What with COVID, calamitous weather and the human divide between us nationwide, nature appears to be running amok and making a direct hit on safety and health. Ultimately, studies are showing, it has manifested in a lessening of trust in each other, in our institutions, and in our way of life, long taken for granted. For food industry business — as producers, retailers and responsible employers — the impact of the last year will reverberate for decades. As communicators, however, this is not a doomsday scenario. I am sure my more seasoned colleagues will agree, we’ve seen historic marketplace and cultural meteors before.

Food businesses and executives who make smart, credible and genuine moves, now, will lead their category. It’s going to require, though, a doubling down on consumer trust and embracing change. The question of who and what do you trust must be answered, and we are all responsible for demonstrating the answers with well-considered decisions and activities. I believe that means our public relations must be centered, discerning and authentic.

What has changed across the board? The speed by which critical information (and misinformation) is shared and the crucial nature of getting it right, especially when it comes to human health and safety.

So, how best to build trust and meet consumer, customer and employee expectations? If we get it right, shareholder expectations will be met accordingly.

Our experience in helping clients successfully communicate consumer messages tells us to focus on building trust from the inside out. Take a brutally honest look at your corporate reputation and brand, how consumers and your own people view your organization. It can’t be just about food or business as usual. The old saw, “doing well by doing good” is especially relevant today.

Here are some pathways our own food and beverage clients are taking:

Increase Employee Communications

Out of sheer necessity, communicate often and visibly through these COVID times. Our daily business lives have been upset – to remote or not to remote, to renew the lease on our office space or find a less sizeable option. Many companies and employees are at loose ends to find their way and some regularity in daily work life. Provide brief, regular, fact-based updates to your website, your employees and your customers. Demonstrate your partnership with regulatory and public health entities. Especially during these times, it is these public guardians that consumers will trust most (over the word of for-profit companies). Communicate with a tone of concern for your audience’s health and welfare. Tone is often more important than content; optimism and encouragement never hurts.

Connect With Your Community

Remember your local communities where many of your employees and their families live and where you often have an outsized shadow. Your town’s tax base is often, in large part, dependent on your decisions. Local businesses and civic organizations will appreciate your support and patronage wherever you can provide it. Are you able to go the extra mile by working with a local medical partner to provide your workforce with vaccines? Are you able to contribute with scholarships, sponsorships, speaking/virtual presentation opportunities with the local community college? Can you organize team volunteers to contribute to local projects and/or disaster areas? Donations of much-needed supplies?

Gut Check Your Reputation

Re-vitalize your assets and allies, especially your employees. Take an honest audit of commentary on social media, internal chat channels and employee forums. Is your tried and true approach still working? Are employee concerns going unaddressed, purposely or from lack of resources? How can you really improve, and soon? Set aggressive timelines and take action where you can. Have you recognized those employees who went the distance for the company over the past year? Are there new employee voices emerging as leaders that may help the organization evolve? 

How Credible Is Your Position or Message?

Are there local or industry experts that would be valuable to enlist for expert counsel and for referral sources when the media calls? Have you conducted studies and surveys that could be of interest to others? Are there forecasts or other research — trade or medical — that you have used to help guide your initiatives? Leverage them and keep eyes open for new partners who can support you and add credibility to your brand promise and values.

Update Your Game Plan

Do not wait until there is some semblance of “normal” to evaluate your communications strategy. Even though we are far from the “end” of this challenging period, all of us have seen organizational changes, personnel shifts, and the re-ordering of priorities. Take a fresh look at your scenario plans and crisis preparation. Does your approach incorporate the new resources your team has leaned on in urgent situations over the past year? Lessons learned? Review your most reliable and/or updated tools for pushing out content and measuring impact.  Revisit new threats to your business. Take an audit of competitors in the news. Think about what developing trends, threats to your business and community, potential disasters and hazards, and competitive concerns that could have a pernicious effect. Then, act. Develop a position for these issues and scenarios, no matter how brief, that can be updated and customized when needed (response speed in hairy situations is so critical). Determine which events or developments might trigger your need to address the situation. Messaging? Medium? Spokesperson? Use this time to regroup wisely and retire outdated practices. It all adds up to help bulwark brand trust.

Social Distance isn’t for Social Media

Now is the time to lean into social media to connect with your audience where they are choosing to spend time. Keep up with potentially new audiences, look for ways to genuinely connect with your followers and build loyalty through content that matters to them. This is not the time to overproduce or overspend; there’s no need to be perfect or slick. It is about telling your story authentically and contributing to the real-life conversations and experiences that are helping us all get through these times, together. And, remember, you are talking to the end customer. There’s power in that.

Be Willing to Change

Innovation is what fuels our industry and our personal growth. The changes in our professional world – one charged with contributing to a safer milieu, preserving precious resources, evolving healthcare and society itself – will continue, as will the changes in our daily lives. A trust mindset for business and for ourselves will help evolve how we communicate, how we connect, how we function, and how we support a constantly shifting consumer marketplace and food supply. Be open to change. Communicate trustworthiness and the promise reflected by your brand. 

