Greentarget

Greentarget

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Challenge

Northwestern University’s chemistry department (NUChem) came to Greentarget looking for ways to better promote its research, scientists, and resources. The goal was simple: Stay competitive for top faculty and students. 

The department had more than enough talent, research prowess and pedagogical expertise to compete with the nation’s foremost chemistry departments, including MIT, CalTech, UChicago and Stanford. By fostering collaboration and supporting a diverse community of students and faculty members, the department had been at the forefront of scientific discovery for well over a century.

What NUChem didn’t have was a culture of publicizing that work to the next generation of STEM leaders or thriving businesses. So many of the institution’s breakthroughs were going underreported and uncredited. Academic leaders in the field knew the program was good — they just didn’t know how good.

Solution

When a client’s goal is to outperform its rivals, Greentarget starts there first. The initial proposal to NUChem underscored the importance of two types of research: primary research aimed at uncovering how students and faculty members viewed the department; and secondary research comparing NUChem’s reputation and promotional efforts against departments in close competition to be viewed by peers as the top chemistry department.

To help chemistry academics embrace the leading-edge marketing tactics Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management was already known for, Greentarget then developed a comprehensive competitive assessment. Its findings revealed that the department’s aversion to self-promotion wasn’t a sentiment shared by its peers. In fact, many of the institutions NUChem competes with had robust PR and marketing programs in place actively demonstrating their authority.

But the program’s biggest shortcoming was social media. Not only did Northwestern’s five peer universities maintain an active presence across multiple social media platforms, but their individual chemistry departments did as well. This gave NUChem’s competitors the opportunity to solicit success stories from within their departments and share them with a wide audience. And as industry publications and associations covered these stories, NUChem’s competitors were able to amplify them on their own social channels. Their social media presence also enabled other departments to drive engagement among current students, alumni and faculty — a crucial step toward achieving world-class reach and influence.

Impact

By showing NUChem how their peers were winning the reputation battle — and crafting a unique social strategy on their behalf — the department was able to counter. In less than two months, NUChem’s LinkedIn audience went from zero to twice that of its closest competitor.

More importantly, chemistry leaders were the ones engaging, with professors and publications mentioning the department more than any other in the competitive set during the first month of the campaign. For academics with an ultimate goal of being the top chemistry program in the country, there was no better proof point than the attention and respect of their peers.

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It’s no secret that law firm profits and productivity slipped last year, as 2021’s legal bonanza gave way to a more challenging stretch in which many firms found themselves with too many lawyers, and not enough work to go around.

Demand for legal services dropped 1.9% in 2022 compared to 2021, while expenses increased 7.9%, according to Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group. Some law firms have already laid off lawyers and staff, while others may be considering reductions.

Last year, when the war for lateral talent still raged, we recommended that firms emphasize culture over profits in their legal media interviews as a way stand out in an environment where strong financial performance was the rule.  

But as legal demand dries up while expenses climb, law firms need to adjust their messaging accordingly. Below, we outline considerations as firms prepare for those discussions.

What to Expect During the Interview

Economic uncertainty continues dominating headlines and will be a recurring theme in conversations between legal media and law firm leadership. Expect questions about how your firm plans to navigate the unpredictable financial environment in the coming year, from reining in expenses and headcount to balancing fiscal restraint with the need to invest in technology and talent.

With law firm mergers gaining momentum after a pandemic-era dip, legal reporters may ask whether your firm is open to a combination to grow headcount, expand its regional footprint and/or expand capabilities. Smaller firms and those with softening financial results should prepare for questions about potentially being acquired by larger or more prosperous firms.

The legal media knows your firm’s expenses increased last year, but you can talk about how they grew in 2022 and how you plan to manage them in 2023. On a more granular level, expect journalists to ask how your firm dealt with overcapacity last year – and how it plans to address the issue in 2023. Are you instituting programs to fill lawyers’ unused time through expanded pro bono work or business development initiatives?

Headcount Reductions

Nobody wants to talk about this. However, the legal media has widely covered the firms that have already reduced their headcounts in 2022 and 2023, and reporters will not shy away from questions around this topic.

