In May’s Reputation Report, our team of experts share their analysis on what organisations can learn from this month’s biggest news stories. We will unpick M&S’ careful attempts to retain customer trust during an existential cyber attack. Sticking to technology, we review the latest announcement from British Airways and what other businesses can learn when it comes to communicating about AI. Finally, we’ll be delving in to the topic of brotherhood and how it has impacted the reputations of both the new Pope and former US President Joe Biden.
What businesses can learn from M&S’ cyber crisis response
Tim Jotischky, Divisional Managing Director, Reputation
The cyber-attack which forced M&S to shut down its online clothing business for several weeks, wiping more than £750m off its market capitalisation, was an existential crisis for the business.
In a cyber security crisis, transparency and trust are crucial. It can be better to over-communicate than under-communicate, but it is essential to avoid saying anything that may have to be retracted later.
Cyber crises can often take an unexpected turn; they are rarely predictable. You should never put information into the public domain unless you are certain it is correct. The worst outcome is to correct information that you have previously provided in good faith, which then turns out to be wrong. It undermines your credibility.
M&S moved quickly, taking down online systems to protect customers and shutting down online orders. Chief executive Stuart Machin apologised to customers in a video statement and communications from the business were clear, accessible and empathetic.
M&S had run a cyberattack simulation last year and that shaped its response, empowering them to act quickly and decisively. Crisis simulations are essential for any business and should be staged at least once a year. There are multiple audiences in any crisis and how you talk to your customers may not be the same as how you talk to investors.
Getting the initial response right is only half the battle. Serious cyber crises rarely end quickly; they are a test of stamina, and a business must keep on getting it right. M&S were criticised for taking too long to disclose the loss of customer data.
Ultimately, any crisis lays bare the culture and values of a business. M&S have been able to call upon a reservoir of goodwill from their customers. The consensus is they have tried to do the right thing and customers want to stick with them.
Regardless of the outcome, evaluating the cause of the crisis and lessons learned is often the most important phase. The hackers appeared to have gained access through a third party, rather than compromising the systems directly.
Any business is vulnerable to that type of attack and M&S won’t be the only ones reflecting on the implications.
Leveraging business innovation to develop a positive corporate narrative
Neil McLeod, Divisional Managing Director, Corporate
Improving British Airways’ standing amongst the world’s travellers has been a long-term mission for bosses at the airline seeking to move away from a legacy of operational issues and IT headaches.
As part of a strategic communications drive around a £7bn transformation plan, its recent business announcement on how artificial intelligence is boosting flight punctuality at Heathrow can be seen as a positive step forward on its ongoing journey to improved performance and its reputation.
British Airways CEO Sean Doyle reported that through AI, two-thirds of BA flights from Heathrow took off ahead of schedule in April – more than double the rate experienced in the same period in 2023. The new tech includes an AI system which helps jets plot around bad weather, saving 243,000 minutes of delays over the given period and one which manages planes at stands more efficiently.
Doyle revealed BA had invested £100mn in its “operational resilience”, including in new AI technologies and 600 extra staff being taken on at Heathrow.
This new detail even manages to override the caveat in the story is that delays of more than an hour are still above pre-pandemic levels.
But it all still means that British Airways flights at Heathrow are now less likely to be cancelled or delayed than other airlines.
In the UK’s corporate landscape, artificial intelligence adoption is at take-off point, combining the fact that it is a strategic must while demanding careful navigation and risk taking.
BA’s recent corporate announcement packed a punch, hitting a global consumer, investor and business audience – it landed in publications from FT to the Sun, and from the Shropshire Star to the New York Post. It communicated a clear, understandable purpose for AI, telling its audience – including its 46 million annual passengers – how its bet on new technology is serving them better.
Moreover, it underlined how business innovation is not only key to progress – but so is telling a compelling story around it, boosting trust and BA’s reputation, and in doing so, the use of artificial intelligence.
Brotherhood and how it can impact reputation
Robin Brant, Associate Director, Reputation
Pope Bob and President Joe have both had reputational challenges come across their altar/desk this month. For the former it was a brother. For the latter it was, what you might call, a brotherhood.
The Pope was elected to a job that comes with a unique reputational inheritance. He is infallible, in some circumstances. But when the world doesn’t know much about you there’s a void of information. Step forward your older brother… and his Facebook posts about a ‘war right here at home’, his MAGA allegiance and his thoughts on ‘flattening’ Gaza. Of course, differing views among siblings is almost a given and it’s healthy. But, hearing the views of someone close to the new Pope does provide genuine insight in to the family he grew up in, which played a role in making him the man he is.
There was good stuff, too. Louis said Leo XIV was ‘much more liberal’. There was a prediction about the nascent Papacy; he’ll play things ‘down the middle’ apparently.
Now to that other American leader. It’s a reputation for honesty among some of Joe Biden’s closest White House advisers that is once again in question. And it’s George Clooney who is, once again, the star. A new book gives a prime place to the actor-turned-campaigner-turned-Democrat-uber fundraiser’s account of meeting candidate Biden in June 2024. It was a meeting that he said horrified him. An excerpt about recognising people makes for particularly painful reading. The authors go on to build the case for what they allege was a cover up over aging Biden’s cognitive and physical abilities. Ultimately the book blames that inner circle for handing Trump another victory.
For the record, those he’s accused deny this version of events. For Presidents, legacy is important. That goes for advisers too. But this could also have an impact on what’s to come, not what has passed. There will be a new president in 2029. It’s not clear yet who the Democratic front runner is. We’re way off that. But the score-settling in this book, if true, has deeply undermined reputations, all but ending any hopes some of those Biden advisors had of being at the helm of the ‘28 campaign.