Wall-Street.ro Analysis: The 2024 elections put pressure on companies' reputation

Certain companies, for various reasons (and not necessarily deservedly so), become scapegoats for the failure of public projects. Finding a culprit is a politician's textbook tactic. Most of the time, it is used to divert attention from high-stakes backstage discussions or the politicians' own shortcomings.

However, what can you do when your company's reputation, both online and offline, suffers due to repeated political attacks? As a result, your risk level increases, you are forced to pay higher insurance premiums, face difficulties in obtaining financing from banks, employees start looking for other jobs, and suppliers refuse to work with you.

It is challenging for a company involved in public projects with the government as the beneficiary to defend itself publicly. The government is not just your client but also your partner, after all. You cannot go to the press and say, "Mr. X is lying, here's the evidence! The situation is not like that." In a world where politics decides the allocation of public funds, you risk cutting the branch you're sitting on and losing contracts.

The situation may seem hopeless, but there are solutions. One of them is to strengthen your online reputation by proactively and factually communicating who you are, what you do, how you do it, what you have achieved so far, and your future plans. As a result, crisis prevention and reputation repair through communication activities have become a clear trend in 2023, and we, at Lighthouse PR, believe it will continue to grow as we approach the elections.

Ana Maria Gardiner, Managing Partner at Lighthouse PR, is an expert in reputation management, corporate communication, and crisis communication. With 20 years of experience in the field, including 8 years as a journalist, Ana has provided support for companies among the top 300 most valuable brands in the world, working from Romania and Dubai.

As politicians are busy preparing for next year's elections, and testing the waters through public speeches, we observe that companies are paying closer attention to what decision-makers say on TV and online than in previous years. Furthermore, medium and large-sized companies that have rarely or never engaged in public communication, citing the classic reason of not needing to do so, have reconsidered their stance this year, precisely under the pressure created by certain politicians.

In 2023, a pre-election year, political battles have intensified, with attacks between parties or politicians becoming more virulent. The war in Ukraine no longer appears to be a major concern, leading to a decrease in the need for political cohesion. Meanwhile, negotiations are underway for rotations, territorial divisions, and the selection of political leaders at both central and local levels, who will be the flagbearers in the multiple elections next year.

When it comes to legislative initiatives with positive impacts or those that effectively address urgent needs, there is little to be proud of. However, when it comes to negotiations regarding the number of secretaries of state and advisers in the government apparatus or the accumulation of state pensions, the attention is at its peak. All of this is happening while Romania continues to lack highways, an adequate number of doctors and nurses, decent conditions in hospitals across the country, and an educational system adapted to the needs of the labor market.

Meanwhile, Romania is facing a rapidly increasing public debt, a historically high exchange rate, raised taxes, and a poorly constructed state budget for 2023. In this challenging domestic context, coupled with thoughts of the upcoming 2024 elections, as the number of political statements increases, companies are becoming more attentive to what those who govern our country and manage public funds have to say.

Simultaneously, the number of companies aiming to protect their business in the medium term is growing. They are investing in enhancing their online presence, increasing brand awareness, and consolidating their reputation in their respective industries.