If your firm plans to lay off attorneys and staff, make sure to announce those reductions internally before discussing them with members of the media. Keep in mind that any memo sent to lawyers and staff will be leaked – so when drafting the announcement, have your external audiences in mind, too. 

If your firm has already reduced its attorney or professional staff ranks, interviews can help contextualize those decisions by framing them around your firm’s overall 2022 performance and strategy for 2023.

Real Estate, Technology and DEI

Where and how lawyers work will also be top of mind. Hybrid and remote work continue to be topics of interest. Firms should expect questions about changes to in-office policies and whether they remain open to fully remote hires.

Reporters will likely ask about firms’ physical footprints, too. Firm leaders should plan to discuss any changes in office space, and the adoption of strategies like hoteling. If your firm has a hiring strategy for 2023, this interview offers a great place to share it with potential talent.  

Leaders should also expect questions about their firms’ technology investments. Has your firm splashed out on new software or platforms in the past year? Does your firm plan to scale back technology spending in the coming year?

Prepare for questions about potential retrenchment in other areas – including diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), which many firms prioritized after the social and racial reckoning of 2020. Reporters may ask about what measurable progress you made against those commitments last year, and whether your firm plans to cut or pause its DEI and/or talent development initiatives amid profit pressures. Consider sharing your organization’s DEI targets and how you plan to meet those goals in the coming year.

Reflect on 2022 – And Map Out What’s Next

When preparing your talking points about 2022, think about how you would characterize the year at a macro level. Be prepared to talk about the practices, regions and industries that drove growth last year, and where your firm saw shifts in demand. This is a great opportunity to discuss notable matters from 2022, so ensure you have those details on hand.

During these interviews, firm leaders can discuss their strategy for 2023. Any major investments your firm plans for the year – office openings, new practice group focus, ancillary practices – should be shared here if possible.

Explain where the firm will focus this year in terms of practices and initiatives, as well as areas where you will be creating efficiencies. Where do you anticipate increased demand? Leaders should plan to talk about practices that may be ripe for growth, such as bankruptcy and restructuring, data privacy and security and regulatory.

With the economic outlook for the legal industry still uncertain, firms can find value in being transparent about financial results, strategic plans and cultural considerations – topics that will resonate with current employees and potential talent.

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Prior to his arrest, Sam Bankman-Fried’s attempts to explain the collapse at FTX did little to reassure or assuage his audience and stakeholders. Nor did they inspire confidence in the company’s ability to rebound from its downfall. Rather, by over-explaining his position, SBF seemed intent on proving that FTX lacks (and apparently has always lacked) any sense of organization, discipline, or accountability.

Allegations of fraud aside, among Bankman-Fried’s mistakes is his insistence on behaving like a classic tragic figure. Like Shakespeare’s King Lear or Arthur Miller’s Willy Loman, Bankman-Fried appears to be unaware of how the world sees him. Yet he can’t seem to stop trying to convince everyone that his own flawed vision of himself is just and true.

What SBF needs (or, rather, needed) is a fool, just like the fool in King Lear’s court — a brave and discerning advisor who’s close to the center of power, able and willing to speak the truth that no one else can. If you’re a PR or communications leader, you’re uniquely suited to meet this need at your organization.

What Executives Can Learn from a Fool

In King Lear, the Fool is not merely a court jester. Sure, the Fool cracks jokes at the expense of the king. But the fool is there to do more than entertain. This character sees through the artifice of the king’s self-delusion and uses irony and wit to force King Lear to look in the mirror and face the consequences of his behavior. 

The Fool is loyal to his ruler, for sure. He has the king’s best interests at heart and knows his strengths and weaknesses better than anyone. The Fool uses his position within Lear’s inner circle to try to protect the king, continually warning him of the folly of his poor decisions.

Where’s the Fool at FTX? 

In an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bankman-Fried said there was no one at FTX who challenged him. If his account is to be believed, not a single person advised him of the missteps his company was taking. No one was responsible for monitoring risk or alerting higher-ups that what they were doing was dangerous or wrong. (Of course, perhaps someone did try to speak out and SBF was simply unwilling to listen. Lear ignored his Fool, too — and it led to his undoing.)

