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The crowning moment of Al Golin’s recent trip to Asia was his presentation at the Global Brand Forum, where he took to the stage alongside celebrity speakers such as Spike Lee, the infamous and controversial Hollywood film producer; Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia; and Will Wright, the "Steven Spielberg of electronic gaming" and creator of Sim City. Al presented at the forum about the need for brands to "get real." The audience was comprised of international business and professional elites from the private and public sectors and captains of industry, many of whom had flown in from afar to attend the two-day forum. Al began his speech by illustrating just how much the industry had grown and matured during the last 50 years. Indeed when Al began in PR the “goal was to get clients mentioned” and to “spell the name right”! Now, he concedes, things are a little more complicated—“In a world of cell phone cameras, citizen journalism and our 24/7 news cycle, the PR/ Communications industry faces challenges I never dreamt about.” However, Al is sure that the key to success remains the same, and that key is authenticity. Upon his granddaughter telling him to “get real granddad,” Al was reminded, “We are at our best only when we get real in our advertising and PR campaigns.” In spite of today’s changeable and challenging environment, if a company manages to demonstrate its authenticity then it stands a much better chance of success. But how does a company illustrate to so many stakeholders that it is “real” and can be trusted? Al identified six important “Reality Rules.” Al’s first rule is to make real connections. McDonald's has proven itself over time to have the desire and ability to connect with its “customers and crew members who serve the customers.” Recently McDonald's has sought to maintain its connection with one core group of customers: moms. GolinHarris helped McDonald’s devise its “Moms Quality Correspondence” program. The moms have since become McDonald’s biggest advocates after being given the chance to experience McDonald’s quality control process first hand. These moms then “welcomed the chance to go to the media and defend McDonald's. And today, they are blogging on behalf of McDonald's, serving as active advocates for its quality and no doubt influencing other skeptical moms to give McDonald's a closer look.” Al’s second “reality rule” is, fix it before it breaks. Here Al talks about client Nintendo’s ability to live and prosper by this rule. When Nintendo first came up with the concept of Wii there was no market for the product. Instead of relying on existing markets Nintendo chose to “fix it before it broke by identifying previously untapped markets” such as senior citizens in retirement homes. They are now doing the same again. “Through Wii Fit, Nintendo aims to shatter the stereotype of video gamers as couch potatoes”. Al’s third rule, keep your customers close means to “understand what you’re good at, or why people buy your product, and deviate from the plan only when you have your customer’s permission.” Although this may, at first glance, appear to be somewhat contradictory to the previous rule, it is not. Where companies’ look for new opportunities they must do so based on solid research. Al compares the Nintendo Wii to the launch of “New Coke” in 1985; “where Nintendo worked from customer data and research, Coke apparently assumed it knew what was best for its loyal customers. Based on that assumption, they tinkered with a century-old formula without their customers' permission. And you might say that the “Real Thing” forgot to be real on this occasion. And it cost them—with the New Coke launch forever considered one of the worst marketing blunders in history.” Al’s fourth rule is to be genuine. He believes that Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign success hinges on its continued ability to make an authentic connection with its consumers. “I'm a big fan of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty because I consider it truly genuine.” He then went on to say, “The images of these women have helped Dove become a company that understands the needs of real women by acknowledging that supermodels are exceptions and not rules.” Al’s fifth rule states that an organization must celebrate its workforce. He talks about how Dow Chemical Company have managed to overcome negative attitudes felt towards it by its own people (following on from the Union Carbide incident) through an internal campaign that celebrates its employees’ positive contributions to society. “Today, the people of Dow are talking to each other on a daily basis about their work, and how working for Dow gives them an opportunity to accomplish meaningful things in their communities, in the company, and in the world. Because of this, the people of Dow now know the stories of co-workers who have
Al’s sixth and final rule is that “reality” must start at the top. Al talked about the importance of integrity and humility in corporate leaders—no matter what their level of success. “Unfortunately, many of the CEOs who have been in the headlines lately suffer from an arrogant, almost imperialistic style of leadership,” said Al. “The recent past is littered with the failures of companies whose CEOs worked with total disregard for their people or their companies. They were in charge, they had the power, and they took full advantage to a fault.” Al preaches that the more successful a leader becomes the more he or she should demonstrate humility, something closely linked to being real and authentic. To close the speech Al talked about one of Confucius’ sayings, “a good government needs weapons, food and trust. If one cannot hold on to all three, he should give up weapons first and food next,” which supports Al’s theory that, “being real or authentic boils down to the word ‘trust.’ A successful brand can't survive without it.”
Christina Cheang, GH regional managing director for Southeast Asia, and Lina Poa, her deputy, were thrilled to receive Al and his radiant wife June in person for the first time, when they visited the office, as were all the GH colleagues in Singapore. In true celebrity style, Al whizzed in and out of Singapore for three days of speaking engagements and meetings, leaving the GH team and many others inspired and energized. On a visit to the Singapore headquarters of McDonald's, he said he was "blown away" by the standing ovation from management and staff. Many even stood in line for his autograph and to be photographed with him, such is Al's status among those working at McDonald's. Al took the audience on a trip down memory lane, back to a time more than 50 years ago, when he made a life-changing cold call to Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's. It was obvious that those listening were moved by the legacy that GH, and in particular Al, has shared with McDonald's.Despite his hectic schedule, Al still found the time to be interviewed and photographed by several local and international media including the International Herald Tribune and BBC Asia. He also squeezed in the time to eat lunch with Singapore's PR fraternity, hosted by the Institute of Public Relations. More than 55 PR professionals, including several industry veterans, turned out for this lunch talk when they heard that Al was in town. Al's passion for his profession resonated strongly with all who met him. Many GH'ers have since expressed the feeling that Al clearly practices what he preaches—showing deep humility even after such apparent success.
Later in the afternoon, Al was interviewed by a prominent Chinese weekly magazine and went on a tour to GH's Shanghai office, where he was greeted by energetic and enthusiastic staff.
Al held a private gathering with staff from the Hong Kong office and IPG sister companies to share his presentation entitled, "The 12 Things I Learned Working 52 years at GolinHarris … And a Few Other Things, Too." See Industry Insight for Al's top 12 tips. The event began with a video in which McDonald's thanked Al for his 50-year contribution to building their brand and business around the world. Click here to watch the video online.
During his visit Al also met with many of Asia's leading media representatives, including the Hong Kong Economic Times, Hong Kong's leading Chinese business daily newspaper with a readership of approximately 90,000. The interview documented Al's success in building GH through strong partnerships and trust.
He also met with PublicAffairsAsia and the South China Morning Post (SCMP). During the SCMP interview, Al talked more about the unique work culture at GolinHarris—something he believes has been at the heart of its success since he founded the firm. John Morgan, regional managing director for Greater China, and Fanny Wong, head of public affairs in Hong Kong, joined Al for the interview to explain how the firm's people-centered culture still thrives today. They talked about the firm's ability to give staff outstanding opportunities to create excellent client service programs; to help grow their careers through a variety of training initiatives and outstanding senior level mentors; and most importantly to help staff form meaningful relationships at work that provide mentoring and support which are necessary to achieve success.
GH clients attending were communications leaders from the Hong Kong office's prestigious client roster including Jardine Matheson, Cisco, Henderson Sunlight Asset Management Ltd, Man Investments Ltd, Wrigley, The Dow Chemical Company, Marks & Spencer, Cotton Council International, Toys 'R' Us Asia, Li & Fung, China Everbright, Berry Bros. & Rudd, Talent2 and the Illinois Office of Trade and Investment. |
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