WARC Awards 2020 - Effective Use of Brand Purpose winners announced

Airbnb Creative wins Grand Prix for The Country Pub Project in Australia

Campaigns for global brands including Airbnb, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Finish, Harpic and L'Oréal, as well as local brands such as Hungarian Telekom, Maxis in Malaysia and The Times of India, are among the winners in the Effective Use of Brand Purpose category of the WARC Awards, a global search for next-generation marketing effectiveness.

16 campaigns from around the world - one Grand Prix, four Golds, six Silvers and five Bronzes - have won in the Effective Use of Brand Purpose category, rewarding marketing initiatives that have successfully embraced a brand purpose and achieved commercial success as well as a benefit for a wider community.

Airbnb Creative, APAC, has won the Grand Prix for The Country Pub Project. In Australia, Airbnb regained its position as the most popular booking site by creating a project to support rural communities by boosting the country pub, a gathering point for struggling country towns. The campaign used a combination of public policy, paid media, earned media and owned channels in a three-stage strategy to reach more than 15 million people, achieve over 30m video views, and drive increased brand favourability and awareness.

Three special awards have also been given in specific areas of excellence:

Evaluation Award, for a brand purpose strategy that has gone the extra mile in measuring both commercial and societal impact, has been awarded to FCB India for The Times of India's Out & Proud - India Comes Out of the Closet campaign. The newspaper sparked a nationwide movement to normalise LGBTQ with a special Out and Proud classifieds section.

Employee Engagement Award, rewarding a purpose-led strategy that is consistent both inside and outside an organisation, has been awarded to FP7 McCann Dubai for The Gift of Mom campaign for children's retailer Babyshop, which increased brand affinity through a multi-channel Mother's Day initiative centred around breast cancer in the United Arab Emirates.

Sustainability Award, for a brand that has replaced a strategy or business practice with a more sustainable alternative and can prove that it has contributed to long-term brand health, has been awarded to Santa Clara for Native Bees, a campaign for Brazilian craft beer brand Cervejeria Colorado, which highlighted the problem of bee extinction to publicise its production chain and brand values.

An eminent jury of 18 agency- and client-side industry professionals, selected the following full list of winners:

Grand Prix:

The Country Pub Project · Airbnb · Airbnb Creative, APAC · Australia

Gold:

Out & Proud - India Comes Out of the Closet · The Times of India · Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd · FCB India · India + Evaluation Award

The Gift of Mom · Babyshop · Landmark Group · FP7 McCann Dubai · United Arab Emirates + Employee Engagement Award

The Uncovered · Ahmini · Tunisie Telecom · J. Walter Thompson Tunis · Tunisia

As far as we go · Almosafer · Seera Group · FP7 McCann Dubai · Saudi Arabia

Silver:

Native Bees · Colorado's Appia · AMBEV · Santa Clara · Brazil + Sustainability Award

Job-Hunting in Sneakers · Band-Aid · Johnson & Johnson · BBDO Japan · Japan

#FinishWaterWaste · Finish · Reckitt Benckiser · DEC PR · Australia

Senior Gamer Club · Hungarian Telekom · Deutsche Telekom · Uniomedia · Hungary

Abtal El Shawarea' (The Stars on the Streets) · Clear · Unilever · FP7 McCann Cairo · Egypt

The Ramadan campaign that didn't launch in Ramadan · Jawwy · STC · FP7 McCann Dubai, FP7 McCann Riyadh · Saudi Arabia

Bronze:

Meet Me Halfway · SK-II · Procter & Gamble · Forsman & Bodenfors Singapore, Verizon Media · China, United States, United Kingdom

Glass and a half in everyone · Cadbury Dairy Milk · Mondelēz International · Ogilvy Malaysia · Indonesia

The Non-Issue · L'Oréal Paris · L'Oréal Group · McCann London, McCann Paris · United Kingdom

Overcoming India's Toilet Divide · Harpic · Reckitt Benckiser · McCann Worldgroup India · India

The Unheard Prayer · Maxis · Leo Burnett · Malaysia

Commenting on the winners, jury chair, Ivan Pollard, Senior Vice President, Global Chief Marketing Officer, General Mills, said: "As you can see from these powerful case studies, purpose is not just the right thing to do, it is the best thing to do for business. Those brands that really do act purposefully and not just talk about it will prosper - not by chance but on purpose."

