From Spooks-style technology to deft diplomacy, there are various strategies to come out on top in a communications war. But when faced with vocal opposition, there’s really no substitute for rigorous research of your opponent, your audience and your market, says Jon Barker:

A battle avoided cannot be lost, Grasshopper,” intoned wise master Caine in the TV series Kung Fu. “Your enemy is helpless if you ignore their threat.”

Of course, this, like almost everything Caine said, was absolute guff. In the real world, conflict is necessary. And there’s nothing to lose in studying ways to nullify, outwit and overcome a communications foe.

At the recent G20 meeting in London, the various organised protests were largely dismissed as rainbow coalitions that had no coherence and little power to influence people or events. But some bodies have the ability to mobilise stakeholders into a force of strength.

Whether it’s party political activists pitched against a rival faction or single-issue campaigners locked in a conflict with the subject of their ire, some communicators are equipping themselves for a headon struggle to spread their message.

Take trade unions. In a time of rising employee disaffection, they’re marshalling themselves against hard-nosed employers. They know that often it’s about being highly visible and able to clearly articulate their demands. It’s also about knowing your audience and making use of appropriate means to engage with them.

PR and communication agency Propeller Group recently launched its new mobile unit, Propeller Mobile, and its first client was the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). Propeller’s voice and SMS services lets RMT record and simultaneously broadcast messages to thousands of mobile phones through a secure web-based portal. Using this service, RMT general secretary Bob Crow is able to update members on any latest developments, effectively leapfrogging the barriers put in place by wary employers.

“Voice broadcasting has added another element to the RMT’s internal communications, sitting alongside other channels like intranet, email and face-to-face briefings,” he says. “The majority of members are out working on railways, roads or ships. The service means RMT can meet its objective of informing all its members on any news or developments quickly. It has also helped to improve engagement and awareness of our general activity among members.”

Understand your audience
Propeller was able to provide research showing the impact voice broadcasting has had on company employees or organisation members. The research showed 90% awareness rate of the broadcasts, while 67% of individuals receiving the broadcasts welcomed them and found them useful.

“We’re seeing a trend of unions looking for ever faster ways to communicate directly with the workforce,” says Ryan Malone, director at Propeller Group. “All organisations need to be visible and this is often a difficulty with using traditional communication methods. Disputes happen so quickly that, in the past, a letter or email would often arrive after the dispute has finished. RMT uses a mixture of voice and text messaging, depending on the nature of the message and its urgency.”

Recently, the use of SMS was successfully exploited in a recent pay dispute that broke out with RMT cleaners. The union discovered that the employer was behaving inappropriately and began a sustained programme of SMS texts. The speed of the service gave the employer little wriggle room with which to concoct a measured retort.

“We were able to connect with people who are hard to reach, mainly because of their shifts, in a way that was quick, easy and efficient,” says Malone. “We were also able to contact activists and representatives immediately, to encourage them to assist members wherever they could. This was a very inclusive way of communicating.”

Also purveyors of making use of the right channels, the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) recently hired American agency, Blue State Digital (BSD), to advise it in its fight against the government’s plans to partly privatise the Royal Mail. The CWU accepts that online revenue has a part to play in the postal market and that online campaigning can help to reach more of the British public. BSD is advising the union on online campaigning, including instant communication with supporters and online petitioning against the plans.

BSD are the US company behind Barack Obama’s successful email recruitment campaign for the presidency. For Obama’s campaign, BSD helped to mobilise three million US donors, which contributed to the raising of $500 million (£352 million). The community-driven communication platform was one of the most high-profile online campaign websites in history.

However, the CWU has come under attack for employing exactly the sort of modern technology which is making so many of the Royal Mail’s old services redundant. The business secretary, Peter Mandelson, has accused the CWU of using dishonest scare tactics that could cost workers their pensions and even their jobs.

Be prepared
Whether the CWU had anticipated this kind of backlash or not, in corporate communications wars, “there’s never an excuse for being underprepared”, says David Trenchard of Tulchan Group, a key adviser to institutional asset management firm and activist investor, Knight Vinke. The firm is currently embroiled in an ongoing campaign to maximise the value of HSBC bank for all its shareholders. And by out-preparing HSBC, Knight Vinke continues to bring the bank to bear.

