Online PR: What role does it play in takeover bids?

Posted by: Krishna De | Posted on: September 14th, 2009 | 15 Comments | Posted in: online pr, online video, Social media, Social Media Ireland, Social networking

Last week Kraft made a US$16.8 billion bid for Cadbury which would create US$50 billion business that would command about 14.8% of the global confectionery market, according to Euromonitor and it would be the leader in the chocolate stakes with a 15.2% of that category, ahead of Mars’ 14.6%.

Adage covered the story and then went on to share four PR lessons when launching a take over bid:

1. MAKE THE DEAL SEEM LIKE A LOGICAL NEXT STEP. While companies obviously can’t tell reporters and analysts they are plotting a bid, they can lay out the rationale for such a deal in the months leading up to it. On conference calls with analysts, Kraft, for instance, has talked about why international confectionary acquisitions made sense for it for more than a year.

2. USE DIGITAL. Microsites dedicated to a takeover bid are an effective way of getting an unfiltered message out via online video and fact sheets. While social media hasn’t yet factored heavily into the equation, investor-relations pros say it’s just a matter of time until Twitter becomes a vital channel as well.

3. CAFFEINATE YOUR PR. As takeover plays quickly devolve into wars of words, winning them requires boosting response time when reporters and analysts come calling, making top executives available whenever possible. Everyone in your C-suite ought to be armed with talking points on every conceivable angle.

4. DON’T NEGLECT INSIDERS. Internal panic — and the leaking it inevitably spawns — will inevitably find its way out of your headquarters and into press coverage. Develop webcasts and memos specifically for your employees, not only to keep them informed but also to shoot down false rumors.

I would add three further points relating specifically to your online PR communications as part of your overall plan (this is based on being involved in many a take over or merger – though before we had all the wonderful widgets and tools we have today):

1. ESTABLISH YOUR ONLINE LISTENING CHANNEL – tune in to the sentiment about the brand as news of it spreads across online news and social media

2. CONSIDER HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS PART OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN – rumours will be rife and you need to be able to respond quickly e.g. have your YouTube channel ready for content so that you can get your message out and not be at the mercy of others spinning stories about what is going on

3. TRAIN YOUR LEGAL TEAM IN THE VALUE OF ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS – in the case of a merger or takeover, there will, for good reason, be a degree of caution on what you can and can not say and your legal team are going to be central in signing off those communications. Make sure that you have also brought them up to speed with online communications so you have their support for integrating it into your communications plan.

What else would you add to this action list for PR and communications in the case of a take over or merger?

If you are looking for specific guidance with online PR, here are two workshops I am teaching that might be of interest:

IIA Workshop on 22 September 2009 – a half day workshop on using new media to attract new audiences

PRII Certificate in Social Media starting the 3 October 2009 – an indepth four day programme (running over 2 months) covering how to integrate social media into your communications plan for PR professionals.