ArabClicks, the affiliate network of the Arab world, in cooperation with OMNES Media, a leading online media and marketing solutions provider conducted a survey to analyse an individual’s shopping behavior and interaction during the holy month of Ramadan. 

The survey was conducted among 8,500 participants of which 65 percent were male and the remaining 35 percent were female. Participants from Arab countries took the survey of which the highest number was recorded in Saudi Arabia with a 50 percent participation, followed by Egypt with a 15 percent and UAE with a 10 percent participation rate.

Mauro Romano, CEO and Co-Founder of ArabClicks, said: “Analysing consumer behavior is extremely essential to help get a deeper insight into the expectation of consumers. Doing so can help marketers better understand the needs of the consumers and focus their marketing efforts in either improving or changing them. I would like to thank OMNES Media for supporting us on this project and we look forward to collaborating with them on many such successful endeavors.”

Questions in the survey touched on various aspects of consumer behavior. On asking whether purchases of food, drink, and household necessities are rising during the month of Ramadan, 57 percent of respondents strongly agreed, other 37 percent only agreed, whereas 5 percent did not agree while 1 percent strongly disagreed. When asked about how often they buy food, drink and household items in a week, 30 percent respondents said once, another 28 percent said twice whereas the rest 21 percent purchase items thrice a week and 20 percent purchase more than thrice a week.

Respondents were then asked whether the expense of buying consumable items increases during Ramadan to which 60 percent agreed that their purchasing capacity increasing by 50 percent, whereas another 15 percent said it increases by 100 percent, by 200 percent for approximately 3 percent, while the remaining 23 percent respondents suggested that their purchases do no increase at all during the month. 

Approximately 58 percent of respondents find it convenient to purchase these consumable items from malls and supermarkets, 15 percent prefer shopping via digital platforms, another 15 percent using smartphone applications, while the remaining 12 percent prefer shopping through consumer associations. Some of the highly purchased items during the month include meat, poultry and fish accounting 26 percent of the respondent’s purchases, 23 percent shop for vegetables and fruits, whereas 11 percent respondents purchase egg and dairy items. 

About 47 percent participants highly rely on the type of digital services provided by consumer outlets in their country. 30 percent respondent feel the services are below required standards in their country, 15 percent find it difficult to access these platforms due to digital problems whereas another 9 percent believe there aren’t sufficient digital services in their country.

In terms of their preferred time to shop online, 23 percent shop between 8am-12pm, 27 percent find it comfortable to shop between 12pm-4pm, 24 percent between 5pm-10pm and 26 percent prefer shopping later in the night after 10pm. About 63 percent respondents make a weekly purchase of less than $100, 33 percent make purchases between $100-$300, whereas the remaining 4 percent spend over $300 in online purchases. 

91% of Filipinos in the UAE feel safe and confident with the initiatives of the country’s government to fight the coronavirus

65% are optimistic that things will go back to normal within six months

As businesses in the UAE and across the world restart and borders reopen, optimism among Filipinos in the UAE has been increasing.

In a survey conducted by The Filipino Times, the largest digital news portal for Filipinos in the Middle East and the biggest free newspaper in the UAE, it showed that Filipinos—one of the largest communities in the country—largely believe that the measures taken by the UAE government are effective. The poll also reflected their confidence that the country will overcome the repercussions of coronavirus disease (COVID 19) and recover in the coming months.

The survey, which was participated in by 1,982 respondents, showed that 91 percent of Filipinos in the UAE feel safe and assured with the initiatives of the UAE government against COVID-19. Meanwhile, about 65 percent believe that things will go back to normal within six months—reflecting the optimism and confidence of all UAE residents that the country’s economy will mount a fast and successful comeback compared to other countries.

This increasing confidence is also the reason Filipinos have boosted their non-essential purchases as things start to go back to normal—especially since for the past two months, consumer spending was limited to essential items.

The top three non-essential products that Filipinos in the country plan to spend more on are home and kitchen products, beauty and personal care, and fashion items such as clothes, bags, and shoes.

Underscoring the importance of Filipinos’ optimism in helping the country gear its economy on an upswing trend, Vince Ang, General Manager of The Filipino Times, said: “Prior to COVID-19, Filipinos were among the fastest-growing consumer segments in the UAE. Our survey shows that this will continue to be the case because even amidst this crisis, Filipino remain optimistic and positive. Their resiliency, in addition, is further strengthened by their trust in the initiatives of the UAE government.

