rideshare Launch Broker—Spaceflight Now, 2/13/2020
- Spaceflight Industries Sells Satellite Rideshare Business to Japan-Based Companies—CityBizList,2/13/2020
- Spaceflight Industries to Offload Satellite Rideshare Launch Business—Cue Report, 2/13/2020
- Spaceflight Industries to Sell Its Satellite Rideshare Launch Business to Japan’s Mitsui & Co. and Yamasa—Intellasia, 2/13/2020
- Spaceflight Industries Announces Agreement to Sell Spaceflight, Its Rideshare Launch Services Provider—The Geospatial, 2/12/2020
- Spaceflight Industries to Sell Rideshare Launch Business to Japanese Companies—Via Satellite, 2/12/2020
- Spaceflight Industries Announces Agreement to Sell Spaceflight, Its Rideshare Launch Services Provider—Geospatial World, 2/12/2020
- Japanese Join Venture Plans to Acquire Seattle-Based Spaceflight—Seattle Business, 2/11/2020
- Spaceflight Industries Sells Satellite Rideshare Business to Japan-Based Companies—Virginia Business, 2/12/2020
- Spaceflight Industries to Sell its Satellite Rideshare Launch Business to Japan’s Mitsui & Co. and Yamasa—TechCrunch, 2/11/2020
- Spaceflight Industries Strikes Deal to Sell Rideshare Launch Business; Will Focus on BlackSky Satellites—GeekWire, 2/11/2020
- Seattle-Based Satellite Rideshare-Launch Business Sold to Japanese Buyers—The Seattle Times, 2/11/2020
- Spaceflight Industries to Sell Rideshare Business to Japanese Firms—SpaceNews, 2/12/2020
- Spaceflight Industries to Sell Rideshare Launch Services Provider to Mitsui JV—Space Daily, 2/12/2020
- Spaceflight Industries Spins Off Rideshare Business—Parabolic Arc, 2/12/2020
- Spaceflight Industries Sells Their Rideshare Launch Business—SatNews, 2/12/2020
- Spaceflight Industries Signs Definitive Agreement to Sell Spaceflight, its Rideshare Launch Services Provider, to Japan’s Mitsui & Co., Ltd and Yamasa Co., Ltd.—GISCafe, 2/11/2020
On a recent long walk I decided to listen to the January 31 episode of The Daily, in which host Michael Barbaro interviewed Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The New York Times.
Their discussion focused on The Time’s coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign and how articles leading up to the election contextualized the candidates, and perhaps unfairly, influenced readers’ perceptions. They then moved to the current challenges of covering American politics.
It was a fascinating discussion, and a couple of things immediately jumped out at me, elements that I think are worth exploring, especially if you work in public relations or journalism. Even as simply a consumer of news, the ideas in this podcast hold important relevance.
Consider the example of how The Times covered Bernie Sanders. The day that Sanders announced his candidacy in the 2016 election, the paper published an article that offered this:
“Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, announced Thursday that he was running for president as a Democrat, injecting a progressive voice into the contest and providing Hillary Rodham Clinton with her first official rival for the party’s nomination. Avoiding the fanfare that several Republicans have chosen so far when announcing their candidacies, Mr. Sanders issued a statement to supporters that laid out his goals for reducing income inequality, addressing climate change and scaling back the influence of money in politics. ‘After a year of travel, discussion, and dialogue, I have decided to be a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president,’ Mr. Sanders said in an email early Thursday.
Mr. Sanders’s bid is considered a long shot, but his unflinching commitment to stances popular with the left — such as opposing foreign military interventions and reining in big banks — could force Mrs. Clinton to address these issues more deeply.”
In the podcast, Barbaro points out the phrase “long shot” that characterizes Mr. Sanders’ chances. This upset and frustrated some Times’ readers because they felt the coverage unfairly influenced or impacted how voters perceived the candidate.
Baquet didn’t agree. He still believes it is great lead to the story and that Bernie Sanders was indeed a long shot. He goes on to explain that journalism is, by its nature, flawed and that, “The flaws are [that] you do have to tell people what to think.”
I fundamentally disagree. Why not assume people are smart and that if they don’t understand the context of information presented, and feel it is important, they will seek out additional context and clarification?
Furthermore, wasn’t the conjecture that Mr. Sanders’ bid was considered a long shot actually just the reporter’s opinion? As I consider this article, I think it could have been improved if this information was attributed to an expert – and not by inference the reporter – who could offer verifiable proof (statistics, poll numbers, etc.) that Sanders was indeed a long shot.
Afterall, in this same interview, Baquet says, “The most powerful writing lets the person talk, lets the person say what he has to say. And it is usually so evident that what the person has to say is [for example] racist or anti-Semitic, that to actually get in the way and say it yourself is less powerful.”
He goes on to say that others should do the labeling and the New York Times should stick to objectively covering what happened.
In this dark era of rampant disinformation, when some unscrupulous politicians seem to be repeatedly acting deceptively and where sources can be obfuscated and shadowy, it is more important than ever that journalists from accredited and respected publications scrutinize their reporting to ensure that they’re as objective as possible – and that may mean less characterization of information, not more.
At the same time, I’d like to see more schools and academic institutions focus on educating their students about the importance of finding a broad range of news sources as they work to understand an industry.
Times’ journalists and editors don’t have a crystal ball to see into the future, and by trying to tell people what to think, the venerable publication may undermine its credibility by appearing biased. It grows ever harder to find even simple truth.