AMP 425 Week 7 Collaborative Learning Community Public Relations Campaign

Public Relations Campaign: Bank of America

Red Group (Damon Hawkins, Julia Matson, Nicanor Martinez, Param Pamphile, Tracey Vest)  

Grand Canyon University: AMP-425

Public Relations Campaign: Bank of America

Bank of America’s (BoA) reputation has suffered in recent years due to several lawsuits, settlements, and judgments against the bank. Much of the pernicious activity that has cast a shadow on BoA was reported by former employees. The allegations, many of which have been adjudicated against BoA, include lying to homeowners who were trying to modify their mortgage, rewarding employees for increasing the number of foreclosures, and punishing employees for challenging the bank’s ethics (Reeves, Maxfield, & Moscovitz, 2013). It is time to come clean. BoA wants to repair the damage done to their corporate image and reputation. Guiniven (2004) quotes Dartmouth College business professor Paul Argenti, “Your image is how each constituency views your organization. Your reputation is the cumulative image.” This paper describes a BoA public relations campaign plan to begin the journey of recovering from questionable motives and poor decision making with hope to restore credibility, regain public trust, and attract positive media reporting.

To begin restoring credibility, BoA will form a committee of select executives committed full time to repair the harm and get BoA back on the right course. This committee will seek external guidance and assistance from non-profits such as the Public Relations Society of America (http://www.prsa.org/), PR Council (http://prcouncil.net/), and the Institute for Public Relations (http://www.instituteforpr.org/). Also, the bank will employ a credible public relations firm like Edelman (http://www.edelman.com/) to obtain a fresh external perspective while conducting a searching and fearless moral inventory, holding the bank accountable, and creating a responsible action plan. The aim is to be transparent, honest, and right wrongs where feasible. A hotline/web portal will be created (internal and external) for fielding reports of questionable ethics. Every claim will be diligently investigated and resolved. BoA wants to listen to their stakeholders and respond to their needs to rebrand themselves as a trustworthy service company (Krell, 2006). The corporate responsibility program will be completely revamped with an increased priority for the Code of Ethics and other value statements. BoA will document and publish employee and customer stories whose faith in BoA has been restored through relationship and recompense. These common interest stories will promote the credibility of the campaign (Kerin, Hartley, & Rudelius, 2013). This effort will be given prominence in the bank’s web presence and social media channels.

For regaining public trust, BoA is committed to full disclosure and complete transparent communications. The bank admits to wrongdoings and takes full responsibility for their actions. Corrective measures taken will be publicly shared when possible. BoA is committed to ethical practices going forward. New policies will be developed and announced that prohibits unethical behavior by any employee or agent. Violations will result in corrective measures up to and including termination or even legal action in extreme or grievous abuses. Additionally, an extension of the bank’s social responsibility department will be created to enhance BoA’s public giving record. This tactic has proven to help at least one other financial institution restore their tarnished image (Reosti, 2004).  A fresh, new corporate logo will be developed to delineate the past from the new era of commitment to integrity and public service. The announcement and promotion of this entire campaign through conventional and social media, including communicating cost and man-hours allocated, should help convince the public that BoA is serious about restoring trust and transforming their business conduct. Effectiveness of the campaign will be measured based on stakeholder feedback, which is a common metric (Fitzgerald, 2004). This feedback will be solicited through surveys offered via bank kiosks, web, and social media.

The bank’s strategy for attracting positive media reporting hinges on a crucial press conference and related activities. The PR committee along with the external PR firm will prepare a statement detailing the PR campaign objectives and activities for meeting those objectives. The statement will be posted 24 hours prior to the press conference. All major news services and especially known critics will be invited to the press conference. The conference will begin by the committee chairman introducing himself/herself, the committee members, and the PR firm representatives. Then the chairman will read the prepared statement. Afterwards, there will be an open Q&A period. This approach is risky but the bank believes it portrays them as being courageously transparent and willing to respond to all challenges. Frequent updates will be offered over a period of two years through a moderated blog with committee members contributing the content. Also, annual press conferences will be held to report on progress.

While BoA has been scrutinized in the past several years for their wrongdoings, the company bottom line has continued to flourish (Reeves, Maxfield, & Moscovitz, 2013). Some may conclude that the unethical practices contributed to this growth and prosperity. BoA is confident that they can continue to perform well and produce positive results while adhering to their new commitment to integrity, ethical practices, and transparent communication. This confident pledge will drive the bank to strive for complete renewal of their credibility, public trust, and positive media image.

References

Guiniven, J. (2004, November). Building and preserving your company’s reputation.

Public Relations Tactics 

Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., & Rudelius, W. (2013). Marketing: The core (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN-13: 9780078028922

Krell, E. (2006). Branding Together. (cover story). HR Magazine, 51(10), 48.

Reeves, J., Maxfield, J., & Moscovitz, I. (2013). Bank of America: Inside America’s most-hated bank.  Retrieved from http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/10/26/bank-of-america-inside-americas-most-hated-bank.aspx

Reosti, J. (2004). When Bad Press Collides With A Rebranding Effort. American Banker, 169(138), A6.