Managing Corporate Reputation

    Despite being a hugely successful corporation, with impressive revenues of: 2015 Euro: 5,640 million (+12% from 2014) 2014 Euro: 5,037 million (+4% from 2013) 2013 Euro: 4,884 million and impressive net profits after tax of: 2015 Euro: 866.7 million (+66% from 2014 2014 Euro: 522.8 million (-8% from 2013) 2013 Euro: 569 million and impressive passenger numbers of: 2015: 90.5 million passengers (+10% on 2014) 2014: 81.7 million passengers (+3% on 2013) 2013: 79.3 million passengers... ...the ‘no-frills’ airline Ryanair still has a number of reputational problems. The 2014 decline in profits was due, claims the company, to its reduction in passenger fares, keeping fares low.  This appears to be true, as Ryanair’s actual passenger numbers increased from 79.3 million passengers in 2013, to 81.7 million passengers in 2014, a rise of 3%.  The 2015 increase in profits is due, according to its 2015 Annual Report, to a further increase of passenger numbers, to 90.5 million, an impressive increase of 10%, while still keeping its fares low. However, the airline regularly comes bottom, or near the bottom, of every major customer satisfaction survey, customers regularly use social media, such as Twitter and YouTube, to complain about the dreadful quality of service (see: https://twitter.com/hashtag/ryanair; also see: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ryanair), and its belligerent CEO, Michael O’Leary, brushes aside any criticisms of his company, claiming that he gives customers what they want – cheap ‘no-frills’ flights with little quality service (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQqGKMU5_NM). Also, a consumer-based global branding website shows that Ryanair is one of ‘Worst Brands in the World’ (see: http://simplicityindex.com/2015/region/global), and the worst airline, for customer satisfaction. But things are changing.  In 2013 and 2014, faced with reductions in predicted profits, many shareholders, plus other key stakeholders and audiences, asked Michael O’Leary many tough questions, and demanded that Ryanair:- radically improves its levels of customer service- turns its negative publicity into positive publicity- manages its communications, brand, and image more effectively- radically improves its overall corporate reputation. Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary finally agreed, and made 2014 the year of change for Ryanair (see: www.thedrum.com/news/2014/01/17/ryanair-insists-it-s-changing-2014-weekly-twitter-chats-and-new- irish-ad Yet two years later in 2016, the picture is still a mixed one.  As recently as January 2015, the airline was fined by the Italian airline authorities for poor customer service, its third fine from the Italians in recent years (see below).  On the other hand, business, revenue, profits, and passenger numbers are clearly impressive, and are growing (see FY data, see above), and recent figures from March 2016 show record numbers of passengers (see: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/04/ryanair-passenger-numbers-surge-to-record-level/).  But many stakeholder groups, especially customers and the media, continuing to draw attention to Ryanair’s poor customer service and damaged corporate reputation, while some other stakeholders, especially financial analysts and market researchers (such as YouGov), have praised the airline for improving it customer service, brand, identity, and reputation. TASK:So, Michael O’Leary will clearly need help, and will require the expertise from the industry’s best corporate communication professionals - you - in producing a comprehensive communications report which identifies Ryanair’s key stakeholders and audiences, improves communication with them, plus innovates new activities, in order to: (i) improve the company’s long-term customer service, identity, image, and brand (ii) ensure the company gains positive publicity, and (iii) develop a strong corporate reputation for the company overall, beyond 2016.