In 2015, amid a spate of atrocious corporate communication mistakes, a few things came to light: There’s a thin line between good communication and bad communication, and one wrong message — however well-intentioned it may be — can ruin the reputation of the brand involved.
Let’s take the example of Krispy Kreme, and it’s ill-advised decision to create the Krispy Kreme Klub event, which really affected the brand with its decision to have a tongue-in-cheek take on the Klu Klux Klan. The whole debacle was covered by USA Today, Fox News, and the Guardian. Social media exploded into a frenzy of activity with users posting images of KKK members with doughnuts photoshopped onto their faces.
Let’s also not forget Bloomingdale’s advert to Spike Your Bestfriend’s Eggnog When They’re Not Looking campaign, which seemed to promote date rape. Granted that these may be over-the-top examples for some, but it does show the extent to which communication can cause damage to a brand. In a day and age when the corporate landscape increasingly obeys the rules of a media-driven society, it pays to tread with caution.
So why the long harangue about PR blunders? Well, it’s merely to point at how difficult a task handling the corporate communications arm of a company can be. I had the rare pleasure of interviewing one of the trailblazers of the corporate communications field in Sri Lanka — Ms. Dinithi Somaratne who is Director Communications at The Kingsbury Hotel.
Perfection and attention to detail are such clichés, but clichés have a habit of ringing true. And in her case — all those clichés ring quite true. With a smile lighting up her face, she effortlessly took me on a journey that detailed the crafting and building of a brand that reeks of absolute excellence.
But was there ever a doubt? A doubt, that is, in The Kingsbury Hotel being anything less than excellent? After all it is the brainchild of Dammika Perera — a Lankan billionaire businessman with a visionary style that’s redolent of aesthetic class, which can be seen in every nook and cranny of The Kingsbury Hotel.
True to form, Dinithi, showed me the range of Bvlgari toileries that adorn all rooms at the The Kingsbury Hotel as an example of the quality standards they maintain. As The Kingsbury stand out and be head and shoulders above the rest it has indeed made this star-class property a formidable monolith in the hospitality industry.
With a many years under her belt working in the advertising field, Dinithi is well-versed in the formulating strategy to help steer a brand towards profitability. One would suppose that it’s this experience that helped her craft every aspect of The Kingsbury brand in-house under the guidance of that doyen of excellence — Dhammika Perera.
Seamlessly moving on from one task to the other, Dinithi went onto explain that she loves traveling (Amsterdam ranks quite high on the list!), enjoys her food, and — with a spark in her eyes — that she’s an unapologetic workaholic. It’s very seldom one would come across an individual in senior management who can conceptualise campaigns, art direct, write copy and still play a managerial role in corporate communications, public relations, sponsorships, events and formulation of marketing strategies; working both the right and left brains. Then only we got to know that she is the one who develops all the marketing communication material for The Kingsbury.
Mentioning Irwin Weerakkody who inspired her tremendously when she first cut her teeth in the field of advertising, she went on about how important it is to master your craft and to find one that makes you truly happy. One needs to be ‘formidable’ in their chosen career (Irwin’ s advice from the beginning) and Dinithi says you need to craft it in your own way to be better than the best. This is the best advice, she says, that she could give to the new generation of ambitious young women who desire to make it big in the corporate field.
Dressed with a sense of functionality and inimitability, Dinithi escorted me from the confines of her office downstairs for a cup of coffee. I couldn’t help but wonder how much of a fillip she could or would offer this brand she feels so passionate about. But it was apparent that with her effervescent personality filled to the brim with enthusiasm, I dared to see The Kingsbury Hotel through her eyes — a monument to hard work ethic, absolute passion, and complete innovation.