Despite the increased weight placed on corporate responsibility in recent years, several companies have taken well-publicized hits to their reputations. The past year has been particularly hard on businesses.

A Harris Interactive survey concluded last year that more Americans view the overall reputation of corporate America as having declined a little (33 percent) or a lot (18 percent) over the previous year. Only 11 percent said it had improved. Fully 71 percent of Americans said the reputation of corporate America is poor, signaling a continued environment of consumer concern and frustration with the way companies operate.

http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2009/08/building-and-rebuilding-corporate-reputations-prepare-respond-to-risks.html

“Ultimately,” senior consultant Dr. Majorie Dijkstr writes at Reputation Institute, “risk management is about both anticipating strategic issues and leveraging opportunities to engage with the company’s key stakeholders around topics and initiatives that are most relevant to them.

“Effective risk management is about aligning perception and reality,” Dijkstr says.

Over the past year, many of the world’s best-known luxury labels have started to introduce ecofriendly products, snap up brands that tout their social responsibility and weave environmental themes into their advertising and marketing. In May, French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton took a stake in Edun, an organic-clothing company founded by the singer Bono and his wife.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124650107013784081.html

The global recession is adding challenges that defy simple solutions. Global sales of luxury goods are expected to fall 10% this year to €154 billion ($218 billion), the first decline in 15 years, according to Bain & Co. The industry isn’t expected to return to 2008 levels, €170 billion, until 2012, says Claudia D’Arpizio, a consultant at Bain’s Milan office. In response brands are slowing store expansion, lowering prices and trimming ad spending to cut costs.

Still, the economy may also accelerate the greening of luxury, industry executives say. A February survey by Cone found that 50% of Americans ages 18 to 24 said they have “higher expectations of companies to make and sell environmentally responsible products and services during the economic downturn,” compared with 35% of Americans overall.

Speaking at a PR summit at Pfizer HQ yesterday, Susman, SVP and chief communications officer for Pfizer, emphasized the importance of “return on reputation” and said corporate ads don’t work.

“If we pay, it’s immediately tainted,” said Susman, describing the reputational challenges Big Pharma must contend with in terms of public reception. “I don’t want my logo on things.” She noted that Edelman’s annual Trust Barometer found public trust of healthcare providers plunged this year.

http://www.mmm-online.com/Dont-look-for-the-logo-to-boost-reputation-says-Pfizer-PR/article/140710/

Addressing the sour reputation of pharma, which the public views as “greedy, arrogant and deceitful people who care only about money,” Susman countered that Pfizer “does care about profits, but we spend a lot more time talking about science, health and prevention.”

Instead of focusing solely on ROI as a metric for successful PR, Susman suggested the addition of an ROR metric: return on reputation.