Communicating with stakeholders

Bernard Matthews is the largest turkey producer in the UK. The business has grown substantially since its relatively humble origins in 1950, when Bernard Matthews bought 20 turkey eggs and a secondhand incubator.

12 turkeys successfully hatched from this initial batch and before long, the young entrepreneur was able to give up his insurance job and concentrate full-time on rearing turkeys. Today, Bernard Matthews rears over seven million turkeys every year. 13 million UK households buy a Bernard Matthews Farms branded product each year. Despite the size of its operations, the company remains close to its roots in East Anglia with its farms located across Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire.

Bernard Matthews’ vision is ‘to make turkey the preferred choice of protein for every day and every occasion’. Bernard Matthews operates in a competitive and fast-changing environment. Consumers are faced with a huge choice of foods to suit different lifestyles, diets and tastes. However, in recent years, buying patterns have changed as consumers have become more concerned about healthy eating, food safety and animal welfare.

Chance events can have a significant impact on a food business. For example, Jamie Oliver’s high-profile campaign in 2005 to improve the quality of school meals singled out foods such as Bernard Matthews’ Turkey Twizzlers as being unhealthy.

In 2007, there was an outbreak of bird flu at a Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk. At this time, the media also discovered that the company imported some of its turkeys from abroad. The press published stories that this could have been directly related to the outbreak, a theory that was never proved. Initially, Bernard Matthews did not speak up and defend its product range, which offered affordable, tasty and convenient food for everyday working mums. This resulted in adverse press coverage and the company lost credibility with the media.

When bird flu hit, relations with the media were at an all-time low. The company’s immediate reaction to the crisis was to focus on eliminating the disease, which it did successfully. Communications came low on the list of priorities. This meant that the resulting information ‘vacuum’ was soon filled with damaging and often inaccurate news reports.

When the company realised the extent of the damage and finally opened up to the press it was too little, too late, as all trust had been lost. As a result, Bernard Matthews’ sales in the UK fell by 35% and the company went into a loss position.

In 2008, the company implemented a business turnaround programme.

From a communications perspective this involved:

• more closely monitoring the changing environment in which the company operates
• understanding the customers’ needs better
• communicating in a transparent manner with all stakeholders to rebuild trust in the company.
  
  This case study explores how Bernard Matthews has addressed the challenges of communicating with its customers and other important stakeholders. What is communication? The communication process involves a sender (who), transmitting information (what), in a form (how) so that the receiver will understand.

What is communication?

The communication process involves a sender (who), transmitting information (what), in a form (how) so that the receiver will understand.

To communicate effectively, Bernard Matthews needs to be clear
about the messages it wants to convey. It also has to:

• consider the intended receivers of the communication – its target audience
• seek out the most effective communication channels in order to be heard against the ‘noise’ of competing claims about healthy diets
• find ways to challenge the prejudices and preconceptions of consumers and other key target audiences.
  
  Bernard Matthews first decided to focus messages on its core strengths and expertise – British turkey farming and providing great tasting turkey. The company committed to sourcing all its turkey meat from the UK. Additionally, it sold those parts of the business which diversified operations away from Turkey.
  
  Secondly, Bernard Matthews wanted to restore the reputation of the brand and challenge consumer misperceptions that turkey was just a processed food.

It would promote turkey as a tasty, versatile and healthy meat by improving consumer awareness through different communication methods. It also aimed to change consumers’ buying patterns by getting them to choose turkey as an everyday meat.

Barriers to communication

Anything that affects the smooth flow of information is known as ‘noise’. This might be, for example, the language used, an inappropriate use of technology or the different levels of skill and knowledge of the sender and receiver.

For example, every day in the press and on TV, consumers are bombarded with often confusing or contradictory information about the health benefits or risks associated with different foods. Consumers may not have enough understanding or information to judge between conflicting messages.

It is therefore not surprising that many people do not hear these messages and ‘switch off’. Bernard Matthews had to overcome a considerable amount of direct ‘noise’ caused by the earlier negative press articles. By not responding to these immediately or correcting with facts, consumers were confused and the company lost credibility with the press and the public.

To achieve its vision and encourage consumers to eat turkey all year round, Bernard Matthews needed to give people more information in a way they could easily understand. It has therefore chosen to highlight key facts about turkey meat as the foundation for many of its messages. These include the facts that turkey is tasty and versatile, high in protein, vitamins and minerals and that turkey breast has the lowest saturated fat levels of mainstream meats. It is also an efficient and sustainable product to produce.

Communicating with internal stakeholders

The company needed to improve its communications with its internal and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders are those individuals and groups within the organisation. They include the employees, the managers and directors of the business and its owners or shareholders. Communications with internal stakeholders help to create a positive attitude within the company.

This is particularly important when times are tough as employees may become de-motivated if they see negative stories about their company in the media.
Bernard Matthews aims to ensure that every employee understands the company’s business turnaround strategy and the steps it is taking to strengthen its brand. For example:

• It produces a bilingual weekly newsletter for all employees. This provides news on business developments.
• Staff also have access to news about the business on the company’s intranet site.
• Face-to-face meetings inform managers about progress and new initiatives.

Bernard Matthews is a private company. This means that it does not have the same legal obligations to publish formal, regular company reports as a public limited company would. However, it still keeps its owners and stakeholders informed through regular meetings and by publishing financial statements.

Communicating with external stakeholders

One of the most significant groups of external stakeholders is Bernard Matthews’ customers. However, other important external stakeholders include the government and regulatory bodies, the company’s suppliers, the media and the communities that live close to the company’s farms and operations.

Bernard Matthews’ communications programme aims to improve perceptions of the company and brand and to increase public awareness of turkey as a tasty, versatile and healthy meat. These are important parts of rebuilding trust with consumers and restoring the company’s reputation. Bernard Matthews uses written, visual and face-to-face forms of communication to get its messages across to external stakeholders.

Advertising

Bernard Matthews advertises on television and in the press. This is a powerful and effective way of getting a message to a wide audience. It helps to keep the brand in the minds of consumers. However, advertising is a one-way channel and needs follow-up, for example, through market research, in order to understand the impact it has.

In the past, Bernard Matthews’ advertising focused on its more processed products or Christmas range. However, its 2011 campaign not only promotes fresh turkey for the first time, it also emphasises its versatility, taste and low-fat benefits and that it can be enjoyed all year round. This builds on recent campaigns designed to reconnect the brand with its farming origins, containing messages such as ‘100% British turkey’.

Internet and social media

Bernard Matthews currently has four websites targeted at different
audiences. These promote new products and the company’s farming credentials and publicise new initiatives and the health benefits of turkey:

• A corporate website that provides an overview of the business.
• A consumer site, giving information on the turkey product range.
• A Foodservice website, providing information to the catering trade, including pubs and schools.
• A campaigning website, Change Your Meat Not Your Menu (www.changeyourmeatnotyourmenu.co.uk), which supports Bernard Matthews’ drive to get consumers to make turkey part of their everyday meals.
  
  Engaging with online communities through social media is