7/8/2011 5:46:37 PM
News International...their brand in your hands?
So, despite 7 million plus copies per week sold and all that
readership, 168 years of journalistic history, status as Sunday’s
most read newspaper (although really, I can’t work out whether
that’s more for entertainment purposes rather than real news) – it
seems the seedier side of journalism has bitten itself on its own
backside.
Perhaps we should have a competition for the paper’s final
headline...
Business at any cost these days, it seems, comes at a cost - the
risk of incurring the wrath of the very stakeholder community it
serves.
Was the social media response to the NOTW's plight a catalyst
for a speedy demise?
Was the (apparently) swift decision to close the paper a damage
limitation exercise to avoid an uncontrollable, social
media-mobilised backlash from affecting other titles or companies
within the group?
Or, if we're really cynical, was NOTW a convenient scapegoat for
a swift exit from print media to focus more on digital media? How
much has been wiped off the parent company market value?
Would you work for News International?
Following the controversy that has surrounded the News of the
World phone hacking scandal, we'd like to know if you would
consider working for NOTW's parent group, News International?
Tweet us your response using the hashtag #armuk or
by commenting on the blog below.
Brand Impact on Attracting Talent
As for employer brand impact - well, behaviour breeds behaviour:
you cannot attract key players when you have a tarnished
reputation. When market economies dictate you hire your way to
growth using only the best available talent, a tarnished reputation
is a handicap.
Increasingly, new generations of workers put ethical business
practice at the top of their agenda, and those businesses who break
the emotional contracts of its employees through poor management
practices will pay the price through attrition.
Welcome to the new Brand era - you no longer have control of
your brand. It seems your customers, your suppliers and your
shareholders do – and the way you do business dictates whether you
survive in the marketplace, because upsetting them can shut down
your business. Time for back to basics - good, honest business?
Debby Lloyd
Guest blogger from Hawker Chase Executive