Question

BARCLAYS BANK: HOW (NOT) TO COMMUNICATE WITH STAKEHOLDERS

In 2003, Barclays, a UK-based bank and financial services group, appointed a new advertising agency, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH). BBH was hired to spearhead a 'more humane' cam­paign, after the bank was lambasted for its 'Big Bank' adverts in 2000 that featured the slogan 'a big world needs a big bank'. Barclays had spent £15 million on its 'Big' campaign, which featured celebrities such as Sir Anthony Hopkins and Tim Roth. The adverts were slick and had received good pre-publicity, but they turned into a communication disaster when they coincided with the news that Barclays was closing about 170 branches in the UK, many in rural areas. One of the earlier adverts featured Welsh-born Sir Anthony Hopkins talking from the comfort of a palatial home about the importance of chasing 'big' ideas and ambitions. The adverts provoked a national debate in the UK when a junior government minister, Chris Mullin, said that Barclays' customers should revolt and 'vote with their feet'. Barclays' image crisis worsened when communication executives announced that the new Chief Executive, Matthew Barrett, had been paid £1.3 million for just three months' work. At the time, competitors - including NatWest - quickly capitalized on the fall-out from the Big Bank campaign and were running adverts which trumpeted the fact that it had abolished branch closures.

Local communities that had lost their branch were particularly angry at the closures. The situation was further aggravated by the arrogance with which Barclays announced and justified the decision. Matthew Barrett had explained the branch closures by saying, 'We are an economic enterprise, not a government agency, and therefore have obligations to conduct our business in a way that provides a decent return to the owners of the business. We will continue to take value-maximizing decisions without sentimentality or excuses.' Barclays was openly admitting that its main focus was on shareholder returns and larger customers across its investment and retail businesses. Perhaps the most amusing story of the many that emerged during that period was of the fact that the village where Anthony Hopkins was born was one of the victims of the branch closures. He was seen as a traitor to his heritage, and the local Welsh Assembly Member wrote to him as part of her campaign about the closures. Hopkins was moved to write back to her, complaining about being used as a scapegoat when in fact he was just an actor and felt that he needed to set the record straight by pointing out that he did not run Barclays Bank. In an attempt to respond to the image crisis, Barclays extended opening hours at 84 per cent of its branches and recruited an extra 2,000 staff to service the extra hours. However, the damage to its reputation with some of its previously most loyal customers had already been done.

QUESTION

1. In your point of view, what broader lessons does the case imply for corporate communication? (10m)

Answer 1

From my point of view, the broader lessons the case implies for Corporate communication is firstly to coordinate their work and the message they are providing to the receiver.

The company's message to its customers or other stakeholders should be consistent in terms of actions and from the verbal set.

If the company is trying to chase big, it should focus on its growth and expansion rather than shutting down various branches of the bank, which goes opposite to the message provided at the time of Corporate communication with different company stakeholders.

Moreover, the company should preplan about the structure of the message conveyed to the stakeholders at corporate communication.

Furthermore, the company should also hire a qualified and talented team to communicate with the outside world, who would adequately assess what to speak and have excellent speaking and communicating skills and are comfortable in managing the abundant data, and have healthy critical thinking and planning abilities and are always rational and can empathize with different stakeholders.

All these above-given points should be taken into consideration when communicating with various stakeholders by the company.