10 Golden Rules

1. Media Presence

When media presence falls below the threshold of the 1700 statements mark (in 60 opinion-leading media outlets), an organization’s image becomes susceptible to external influence. Maintaining a significant media presence is therefore a long term investment in credibility and the foundation for successfully mitigating the impact of crises.

2. Media Rating

In order to create a credible image, more than 20 percent of reporting must be positive and not more then 10 percent may be negative. If an organization ignores this rule for more than three months, research shows that the organization is likely to face a crisis.

3. Share of Voice: Minimum 35%

The percentage of statements in the media about an organization that originate from the organization itself constitutes its share of voice. Organizations must be proactive in making executives available to the media in order to relay positive information, as this increases positive coverage and circumvents journalists’ filtering. Organizations must maintain a 35 percent share of voice to maintain good relations with the media and have an opportunity to readily achieve the 50 percent share of voice needed during crises. Anything less puts an organization at risk in times of crisis and large mitigation expenditures can result.

4. Balanced Topic Structure

An organization that is focused on only a few image–defining factors, especially financial factors, is understating its overall value and putting undue pressure on top management to deliver short term results – setting the stage for corporate insufficiency .

5. Comparison with Direct Competitors and Similarly Influential Organizations

When it comes to communication, organizations need to benchmark themselves against their direct competitors and companies of similar influence in other industries in order to be able to better identify, and be prepared for, threats and opportunities in the marketplace.

Comparison with Direct Competitors

6. Industry Analysis

The impact of the reputation of the industry in which a company operates plays a significant role in how an individual organization is perceived. For instance, most companies in the pharmaceutical industry are currently being second-guessed, while IT companies, in general, are seen in a much more positive light.

7. Balanced Internal Sourcing

External communication should be a task in which all departments are aligned. Many voices are necessary to attract significant interest in an organization through numerous and diverse media contacts. Equally important is a common communications strategy that is known and followed by each of the organization’s representatives. It is particularly important to have a CEO with an already credible media image in times of crisis.

8. Importance of ‘Soft’ Stories

Soft topics are important leverage points in building a comprehensive image. Topics such as research and development and the personalities of managers and employees can be very effective at augmenting other communications principles, such as improving the rating of coverage or en- encouraging reporting on a wide variety of topics.

9. Balanced Media Structure

Coverage should be distributed amongst a variety of specialized and general-interest media to ensure balanced ratings, even under trying circumstances.

10. Share of Quoted Anaysts: Less than 10%

Analysts’ quotations should comprise less than 10 percent of an organization’s total coverage in order to ensure a balanced variety of topics, as well as to ensure that sources outside of the organization do not hold undue influence over its image.

* Similar rules apply for political communication, etc., but the model must be adapted.
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