effective communication strategies in the digital age

Effective Communication Strategies in the

Digital Age –

The Success Story of BASF

Ho Chi Minh City, May 31- June 1, 2012 Ingrid Nienaber

Senior Regional Manager Corporate Communications ASEAN

2 INTERNAL 6/11/2012 FOR EXTERNAL USE 2

1 | Overview BASF

2 | Communication for a B2B company

3 | Traditional Media

4 | Social Media

BASF – The Chemical Company We create chemistry for a sustainable future

Our chemicals are used in almost all

industries

We combine economic success, social

responsibility and environmental

protection.

Sales 2011: €73.5 billion

Employees ~111,000

Organized by Business and Functional

Units both regionally and globally

About 1,050 new patents filed in 2011

6 Verbund sites and about

385 production sites

3

Platzhalter für Bild

BASF in Asia Pacific

*By location of customer; Data as of December 2011

#Some sites are not shown due to scale

Customers from more than 15

countries

More than 17,000 employees

130 production sites

9 R&D sites

Sales* in 2011: Approximately

€14.4 billion

EBIT: €1.13 billion

4

Sub region: ASEAN

5

8 wholly owned subsidiaries

11 joint ventures

20 production sites

22 sales offices

Approximately 3,840 employees

Sales* in 2011: Approximately €2.4 billion

1 R&D site

*By location of customer; Data as of December 2011

#Some sites are not shown due to scale

Performance

Polymers

Polyurethanes

Structure of BASF’s 6 segments

6

Chemicals Plastics Performance

Products

Functional

Solutions

Agricultural

Solutions Oil & Gas

Inorganics

Petrochemicals

Intermediates

Dispersions &

Pigments

Care Chemicals

Nutrition &

Health

Paper Chemicals

Performance

Chemicals

Catalysts

Construction

Chemicals

Coatings

Crop Protection Exploration &

Production

Natural Gas

Trading

7

Care Chemicals

8

Construction Chemicals


1 | Overview BASF


•Branding

•Traditional Media

• Social Media

• When not to use the media

We create chemistry

Our promise:

We are connected to deliver

intelligent, sustainable solutions.

And prove every day that we don„t

just make chemicals:

We create chemistry for a

sustainable future.

The combination of everything we do

brings our brand to life ...

… in Corporate Advertising

Strategic Planning &

Implementation of

internal & external

communication

…through all BASF organizations and

communication channels

REGIONS/ COUNTRIES OPERATING/ FUNCTIONAL

DIVISIONS

GROUPWIDE

e.g. Trade Fairs/

Annual Meeting e.g. customer contacts e.g. Marketing events

e.g. brand architecture

(buildings, meeting rooms,

lobbies)

… and in general

BASF brand touchpoints


1 | Overview BASF


•Branding


• Social Media


Does a B2B company even need to

engage with the media?

Consumers

don‟t buy our

products!

Yes.

Overall competitive positioning of BASF brand

Demoralize the competition

Market intelligence

Prevent mistakes from appearing in the market

Enhance share price

And, yes, promote products

… because we want to be the ones telling our story!

It’s not that simple: the right influencer for

the right purpose

Media

NGOs

Academics

Regulators

Community

leaders

Industry

associations

Online

communities

Mainstream media are (still) the principal

influencer online

A)

B)

C)

D)

NGOs have a wide reach through their

own “media”

(paper) magazines

e-newsletters

Twitter feeds

online magazines

research reports

Unaffiliated individual influencers exist

but are rare

“An online influencer can come from anywhere, but not everyone

can be an online influencer.”

Bringing technical topics to mainstream

audiences

Community activities

Big investments

VIP interviews

Feature interview

Commentary

Media tour

Making best use of trade media

Time preview releases well before trade shows


1 | Overview BASF


•Branding


• Social Media


What are social media?

Interact Opinion

Blog Discussion

Voting Campaigns

Private & Public

Worldwide

(Micro-)Blog Share Connect

http://www.facebook.com/basf





Change in communication because of

socialisation through the Internet

75% of social network users

have visited a brands profile.

30% become a fan of a brand.