Driving an economic comeback

“The return to office of the employees of both public and private sectors represents a huge improvement with regards to how the UAE aims to get activities back to normal. It also increases the confidence and optimism of residents that better days are about to come. This gradual recovery of the UAE’s economy ensures job stability, as well as shows how the country tries to create new job opportunities, thereby contributing to the increase in consumer spending,” Ang said.

“In addition, the steady confidence of Filipinos will contribute to the UAE’s fast recuperation, especially in terms of increased consumer spending—one of the key drivers of economic recovery. The survey of The Filipino Times showed that Filipinos are expected to increase their purchases in non-essential items in the coming months, reflecting their optimism, as well as the UAE residents’ in general, that these difficult times will soon be over,” Ang added.

The Filipino community is one of the biggest communities in the UAE, with more than 70 percent of Filipinos regarding the country as their second home for over 6 years.

Factors to consider as people return to the workplace

From understanding the needs and challenges of people as they work from home to looking to future demands as people return to the workplace, what we’re discovering now is the Good for Me, Challenging for We. The ‘we’ parts of employee roles—creativity, spontaneous interactions, and learning—appear to be the activities that respondents are struggling with most under these new home working conditions. On the other hand, focused ‘me’ activities are faring much better. Arguably, this will come as no surprise. 

Success Defies Stereotypes where the digitally native Millennial demographic appears to be the one most challenged by COVID-19 work-from-home measures. We suspect that the majority of this group is struggling to find a dedicated workspace at home. Stacy Stewart – MEA Regional Director at Herman Miller said, “Based on our global database, we know that employees under the age of 35 already attach a greater importance to things like learning from others and informal social interaction. Supporting these activities remotely is clearly more challenging as it’s difficult to work in isolation if your team is highly collaborative. Additionally, many people working from home right now are relying on close personal bonds they already have with colleagues. For people who are newer to an organization, those bonds may not exist.” 

Looking Beyond Working From Home (WFH) from an enterprise perspective, the vast majority of companies we speak with say that this work-from-home period has gone better than expected. Moving forward, the challenges on everyone’s mind are, how will we reopen our physical workplaces while keeping people healthy and maintaining productivity? Safe, efficient return-to-workplace strategies are possible, if we focus both on smart near-term tactics and holistic, long-term solutions. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution—Here are some factors to consider as people return to the workplace:

Prioritize Holistic Community Measures: While it will be helpful to increase the physical space between workers, the reality is that workplaces are very fluid. We can separate desks by six feet or two meters, but we can’t stop people from walking to a restroom or getting a coffee in a break room. For this reason, holistic policies like staggering work schedules and limiting the number of employees in a location are likely to be the most effective. 

Physical Controls 

– Reduce in-person interaction. 

– Limit or stop desk sharing. 

– Implement a rigorous reservation or desk cleaning regimen. 

– Make it mandatory for people to wear cloth face coverings. 

– Allow people to work from home as much as possible. 

– Require people to wash hands.

– Require people to stay home when sick. 

Design and Environmental Controls 

– Reduce density. 

– Consider physical barriers where necessary

– Increase ventilation rates and percentage of circulating outdoor air. 

– Clean/sanitize regularly.

Administrative Controls 

– Redistribute responsibilities to reduce contact between individuals. 

– Use technology to facilitate communication. 

– Implement flexible work hours and meeting options. 

– Close facilities in accordance with government guidelines. 

Go with the Flow: Redesigning how people flow throughout a space can impact both the likely distance between people and the amount of time they spend in certain places, thereby improving safety. We believe this thinking could be helpful to a wider range of spaces during COVID-19, from manufacturing plants to hospitals and even offices. 

Use Data to Decide Who Goes Back First: Based on what we have learned from studying distributed teams and early COVID-19 data, you can determine which teams require the most in- person interaction, are least enabled from a technology perspective, and have the most at-home-work challenges. Prioritize helping these teams return to the workplace first. 

Embrace Safety and Serendipity 

Rather than focusing on dividers, successful future workplaces will better weave in safety features that don’t compromise workplace comfort and connectivity. Examples include: 

1. Improved air quality and ventilation 

2. Increased surface and material cleanability through simplified design 

3. Minimize the number of high-touch actions through gesture and voice control technologies, dynamic scheduling, and service on demand 

Design Physical Spaces Around Virtual Work: With the result of fewer in- person meetings and more video calls. With the advent of 1:1 virtual meeting technology, the dedicated video conferencing rooms many of us currently have will not always be required. Hence, its vital to design physical spaces around virtual work.