Michael Fineman is President of Fineman PR.

The post Cultivating a Trust Mindset for Brand Stability and Growth appeared first on Fineman PR.

In recent conversations with our agency’s clients, more food and beverage communicators are embracing artificial intelligence technology, specialized influencer marketing and increasingly sophisticated social media content to increase brand authenticity and improve the overall consumer experience.

Artificial Intelligence? Wine Not?

For many food and beverage artisans, the environment in which a product is grown or made is a vital part of the overall product experience. Quintessa is a renowned 280-acre wine estate in Rutherford, one of Napa Valley’s most distinctive properties, with five soil types, hills, valleys, a lake and a river. The diverse estate inspires the impressive wines for which it is known.

“At Quintessa, our strongest asset and differentiator is the world-class estate from which we source our wine,” said Leslie Sullivan, DWS, Napa Estates Director of Huneeus Vintners, who manages communications for Quintessa.

“For those consumers and trade who are able to visit the estate, we are able to build ambassadors; however, our reach is limited. As a result, we’ve begun to better utilize technology to connect with our consumers and trade. For instance, we’ve used video, drone footage, 360 video and virtual reality to allow our consumers and trade to engage with our property. While nothing compares to the full sensory experience of enjoying a glass of Quintessa at the estate, we are able to better express and share what Quintessa is all about.”

Photos courtesy of Quintessa Instagram

Community, Convenience, Quality

With a 68-year heritage and nearly 12,000 locations worldwide, Dunkin’ Donuts continues to evolve while keeping its focus on fast, friendly service and community involvement.

According to Public Relations Senior Manager, Justin Drake, Dunkin’ Donuts maintains its focus on fast, friendly service while delivering innovations that today’s consumer expects from sophisticated food brands:

“As Dunkin’ Donuts continues to grow and evolve, remaining authentic to the core of our brand is very important. Dunkin’ Donuts was founded as a brand offering high-quality coffee and baked goods to our guests, all served with fast, friendly service and at a great value, and we remain true to this mission to this day.”

“We’ve expanded our coffee and espresso menu in recent years to include options like Cold Brew, Rainforest Alliance Certified Dark Roast Coffee, and Macchiatos. These menu additions remain true to our 68-year heritage as a coffee company, while also staying on trend in terms of what customers are looking for today from a coffee brand. We’ve launched On-the-Go Mobile Ordering for DD Perks members through the Dunkin’ Donuts mobile app, where guests can place their order in advance and then speed past the line in-store to pick-up their order. This innovation remains true to our mission of offering fast service and unparalleled convenience to our guests.”

Photos courtesy of Dunkin’ Donuts Instagram

Community giving is a core value for Dunkin’ Donuts that empowers franchisees around the world to give back and strengthen their own communities:

Continued Drake, “At Dunkin’, we feel fortunate that our restaurants are part of the fabric of so many communities and neighborhoods around the globe, and our franchisees value the role they can play in strengthening their communities. Our franchisees donate millions of dollars annually to local non-profits. Additionally, our organization collectively supports our national foundation, The Joy in Childhood Foundation, which is dedicated to bringing joy to sick and hungry children.”

Consumers Seek, Expect Info Online

For family-owned poultry producer Foster Farms, a robust social media presence is required to address the questions and provide the reassurance that consumers actively seek.

“Increasingly consumers are asking more and more questions about where their food comes from and how it is made,” said Ira Brill, Foster Farms’ Director of Communications. “Our commitment to product quality is at the heart of authenticity, and Foster Farms is one of the west’s true authentic brands — having been founded in 1939 on the values of locally grown, and continuing as a family owned company today — has continuously evolved to include digital and social media tools to enhance our consumer engagement and contribute substantively to consumer conversation. From engaging influencer programs, to enticing recipes and social media content, Foster Farms aims to be a part of the discussion at every touchpoint.”

Photos courtesy of Foster Farms Instagram

Building Authenticity with Influencers

Social marketing strategists at Collectively understand how deeply consumer brands and consumers value authenticity.

“Influencer marketing works best when creators are empowered to make decisions about how best to present a brand story to their audiences,” said Natalie Silverstein, Collectively Vice President of Brand, Marketing and Culture.

“Creators are truly the experts in understanding what resonates with the people they’re in dialogue with every day. Authenticity shines through when an influencer actually believes in the product and has integrated it into their content in a way that feels almost effortless.”

Photos courtesy of Collectively Instagram

“For our food and beverage clients, we’re bringing opportunities to a wider set of creators beyond the more expected food and cooking influencers — lifestyle, health and wellness, parenting, photography, and more.”

Silverstein agrees authenticity is a higher priority now for food and beverage brands: “‘Authenticity’ has been the most-used buzzword of the industry for quite some time, and it continues to be a key goal for most brands. We believe this is a direct result of the broader cultural transformation around trust in institutions and other traditional gatekeepers of information.”

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