The result? FTX is bankrupt. Bankman-Fried has resigned as CEO. He lost his personal fortune and the fortunes of others. Many of those who previously lauded SBF’s ingenuity have disappeared. And SBF has pled not guilty to allegations of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering — underscoring his commitment to proving that his vision of himself is true.

It’s impossible to know if things would have turned out differently for FTX had someone seized the Fool’s mantle. But the lesson here is that every king (or CEO) needs someone who’s willing to play the wise Fool, especially in the face of a PR maelstrom. 

Here’s why PR leaders are uniquely suited to play this critical role. 

You Know How to Shape Messages Your Audience Will Accept

Of all the executives in the CEO’s sphere of influence, PR and communications leaders are closest to the organization’s audience. On good days, you’re the person who’s carefully crafting messages that resonate with the public and advance your organization’s strategic goals. On bad days, you know which messages stand a chance of breaking through the noise to reach and reassure your stakeholders. Therefore, you know what your audience will accept as credible, and what it will find disingenuous. 

As much as they may want to, CEOs can’t kill a negative PR story or otherwise spin their way out of a crisis. They also shouldn’t blindly take legal counsel’s advice to stay silent (although, in SBF’s case, silence would likely have been the better strategy). 

It’s your job to help your CEO communicate responsibly in the midst of any PR challenges your company may face. If you don’t believe what the CEO is saying, you know your audience won’t either. And because it’s your responsibility to protect your firm’s reputation, you have an obligation to rethink any messages that ring hollow or — worse — untrue. It’s not about doing the right thing from a moral perspective (though it is…), it’s about doing what’s best for the company’s reputation.

To play the Fool effectively, you’ll need to:

You Understand How the Firm Should (and Should Not) Respond to a PR Crisis

Following the FTX collapse, the only information Bankman-Fried offered led many reasonable people to draw one of two conclusions: either he’s a criminal or he’s profoundly incompetent. Whichever conclusion you drew, he certainly did little to repair his image, or restore the reputation of his company, or at least slow the erosion of either. 

True, he apologized. But a shallow demonstration of contrition without meaningful insight into what went wrong or what he’d do differently next time doesn’t mean a whole lot to people who’ve lost everything. Bankman-Fried provides an excellent example of how CEOs should not respond to a PR crisis. 

During a crisis, PR counselors remind their CEOs that:

  • Now’s the time to set ego aside
  • Bad stories are probably inevitable, but good PR can make bad stories less bad
  • Statements framed in default corporate-speak alienate the audience further — now is the time for authenticity and vulnerability 
  • Crises are an opportunity to fix what is broken within the organization
  • It’s ok to punch back (purposefully) against false claims, misinformation or carelessness 

PR firms have spent decades creating effective crisis communications playbooks for a reason. Your CEO might want to break with convention to share her or his desired message. But there should always be a thoughtful strategy behind the approach your organization takes.

Play the PR Fool to Direct a Smarter Conversation at Your Firm

The downfall of FTX — and SBF’s subsequent media tour  — provide an extreme example of a badly handled crisis. And though the whole situation is a train wreck you can’t help but watch, there are valuable lessons here for CEOs as well as PR professionals.

CEOs must create space for trusted advisors to tell them the truth — even the hard truths they don’t particularly want to hear. And PR/communications leaders must be willing to play the Fool — especially when, like King Lear, their CEO seems bent on folly of another sort  (whether they’re aware of it or not). 

Greentarget can help you put a PR plan in place that upholds and protects your firm’s reputation. There’s no need to speak truth to power on your own since we’re here to help.

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Executive leaders facing pressure to advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) want more guidance on those efforts from their law firms and professional services providers—and say advisors must also do more to demonstrate their own DEI progress.

That’s according to Greentarget and Zeughauser Group’s first-ever State of DEI Content Report. An extension of our 2022 State of Digital & Content Marketing Survey, the report takes a deep dive into the increased demand for actionable DEI content among clients of professional services firms. Drawing on the perspectives of 200 C-suite executives and in-house counsel, the report uncovers what types of DEI content decision-makers are seeking, and the extent to which their outside firms are meeting those needs.

