My service in the PR and communication business has been relatively short. I have worked with communication for many years, but most of those years were spent on the client side. Today marks one year since I began working for Geelmuyden.Kiese. During this year I have seen major and fundamental changes in the relation between organizations and their audience.

Those who consume content in one shape or another possess an enormous possibility and power to express their relationship towards and with an organization. In most cases these changes are viewed as challenges, while others see opportunities.

Today, a brand can be defined as the result of connections created between an organization and the consumers or target groups. Mass communication in the shape of formal and impersonal language is less effective than before – countless surveys have pointed to reduced trust in businesses. Through social media, clients now also have an effective channel through which they can and do express their dissatisfaction – to the brands’ great frustration.

Of course, the traditional media still plays a large and important part, but over the past years they have been supplemented – and in many cases also challenged by social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, blogs, etc. The fragmented relationship between brands and their audience has therefore become too complicated and comprehensive to keep track of. Public relations managers’ roles are transforming to communication conductors in order to organize and handle all channels of communication and networks where brand chat is taking place.

With a participating and involved audience discussing brands in social media, organizations must also change how they communicate. One-way content previously been spewed out through news agencies has become ineffective.

Audiences, target groups, users or consumers clearly express what they like and what they do not like – and they do not hesitate to share their relationship with a brand or organization through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. Ignoring this is the biggest mistake the businesses of today can make.

Good content has always been important for the business’ reputation. Today, consumers demand direct involvement. This is the first step towards reinforcing the brand through two-way communication and dialogue via social networks. As humans we have always been social, so this is not news. The news is that social media provide social individuals an opportunity to carry out dialogue independent of who we are, where we are and which social units we use. With constantly increasing use of social media, the passive way of broadcasting will continue to lose its appeal.

Therefore, the future form of communication lies in businesses’ ability to establish and attend to a participatory relationship between the brand and its audience. In order to involve and participate in communication with its audience, it is even more important for businesses to know its audience and create editorial content accordingly. This constitutes the foundation for both involvement and participation. A plan as such will and must include both traditional and social channels, and be closely integrated with all branches of the business – such as customer service, marketing, sales and HR, for instance.

With internet and social media, businesses must advance from a closed information structure to an open communication culture. Simply because clients demand it, reputation depends on it and technology accommodates it!

Are you and your organization ready to talk with and not just to?

Hans-Petter Nygård Hansen is a communication advisor at Geelmuyden.Kiese.

How would the French sociologist and psychologist Maurice Halbwachs who coined the concept of collective memory view social media? Collective memories are the memories we share with others that aim to build or strengthen a collective identity. In other words, the sum of all individuals’memories of an event when they are shared within a group. The Holocaust is frequently used as an example.

Because memories are always constructed – we subconsciously choose what and how we want to remember something – and the construction takes place in the present, memories are also strongly affected by contemporary social structures.  Social media is one of such structures that characterize our times.

Would Halbwachs, then, believe that the social media, as in the case with Margaret Thatcher, “destroy” collective memories to the point that the knowledge of the actual event or person eventually gets wiped out? Or is it possible that social media enhance and enable collective memories to live on for a long time? Halbwachs sentiment remains unknown but social media are excellent instruments to reflect on what is happening in real time. It might even be a good tool for forecasting the future. Today’s users determine how an event gets depicted and narrates it to all those who weren’t there to experience it.

Then you are feeling exactly the same way as the rest of us. According to a recent global survey by the public relations firm Ketchum, Europeans are hungry for credible and competent leadership.

But the continent’s leaders have let people starve, and in recent years there has been a global drop in confidence in leaders across sectors. The survey was conducted earlier this year among 6,000 respondents in 12 markets worldwide, and here 76 percent states that they do not believe that today’s leaders – both in politics and business – demonstrate effective leadership.

Closed leaders
The downturn of trust is caused by leaders not living up to the expectations that people have for them. The people demand leaders who are trustworthy, forward-looking and above all transparent in their communication – also about mistakes and difficult decisions. In the survey almost 70 percent of the respondents assess that effective communication is the main characteristic of a good leader.

