The alva Intelligence Bulletin – February 2016

February saw alva use its media content analysis platform to provide a number of companies with strategic business insights. This month’s business analysis and corporate intelligence includes:

• How can utility companies maximise the effectiveness of price cut announcements?
• Where should UK retail banks focus their customer experience efforts?
• How can companies bring consumers onside with Genetically Modified Organisms?
• What are the biggest consolidation risks for Telecoms companies?
• Can social finance initiatives positively impact Investment Banks’ reputations?
• What are the reputational risks facing organisations operating in politically sensitive areas? 
• Which Investment Banks influenced the agenda most at Davos?
• How can boards implement a reputation management framework combining content analytics and primary research?

Our latest in-depth case study features Carlsberg and explains that the best way Boards can
proactively manage an evolving reputation is by combining content analytics and primary research.
You can read the full report here.

You can also download the research alva presented at the recent Food and Drink Federation Health
Briefing, which examined all media discussion of sugar in 2015, and the impact it has had on the
reputation of a variety of products.

We also spoke at the recent Ernst & Young Risk Leaders Forum, where our Chairman discussed
how organisations can become more resilient in order to protect shareholder
value and reputation.

One factor that might increase the potential for reputational risk is doing business in a political hotspot.
We investigated how the oil and gas industry had responded to this challenge in relation to Iran
and how to best manage the various stakeholders driving related discussions.

As the price of wholesale gas and electricity has fallen recently, utilities companies have also
been under pressure to cut their prices for their customers. We analysed which companies
received the best coverage for their cuts in order to understand how organisations can
maximise the effectiveness of price cuts.

The telecoms industry is another affected by competitive pricing and an increasingly common
outcome is consolidation. However, such mergers can open the companies up to criticism from
various stakeholders, so we reviewed the three biggest reputational risks for telecoms
consolidation.

Rather than consolidation, the supermarket community has recently seen a new entrant in the form
of easyFoodstore, the latest venture from easyGroup. They stated that the future of the budget
supermarket concept depended on public response and demand, so we investigated the
initial public reaction to understand brand sentiment and the future potential for the concept.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) labelling has been on the agenda for many brands we
regularly see on our supermarket shelves. Campbell’s recently acted on consumer engagement
to become the “first major company” to commit to GMO labelling so we investigated
how this had affected their corporate reputation.

Turning to the financial sector, we wanted to understand whether branches or digital was
the main driver for customer experience in retail banking. We analysed customer sentiment towards
both channels to identify the implications of technology for future customer experience.

Elsewhere in the financial sector, social finance has seen a boom in investment banking and
attracted extensive media coverage. We review the media analysis to see how it was driving
sentiment within investment banking and if social finance initiatives can positively impact reputation.

Investment banks had a strong presence at Davos earlier this year, so we examined
which banks were the most prominent and influenced most discussions at the event.
We also reviewed what subjects they were most concerned about at the event.

While Davos is one of the leading dates in the global financial calendar, one of the most
prominent sporting events is the Super Bowl. As advertising budgets increase each year, almost
as much global media analysis focuses on the brands as a result. We utilised our media monitoring service during
the match to understand how the public were responding to the adverts and
which brands and industries were generating most positive engagement.

Finally, alva had our own US celebrations as we opened our first New York office as
part of a recent expansion. In March look out for our upcoming NFL franchise community communications
analysis, as well as defence and automotive research.

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Companies analysed

[table th="0"]Bank of America,Carlsberg,Goldman Sachs,Quicken Loans

Blackrock,Citigroup,HSBC,Shell

BNY Mellon,Credit Suisse,JP Morgan,Suntrust

BP,Deutsche Bank,Lazard,Three

British Gas,E.On,Morgan Stanley,Total

BT,EE,Northern Trust,UBS

Campbell’s Soup Company,Eni,O2,Wells Fargo[/table]