Ethics

What’s the key to selling a car? Or anything else? PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards, 2011

It’s one word. Just five letters. And it defines each of the following people. __ __ __ __ __ See if you can fill in the blanks based on hints in the following slides.

James Earl Jones No. 1 on this attribute Tom Hanks No. 2 Michael J. Fox No. 3 Morgan Freeman No. 4 Forbes e-Poll 2010

Others in the Top Ten on this attribute Sally Field Ron Howard Will Smith Bill Cosby Denzel Washington Mike Rowe Forbes e-Poll 2010

__ R __ __ __ Need a hint? Let’s reveal one letter at a time…

__ R __ S __

__ R U S __

TRUST It’s critical to success in public relations. How many of you would associate the word trust with PR? Do you trust PR’s?

What does it say about us that some celebrities are trusted so much and business, government and other institutions so little?

“There is a pervading crisis of confidence and trust in the global corporate culture. Trust has been ruptured between many organizations and their constituencies. Yet trust is at the basis of every relationship. The loss of trust leads to the loss of reputation and, ultimately, to the loss of business.” Ruder-Finn Public Relations

Trusted? Top 10?

Trusted? Who would you trust more – and why?

Trusted?

Activity one ✤ Make a list of 5 brands you trust – 1 being the most trusted ✤ Make a list of 5 brands you do not trust – 1 being the least trusted

Most Trusted Brand In the U.S Millward Brown research,

#2 Most Trusted Brand in America Millward Brown research, 2010

Top 10 Most Trusted Brands ✤ Amazon.com ✤ FedEx ✤ Downy ✤ Huggies ✤ Tide ✤ Tylenol ✤ Toyota (changing?) ✤ WebMd ✤ Pampers ✤ UPS Milward Brown research, 2010

What about this year – who do you think have made the top 10?

Most Trusted Brand In the U.S

Is trust important to business? “Trust is something business can’t do without...It isn’t some fuzzy nice-to-have; it’s the lubricant without which the City and Wall Street are as frozen as a rusted motor. If there is debt or credit, there has to be trust.” Business columnist Simon Caulkin, The Guardian

Who is trusted among TV News Networks in US? Public Policy Poll, 2010

America’s Most Trusted “Newsman” Jon Stewart Why is he trusted?

the-most-trusted-man-in-america “Research in communication and psychology clearly shows that to be trusted a communicator has to be seen as knowledgeable and credible. Surface characteristics, such as physical attractiveness, being expressive and articulate, also are connected to perceptions of trust. Jon Stewart has the basics - he's articulate, expressive and appears knowledgeable.”

Can “Experts” Be Trusted? 2011 Edelman Trust Barometerhttp://edelman.com/trust/2011/

2011Edelman Trust Barometer Key Finding from this years research

What professions are most trusted? Will you define your profession? Or will it define you?

#1 Profession for Honesty and Ethical Standards Nurses

Best (and worst) Professions for Honesty and Ethics Gallup Poll, Nov

Who do you think was at the bottom?

CAN I TRUST YOU? That’s what defines reputation. Think about your reputation – how you define yourself and how do you think others perceive you

What Affects Corporate Reputation? 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer *Ranked #1 in 2006 **Ranked #3 in 2006

DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT? Trust is the most important consideration I make, even more than political viewpoint, when I consider who to vote for, and more important than price and quality when I consider who I do business with, or who I invest with. Researchers asked: Edelman Trust Barometer, 2007

DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT? Trust is the most important consideration I make, even more than political viewpoint, when I consider who to vote for, and more important than price and quality when I consider who I do business with, or who I invest with. 85% Agreed 66% Agreed Strongly Only 10% Disagreed Edelman Trust Barometer, 2007

Ethical behavior is the right thing to do. It’s also the foundation of long-term business success and profitability. How to earn trust

Code of Ethics The Public Relations Society of America A standard for ethical behavior and trust building

Basic Code Principles Honesty Adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those you represent and in communicating with the public. Maintain the integrity of relationships with the media, government officials, and the public. To ensure honesty, investigate the accuracy of information given to you. Reveal sponsors for causes/interests. Disclose financial interests.

Basic Code Principles Fairness Deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers, vendors, the media, and the general public. Respect all opinions and support the right of free expression. Build trust with the public by revealing all information needed for responsible decision making.

Basic Code Principles Expertise Advance your profession through your continued professional development, research, and education. Build mutual understanding, credibility and relationships among a wide array of institutions and audiences.

