Director Communications at Coca-Cola India and South West Asia
Arpan Basu
Director Communications at Coca-Cola India and South West Asia
Existing empirical research confirms that there is a positive relationship between reputation management and development of corporate houses. Corporations have long since realized the importance of managing the reputation that will sustain their advancement in the age of competitive business management. People share different perceptions about what constitutes a corporate reputation and the role of communications in balancing it.
It’s a familiar feeling – you’re scrolling through your social media posts and you notice a pattern emerging. It’s subtle; you don’t really realise it till you make a conscious effort to really think about what you’re consuming, but you gradually realise that the curated content is aligned with your general worldview. It’s an experience similar to shopping online and OTT platform viewing – the recommendations and suggestions offered to us are closely aligned with the choices we have made on those platforms in the past. The more of something we choose, the more of it we are offered the next time.
The communications industry is an apt reflection of our time: fast-paced and in need of constant evolution. Especially during crises, well-devised communications can become the quickest tool in ensuring business continuity and responding to unprecedented situations.
When the pandemic struck, a one-of-a-kind black swan event that few communication professionals had seen before in their careers – it proved difficult to determine how to reach out to stakeholders. With business goals compromised, cultural shifts inevitable and expectations from brands rapidly changing – most organizations around the world hadn’t factored in the possibility of something this unthinkable: and reeled in shock for weeks before formulating an appropriate communications strategy. With businesses of all sizes affected, communication leaders were faced with an anxious audience that required messages that showed depth of emotion, while still being disruptive