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Communica has added to its bench-strength, and its ability to meet client needs, with a number of recent staff additions. The additions reflect the rebounding economy, and the addition (and pending addition) of a number of new projects for us.

In Calgary we have added Michelle Harries as Senior Counsel. Michelle has more than 20 years experience in communications, as a journalist, a corporate communicator, and a consultant. Her experience spans oil and gas (including oil sands, which is an important part of Communica’s current client work) and heavy industry, politics, non-profit and environmental communications.

We have also brought Laurie MacDonald on board as a full-time Data-Management Specialist. Data management (and specifically data entry) has increasingly become a core competency and service pillar for Communica, supporting files for clients such as TransAlta, Enbridge, Northern Gateway and Encana.  Laurie will oversee the consistency of our overall approach and service delivery for this growing part of Communica’s suite of service offerings.

We have also strengthened our B.C. capabilities with the addition of two Senior Associates, who currently have their own consulting companies, but who will also be available to assist Communica clients, and bring their extensive knowledge and experience about the B.C. market to Communica. Kevin Brown, of Kevin Brown Communications in Prince George, brings 27 years of media and public relations experience to the table. Moss Giasson, of Montane Environmental Services in Victoria, brings 10 years of experience in environmental management, project supervision, regulatory process and public engagement.  Both have agreed to join the Communica team as Senior Associates.

“The addition of these four knowledgeable and talented individuals significantly strengthens Communica’s ability to provide quality and timely service to our expanding client base,” said Communica CEO Doug Ford. “We welcome them and look forward to their contributions as Communica enters a period of growth in Western Canada.”

Doug also took the opportunity to acknowledge the recent departure of Alan Roth, his partner in Communica since 2002. “We will miss Alan,” he said, “and his many contributions to the growth of the company.  We will also miss him as a friend. But the fact he is now at Enbridge Northern Gateway (a Communica client) means we do keep in touch.  And I think it is a tribute to the strength of the organization that he helped build that we have been able to continue to provide top service to all our clients, even with his departure, and to grow the company. With the new talent we have just added, we really do have an exciting future.”

Risk communications sage Peter Sandman has produced some thoughtful analysis and theory, but the notion of public “outrage” and what triggers it is one of his most useful concepts.

 As Sandman himself acknowledges, in most cases the word “outrage” is an extreme way to describe stakeholders’ feelings. Usually, “concern” or “uncertainty” would be better terminology. Still, when Communica evaluates the potential level of stakeholder acceptance or opposition to a new project, Sandman’s list of “Public Outrage Components” is a useful tool. We have found that a valuable situation analysis can be arrived at by formulating the outrage factors as questions and then generating stakeholders’ most likely answers to them. Weighting and scoring the answers for relative significance provides us even more insight.

 For example, answering questions such as “Is the risk coerced or voluntary?” and “Is the risk controlled by others?” flags a key stakeholder worry that can arise when a new industrial development of some kind is being proposed nearby. That worry has to do with a sense of powerlessness and a concern that the voice of a single individual isn’t going to count for much in any project forum. When property value impacts or issues related to noise and traffic seem to be beyond one’s control, it is not difficult to imagine that local stakeholders might start to have a problem with a proposed new project.

 Another pair of good questions to ask and answer can be “Is the risk exotic or familiar?” and “Are the potential consequences of the risk dreaded or not dreaded?” In most communities, the prospect of a radioactive waste storage facility coming to the area will be both exotic and greatly dreaded. On the other hand, a new water line project will most likely be seen as a familiar risk with unthreatening consequences: a ruptured water pipeline might cause some damage but no one is likely to die.

 When outrage factors like these are looked at together with project magnitude, current land use and the types and numbers of stakeholders affected, a sense of the expected local reaction begins to form. Coupled with concerns about “untrustworthy” information sources (i.e. the project proponent rather than a friend or neighbour) and an unresponsive communications process – two more Sandman outrage factors – it becomes apparent that unless a well-designed and responsive consultation program is put in place from the start, the project is likely to sail into stormy waters in very short order. This kind of analysis creates a convincing forecast for the client, and usually definite agreement about the public consultation program scope.

Is your company crisis communications plan ready to go? 

Toyota is probably learning some hard lessons about crisis communications at the moment. It’s unfortunate, but it appears that the Japanese proverb, “The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour,” has become relevant at Toyota. The company has lately been doing all the right things, but it seemed uncertain and slow off the mark. Every day seemed to bring us more news about global recall and repair programs, not the steps being taken to fix the problem and make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

A crisis represents a loss of control, however brief. For that defined time period, all a company can control is its own response to the crisis. How well or how poorly the company manages itself as it reasserts control – while communicating effectively with its stakeholders and the media – can define corporate reputation long after the crisis is over.   continue reading »

We are pleased to announce that on January 8^th, Communica and Triton Environmental signed a Memorandum of Understanding with respect to a strategic alliance between our two firms. This is a great opportunity for Communica and our clients, as we partner with a firm that has 20 years of environmental expertise and experience with a range projects throughout western Canada. 

This 2010 agreement is designed to develop a framework of cooperation between Communica and Triton. As we provide complementary services to similar clients, there is a benefit to collaborating on business development, project work and related activities.  By drawing on the broad range of professional services offered by the respective firms, Triton and Communica can make a stronger service offering to existing and prospective clients.    continue reading »

This Christmas marks Communica’s one year anniversary in Vancouver and we are celebrating!

Keep your party shoes out and put your New Year’s resolutions on hold, because the festivities will continue into January. Communica has teamed up with Triton Environmental Consultants to co-host a cocktail reception on January 19, 2010 during the Association for Mineral Exploration BC’s Roundup 2010 conference.

For 27 years, Roundup has brought together individuals and organizations in a variety of professions relating to the global minerals exploration and mining sectors. Roundup offers excellent opportunities to learn, network, and meet up with competitors, colleagues and old friends. As members of AME BC, Communica encourages you to visit Roundup’s website for more details of the conference proceedings. 

Communica’s events always prove to be great fun, where people meet and network over refreshments and appetizers. This year our reception venue is in Vancouver’s beautiful Westin Bayshore Hotel, and we’re bringing giveaways and a few prizes too!

If you didn’t receive an invitation and are interested in attending, please contact Kelsey Borland at kborland@communica.ca.

Unconventional natural gas production from Northeast British Columbia represents a unique opportunity for BC to further diversify its economy and establish itself as a significant, independent player in Canada’s natural gas industry. The reserves in the ground are enormous by any standard and recent technological developments have made those reserves accessible in a way that is attracting major interest from industry.

British Columbia currently produces 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day – less than a quarter of rival Alberta's output. But the potential in the Horn River Shale formation located in Northeast BC alone is huge. Companies such as Apache, EOG and EnCana Corp. believe Horn River itself could eventually produce more than four billion cubic feet a day, similar to what is generated at a giant field in Texas called the Barnett Shale. continue reading »

The energy development sector has seen a flurry of activity over the past few years, generating a tremendous amount of media attention in the areas of oil sands development, unconventional natural gas, pipeline infrastructure, power transmission, forestry, agriculture and land use.  To help you keep on top of current events, Communica is pleased to introduce the 'Energy News Digest', bringing you the latest news of interest from the world of energy development. continue reading »