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by Michael Hatcliffe

In my 22 years of public relations, I've been lucky enough to work at agencies that partner with organizations that successfully demonstrate that reputation is a business driver. Earlier in my career, I was part of a team that worked with FedEx; today at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, it's Johnson & Johnson. Both are wonderful examples of companies built on the idea that if there are reasons to believe in and admire an organization, everyone from customers to investors will behave differently.

I've also experienced firsthand of the difficult consequences of losing your reputation. Ten years ago, when I moved from London to Chicago, my big account was Arthur Andersen. While there are books written about what unfolded in the following three years, I will always argue that it was the loss of Arthur Andersen's reputation that enabled the Justice Department to bring the unwarranted – and later reversed – prosecution that ended the firm's life as an auditor. Apart from their own employees, Arthur Andersen had barely a friend in the world - certainly no one who willing to stand up and defend them, even in the face of such an unfair legal action.

The threat of losing a reputation is even greater today than it was when Arthur Andersen endured its catastrophe.

The networked, digital world brings ever increasing transparency and accountability to every organization. News – good and bad – travels fast. More people are watching. Diverse, different groups important to your business are talking to each other in ways that were never previously possible.

But therein lies the opportunity.

That same digital world offers new effective ways to build a position, seed your messages, develop relationships with stakeholders, establish a network of influence and create advocates – inside and outside of your company.

There are so many more opportunities to get caught doing the right thing.

To start, here's a quick refresh of the specialist areas that Ogilvy PR offers to build, restore or protect reputation:

• 360 Influencer Management
• Digital influence
• Employee Engagement
• Investor Relations
• Citizenship/Corporate Social Responsibility
• Messaging
• Media Relations
• Executive Visibility
• Crisis Preparedness
• Issues Management
• Public Affairs
• Government Relations
• Market Research

Of course, the real magic happens when you combine all of these elements to create a strong, consistent platform on which you can support and maintain a favorable reputation.

Interested? Let's begin a conversation about the many ways that Ogilvy PR can help.