Our research also examines the hurdles that law firms and professional services providers face in advancing DEI initiatives at their own organizations. And we’ve paired this year’s DEI-focused results with practical guidance for marketers on how to navigate critical issues surrounding DEI to provide the guidance clients are seeking—and bolster their own DEI efforts, to ensure that content is authentic and credible.

We’re confident this year’s inaugural report will help legal and professional services organizations better understand and address their clients’ growing demand for more effective DEI content.

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The extraordinary upheaval of the past three years has reshaped the world, the workplace, and the way decision-makers consume information, sending the news cycle—and content creation—into warp speed. In this crowded environment, how can marketers create content that stands out from the noise?  

Greentarget’s 2022 State of Digital and Content Marketing Survey, developed in partnership with Zeughauser Group, delivers fresh insights for this new era of communication. The report is our 10th iteration of research into what makes content excel, and our first to do so since 2019.

We surveyed 200 top business executives and in-house counsel for this deep dive into how information consumption behaviors and preferences have changed—and what has stayed the same. Our report also provides practical guidance on how to utilize these findings to create the engaging, informative, and relevant content that decision-makers seek.

Here is a sampling of our key findings, along with examples of how Greentarget puts this knowledge into practice for our clients.

The Enduring Importance of Earned Media

In a volatile environment, executive decision-makers are looking for timely, practical, and trustworthy information to guide their business decisions.

Our 2022 survey found that C-suite members and in-house counsel still look to trusted editors and dependable, established outlets to tell them what matters. Respondents ranked traditional media nearly as important in 2022 as it was in 2019, with approximately 80% rating it somewhat or very valuable. Publications and websites specifically covering the respondent’s profession are also popular, particularly among C-suite executives, who ranked it as their most valuable content source.

Don’t underestimate the importance of a strong media relations strategy for reaching key audiences through the outlets they trust. Earned media is still the gold standard for credibility—and engaging with reporters can help raise your profile.

Case Study: Greentarget’s media relations strategy for Lathrop GPM earned more than 42 media results and 9 million impressions, including in key industry-specific publications, for its environmental and tort practice. The campaign led to new business inquiries, outreach from clients, and regular requests for insight from Bloomberg Law.

The Benefits of Effective Thought Leadership

When it comes to hiring outside law or professional services firms, decision-makers are finding thought leadership and credentialing activities to be increasingly important.

More than two-thirds of survey respondents cited articles and speeches from thought leaders as a critical factor in hiring outside firms, second only to recommendations from a trusted source. Nearly two-thirds of in-house counsel are also looking to thought leaders’ websites and blogs as noteworthy tools for researching outside firms, compared to just half in 2019.

A well-run owned media program can strategically deploy content creation to effectively establish your firm’s authority and expertise, attracting new business and generating additional earned media coverage. Insightful research reports, blog posts, white papers, and podcasts can help your organization stand out from the crowd.

Case Study: Greentarget leveraged the importance of thought leadership to establish Perkins Coie as the premier legal advisor in the AR/VR space. By developing the Annual AR/VR Survey Report, Greentarget secured more than 400 pieces of news coverage in leading national publications and fostered lasting relationships between partners and influential reporters.

The Accelerating Digital Shift

Executive decision-makers are more likely to visit websites, blogs, and webinars or other virtual events now than they were in 2019. When the pandemic put a sudden hold on conferences and in-person events—a key forum for gathering business intelligence—LinkedIn and virtual programming stepped in to fill the gap.

With webinar recordings available regardless of attendance or availability, the digital shift offers important advantages to increasingly busy C-suite members and in-house counsel who are looking for highly relevant, actionable content. Yet, despite the many online analytics and keyword research tools available to marketers, a lack of relevance remains the top reason why content fizzles with decision-makers.

With a nearly limitless virtual audience, create specific and tailored content personalized for the decision-makers you want to reach, rather than trying to compete with the noise in a crowded online environment.

Case Study: Greentarget worked with RBC Global Asset Management to take advantage of online distribution and engagement platforms for its Responsible Investing Survey. The campaign achieved 131 million impressions, with 5,500 views for the report; 3,500 views for the firm’s global responsible investment site, microsite, and ESG videos; and over 225,000 impressions and 2,000 click-throughs on paid and organic LinkedIn and Twitter posts.

