wallydownundy

Yesterday Jetstar announced a partnership with AirAsia that starts with joint-procurement agreements and extends to service agreements at shared airports. The deal centres on two similarly aligned organisations looking to reduce costs.

Yet by carefully crafting messages – and relating those to the company’s core values – Jetstar placed its consumers at the centre of this ho-hum corporate deal. To showcase the power of public relations, think through these two different headlines:

JetStar Alliance To Cut Cost (hypothetical)

Jetstar Deal Means Lower Asia Fares (The Australian – front page)

In the front page article, new partner AirAsia said round trip fares between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur should drop $200 to $600 per person. The ability to demonstrate an immediate consumer benefit means a lot. Consumers will support restructuring, even some job losses, if they perceive an immediate benefit.

Frequently companies seek public relations counsel to manage restructuring announcements. They’ll develop announcements with euphemisms for job losses. Downsizing. Restructuring. Business Process Reengineering. And my favourite, “Rightsizing”.

Author Don Watson developed a handy reference tool for those seeking to understand dense corporate-speak. “Weasel Words” is a collection of “contemporary clichés, cant & management jargon.” There Watson offers this definition to “rightsizing” – Job Eliminations.

When developing messages to support a restructure, think to the end consumer. What’s the benefit? Quicker call times? Lower costs? Better products? If you place the consumer at the heart of your messages you’re transactions are going to be better received.