MENA Expansion On Horizon In UAE

Advertising Week (AW), the world’s largest annual gathering of brand, content creation, creative, entertainment, marketing, media and technology industry leaders has revealed it’s first post-COVID-19 expansion plans in partnersip with OMNES Media, the leading digitial hub in the Middle East North Africa region. The year-round global alliance includes a new MENA content vertical on AW360; a new edition of the Great Minds podcast focused on the region; dedicated thought leadership content for AWLEARN; integration of MENA content in Advertising Week’s Fall 2020 agenda; and a new edition of Advertising Week to run concurrently with EXPO 2021 Dubai UAE which begins October 1, 2021 and concludes March 31, 2022.

“Expanding our global footprint in MENA into all three of our core verticals - - year-round content; continuing professional development and the live experience - -  is at the heart of this alliance with OMNES Media and we look forward to importing knowledge into the region and exporting what this incredibly innovative region has to offer the world. Building bridges and sharing leading edge thinking and best practices is at the heart of what we do and we are delighted to work with OMNES Media and other key players in the UAE to this end,” said Lord Matthew Scheckner, Global CEO of Advertising Week.

“We are honoured to partner with the Advertising Week, the global mega event for advertising, marketing and technology professionals. It’s a moment of proud privilege for our company to be part of this major event in the UAE and to establish a year-round presence on AW360 to showcase MENA innovation. The event will spearhead MENA’s business development into a higher level with more direct international links and networking,” said Fahed Aldeeb, Co-Founder & CEO of OMNES Media.

The 2021 MENA edition of Advertising Week will be the 7th global market joining New York City, London, Tokyo, Sydney, Mexico City and Johannesburg. “The EXPO will be a unifying international event and also unites two sympatico philosophies - - the EXPO is leveraging their global platform to create a better world and the rise of business and purpose we have long advocated for will be front and center in MENA,” added Scheckner.  

Preparations for this alliance began several years ago including a delegation from the UAE who attended Advertising Week Europe in London in 2018. Overall, the UAE was chosen for its robust infrastructure, progressive business environment and long-standing commitment to fostering innovation. Another added attraction is that the event will coincide with the EXPO which brings the world’s most influential brands, creatives, marketing, media and technology leaders to the world’s largest gathering of innovators. “It is a genuine opportunity to help shape our future for generations to come,” added Aldeeb.

Commitment to relevance and #ProgressivePR sees Golin leading the industry

Golin was named “Global Agency of the Year 2020” by PRWeek at the virtual awards held in May 2020. The recognition, which Golin received in both 2019 and 2020, is a testament to the successful outcome of the agency’s commitment to reclaim the core of Public Relations, with relevance, progressive tools, and the customer journey at the heart of its programmes.

The PRWeek award highlighted global business wins, as well as Golin’s suite of progressive offerings such as customer experience public relations (CXPR), insight-mining platforms such as the Relevance Radar, proprietary material for the Brand Voice and media training, and the Playbook, Golin’s unique creative planning process.

Yiannis Vafeas, Managing Director, GolinMENA, said: “This achievement is attestation to the great work of the Golin team globally. To be recognized as PR Agency of the year is no small feat, and to be awarded two consecutive years makes it all the more special. Our commitment to reclaiming the roots of public relations has seen a positive response from the marketplace, and clients and prospects have been vocal about their prioritisation of excellence in delivery over a wider, thinner range of services. The year 2020 has brought its share of challenges to the world, but we have chosen to focus on the opportunity. As 2020 agency of the year, we move forward with optimism.”

Altheide joins from leading U.S. independent G&S Business Communications, a long-time PROI partner

PROI Worldwide today announced Jeff Altheide, based in Chicago, as Global Managing Director. PROI is the world’s largest partnership of leading independent communications agencies with partners in 50 countries.

“As PROI celebrates its 50th anniversary and looks to the future, we believe Jeff will be a superb leader for our partnership.  We are an ambitious organization, where relationships matter. Jeff’s proven leadership of a successful partner agency relationship for 10 years at G&S made him an ideal candidate for the role,” says Clare Parsons, Chair of London and NY based strategic communications firm Lansons. Parsons, who is Global Chairperson of PROI, headed the GMD search committee.

“I’ve experienced first-hand the power of PROI partners in fostering personal, professional and business development for ambitious communications entrepreneurs,” Altheide says. “PROI has never been stronger. I’m looking forward to continuing to build on this exceptional history of success and helping to amplify the voices of the owners, employees and clients of these dynamic entrepreneurial communications businesses around the world.”

