Joakim Lundquist

Corporate online communications during the global financial crisis

WFE Workshop on Leadership & Communication

Zurich, February 19, 2009

Joakim Lundquist

Online communication and the crisis Defining features of communications during the crisis

Scarcity of information Widened interested audience Short window of opportunity to communicate

A unique opportunity to look at how companies communicate Allowed us to see what kind of crisis response companies had developed Allowed us to see what priority they placed on online communication Allowed us to see how present the management was

During a crisis the demand for information on companies goes beyond investors and journalists who are interested in the company on a day to day basis, but also extends to depositors and the general public, who are worried about the possible failure of financial institutions, and the consequences for the general economy

In this situation companies have a responsibility to be proactive in communicating with stakeholders and the public and inform them about the crisis and how the company is being affected

2

Why the web?

Allows you to get your message across

Can provide context for the information presented

Hub for communicating

Reach a wider audience, 24 hours a day

Cost and time effective

Ability to supply greater amounts of company information

Interactivity

Information demand

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Jun

1 20

08

Jun

8 20

08

Jun

15 2

008

Jun

22 2

008

Jun

29 2

008

Jul 6

200

8

Jul 1

3 20

08

Jul 2

0 20

08

Jul 2

7 20

08

Aug

3 2

008

Aug

10

2008

Aug

17

2008

Aug

24

2008

Aug

31

2008

Sep

7 2

008

Sep

14

2008

Sep

21

2008

Sep

28

2008

Oct

5 2

008

Oct

12

2008

Oct

19

2008

Oct

26

2008

Nov

2 2

008

Financial Crisis Stock Market Core Capital

4

What people want to know what happened, what they can do, and how the crisis will affect them

Response is huge in terms of searches regarding the crisis in general and companies specifically

Reaction is immediate but short-lived

Short window of opportunity to respond

Financial news and research sites have also seen enormous increases in traffic over this period

Proliferating sources of information

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

Sep 1 2008

Sep 3 2008

Sep 5 2008

Sep 7 2008

Sep 9 2008

Sep 11 2008

Sep 13 2008

Sep 15 2008

Sep 17 2008

Sep 19 2008

Sep 21 2008

Sep 23 2008

Sep 25 2008

Sep 27 2008

Sep 29 2008

Lehman Brothers

Merril lynch

The Research – the supply of information Survey of 51 of the world’s

largest financial institutions and how the communicated during the month of October 2008

Looked at forms and types of ways they used the web

13 criteria examined

5

CRITERIA:

Press releases

Web pages

Webcast

Management Statement

External links

Newsletter

Q&A

Home page

Direct reference to the crisis

Background to the crisis

Statements on financial stability

Economic analysis

Information about government action

CRITERIA:

Press releases

Web pages

Webcast

Management Statement

External links

Newsletter

Q&A

Home page

Direct reference to the crisis

Background to the crisis

Statements on financial stability

Economic analysis

Information about government action

Companies surveyed Company Country

Bank of America USA

Citigroup USA

Fannie Mae USA

Freddie Mac USA

Goldman Sachs USA

JP Morgan USA

Lehman Brothers USA

Merrill Lynch USA

NewYork Life USA

Wachovia USA

WAMU USA

Wells Fargo USA

Barclays UK

Bradford and Bingley UK

HBOS UK

Lloyds Tsb UK

RBS UK

Company Country

Swedbank SE

Danske Bank Nordic

Aegon Netherlands

ING Netherlands

Mitsubishi UFG Japan

Mizuho Financial Group Japan

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Italy

Intesa Sanpaolo Italy

Mediobanca Italy

Mediolanum Italy

UBI Banca Italy

Unicredit Italy

Glitnir Iceland

Kaupthing Iceland

Landsbanki Iceland

Banque Populaire France

BNP Paribas France

6

Company Country

Caisse d'Epargne France

Crédit Agricole France

Crédit Mutuel France

Société Générale France

BBVA Spain

Santander Spain

Commerzbank Germany

Deutsche Bank Germany

Hypo Real Estate Germany

Credit Suisse Switzerland

UBS Switzerland

CIBC Canada

Royal Bank of Canada Canada

Dexia Belgium

Fortis Belgium

KBC Belgium

Main results Results can be analysed in 3 ways:

By overall types of responses used to the crisis

Geographical perspective By reaction based on what happened to the

company

Revealed: Companies ignored the crisis online (only

17 made a direct reference to it on their site) – “business as usual”

Management absent Companies were slow to react Failure to contextualize the crisis Little use of the homepage

Best companies (13 criteria,max 13 points):

Wells Fargo (10/13), BNP Paribas (9), Glitnir (9), Danske Bank (9), RBS (9), Aegon (8), Kapupthing (8), Swedbank (8) – Average score 4.5

Type of Information Percentage of companies

providing information

Press releases 76%

Dedicated webpage 27%

Webcast 29%

Management statement 31%

External links 16%

Newsletter 24%

Q&A 25%

Home page 73%

Direct reference to financial crisis? 35%

Background to the economic crisis 14%

Statements on financial stability 47%

Economic analysis 25%

Information about government action 24%

Online leadership

8

Contextualised and accessible

Ways forward…

SpeedSpeed

Tell it allTell it all

Be transparent

Be transparent

Tell your story quickly or else other sources will rush to fill the vacuum

If you do not talk to the press, there is always someone else who will

Explain and contextualise

Management should be up-front and present

Use the web effectively – make the information easy-to-find, accessible and interactive

This requires…

Management commitment

Internal culture

Built up web capabilities

Organisation – standard operating procedures, dedicated resources

Make sure your message is consistent and coordinated

Live up to your brand promise!

Thank you

Lundquist Srl

Joakim Lundquist

[email protected]

Piazza XXV Aprile, 1

20121 Milan, Italy

Tel. +39 (0) 2 4547 7681