Also in this report:

– Reputation a growing factor in success: Properly cultivated, it can help organizations overcome public mistrust, cynicism p.25

– Bank of Montreal in the trust business p.26

– Canadian Tire evokes the past: Reputation as strong, reliable, caring company demands constant effort to maintain p.32

– IBM reinvents itself: Big Blue corporation uses PR to help shed image of lumbering giant p.32

– Ruth’s Chris beefs up steak house name

– CDI leverages founder’s assets p. 35

In the era of reputation management, public relations consultants are moving from the periphery to the inner sanctums of their corporate clients.

That, anyway, is how Julie Rusciolelli sees it.

Rusciolelli, vice-president and director of the technology practice with Toronto-based pr agency Cohn & Wolfe, says consultants are now brought in on the ground floor when new initiatives are in the works, rather than after the strategy and positioning have already been developed and the company is simply looking to issue a press release.

iSTAR Internet, she says, is a good example of a company that has embraced the concept of reputation management.

The Ottawa-based firm started working with Cohn & Wolfe last August, in an effort to avoid being lumped in with other Internet service providers in the public mind.

One of the first moves for istar was to position itself as an Internet ‘solutions’ provider, since its offerings to consumers and businesses include more than just a connection to the Internet.

Margo Langford, vice-president and general counsel for istar, says reputation management matters because the public is looking for businesses to demonstrate integrity and commitment to service.

‘Particularly in a market where there’s choice, they are going to choose [a company] whose values are similar to their own.’

As part of its reputation management program, istar is now in the process of defining its corporate values, Langford says. The goal is to develop a game plan to demonstrate the company’s commitment to honesty and integrity.

One of the first reputation management initiatives that istar developed, in conjunction with Cohn & Wolfe, was the Safety Net campaign – a program that arose from concerns about illegal materials on the Internet.

Last year, the company moved to block access by istar service users to some 35 newsgroups, most of which were child pornography discussion groups.

This move caused considerable furor. Langford was invited to speak about the issue at a meeting of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers – many of whose members were initially quite hostile to what they considered an infringement of free speech.

Langford explained that what is illegal for other media in Canada is also illegal on the Internet, and that Internet service providers could be subject to prosecution if they left illegal content on their systems. While many isps are small shops that might be willing to take the risk, istar, as a public company, could not afford to do so.

By the end of the meeting, Langford had been asked to chair the Association’s code of conduct committee.

Langford says it’s important for the industry to regulate itself, since the alternative would be government regulation and licensing.

As an ongoing initiative, the Safety Net campaign serves to further istar’s reputation as a solid corporate citizen. Langford has toured the country, appearing on radio and tv programs to explain how parents can monitor their children’s use of the Internet. She has also appeared before a special Liberal caucus session to outline istar’s position on regulatory issues and report on the industry’s efforts to regulate itself.

This stand against child pornography and other illegal materials has been a popular one for istar. Many visitors to its corporate Web site (www.istar.ca), are there to read the Safety Net page, which lists guidelines for safe Internet usage, and to download blocking software that allows parents to restrict their children from visiting certain sites.

Rusciolelli says that new subscribers often say they have chosen istar because of Safety Net, and that calls to the company’s 1-888 number surge after Langford’s radio and tv appearances.

In general, she says, companies that are serious about reputation management need to become a little more open with consumers, investors, analysts and the media.

The first step in implementing a reputation management program, she continues, is to put together a strategy for delivering the company’s message and for building its reputation with specific stakeholder groups.

Other key elements of reputation management include the development of risk-assessment and crisis-management plans.

Rusciolelli says that such plans are essential, but that they must be reviewed annually and revised to take into account new developments.