People’s attitude reflects that although it is difficult to be open at a time of crisis, where the challenges are extra huge, it is precisely here that the need for daring to engage the outside world and share information is the greatest. When a manager openly admits his or her limitations and seeks inspiration from others, it shows an openness and humility for the task. And it mobilizes employees, constituents and customers by creating genuine involvement and giving people the opportunity to contribute.

However, that is not the practice that the general population experiences. Over two-thirds of the survey respondents indicate that they see the exact opposite. They experience leaders who are thinking short-term, try to pass the buck and close in on themselves. The overall assessment of managers’ ability to communicate is thus plummeted over the past year by 24 percentage points.

Bewildered Europeans
Particularly in Europe, confidence in the leaders has dropped significantly. I do not think the reason is that European leaders in general have been worse. Instead, it is more about the fact that neither the leaders nor the people know what to do in the difficult situation that our continent finds itself in.

The uncertainty of the future is expressed as perplexity by the leaders, resulting in criticism from the people. Europeans do not feel that anyone has come up with a recipe to preserve the continent or at least our social models. A few companies are doing well by outsourcing and globalizing. But there is no one who has broken the frame yet. There is no one who has found the way. We lack the companies in Europe that show that we can do something that makes us winners with Europe as a springboard. What is it that we Europeans do better than everyone else?

Trust is a hard currency
The absence of clear direction takes the form of political alienation and leader criticism. Virtually all European governments are struggling with lack of support. Earlier, we saw – including in the Blair and Fogh era – that governments could sit for many years and maintain their popularity. It has become much more difficult in the current political climate.

The same applies to business leaders. There is a small room for missteps before they lose employees and investor confidence. And once it is lost, it is very difficult to regain. The verdict happens swiftly. The study by Ketchum also shows that over 60 percent of respondents have stopped to buy a particular product because they do not like the way the head of the company behind the product communicates.

Trust has become a hard currency. It disappears almost from the moment it has been given. This means that it becomes increasingly difficult for managers to be leaders. They are no longer judged on their performance alone – also the economic slowdown in society is reflected in our perception of them. When the conversation fell on the banks a few years ago, it was discussed whether they gave a return or not. Today, the banks – and especially the leading banks – are assessed on whether or not they are helping society in a better direction.

The time of small promises
In other words, the evaluation criteria has changed. And it means that as the leader you must follow and adapt to the new situation in order to create the necessary results. It is obvious that leaders, who know how to show new and effective ways, will have every opportunity to create enthusiastic employees, win voters and gain support for their agenda. But for others, the lesson must be that confidence should be regained by an even clearer matching of expectations.

When unmet expectations is the reason for criticism, it is important not to try to beat the loophole by promising short-term results, as one cannot meet. In a climate where confidence is fleeting, credibility is just the leader quality, you have to cherish. As a leader you need to prove that you are worthy of the trust. You do this by opening up your communication and involving the surrounding environment and thereby create results.

We see this with crowd funding and customer-driven innovation, where the results speak for themselves. And this is precisely what is needed to create a credible leader. Barack Obama’s hopeful campaign about “change” worked in a time where we all thought that the crisis could be swept away quickly. Today, politicians must focus on realism and the ability to show tangible progress. The people no longer believe in big promises. They would rather have small promises that can actually be redeemed.

Maria Steno became the CEO of Geelmuyden.Kiese in Denmark in 2011, only five years after her employment as Junior Consultant.

“When you rise through the ranks so rapidly it is because the customers recognize what you are doing. The customers are the ones who have driven me forward. They have continually requested me for more and more strategic tasks. At the same time, I have been able to function as a team leader, project manager and eventually as the CEO,” she explains.

At the age of 18, Maria Steno was elected into the municipal council in Rudersdal, where she currently holds the position as leader of the party Lokallisten. The experience as a politician is a key reason for Maria Steno’s meteoric career according to Senior Partner and Nordic Customer Director, Peter Goll.

“You can tell that she from a young age has been used to explain and defend what she stands for. Leaders must be clear, and people need to know what you stand for. Here, she is very clear,” says Peter Goll.

As the figure below shows, Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg naturally tops the charts listing party leader’s «share of voice» over the past 12 months. The three Government party’s leaders maintain higher visibility than their own Gallup numbers would indicate. Government power yields increased attention simply because the position entails the power to transform words into action. The opposition, on the other hand, has only the words.

