A FRAMEWORK FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Navigating The Populist Era with Intent

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POPULISM
POLARIZATION &
MOBILIZATION
UNCERTAINTY
& INSTABILITY
RISK &
OPPORTUNITY= = =

SOCIETAL AND ECONOMIC FEARS DRIVE POLARIZATION
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62% Concerned
27% Fearful
56% Concerned
25% Fearful
55% Concerned
28% Fearful
54% Concerned
28% Fearful
2017 Edelman Trust Barometer
53% of people believe the pace of change in business and industry is TOO FAST
CORRUPTION IMMIGRATION GLOBALIZATION
ERODING SOCIAL
VALUES
AUTOMATION TAKING
YOUR JOB AWAY
69% Concerned
40% Fearful

MEDIA REINFORCES VIEWPOINTS AND DEEPENS DIVIDES
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A NEW MEDIA SPECTRUM EMERGES ECHO CHAMBERS ELIMINATE COMPETING VIEWS

THE POPULATION TURNS TO INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE ACTIVISM
4
POSTS/
SHARES
ONLINE/SOCIAL
ATTACKS
LOBBYING
BOYCOTTS
WALKOUTS/
STRIKES
HACKS/
LEAKS
PROPERTY
DAMAGE
ACTS OF
VIOLENCE

WHAT MATTERS IS COMPLEX AND CONSTANTLY EVOLVING
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STAKEHOLDERS
• Internal Cross-Functional
Leadership Team
• Employees
• Customers
• Consumers
• Business Partners
• Policymakers
• Media/Online Influencers
• Online Activists and Trend
Setters
• Opinion Elites
• Shareholders/Investors
ISSUES
• Human Rights and
Social Equality
• Immigration
• Infrastructure
• Labor & Jobs
• Online Behavior and
Cyber Threats
• Natural Disasters
• Climate Change
• Privacy
• Supply Chain
• Trade
• Acts of Terror
• Criminal Justice
Systems and
Rehabilitation
• Education Reform
and Inequities
• Tax
• Manufacturing
• Women’s Health

IS THERE A RIGHT THING TO DO?
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• Do you aspire to be an activist brand or want to defend your license to operate? Or
maintain business as usual?
• How ready is your organization and leadership team to tackle tough issues? What
is your company’s desired end state?
• Do you know where your stakeholders stand on these issues? What your
employees expect? How either group sees your role?
• What could be the unintended consequences of action? Inaction?
• Who will criticize you if you do engage? If you don’t? How influential are they?

OBJECTIVE
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Effectively manage the online and offline conversation about your brand
and enterprise through intentional decision making and preparation:
• Internal alignment on intent and desired outcomes
• Replicable framework to navigate risks
• Issues prioritization mapping by impact
• Bespoke engagement plans to dynamic issues and risks
• Go-forward process and protocols

ELIMINATING THE GUESSWORK:
A ROADMAP FOR NAVIGATING THE POPULIST ECOSYSTEM
Collect feedback from multi-
disciplinary leaders and a
communications content audit
to understand the industry and
business inside and out.
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Gauge the opinions of key
audiences on issues facing
the company and how they
would react to your
potential actions.
In a workshop format, we
consider the information we
have gathered, assess risks,
prioritize issues and align on
a path forward to the
desired impact.
LEADERSHIP AND BUSINESS AUDIT AUDIENCE PERCEPTION ANALYSIS ENGAGEMENT WORKSHOP

• Defining your role: lead, participate
or monitor/watch
• Understanding your audience
• Refining your message
• Preparing your messengers
• Setting boundaries and degree of
commitment
• Determining timing
• Pressure testing the approach
• Developing a channel strategy
• Activating advocates, employees
and partners
• Ongoing monitoring and intelligence
gathering
• Measuring program impact
• Proactive communications
programming strategy session (CCO)
• Brand protect/promote strategy
session (CMO)
OUTPUTS CUSTOMIZED FOR EACH EFFORT
Working draft coming out of the
workshop to address tough issues:
• Decision making framework
• Prioritized issues list
• Scenario plans for 2-3 issues (with
guidance to create others)
• Measurement approach
• Teams, roles and remits
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PLAYBOOK VERSION 1.0 CONSULTING AND ONGOING ACTIVATION

TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT:
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MICHAEL STEWART
Global Vice Chairman
Edelman
Michael.Stewart@edelman.com
BEN BOYD
President, Practices & Sectors
Edelman
Ben.Boyd@edelman.com
HARLAN LOEB
Global Chair, Crisis & Risk
Edelman
Harlan.Loeb@edelman.com
ROB REHG
President, Washington, DC
Edelman
Rob.Rehg@edelman.com
ANTOINE HARARY
Global Managing Director
Edelman Intelligence
Antoine.Harary@edelman.com
AMY HEMINGWAY
Executive Vice President
Edelman
Amy.Hemingway@edelman.com
KARI BUTCHER
Executive Vice President
Edelman Intelligence
Kari.Butcher@edelman.com
JACLYN ANDERSON
Senior Vice President, Crisis & Risk
Edelman
Rob.Rehg@edelman.com