Altheide succeeds Allard van Veen, who led the partnership for more than 25 years. As head of his Canadian communications business, van Veen was one of the founding partners of PROI in 1970. In 1993 he evolved into an executive leadership position for the partnership, driving the group’s growth and success for decades.

Altheide recently retired from G&S Business Communications as Chief Operating Officer, having worked for the agency for 39 years. The New York-based communications firm, with 2019 reported revenue of USD$ 30 million, has been active in PROI and worked with a number of other partners in multi-country campaigns for more than 10 years.

COVID campaigns get top nod

INMA today announced first-place winners in the 2020 Global Media Awards competition, with the grand prize presented to the collective work of news media companies in their inspirational response to the COVID-19 crisis. 

Because the COVID-19 crisis caused the cancellation of INMA’s World Congress of News Media in Paris, today’s announcement was broadcast globally on multiple channels. Jamaican TV host Terri-Karelle Reid emceed the awards announcement, with commentary from Chrissy Towle of the Google News Initiative and Earl Wilkinson of INMA.  To view a recording of the broadcast, click here

The INMA Global Media Awards competition rewards innovation and excellence in growing audience, brand, and revenue. 

From the competition’s 922 entries from 262 news brands in 44 countries, Global Media Awards were announced for news media companies from five continents — with the most emotional moments coming from the responses to the coronavirus and its economic impacts. From 185 finalists, 32 were selected first-place recipients.

Due to the “trust, innovation, and agility” demonstrated by the news media industry in the unprecedented response to COVID-19, INMA chose to honour the collective outreach of media companies than any one company or campaign. While the competition deadline was late January, INMA re-opened the competition with a bonus pandemic response category in April.

Ten regional “Best of Show” winners, selected by judges from first-place recipients, were:

Best in Africa: Volt Africa for “Volt Africa”

Best in Asia/Pacific, Regional/Local Brands: The Press/Stuff for “Christchurch Mosque Shooting Coverage”

Best in Asia/Pacific, Global/National Brands: NZME for “The People Programme”

Best in Europe, Regional/Local Brands: Amedia in Norway for “Converting Existing Print Subscribers and Gaining New Customers”

Best in Europe, Global/National Brands: Expressen in Sweden for “Ready, Set, 70,000! How Expressen Went from 0 to 70,000 Subscribers in a Year”

Best in Latin America: Grupo Semana in Colombia for “D.C. La Vuelta por Bogotá”

Best in North America, Regional/Local Brands: Newsday Media Group for “Long Island Divided”

Best in North America, Global/National Brands: The New York Times for “Women in Congress”

Best in South Asia, Regional/Local Brands: ABP in India for “Changing the Prayer and Praying For Change”

Best in South Asia, Global/National Brands: Jagran Prakashan for “The Generation That Could Save Us”

In making an honourary aggregate selection for the global “Best in Show,” Reid said: “In a first in the 83-year history of the INMA awards, no single entry has been judged the global ‘Best in Show.’ Instead, in honour of the courageous work done by media companies worldwide during the COVID-19 crisis, INMA awards the global ‘Best in Show’ to all news brands who are “leaning in” to this unprecedented moment. 

“Not just the 98 companies that submitted for the COVID-19 category, but to all who are digging deep to project the power, the passion, and the soul of news brands — especially when it matters the most,” Reid added. “To those who are elevating their journalism and differentiating themselves from what seems at times like the bottomless pit of fake news. This year’s global ‘Best in Show’ goes out to each of you — and your teams that are changing the game for news media in 2020.” 

INMA has rewarded excellence in news media since 1937. This year across 16 categories, the Global Media Awards competition rewards innovation in building news brands, platform excellence, audience development, advertising sales, and nurturing corporate culture. Entries also are divided into two groups: global/national brands and regional/local brands.

Some 42 media experts from 20 countries judged the competition in February and April, focusing on breakthrough results, unique concepts, strong creativity, innovative thinking, and winning synergies across media platforms.

“If you separate out the COVID category, the themes that stand out in this year’s winners are data and subscriptions,” Wilkinson said. “It is part of the ‘new normal’ for media that everything is data-infused and tilted toward reader revenue. Yet the COVID category yielded an amazing 98 entries, from which 12 finalists were selected, and two inspirational winners were announced. I can’t say enough about the trust, innovation, and agility projected in these COVID campaigns.”