Still, the most interesting aspect of the statistics is that the Conservative Party, which currently scores around 30 percent of the votes, only claims 15 percent of party leader visibility. This proves that the remarks on the Conservative Party’s low profile are correct. The Party leader, Erna Solberg, stays in the background. However, this does not seem to negatively affect the polpularity.

Why is this? Probably because the Conservative Party’s popularity is in fact a covert dissatisfaction with the Government. Consequently, people are more preoccupied with a change than with what change they actually get. The Conservative Party is perceived as one of the safest non-socialist parties. So the Conservative Party gain support. If anyone has other explanations, I would love to hear them here on the blog.

We will likely see more than enough of Erna Solberg in the final stages of the election campaign.  In the meantime, the Vice President Jan Tore Sanner will have to do.

Femen has cracked the code to publicity in today’s fast, social and fragmented media landscape. It is all about creating a story that is visual and easily sharable on all networks – journalistic as well as social. Such a story is often built on a cheap trick. In Femen’s case it is the bare breasts of young, attractive women. Breasts that even make the online Danish tabloid media ekstrabladet.dk write about women’s rights in the former Soviet states.

Other international, viral stories from serious players are also built on cheap tricks, for example when the Shetlands make a campaign with pictures of ponies wearing sweaters. In addition to bare breasts, cute animals in clothes are one of the oldest and cheapest tricks in the viral handbook.

However, not everyone approves of this trend. We often have a tendency to divide communication into A and B teams. There is the sophisticated, decent, and serious communication based on refinements and solid arguments. The type of communication we as professionals are proud of, the communication that wins awards, and the one we show off with in social contexts. And then there are the cheap tricks. We know they work but we tread carefully when we use them. The feminists of Femen are not popular everywhere for their strip strategy. Classic Western feminists taunt them for using their sexuality to make headlines. They believe the method complies with the expectations of the men who only see women as sex objects. And they believe that the trick trivializes and simplifies the struggle for women’s rights in Eastern Europe. In Femen’s case, they insist that they cannot wait for the world to listen to objective arguments. That their rights are non-existent and that objective communication is a luxury they cannot afford.

Likewise, you should always ask yourself one question when choosing whether to use cheap tricks or not in the pursuit of publicity: Can you afford to use them? Or can you afford not to?

The PR industry has been criticized for not being able to create and drive big ideas, and has been encouraged to push itself, for example by Marc Pritchard, the Global Marketing and Brand Building Officer at Procter & Gamble.

When the Holmes Report invited consumer marketing experts to do a trend forecast of key PR consumer trends for 2013, “Creativity at all costs”, was listed as number four. The experts underlined that if the PR industry wants to realize its ambition of becoming a key partner for brand development, it has to address a potential creative deficit.

Personally, I do not think that there’s a deficit within the PR industry, but it could need new ways to bring out those brilliant ideas.

As an affiliate to Ketchum, Geelmuyden.Kiese has access to both our own and Ketchum’s experience within creativity. We know that the great ideas do not come by clicking on the creative button. They come from research, insights, time to reflect and thinking inside the box. (The famous box has grown so big that it’s difficult, and often unnecessary, to think outside it).

Today, creativity is about combining things and finding concepts within the box. My colleagues did that when they developed Tjejmilen Beats to attract more and younger runners to the event “The Ladies’ Mile”. By creating playlists together with famous runners and artists, we managed to create a widespread engagement for the race that was widely shared in social media.

I believe that creativity is about curiosity, new perspectives and finding new patterns. Let’s not talk about deficits, let’s talk about turning off the lights more often.

To manage good lobbying is an art. There are not many who can master this art, and the cardinal error is often incorrect use of media. If the opposition criticizes the government in the media, the government is only going to be more certain of their case.

A lobbying winner knows his visiting time, and knows very well who to visit. They spend resources on this work, and come up with good, creative ideas that bring the public decision-making process forward. They move power, and they strengthen their external conditions.

