Giving Credit When Credit Is Due: A Key Factor in Reputation Management

Since writing about the Budweiser Canada Super Bowl commercial earlier this week, I’ve been thinking a lot about when and how acknowledgments for ideas should be given – and why this is more important than ever in today’s world. We could talk for days, or even months, about the legalities and ethics surrounding this topic, but there’s another aspect to this argument that many people haven’t thought about. How does recognizing (or failing to recognize) someone else’s contributions affect your brand’s reputation?

Lisa Tucker makes some great observations in her post discussing the different levels of emotional connections in advertising. While she focuses on the varying degrees of positive emotional responses, negative connections can be formed as well – like the belief that some big brand with lots of cash is stealing a little guy’s idea. In situations like these, there’s more to it than just typical moral outrage. Often, people are identifying with some event or circumstance that actually affected them.

Almost all of us have at least one experience in our lives when we felt we weren’t given proper credit for something. Maybe your boss presented your idea as his own at an important company meeting, or your sister ignored your suggestion until she heard it again from someone else. Or, it could be something as small as someone forgetting to send a thank you note for a graduation gift. Even in cases when we recognize such a slight was accidental or inadvertent, we generally still experience unpleasant emotions like anger, sadness, frustration, annoyance or just plain ol’ disappointment.

So, when we hear about some instance where a person or group hasn’t been given due credit, we naturally tend to associate that with a similar event from our past. This drudges up all sorts of negative feelings, which are projected onto the company perceived to be the offending party. Thus, an emotional connection is formed – but it’s not really the one you want for your brand.

While this scenario is nothing new, it is much more prevalent today due to the fact that information spreads so much faster and more freely than ever before. Ten years ago, if a couple of people thought your idea was copycatting one from someone else, they might tell their friends, neighbors and so forth, but the story would probably remain fairly localized. Today, those same couple of people might make a comment on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook – and BAM! All of a sudden, millions are talking about it and your reputation management team has to go into overdrive to clean up the mess.

Yes, borrowing ideas and concepts may be perfectly legal and even accepted by others in the industry, but what will the general public think if the original creative personality isn’t acknowledged? Instead of focusing on legal responsibilities and towing the “this is the way things work” line, we need to give more thought to customer perception. One thing is certain: If we’re not transparent enough about our practices, there’s always someone waiting to step up to let us – and the rest of the world – know about it.

Photo Credit: PhotoSpin