Successful public relations reacts to social values and moods. The mood is currently at rock bottom: the corona pandemic, climate change, cultural conflicts and the war in Ukraine are all causing us problems. In this unstable situation, one value is particularly important: responsibility.
What does it mean for corporations to act responsibly? In a globally canada rcs data networked economy that does not recognize supranational law, corporations act as political actors and work for the well-being of people and the environment. This is the idea of corporate citizenship. This claim leads corporations into a dilemma: on the one hand, social policy concerns are important, while on the other, the logic of profit maximization is pressing. What should they do?
A well-known strategy is to tackle the dilemma with snappy marketing campaigns. For example, greenwashing: companies give themselves a green veneer without making their value creation processes environmentally friendly. Or pinkwashing: companies use colorful images to suggest that they are particularly LGBT-friendly in order to come across as open, relaxed and tolerant. But they don't really live up to this value. In the wake of the Ukraine conflict, a PR method is currently emerging that resembles this pattern: warwashing. Companies position themselves as critical of Russia or pro-Ukraine in a way that attracts media attention. However, this position is not reflected in their DNA.