Return on relationships: Getting the most out of reputation measurement

Bjorn EdlundExecutive Vice President, CommunicationsRoyal Dutch Shell (2005-2010)

2

Brand and Reputation management

How we see & portray ourselves

Overall estimation by stakeholders

Interaction with stakeholders

Behaviour

Corporate Identity

Who we are and what we stand for

Communication

Fear

s

Hop

e

Bias

es

Self-

inte

rest

Trus

t

Performance

CorporateReputation

Employees Government

NGOs

Academics

Investors Customers

Communities/Citizens

Media

Effective relationships

3

The media – the interaction spectrum

PRMRGRIRSD

Forecourts

High control Low/No control

Website

Display Advertising

TVDigital

OutdoorLoyalty Scheme

SponsorshipsMedia

Partnerships Viral Seeding

Cove

rage

Owned Media Bought Media Earned Media

Awareness (=Loyalty) Favourability Advocacy

Increasingly, conversation is king. Content is just something to talk aboutIncreasingly, conversation is king. Content is just something to talk about

S O C I A L M E D I A S O C I A L M E D I A

4

• Independent annual survey to track attitudes towards Shell and competitors in some 12-15 countries

• Audiences: special publics, general public and staff

• Special publics are: government, media, NGO’s, academics

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Z

Shell

Y

Net favourability over time - special publics

0

510

1520

2530

3540

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Z

Shell

Y

Net favourability over time - general public

Shell Reputation Tracker

5

Advocacy…and high expectations

Would speak highly of them

Would speak critically of them

42%

11%

47%

What will special publics say about you when you’re not

in the room?

Versus competitor 1 Versus competitor 2

6 7 8 9 6 7 8 9

Environmental responsibilityHealth and safety

Integrity

Quality of products & servicesResponsible on climate change

Long-term perspectiveAlternative energy sources

Respect for communitiesTechnology

Well managedHuman rights

Financial performanceEconomic contribution

6

Communication from company silos

Internal Communications

Social Performance

Employees

Communities

Marketing /RetailMotorist/ General public

Media Relations Media

7

Target Target stakeholderstakeholder

Do you take the hierarchical route?

Or do you havea power map?

Communication from the company bunker

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The world according to the stakeholder

Target Stakeholder

Media

SHELL

Motorist/ General public

Academia(Science)

Economic NGOs

Environmental NGOs

Human Rights NGOs

Communities

• Patterns of influence on the target stakeholderare multiple

• Target is exposed to, and seeks out, interaction with third parties

• We need to understand the other dialogues before filling the direct channelwith messages

• Testing how measurement can help us with this

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Innovation - who’s influencing whom?

Government

Media

SHELL

Motorist/ General public

Academia(Science)

Economic NGOs

Environmental NGOs

Human Rights NGOs

Communities

• Can we influence other stakeholders surrounding the target to make their dialogue with these stakeholdersmore informed?

• If we can measure and predict a certain level of behaviours of stakeholders, then engagement becomes a highly tactical channel strategy

• We are testing this with data of the Reputation Tracker and our Henley partner

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Innovation - who’s influencing whom?

Government

Media

SHELL

Motorist/ General public

Academia(Science)

Economic NGOs

Environmental NGOs

Human Rights NGOs

Communities

• Channel approach to achieve objective

• If this works, then measurement truly becomes the basis of stakeholder engagement

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Return on Relationships Build productive relationships and

alliances, partnerships

Proactively tell the story of how you deal with your stakeholder-relevant business challenges

Broaden and escalate direct dialogues, create and use toolkits

Minimising risks by understanding and acting on societal expectations

Utilise your USP, e.g. your technology position

Spend smarter

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Primary themesThe energy challengeTechnology and innovationRespect for people and the environmentPreferred partner

Underlying themesDelivering corporate strategy and business performanceManagement excellence

Key messages on Shell’s position

per theme

Finding factual proof points on

all messages

Mining for authentic and human stories

Basis for all internal and external communication channels and stakeholder meetings

Marrying desirable message components as emotional appeal, factual data and authenticity

Helping leaders to improve story-telling

Stra

tegy

and

Glo

bal R

eput

ation

Pla

nOne worldwide reputation plan

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More Upstream, Profitable Downstream

Three Hard Truths

Priority projects

Public Relations incl engagement

Brand campaign

Government Relations

Integrated programmes

Internal Comms

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Strong impact new media – early hits in 2009

Web Q&A with Jeremy Bentham

• Tell Shell 1998 – Forum serving as window into global corporation

• Shell Dialogues – 32,000 visitors, 1500 participants in 5 web chats

• Technology podcasts – 4.5 million listeners per podcast in US

• Web activity and corporate advertising

• 550 million impressions

• 1 million visits Shell campaign site

• 39% saw 6 minutes Gas to Liquid film

end