The Need for Guidance in an Uncertain World

C-suite members and in-house counsel are also looking for more actionable guidance from law firms and professional service providers on the specific issues facing their business in this volatile period—particularly cybersecurity and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Fast-moving developments and rapidly evolving standards in these areas means that leaders need the most up to date and informed guidance.

Most of all, leaders want content with utility that explains what they should do with new information. But they also want content that’s “in-depth” and “technical,” offering granular analysis and expert recommendations that can help inform their operational decisions and outlook.

Case Study: Recognizing the growing importance of ESG to corporate decision-making, Greentarget helped Fenwick create a biotech-specific research report on how ESG reporting was affecting the industry. One Fenwick partner described the findings as “invaluable” to biotech clients, who had long sought this type of data on governance issues.

Communications in 2022 and Beyond

We found that executive decision-makers are increasingly looking to content from thought leaders to guide them—but not just anything will do. Marketing and communications professionals crafting strategies amid rapid-fire change need to understand how the past few years have shaped information trends, upended distribution channels, and altered preferences for both C-suite members and in-house counsel.

Check out the full 2022 State of Digital and Content Marketing report for more and stay tuned for our State of DEI report coming December 2022.

Still have questions, or are unsure how to break through to your target audience? We’re here to help.

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If you’re an executive leader whose organization is facing a current or potential lawsuit, it’s important to consider a very important question. How do you manage the tension between protecting your firm from liability and mitigating a hit to your reputation? 

Navigating a litigious event is daunting — and there’s plenty to worry about just preparing for the legal battle that lies ahead. On top of that, a lawsuit can also pose a significant threat to your firm’s public image. And since even the perception of guilt can cause you to suffer losses in valuation and revenue, the reputational risk that accompanies litigation can ultimately cause more harm to your business than the litigation itself. 

Complicating this further, your legal team will tell you to keep quiet and avoid saying anything that could damage you in court. But your PR firm should insist that it’s crucial to get ahead of negative blowback and proactively communicate with your audience. 

Here’s why you should avoid adopting an overly conservative response — and five strategies to communicate effectively in the midst of a legal crisis.

Why You Need an Effective Comms Strategy When Facing Litigation 

Whether your firm is innocent or guilty from a legal perspective, staying silent in response to an attack on your firm’s image is not a good option. Why? In the absence of an official statement from you, your audience is much more likely to accept someone else’s narrative — or create one of their own. 

Academic research bears this out. According to William Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory, “The important point is not whether the business is in fact responsible for [an] offensive act, but whether the firm is thought to be responsible by the relevant audience” (emphasis added).

More simply put, perception is reality. So even if (or perhaps particularly if) you’ve done nothing wrong, it’s essential to communicate your side of the story to your audience. 

How Good PR Enabled a Healthcare Company to Gain Market Share

I saw the importance of managing the narrative around litigation first-hand when I represented a healthcare company that had recently acquired a new technology. When they attempted to break into their competitor’s market, the competitor promptly sued them for patent infringement in several countries.

Initially, my client’s IP lawyer persuaded them to stay silent. But the competitor was relentless, releasing well-crafted statements after every milestone decision in court. It spun every decision in its favor. As a result, my client’s sales team encountered significant resistance in the field. 

Further, the client was a publicly traded company, and its stock prices came under pressure as the competition persisted with its full-court press.

The tide turned when the client’s executive leader stepped in. He understood that even if his organization won the legal battle, it could still lose in the court of public opinion. That meant their business’s very viability was on the line — and he knew it was important to speak out.

So we set out to beat the competitor at its own game. We collaborated closely with the client’s legal team to create scenario plans for every lawsuit in each of the several countries where active litigation was underway. We charted out every possible outcome for each milestone in every jurisdiction. We drafted a press release for every outcome that would relay our point-of-view into the marketplace as soon as each milestone was achieved. 

This proactive, well-timed strategy enabled the client to maintain its customer base and eventually preserve the market share it had taken from its competitor. Thanks to executive leadership who understood the need to balance legal and reputation risk, the comms and legal teams were able to work collaboratively. Together, they addressed the compelling issues facing the company beyond the courtroom. 