This week Geelmuyden.Kiese publishes its annual lobbying survey of the Norwegian Parliament. Not surprisingly, interest groups throne at the top of the podium, with mayors and local elected officials on the silver space, while the bronze medal goes to private companies. A total of 93% of members of the Parliament consider lobbyists a positive resource to their work – and 90% believe that lobbyism is good for democracy.

There are indications that Norway will have a new lobbying landscape after the election September 9th. This gives the Norwegian civil society a unique opportunity to strengthen their lobbying position, and to get more influence on decisions that affect them. In the lobbying survey, one third of the representatives stated that they are considering jobs in the communications industry after parliamentary term, surely out of a desire to become lobbyists.

But the most important lobbyists are found in Norwegian companies and organizations. People who read this weekly letter. Are you a lobbying winner?

Gunnar Mathisen

Senior Partner

And I am not the only one. One day a sign was set up outside the front door of Allan’s coffee shop. It said that he had become a father, which meant that the shop would be closed for the next week or so. In no time something peculiar happened. The shop’s front door was spammed with greetings and congratulations from customers in the entire neighborhood. Balloons, flags, teddy bears and greeting cards. It was obvious that many people felt exactly like I did. Allan doesn’t run a coffee shop. He runs my coffee shop. You don’t go to a coffee shop. You go to your coffee shop.

When we take personal ownership over a product or a company, it is certain that we would recommend it to others as well. Most consumers would want to try a product that they have been recommended in person – and it is a whole lot easier if there is a certain service and personality inherent in the product.

Personality is not necessarily reserved for one-man establishments. As an example the internet provider Fullrate is in the process of personalizing its customer service. If there is a service break down or a new installation is needed, personal text messages will tell the customer exactly what is going on and how the process is going to be. The information is of course important – but the personal touch makes me forget for a moment, that I am just yet another number. As human beings we want to be seen as individuals and not just as a part of the same compost heap. When we give room for individuality and personality in our communication with customers, we recognize that we appreciate all of them. In the end this recognition will lead to new customers. It is incredibly simple – and maybe for that reason so easy to forget.

Allan knows the favorite coffee of most people in the neighborhood. Maybe I will see you there one day. Allan’s is situated at Niels Hemmingsensgade 10.

Consequently, the situation creates a tremendous pressure. Especially on business leaders. Since the world is a new place, they need to reinvent their mode of doing business. And a lot of them tend to handle the difficulties by sealing themselves and their business off from colleagues and the outside world. This is a natural reaction. When things change rapidly and our ways are under attack, the human instinct is to run and hide. And this response is even more pronounced when it comes to leaders. When you are in charge, you want to show that you alone can handle the problems. Because why else would you have been picked to be  in front? The impulse is to hide all insecurity. And since insecurity is a likely part of a crisis situation, leaders hide themselves.

But the way out of a corporate crisis lies in the opposite direction. Critique must be met with openness and economic challenges must be resolved with joint heads and hands. In a society based on specialized knowledge and the need for different disciplines, the best solution and the most effective defense is always found by drawing on each other’s knowledge and sharing information. Two heads are always better than one in a world that is increasingly based on each of the heads being able to do something special.

The advantages of transparency and involvement of others are clear. Because in the ability to admit and recognize lack of perfection lies exactly the potential for improvement as a company. When a leader shows where and when he or she needs help, others can give it. And it mobilizes employees, investors and customers to feel they are contributing to something that is even better. We see this with phenomena like crowdsourcing and consumer driven innovation.

A good example of the positive effect of openness is the turnaround made by the candy company Cloetta which owns the brand Malaco. In 2011, Malaco changed the content and some of the ingredients in the company’s most popular bag of sweets based on recommendations by their product development team. This was met with harsh criticism by the consumers who stopped buying the sweets. Then, Malaco decided to communicate with the consumers who got a chance to vote for their desired content of the bag of sweets–and this brought back the buyers and attenuated the critique.

Leaders who know how to utilize new sources and open up to the outside world are much more likely to succeed in the new normal. Still, a survey conducted last year by the Danish Business Authority shows that less than one fourth of all Danish companies apply processes of open innovation. How can leaders learn to resist the temptation of shutting down towards the outside world when crisis is ranging? First step is to acknowledge that openness is a value in itself. It is a method and a weapon to navigate and fight crises–both in communication and in business.