“Euro crisis” communications lack vision and credibility, professionals say in survey

PRLog (Press Release) - Oct. 31, 2012 - Frankfurt, Germany & Boston, USA, October 31, 2012 -- Corporate Communications professionals fault European governments for failing to convey clear messages about the Euro crisis, according to a recent online survey by the global public relations network InfiniteLatitude™.

Of 111 senior professionals responding from 23 markets worldwide, 81% said governments had not been able to credibly communicate a path towards a solution of the crisis. Likewise, 77% said governments were failing to present a vision of how a future Europe would look after the crisis.

As a result, only about 4% of respondents think governments have been able to garner support among European publics for the measures taken so far, while about 20% are neutral and about 75% discount this view.

Most credit is given to the efforts of authorities to explain the root causes of the crisis: About 12% think this has been done successfully, and about 23% are at least neutral. On these grounds, it may not come as a surprise that a majority -- 65% -- does not attribute credibility to governments' communication.

Euro-breakup no big deal –  from communications perspective

The InfiniteLatitude survey also asked how communicators think a Euro-zone break-up might affect their own activities. Concerns seem to be limited, both in-house and on the agency side.

Only 28% of in-house managers consider a potential break-up of the Euro zone to be a risk for their organization’s corporate communications, as compared to 60% who do not. Indeed, 12% see it as an opportunity; for example, such an event could surface as a trigger to boost corporate reputations.

Yet, of those 28% of respondents who do see a risk, only half of them have taken specific precautions, while 81% of all respondents say they have not made any preparations.

Agency leaders display a similar attitude, with about 55% saying they do not consider a break-up of the Euro zone to pose a major business risk to their organization, while 28% view it as an opportunity, especially for enhancing customer relations.

About InfiniteLatitude

InfiniteLatitude™ is a global alliance of senior-level, award-winning communications professionals, who work in 29 cities worldwide. All alliance members have more than 15 -- many with more than 30 -- years of professional communications expertise in their respective countries and cultures. InfiniteLatitude alliance members offer clients the full breadth of corporate communications services, which range from one-off projects that supplement in-house resources to fully orchestrated A-to-Z strategic corporate communications programs. InfiniteLatitude members are located in: Athens, Atlanta, Auckland, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Cologne, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Krakow, Lausanne, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Minneapolis, Mumbai, Munich, New York, Paris, Quito, Raleigh, Santa Fe, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Tampa, Toronto, Washington and Zurich.

Contact...
Europe: Ulrich Gardner, Frankfurt, 49 69 71 91 68 50
US: Richard Miles, Boston, 617-771-1212