5 Steps to Manage Your Firm’s Reputation During Litigation

Protecting or restoring your firm’s image as a result of litigation will take a serious concerted effort on the part of your internal team. And though a partner like Greentarget can do much of the heavy lifting to facilitate this process, your Executive Committee members, legal counsel, and other influential figures will need to come together to craft your PR response.

This will require you to take five crucial steps.

1. Conduct Scenario Planning to Plot Likely Outcomes

High-profile, complex litigation can last for months, if not years. Therefore, as we saw in the example above, one of the most important things you can do is put strategies in place to minimize the impact of ongoing negative press.

To think through every likely scenario, ask questions like:

  • What are all the possible outcomes we may need to address?
  • How severe is the reputational threat of each outcome?
  • How could each scenario potentially unfold?
  • How should we respond to each scenario?

Finally, you’ll need to gather any data or supporting information required to inform the appropriate course of action in response to each scenario.

2. Prioritize Your Audiences

The details of your litigation may not affect — or even interest — every segment within your audience. Knowing exactly who you’re talking to is crucial in getting the right message across at the right time. Therefore, it’s important to tailor your response to the audience members who truly need to hear it.

Consider:

  • What audiences have the potential to be impacted?
  • Which audiences will be most affected?
  • What is the chain of influence within the audience environment?
  • How large is the gap between current and desired perceptions within each audience segment?

Then, develop concise, quotable, factual messages based on each audience’s needs. Use supporting details, analogies, metaphors, and other storytelling devices to capture their attention and foster empathy for your message.

3. Determine Which Communication Platforms to Use

Good communication plans are customized based on your audience’s needs. In the same way, it’s important to deliver your message using the mechanisms they are familiar with or accustomed to. 

For example, you might choose to email your current clients because that’s how you normally communicate with them. Employees might expect to hear from you in an interactive town hall setting. But your investors or other key stakeholders might need to meet with you one-on-one.

Managing your firm’s reputation is too important to simply issue a one-size-fits-all message using your largest platform. Personalization is the name of the game. 

4. Identify and Prepare Appropriate Spokespeople to Deliver the Message

It’s also important to consider who should communicate your message to each segment of your audience. As an executive leader, you might be the best person to talk to the media or communicate with your board or other influential stakeholders. But there may be other spokespeople in your organization who would be more effective at reaching certain audiences.

No matter who you choose to speak on your organization’s behalf, make sure they are prepared to master high-pressure environments. Greentarget can provide coaching to ensure each spokesperson knows how to:

  • Deliver key takeaways first
  • Distill important points into memorable soundbites
  • Block unwanted questions and maneuver the conversation back to your desired talking points
  • Stay calm and poised when fielding difficult questions

Just remember: Your choice of spokesperson is also a message. Carefully think through how each audience segment will feel about hearing your message from your chosen representative.

5. Put a Rapid Response Team in Place to Fill In Any Gaps 

There are natural news events built into any litigation (e.g. filing of the complaint; subsequent motions; the verdict). In the scenario planning phase, you created a planned response for each one. 

Still, unforeseen situations are bound to arise. And when they do, it’s vital to have a team in place that’s equipped to respond quickly.

Your rapid response team should actively listen and monitor the situation at all times. By having an ear to the ground, you can stay ahead of any curve balls potentially coming your way.

Bring PR and Legal Counsel Together When Facing Litigation

Although PR and legal counsel approach the challenges of litigation from opposite sides, they ultimately want the same thing: to protect your firm from harm. Since lawsuits typically stem from — or result in — a reputational crisis, your PR strategy and your legal strategy must be linked.

Staying silent in the midst of a crisis is rarely the best option, but you also don’t want to say the wrong thing. To that end, crafting an effective communications strategy in response to high-profile litigation undoubtedly requires expert guidance and support.

That’s why it’s essential to surround yourself with experts who’ve navigated these challenging circumstances before. Greentarget has helped numerous clients direct a smarter conversation throughout the course of litigation. We’d love to help you, too. Just reach out.

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