We talked with the new hero of our regular column about why sometimes you have to “catch up” with a crisis, whether the retail chain’s customers support the company’s ESG initiatives, and what trends are especially relevant today in the work of a PR specialist.
Pavel Unuchek
PR manager of the retail chain "Remi"
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Does the retail chain participate in social initiatives? How do ESG projects, in general, influence brand perception, in your opinion?
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ESG initiatives are a trend today that is very important for venezuela mobile database our company. This is not a story about money, but about image. Firstly, if a business has the strength and desire, then why give it up? Secondly, all this forms the right message to society, fosters certain values, no matter how pompous it may sound. Just a couple of examples. In July of this year, the founder of our retail chain gave residents and guests of Vladivostok a public space - a children's playground. This is not the first such example within the framework of "business - to people" initiatives in the city, but not the last.
People talk about companies through the prism of their successfully implemented projects. Another case is collecting plastic and aluminum for recycling in our stores. Every time we expand the geography of an eco-project or talk about its interim results, we invariably receive feedback with the question: "When will you launch something like this in our city?" That is, people want to become part of a good cause.
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How is the company's anti-crisis PR system structured? How do you deal with negativity and criticism directed at the company?
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Anti-crisis PR, or rather its possible volume, is one of the essential features of retail, since there is probably no other place with such a number of direct contacts with the buyer as here. Accordingly, the probability of encountering a crisis situation is higher. Therefore, it is necessary to react quite often and for completely different reasons.
We pay a lot of attention to negative mentions that sometimes appear in the media. And SCAN-Interfax provides us with significant support in this matter. In general, working for people without working with people is strange. Especially when a crisis occurs. Moreover, it is far from always one. In our practice, there were cases when the audience initially took the wrong side, but after reading the official position of the company, they changed their rhetoric.
Anti-crisis PR is also a tool for forming a loyal perception of the brand. Our active work in this direction has formed the image of an open retailer. Of course, we do not refuse to comment on journalistic inquiries regarding positive news items, but we also do not hide from negativity. The regional media are well aware of this. As a result, journalists who are used to presenting objective information first receive negativity, then come to us for an answer and then publish the material. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and from time to time we have to “catch up” with the crisis. However, this situation is gradually improving.