Communication is a risky business when society is concerned. An effective communication management with the society is essential when there is a risk concerning public health such as food safety. Careless and popular approach can easily end up with panic in the society. Or, not giving a proper attention to this sort of crisis may put the society in danger. In any case both society and food sector pay the price.

In Turkey (Turkish Republic), most of big food companies (Coca-Cola Icecek, Sodexho, Koc) have been provided with public relations services and communication consultancy by external PR consultant companies. It is most likely that each company has its own strategy to defeat any crisis that may occur. However, small and medium sized poultry product producing companies have no established corporate culture to communicate with public using internal PR facilities effectively and professionally. It is customary that company owners are also the PR decision makers (personal communication: Grup7 PR consultancy company). Some small scale crisis has shown how this sector was fragile in corporate communication terms and forced the companies to form a platform and seek for external PR consultancy to establish a proper and effective corporate communication with public. Below given is a success story of the Platform’s establishing an organizational and strategic communication by means of external PR assistance.

In 2005, Turkish poultry meat producers faced unexpectedly with avian influenza crisis, and sales and prices dropped by 50 and 40% respectively. In 2006, the sector was hit by the outbreak second time when 12 cases in human was recorded; 2,5 million birds were culled and 13,5 million YTL were spent. The Turkish government that appeared to be ignorant during the first hit took the necessary measures rapidly and effectively in the second outbreak. The government supported the industry and villagers in several ways (e.g. postponing taxes, paying villagers for their culled birds etc).

During the both crisis, Healthy Chicken Meat Platform (www.sagliklitavuk.org), formed by 18 firms (currently 19) accounting for 85% of chicken meat produced in Turkey, fought back using risk communications tools by:

Holding press conferences
Visiting media intensively
Launching awareness-raising campains
Sponsoring television programmes
Using informative newspaper advertising
Using well-trusted public figures (journalist Ugur DUNDAR)
High media coverage
Poster and leaflets

Among above actions, it is worth noticing that use of well-trusted journalist, Mr. Ugur DUNDAR, in the campaign had a positive impact on chicken sales while no significant impact of “poultry lunch” hosted for parliamentarians including the Prime Minister. In a way, this result has reflected the negative public opinion about the parliamentarians. Therefore, the Platform’s choice of well-trusted public figure rather than a politician to regain consumers’ trust shows how the Platform (organizations) is willing to express themselves to the public and consumers concerned.

It is clear that all these efforts were made to succeed to gain public trust trough corporate and risk communication since communication is a precondition to obtain the right of existence as the fourth critical factor along with labour, capital and technology (Kleijne, 1993:100). The above discussed case has proven that small and medium sized companies without having any proper corporate communication tools can only overcome big crisis only when they unite.

Key words: risk communication, external PR companies, avian influenza, Turkish poultry sector, public health

Bibliyography

Kleine, S. (1993). Marketing Communications and Public Relations. Integrated Communications more than an interface?. Procedings of the Second European Seminar for Teachers, Practitioners and Researchers, May 06-08, 1993, Prague, The Czech Republic. 290 pp.
De Balogh, K. and Sarkar, S. (2007). Effective communication: A Tool for Minimizing Disruptive Market Impacts-Some Preliminary Thoughts. www.fao.org/es/esc/common/ecg/109566_en_Effective_communication_DeBalogh.pdf (19 March 2007).
Personal Communication: Grup7 (external PR consultancy company). http://www.grup7.com.tr/english/index_fla.html (19 March 2007)