Facing the hard times, and good

Public relations activity will ramp up across the board as Poland's economic growth slows and firms compete to maintain their market share, experts claimed last week. But they warned that Polish firms' efforts might be fruitless since many lack experience in PR and their companies' images cannot be molded overnight.

PR in all seasons

"Companies that invest regularly in their image and so called 'PR,' continually keep in touch with their target group," explained Polish Academy of Public Relations general director Adam Jarczyński. "Despite hard times, companies should inform their audiences that they want to keep realizing their goals - this is very important," he added.

Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility (FCSR) president William Chasey said a company's success in hard times is based on how much consumers or clients trust a brand. He explained that during a slowdown in the economy a company will invest more heavily in product and advertising to improve its image, but he added that by that point it will be too late.

"When falling on hard times there is a trust factor involved," said Chasey. "You trust the firm is going to do the right thing whether the market is good or bad, that a company cares about the environment, the consumer and so on. But it's not something you can just turn on in bad times, trust has to be earned over a period."

Jarczyński explained that as the economy slows, more Polish firms will turn to PR following the experience of Western competitors. "In Poland, during [past] recessions a small number of companies invested in PR. Nowadays the situation is better but not as good as abroad - especially in the US or the UK." He added that Poles are becoming better educated as to the role of PR, noting the continuous growth in the PR sector.

But like Chasey, Jarczyński also accused some executive boards of only having a short-term view of a company's reputation. "Sometimes executive boards are dumb, they don't understand the long-term power of public relations," he said.

CSR in times of crisis

"When times get tight, companies should discontinue expensive sponsoring activity or big events and at the same time explain why," advised Jarczyński. "PR departments should focus on the most important things listed in their crisis-management book. If they have one, of course."

"If the company is not prepared for crisis or hard times, PR departments should highlight the most important communication goals, for example: monitoring client feedback; effective media relations and media monitoring; WEB 2.0; newsletters; or a regularly updated corporate or product site," added Jarczyński. "[A website is] a good place to mention the CSR policy. Well-run in good times, [a CSR policy] brings profit in times of crisis."

Chasey claimed that a strong, long-running CSR policy is the foundation to building a strong reputation that survives a crisis. He said some 70 percent of investors look at CSR when investing in a firm, adding that it can drive up sales and add as much as 20 percent to its products' value.