Basic Code Principles Advocacy Serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for those you represent. Provide a voice for the organization through ideas, facts and viewpoints to aid informed public debate.

Basic Code Principles Independence Provide objective counsel to those you represent. Avoid real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest you will build the trust of clients, employers and the public.

Professional Standards Advisories (Code Additions & Updates) ✤ Plagiarism ✤ Falsely representing another’s ideas or words as your own ✤ Be aware of copyright infringement ✤ Must give proper credit to creator

Professional Standards Advisories (Code Additions & Updates) ✤ Looking the Other Way ✤ Failing to sound alarm for ethical dilemmas ✤ Some professions don’t tell by custom ✤ Too much “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”

Professional Standards Advisories (Code Additions & Updates) ✤ Expropriation of Intellectual Property of Others ✤ Stealing ideas from business presentations ✤ Can happen when ideas are presented as part of RFP (request for proposal) ✤ Must have an upfront understanding and presentation must be presented with a copyright indicated

Professional Standards Advisories (Code Additions & Updates) ✤ Use of Video News Releases as a Public Relations Tool ✤ Increasing scrutiny by governments and other large orgnisations ✤ News stories, B-roll and clips on video are VNRs ✤ Producers of VNRs must indicate their origin ✤ TV stations must indicate the origin of a VNR B-roll, B roll, or Broll is the supplemental or alternate footage intercut with the main shot in in interview or documentary. VNR = Video News Releasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-roll

DWYSYD CREDIBILITY IS: DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO

The Page Principles (The Arthur W. Page Society includes PR leaders from America’s leading corporations) ✤ Tell the truth. ✤ Prove it with action. ✤ Listen to the customer. ✤ Manage for tomorrow. ✤ Conduct public relations as if the whole company depends on it. ✤ Realize a company’s true character is expressed by its people. ✤ Remain calm, patient and good-humored.

How does trust pay out? ✤ Efficiency. Business transactions take longer and cost more when trust is absent. ✤ Improved employee performance. One study showed trust in senior management improved profitability 13%. ✤ Customer retention. Trust in salespeople has a significant impact on customer retention. ✤ Vendor Selection. A survey of purchasing managers shows trust is a top criteria for selecting vendors. ✤ Innovation. Product innovation increases when there is trust between business units. Arthur W. Page Special Report, 2009

BAD PR...

Burson-Marsteller: Shame on BM for undertaking a whisper campaign against Google by its undisclosed client Facebook. To add insult to injury, the media pitches were made by two former senior journalists. can-emerge-from-its-facebook-pr-fiasco/ lessons/

Reverb Communications: Phony technology product reviews can ruin your day, your agency reputation and make clients crazy. The FTC ordered the PR and marketing company to remove the fake iTunes reviews. “Reverb Communications, a PR firm that represents dozens of game publishers and developers, has managed to find astounding success on Apple’s App Store for its clients. Among its various tactics? It hires a team of interns to trawl iTunes and other community forums posing as real users, and has them write positive reviews for their client’s applications. “ has-interns-post-positive-reviews-for-clients/

Board of Ethics and Professional Standards Public Relations Society of America

Sample Case Studies: Case #1: Entertainment is big among your readers. Several staff members want to review movies, and all of them want to review R-rated movies. How would you handle this situation? Case #2: Mrs. Hayes is a dynamic, well-liked math teacher. She teaches mostly courses to advanced placement students. Over the summer she commits suicide. The newspaper staff has heard rumors that Mrs. Hayes was fired before her death. Several reporters want to write a story. How would you handle this decision? Case #3: Yesterday the police arrested five students in a drug raid. The students were all smoking marijuana in a nearby drug house. Some staff members comment that there are several such houses nearby and that marijuana is available every day in school. They want to do a big story on the school's drug scene. How would you handle their request? Case #4: Teen pregnancy has never been too prevalent in your school until recently. Now several reporters know of a handful of girls in your school that are pregnant. One girl is showing, and she's willing to talk about her situation. The others, however, seem to want their situation to stay under wraps. These reporters want to do a story on the recent wave of teen pregnancies in your school. How would you handle their request? Case #5: Most students on the staff hold part-time jobs. One student who works at Pizza Jack's tells the staff about the cool new location opening up, and how the restaurant is going to have free prizes, food, and music to kick off the grand opening. This student asks if he can write a story about the event. What are the issues surrounding this, and what do you think about his request?