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November 1, 2004
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A Public Relations Hole-In-One
By Ben Silverman
One of the things I enjoy about my current job as an
investment analyst and commentator is that everyday I learn
about new companies. In the process, I meet new public
relations people and witness a variety of PR strategies
stretching across dozens of business sectors. One company
that I've come to admire recently in my work is Willis
Group, one of the world's largest insurance brokers.
Willis Group operates in a rather unexciting space, and one
that until recently didn't make many headlines.
Unfortunately, Willis Group and its peers have emerged as
headline-makers over the past few weeks as New York State
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has taken aim at the
insurance industry, launching action against companies
involved in kickback schemes and bid rigging. Companies like
Marsh & McLennan, AIG and Aon have felt Spitzer's wrath, and
their stocks have suffered as a result. For example, Marsh &
McLennan's stock fell almost 40% in October, wiping out
billions of dollars in value for shareholders. I don't think
anyone would say that this is good PR for the company.
While its peers have been battered around, however, Willis
Group has been able to maintain its edge. The most important
reason why is that Willis Group, unlike the others, has not
been in Spitzer's bull's-eye. But Willis Group has also beat
the trend of plummeting stock prices by launching a
proactive PR campaign - and has done so without the help of
the media.
Willis Group's campaign began a week after Spitzer announced
a lawsuit against a number of leading insurance companies.
Willis was not named in the suit, though it was named in the
original investigation and is still being investigated by
the Attorney General as far as anyone knows. After seeing
its stock knocked down with its rivals', Willis got
proactive by hosting conference calls both for its clients
and for investors and analysts. During the calls, the
company said it would stop accepting "contingent
commissions," which are the "kickbacks" that the Spitzer
investigation focused on. Willis became the first company to
announce it would no longer accept these fees and, in doing
so, announced a "Bill of Rights" for its clients.
As part of my full-time job, I took some time to listen to
Willis Group's client conference call, and during the call I
kept thinking to myself, "These guys understand public
relations." Joseph Plumeri, Chief Executive Officer of
Willis Group, was clear and concise on the call, reminding
clients that they are the most important facet of his
company's business.
"You've given us an opportunity, and we want to, obviously,
get more help from you to do a better job for you," Plumeri
told clients. "Our basic principle and guiding philosophy is
that we represent our clients. We're going to do business
based on what's best for you, and we believe that . . . if
we do the best for you, we'll be doing the best job for our
shareholders, and the best job for our associates all over
the world."
Aside from the client Bill of Rights, the company has set up
special phone numbers for clients to call if they have any
questions, telling them the move was not "cosmetic" and
wouldn't be used as a means to sell products. Plumeri went
one step further on the call, giving out his direct number
and email address and urging clients to contact him
directly.
Plumeri used plain and simple language on the call,
explaining that he holds the company's associates to a high
standard.
"Willis associates are prohibited from accepting any gifts,
entertainment or trips from insurers that could create the
appearance of a conflict of interest with its clients. I
don't happen to believe that a training session in some
Caribbean island under a palm tree is a training session. It
doesn't look good. It's not right," Plumeri said.
What Plumeri did - and so many other companies fail to do -
is that he spoke directly to his customers and acknowledged
their concerns. He showed a keen understanding of how his
clients may perceive the company, and he was proactive in
offering information about how the company believes it can
help its clients.
"The reason you have insurance is that if, god forbid, the
assets of your company are impaired, you want to know how
they could be replaced. We should be in a position to help
you do that quickly. So, the second part of what we're
trying to do is to give you some framework as to when those
claims will be paid and thirdly, who do I call? Who do I
talk to about the issues and the problems we have? That's
why we have client advocates, and we're going to do a better
job in the company of making sure those client advocates are
trained to be able to do the kinds of things that they've
always done. We think they do a great job. We're proud of
our client advocates, but in the face of all . . . the fear
that's going on in our business, it's important that you
know, and I wanted to tell you on this call, we strive
everyday to get better. That's what business is all about.
That's what you do. You have the jobs you do in your
companies, and you do them really well because your
companies count on you to protect their assets, which means
the company's going to do better. We have to help you do
that," Plumeri told clients.
In the above section of the call, Plumeri used strong and
reassuring language. His message to clients was very simple:
we're here to serve you. The Willis Group chief also smartly
told clients that he identifies with the challenges they
face in their jobs. This is the type of peace of mind that
customers want.
I can't speak for Willis Group's clients, but after the
call, Willis Group's stock went up, gaining back a lot of
ground lost in the wake of Spitzer's announcement. The stock
rose because many investors, Wall Street analysts and
independent analysts like myself felt the company had
allayed fears about its underlying business. For me,
however, the call told me that the company is committed to
its clients, and the question-and-answer portion of the call
confirmed that, at the very least, the clients on the call
feel comfortable with Willis Group. This, of course, helps
back up the thesis that the company's business is strong in
the face of industry-wide changes. This is only a thesis, of
course - not an investment opinion.
As I mentioned in the opening, my job has allowed me to
familiarize myself with many new companies, a lot of which
I'd never heard of before. Willis Group has become one of my
favorites to write about because Plumeri has consistently
exhibited a strong presence when speaking to the investment
community, the media and clients. He stays on message, backs
up his comments with both facts and actions, and comes off
as reassuring, demanding of his employees, and understanding
of the challenges faced by his customers, associates and the
industry as a whole.
Strong leadership begins at the top, and part of being a
strong leader means understanding PR. Willis Group has shown
a keen understanding of PR, "playing" to clients first and
allowing this play to trickle down to shareholders and
employees. These are the three groups of people the company
is most concerned with, and the media then gets the
bigger-picture story through this play. (It's worth noting
that BusinessWeek ran a rather glowing profile of Plumeri
about six weeks ago).
It would have been very easy for Willis Group simply to have
put out a press release and gone on a media blitz. Instead,
the company put the ball in its own court and reached out to
the people at the top of the real PR food chain. From a PR
perspective, Willis Group stepped up to the tee and hit a
hole-in-one.
---
Disclaimer: The author does not hold stock in Willis Group.
His employer, which is not associated with PR Fuel or
eReleases.com, does write about Willis Group but is not a
registered investment advisor, broker/dealer or research
analyst/organization. I just wanted to make it clear that
I'm praising Willis Group's PR strategy, not any other facet
of the company. I mention stock prices in various articles
as a barometer of how public relations efforts - good, bad
or non-existent - affect particular companies.
---
Visit the PR Fuel website at http://www.prfuel.com for daily
PR industry news and commentary.
---
Ben Silverman is a former business news columnist for The
New York Post and a Contributing Editor for FindProfit.com
(http://www.findprofit.com), an independent investment
newsletter. He can be reached via email at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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The opinions expressed by the writer are his own and not
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