72% of those who joined a

brand community have a better

brand perception than before

connect.BASF

Conscious decision of BASF:

Interaction on social media platforms

to positively influence the image of

BASF.

Wave 5 – the Socialization of Brands, UM 2010 http://www.slideshare.net/tlinz8612/wave-5-the-socialisation-of-brands-report-5465006

BASF Strategy:

Opportunities Through Social Media

We innovate to make our customers

more successful

Open innovation through

collaboration

New ways of customer support

Market research

We form the best team

Cater to digital generations

Expand networks, know-how

transfer, problem solving

Support leadership culture

We add value as one company

Strengthen brand and reputation as

one company

Create value through cooperation

Network for the Verbund

We drive sustainable solutions

Build trust through openness

Engage in dialogue, influence and

impact

Drive solutions to the public

Overview: BASF Online Communications

Internal

Online Business Network connect.BASF

External

Monitoring

Corporate Blogs & Widgets

Social Media Channels

Intranet Internet

Guidelines Governance Training Consulting

News channels “BASF today”

Publishing Concept

and Cross-Linking with BASF.com

In Depth Information: BASF.com

Content: YouTube, Slideshare, Flickr

Newsflow: Twitter Business: LinkedIn

Dialog: Facebook, Google+

Website Integration







Hosting social media discussions

(on our platform)

We believe our own platform is the

best place for a controversial

discussion

Best practices:

Transparent use of authorized

individual spokespeople

Professional style

Reference to published

information

Impartial “reporting” with our

point of view

Quick responses

Entering social media discussions

(on managed platforms)

Best practices:

Refer to website

Respond publicly if possible

Respond quickly that you will respond later,

even if you can‟t actually respond quickly

Entering social media discussions

(on others’ platforms)

Want to get to know a journalist /

influencer? Commenting on her

blog is a great way to do it!

Provoking social media discussions (on

managed platforms)

Best practices

Keep topics relevant to the

stakeholder – not just yourself

Use Twitter for “arms-length”

relationship building

Start discussions with @replies

Use #hashtags

Retweet liberally

Retweet clips to enhance

media relations

Entering social media discussions (on

others’ platforms)

In controversies: get your

side of the story heard by

the silent majority

Best practices

Consistent, approved

core messages, but

authorized

spokespeople have

some autonomy to

implement them

Address the issue,

more than the

comment

Creating social media discussions (on

managed platforms)

Best practices

Keep the topic relevant to the

audience

Solid “infotainment” style

content

Explicitly invite discussion

Lessons Learned – How To Engage

Don‟t open a social media channel

and not use it

Don‟t tell secrets – e.g. confidential or

proprietary information

Don‟t speak marketing language or

include too marketing-driven posts

Don‟t post too much, especially do not

publish irrelevant posts

Don‟t leave your activities unattended

DOs DON'Ts

Engage regularly with your audience,

setting goal for posting (e.g. once a

day)

Respond quickly to posts (response

within 24 hours)

Act in an authentic, honest and

respectful way

Consider your target group, offer

interesting mixture of content

Show personality, include “human”

stories and interesting facts


1 | Overview BASF


•Branding


• Social Media


When not to use the media: working with

influencers

“Small group” communications: follow the continuum

Attend the

same

conference

Speak at the

same

conference

Sponsor

their

event

Invite them

to your

event

Co-

organize

an event

Hostile

stakeholders

Cooperative

stakeholders


influencers

“Make friends before you

need them”

Prepare rich content

Follow up

opportunistically

Leverage multiple

platforms for initial

introductions


influencers

Take a structured approach (it‟s not just schmoozing)

Identify and track influencers by name; keep a mailing list

Assign ownership of important relationships (“key account

management”)

Nurture the relationships: be generous with time and introductions

When not to use the media: don’t always

go solo

Industry issues are

better handled by

associations

Support behind the

scenes with

information,

resources, content,

expertise

Collaborate, but

don‟t collude: abide

by ethical principles

Building a brand like BASF is like creating

chemistry

Questions

?

Find or follow BASF on:

Website:

asiapacific.basf.com

effective communication strategies in the digital age

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