In September 2007, following thorough and detailed research into HSBC Holdings, the firm launched a public announcement of an activist campaign, calling on the bank to overhaul its management and strategy in a bid to boost returns. The Financial Times interviewed the firm and put the story on its front page. The firm then embarked on a sustained campaign, including advertisements in the financial press, roadshows and interviews, in order to help people understand their main findings.

“Knight Vinke manages money for some of the largest, most sophisticated investors in the world,” says Trenchard. “They invest in Knight Vinke to identify and prove inefficiencies in large companies. The firm uses forensic analysis, due diligence and a combination of shareholder and stakeholder engagement techniques in order to activate change for its stakeholders. The campaign was never about being maliciously negative toward HSBC. On the contrary, the firm wanted to maximise the value of HSBC for all its shareholders. Valuation had been constrained as a result of the issues identified.”

Although HSBC publicly addressed a number of the issues raised, there was a palpable lack of preparedness from their PR machine and a marked absence of clinical rebuttals. As Knight Vinke’s campaign gathered momentum, there was also a noticeable change in the language and tone of voice of HSBC’s  communication. This change was arguably brought about by Knight Vinke’s activism.

Research, research, research
Sometimes, market research will detect one side of a story winning through against the tide. For example,
in July 2007 the Manchester congestion charge scheme, which was planned to be ten times larger than its London equivalent, was put forward to the Department for Transport by the 10 local authorities of Greater Manchester. The local authorities expected the scheme to be pushed through with little resistance.

Manchester-based Communique PR, part of Burson Marsteller (BM), one of the largest PR agencies in the world, was approached about the project. However, on the findings of its market research, Communique noticed extensive public unrest. It created a business alliance and subsequently campaigned for a public referendum.

Despite a major ‘yes’ campaign backed by many of the area’s councils, a counter business alliance and wider non-government organisation campaign, many local politicians lined up to criticise the project. The  eferendum eventually closed with an 80% ‘no’ vote, which the councils passed the following week.

“This was a particularly important issue for the local community,” says Rachel Wood, director at Communique. “And it was essential to get thedata that backed up our opinions. As part of our campaign we carried out market research and set up a website with an online petition, from which we garnered more than 9,000 signatures. We had a core set of arguments all highlighting that the scheme proposed was a bad scheme for Manchester. The most important thing is to carry out rigorous research, understand the public sentiment and deliver the key messages at the right time.”

Leverage your argument
Some communication wars rumble on for many years, often until a unique opportunity presents itself for the dispute to be resolved. The lesson here? Timing is critical. 

Take the centuries-old dispute between Britain and Greece over the famous ancient carvings known as the Elgin Marbles. Greece says the fifth century treasures were stolen from the Parthenon in Athens in the 1800s; Britain argues they were legitimately rescued by the then British Ambassador, the Earl of Elgin. And this opinion held water because of the British Museum’s skilfull positioning. It has consistently stationed itself as a kind of a bastion for museums and galleries throughout the world, subtly creating a feeling of moral righteousness: if the Elgin marbles were returned and a precedent was set, what other artefacts would be deemed to have been looted?

In 2000, the Greek foreign minister, George Papandreou, once again called for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens, but said he was open to suggestions that Britain and Greece “share” ownership of the sculptures. However, later that year the dispute flared up again over the opening of the new-look British Museum after a £100 million transformation. The Greek ambassador to London refused to attend the ceremony, where the Queen officially unveiled the renovations, because it was due to be held in a room ousing the Elgin marbles.

In 2004, the Greek government renewed its appeal to the British government. Seeing London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics as a new window of opportunity, the Greeks suggested that if the British were more flexible about returning the stone sculptures to Athens, it could help the city gain Greece’s vote

In this instance, Greece’s timing was impeccable. But once again, Britain – and the marbles – refused to budge. But, as always, the correct course of action will only become apparent after carefully scoping out the lie of the land. Sometimes in a comms battle, Caine’s circumspection makes sense. But when the chips are down, it may make more sense to roll your sleeves up and enter the fray – just like Grasshopper at the end of every episode.