Authenticity key as brands scramble to cement vaccine stance

Businesses have been trumpeting their positions on Covid vaccinations but reputations are at risk if talk doesn’t meet action.

The Factsination initiative, by creative agency Hardhat, aims to encourage all Australians to get vaccinated, as soon as possible.

As companies begin cementing employee vaccination protocols, businesses must ensure they prioritise internal brand building just as much as customer-facing efforts — and not make the “fatal error” of leaving comms to HR.

From TV networks and global tech giants to streaming players and whole industries, numerous brands and businesses have been rolling out comms highlighting their position on Covid vaccinations.

CEO of ad agency Interbrand AUNZ, Nathan Birch said authenticity is key as employees are likely to see through duplicitous internal announcements and moves as they have more visibility of internal performance.

“I’ve heard of examples of brands saying all the right things publicly to customers, but internally using Covid, and even the government’s Covid payment schemes, for some less than admirable behaviour.” Birch said.

“These are the brands that are going to suffer in the long term. Be authentic, treat your people with respect, and they’ll pay you back in the long run.”

DDB Group Australia-owned Interbrand has just launched “Chuck a Stickie”, an initiative that gives all staff two extra sick days to receive and recover from their COVID vaccinations.

Birch said he’s hoping other businesses follow suit and are proud for their people to Chuck a Stickie.

Last week the Fair Work Ombudsman said employers could direct employees to be vaccinated if the direction was lawful and reasonable, but whether a direction was lawful and reasonable would be “fact-­dependent” and needed to be ­assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Birch said businesses really need to think carefully and smartly about comms on mandatory vaccinations now, adding that it comes down to the two questions of ‘would’ they normally respond to an issue like this and ‘should’ they.

He said the ‘would’ is normally a straightforward question for some brands, particularly those that have been vocal on socially conscious issues, but if taking a stand is incoherent with the brand strategy and purpose, then it probably isn’t necessary.

However, Mr Birch added the follow-on question for business leadership of ‘should’ is more difficult to answer as a brand could be accused of being disingenuous or jumping on the bandwagon.

“The best brands are built from within, so external and internal articulations of the brand should be very closely aligned,” Mr Birch explained.

“Marketers delegating internal brand building and management to human resources is a fatal error in building long term brand value and growth. Why wouldn’t you think about your employees with the same careful consideration you think about your customers?”

With the likes of Netflix, Google, Walmart, Disney and Microsoft all leading the charge on mandating certain employees get vaccinated, founding partner of ad agency Special in Melbourne, Rebecca Stambanis, said Australian businesses need to do the same.

Ms Stambanis, agrees that brands and big businesses have a huge role to play when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccination, but argues that it should come down to company ethics and policy and not communication or advertising strategy.

“It’s something you do because it is the right thing to do and because it is what we need to get through this global crisis,” she said.

“Businesses and brands should not be making the decision based on optics and what it might ‘look like’ to existing and potential customers. This isn’t about popularity. This is about being on the right side of history, and critically, it is about protecting people.”

Ms Stambanis said it’s disappointing that many big businesses have said nothing, but with vaccination supply constraints in Australia, she agrees it’s difficult to come out with a hard line when employees and customers aren’t eligible for the vaccine yet.

“With the communication disaster around AZ, it makes this even harder,” she said.

Just last week agency leaders from the advertising industry united to call for industry support to help debunk vaccination safety myths. The Factsination initiative saw a collection of images released on Instagram showcasing ‘The A to Z of things more likely to kill you than the AZ’. The internet ‘facts’ aim to dispel myths about the potential risk associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in order to encourage all Australians to get vaccinated, as soon as possible.

Co-founder at independent creative agency Hardhat, Dan Monheit, who helped spearhead TheFactsination, said employees want their employers to ‘do the right thing’ and every business that can play a role in educating staff and others about the benefits of vaccination, debunking myths and putting fears into context, should do so.

“Frankly, this communication challenge should be being dealt with at a much higher level than asking individual businesses to take a stance and get involved,” Mr Monheit said.

He said as the current comms around vaccinations has not been done well, the industry had to take action and try to help.

“As advertising professionals, we specialise in communication and behaviour change, and have access to media channels and audiences. This just felt like a natural, meaningful way for us to channel our frustrations and try to make a difference,” he said.

“The support from creative industry leaders and the broader comms community has been incredible. Like them, I am confident that just about every business in Australia wants to ‘do the right thing’…. and will get involved to the extent it makes sense given their own situation.”