New Zealand’s 20 toughest PR jobs for 2018

New Zealand’s 20 toughest PR jobs for 2018

New Zealand’s toughest public relations challenges this year were petrol price increases, the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak and Russell McVeagh’s sexual misconduct allegations.

The annual ranking issued by BlacklandPR concludes that the surge in petrol prices was the hardest issue to manage because it affected the largest number of New Zealanders economically and emotionally.

“The rise in petrol prices was the most widely discussed issue of the year because it affected almost all New Zealanders in their work and personal lives,” Blackland PR Director Mark Blackham said.

“Commentators and politicians noticed the impact on daily life in New Zealand and tapped into the discontent, which intensified the issue,” Blackham said.

Tied equal in second place were the challenges of managing communications about mycoplasma bovis and sexual misconduct at Russell McVeagh.

Blackham said that the Russell McVeagh sexual misconduct issue was in the top three for the high levels of emotion it created.

“Although the petrol price increase was the toughest challenge of the year in all four aspects we rank by, the Russell McVeagh issue stirred the strongest emotional responses.

“Sexual harassment was the year’s most topical issue and Russell McVeagh was the catalyst for New Zealand’s ‘#metoo’ moment.”

BlacklandPR uses a scoring system that ranks issues out of 10 for four factors –Profile (media coverage and ‘talkability’ in everyday life), Impact (how many people are consciously affected directly or indirectly), Emotion (the intensity of emotional reaction), and Complexity (complications and technicalities of the issue).

In previous years BlacklandPR’s PR Challenges ranking has been headed by issues such as Metiria Turei’s benefit fraud confession, the Roastbusters, the Fonterra botulism issue, and the Flag Referendum.

Big companies; many small challenges

Blackham said that it was notable that three of New Zealand’s largest companies were almost never out of the news over a variety of issues; Auckland Airport, Air New Zealand and Fonterra.

There were more than two dozen minor PR challenges involving these companies over the year, from contentious safety videos to reports on infrastructure charging. One issue, Fonterra’s profit loss, is in the top 20.

“These companies touch the lives of many New Zealanders, so they have high recognition and high interest. Fonterra’s loss was the biggest of those challenges as the impact on the economy and its reputation threatened to be significant.”

Another year dominated by politics

Mr Blackham said that yet again political challenges dominated the rankings. Fourteen of the Top 20 challenges were faced mainly by political organisations.

“The predominant role of government in daily life, in terms of actual impact such as public sector strikes, or just as talking points, such as Jami-Lee Ross, is reflected in this year’s rankings,” Mark said.

ENDS
BlacklandPR is a Wellington-based PR consultancy built for the social era. It specialises in today’s type of tough issues, using modern techniques to help organisations talk with real people.
Declaration Note: BlacklandPR works for Tranzit, which runs bus services for the Greater Wellington Regional Council.

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