As countries start to come out of lockdown and slowly lift their restrictions, GCC travellers are planning future trips and gearing up for travel. The recent Travel Sentiment Survey conducted by AllDetails, a Dubai based travel & tourism, hospitality, lifestyle and communications agency, revealed that GCC residents intend to travel again soon, preferring international destinations.

The survey was conducted amongst residents and citizens of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in order to understand their sentiment towards travel during the Covid19 pandemic.  83% have said that they enjoy thinking about travel during this period while 56% of the respondents admitted that they were negatively affected by Covid-19 news.

The respondents expect to have some health security guarantees in place to travel again and will then travel as soon as 2 to 4 weeks after the travel restrictions have been lifted; for both leisure and business purposes. The survey revealed that 72% of GCC travellers will travel for leisure, with a change in scenery being their first priority and 80% will travel for a duration of one week or more.

The survey shows that young travellers between 21 – 34 years of age are more cautious and would wait longer than the older age group of 35 – 64 years, to travel again. However, respondents across all age groups enjoy thinking and reading about travel during the pandemic.

“The sentiment across the region is very much a resounding “Yes!” to travel as soon as it is safe to do so. The period of lockdown has made us all realise that we were taking our freedom to travel and experience new places and cultures for granted.  I believe we have all been writing our bucket lists and thinking about all the new places we want to visit and experience as well as re-visiting our old favourites once again. We have been dreaming about travel over the last few weeks and are all longing to start exploring again soon”, said Isabel Tapp, Founder & CEO of AllDetails.

Based in Dubai and operating across the GCC region for over 15 years, AllDetails is considered the most influential consultancy in travel, tourism and hospitality in the Middle East.   The award-winning agency is a part of the Travel Lifestyle Network – a global alliance of travel and lifestyle communications specialists.

A new proprietary service tailored for company leaders to help them communicate effectively on social networks

• There has been a general rise of 32% in post frequency by CEOs in the UAE on social media during COVID-19

• However, the average business leader posts less than twice per month

• 80% of employees expect to hear from their CEO on social media during a crisis. 

TBWA\RAAD, The Disruption® Company, today announces the launch of Livebosses, a new service providing CEOs and business leaders in the Middle East an online voice to effectively communicate to employees and other stakeholders.

We all acknowledge the fundamental role of communication when it comes to human relations and business, particularly during times of adversity. Unlike any other crisis, COVID-19 has turned the world upside down, rapidly taking control of our health, our businesses and our lives, imposing a new reality upon all mankind. As people have been forced apart physically, human exchange has become more significant than ever. 

Livebosses provides strategic guidance for CEOs and executives to effectively communicate through social media about their company, their initiatives, social responsibilities and leadership.

Many CEOs and leaders use internal communications channels such as emails, company video broadcasts, or intranets. However, a recent study from The Brunswick Group found that 80% of employees expect to hear from their CEO through social media. 

A study conducted the past week by the Livebosses team on CEOs communication in the United Arab Emirates found that 76% of CEOs have increased their post frequency on social media during COVID-19. While there has been a general increase of 32% in post frequency, the average business leader posts less than twice per month in the COVID-19 era. Although many CEOs have moved to social media to communicate during the crisis, the frequency of communication is still far too low to establish a beneficial and significant engagement with all stakeholders.

Dan Leach, General Manager for Eleven PR at TBWA\RAAD who is leading Livebosses for the Middle East said, "COVID-19 has been a wake-up call for every business and business leader. More than ever, CEOs should be using social platforms to communicate regularly and concisely, both internally and externally, to build confidence, and eliminate confusion, frustration and chaos. Livebosses provides CEOs and senior executives with the data, strategy guidance and creativity to elevate their professional social media presence and connect with their employees in a meaningful way."

Leading the Livebosses unit globally, Nicolas Bordas, Vice President International at TBWA added: “People want to hear from their employers in turbulent times, and not just through traditional internal communications channels. CEOs are seen as the most credible sources of information but not enough of them are using their voice. It is extremely important for leaders to not ‘go dark’ in crisis.” 

Livebosses goes beyond crisis and issues management. It can be used to inspire collaborators, engage clients, interact with stakeholders and market influencers, connect with the media, respond to customers, promote their company’s vision and innovations, and more.

Livebosses is a three-months training programme that includes an analysis of CEO social media presence, a personal presence scorecard for senior leaders, message development, editorial planning and training.