Year of divergent corporate fortunes

The children of Multiplex Group Ltd founder John Roberts opted to take the cash and run this year, while Wesfarmers Ltd managing director Richard Goyder decided to embark on Australia’s biggest corporate shopping trip – a $22 billion takeover of the Coles Group Ltd.

The two strategies have had remarkably different impacts on each of their brands, according to a survey of Western Australia’s leading public relations firms.

Wesfarmers has yet again taken the title of WA’s best corporate brand while Multiplex was voted the state’s worst performing corporate brand.

According to one communications insider, the decision by Andrew and Tim Roberts and their sister, Denby Macgregor, to sell their controlling stake to Canadian asset management group Brookfield Asset Management Inc for $1.1 billion compounded the negative sentiment created by the cost blow-outs at Multiplex’s Wembley Stadium project in London.

“The death of John Roberts, the Wembley arena debacle and now the takeover by a Canadian company mean the Multiplex brand is not just battered, but may soon disappear,” said another senior communications expert.

“The company that built most of Perth’s city skyline faces an uncertain future.”

In contrast, Wesfarmers has continued to power on, with managing director Richard Goyder stamping his authority on the business in the most authoritative fashion.

Communications professionals cite the company’s consistency in delivering its message to the market, and solid management, as behind its strong brand performance, in corporate terms.

Mills Wilson director Marie Mills said Wesfarmers was a solid player.

“They are consistent with their message and they are not a brand that is necessarily in your face; but when you see them you know exactly what to expect from them,” she said.

“They match their operational behaviour with their brand.”

Professional Public Relations general manager Janine Pittaway said initiatives such as art sponsorship helped Wesfarmers’ define its brand values.

“The brand has remained strong post-Michael Chaney,” she said.

Wesfarmers’ subsidiary Bunnings has also benefited from the Coles takeover.

Its retailing prowess has been put in the spotlight and has been viewed as providing Wesfarmers with the necessary credentials to manage Australia’s largest supermarket chain.

While Australia’s largest takeover has had a great impact on Wesfarmers and Bunnings, a failed management buyout has brought the opposite for Alinta Ltd.

Alinta was ranked WA’s third best corporate brand in WA Business News’ 2006 branding survey.

A year later, the brand has been voted WA’s third most underachieving corporate brand, highlighting that the failed management buyout continues to take its toll on the brand.

“Alinta was once the darling of the stock market and has now been punished badly for very poor corporate governance with the equity buyout plan by the board,” one senior PR executive said.

“This is a classic case study of how greed and a lack of transparency damaged a once-strong brand built on goodwill.”

Woodside Petroleum Ltd was another company to endure its fair share of negative publicity this year. There was a stoush with Premier Alan Carpenter over gas supplies and, of course, Don Voelte’s headline grabbing not-so-friendly emails that were sent to an employee.

But the public relations industry thinks the oil and gas giant has done a good job managing its brand, despite the headwinds.

It would seem inaction is even worse than bad headlines.

Alcoa Inc has been ranked as WA’s second most underachieving brand.

The business is arguably as big as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto internationally and it manages its massive alumina operations out of Western Australia, yet its presence is dwarfed by other resource companies.

“Alcoa seem to have gone to ground in recent times, particularly from a brand presence perspective,” one PR executive commented. “There seems to have been less communications about their community and sponsorship programs as well.”

Another said environmental and community issues had damaged Alcoa’s reputation, but that said this was starting to improve.