Reputation management and communications consultancy


4 December 2009, Report names Gordon Brown as least effective communicator on swine flu

Spokespeople warned of their responsibilities

Gordon Brown has today (4 December) been named as the most ineffective communicator on swine flu in a report “Swine Flu: getting the message through” conducted by Insignia Communications together with the University of Wolverhampton.

The report, designed to shed new light on how spokespeople can communicate successfully about health scares and other risks, reveals that the most effective spokesperson was Professor John Oxford, professor of virology at the University of London, with Health Secretary Andy Burnham in second place.

Members of the public were shown fifteen media interviews and speeches about swine flu and asked for their views on the effectiveness of each spokesperson, and the reasons why they drew these conclusions.

One of the co-authors of the report has issued a warning in the light of its findings. Jonathan Hemus, director of Insignia Communications, a consultancy which specialises in risk communication, says: “This research makes it clear that high profile spokespeople have enormous power to reassure and inform the public in the event of a health scare. Equally, they have the ability to cause unnecessary confusion, distress and concern if they fail to communicate effectively. They need to recognise that this position of power also brings with it responsibility”.

The research team has developed two spokesperson “equations” which are likely to result in either greater reassurance or heightened anxiety among the public:

CS + WA – AA = Anxiety
(where CS is Credible Spokesperson, WA is Worrying Analysis and AA is Actionable Advice)

Whereas

CS + SA + PA + AA = Reassurance
(where CS is Credible Spokesperson, SA is Serious Appearance, PA is Personable Approach and AA is Actionable Advice)

Jonathan Hemus explained: “The most effective spokesperson – Professor John Oxford – combined a senior academic background and a formal appearance, both of which provide credibility, with a personable style and clear actionable advice. It was this mixture of ingredients which made him the most successful communicator. In contrast, Gordon Brown suffered from poor body language, a lack of practical advice and a formal setting which, rather alarmingly, sent a subliminal message of a crisis situation. His ability to deliver messages with credibility is also undoubtedly negatively affected by his general unpopularity at this time.

“We also identified that credible spokespeople – doctors, scientists, academics - who provide worrying insights without clear and actionable advice can cause significant public anxiety,” continued Jonathan Hemus. “Given the impact that this communication has on the public, there’s a strong case for saying that people who are unable to match up to this set of criteria should not be put in front of the media during a major health scare. Perhaps they should follow the old adage: ‘If you don’t have anything useful to say, don’t say anything at all’”.

The complete ranking of the fifteen spokespeople covered by the research is:

  1. Professor John Oxford, professor of virology, University of London
  2. Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Health
  3. Professor Sir Roy Anderson, Imperial College, London
  4. Dr Tom Jefferson, The Cochrane Collaboration
  5. Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer
  6. Dr Boon Lim, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
  7. Dr Carl Heneghan, Department of Primary Health Care, Oxford University
  8. Sandra Mounier-Jack, Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  9. Belinda Phipps, chief executive, National Childbirth Trust
  10. Professor Hugh Pennington, Professor of Bacteriology, University of Aberdeen
  11. Dr Richard Halvorsen, GP and author of The Truth About Vaccines
  12. Dr Steve Field, chair of Royal College of GPs
  13. Gregory Hartl, communications advisor, World Health Organisation
  14. Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, Director, Initiative for Vaccine Research, World Health Organisation
  15. Gordon Brown, Prime Minister

Sarah Williams, co-author of the report and Course Leader in Public Relations at the University of Wolverhampton added: "This research sheds new light on how people interpret important health messages and who they trust most to impart that information to them. We hope that its lessons are learned so that spokespeople can help to reduce unnecessary fears and confusion associated with a health scare like swine flu”.

For further information about the research project, please contact:

Aby Hawker, consultant, Insignia Communications, 01926409723/07795593706, or abyhawker@gmail.com
Jonathan Hemus, director, Insignia Commmunications, 0121 382 5304/0786 832 9102, or jonathanhemus@insigniacomms.com
Sarah Williams, Course Leader in Public Relations, School of Law, Social Sciences and Communications, University of Wolverhampton, s.williams9@wlv.ac.uk; T: 01902 323398; M: 07981 705942

Notes to editors:

A copy of the full report can be downloaded from www.insigniacommunications.com/pdfs/swine-flu-report.pdf. A webinar to discuss the full findings of the report will take place at 1pm on Tuesday 8 December. Full details can be found at www.insigniapr.co.uk/swine-flu-communication-webinar.html

Insignia Communications

Insignia offers reputation management and communication consultancy which makes a real difference to an organisation. The consultancy specialises in risk communication, corporate reputation management, communication planning, crisis management, issues management, internal communications, communication and media training. Insignia’s approach is based on top quality, purposeful communications advice delivered by trusted consultants with a personal touch.

University of Wolverhampton

The University of Wolverhampton has around 23,000 students, including a growing number from Europe and overseas. It is based across four easily-accessible campuses - Wolverhampton, Telford, Walsall and Compton - which benefit from outstanding facilities and new buildings. The University promotes innovation and enterprise and has a successful focus on employability, with excellent business links and collaborative working. The National Student Survey rated the University as one of the best in the UK for quality of learning resources.

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