Dear media colleagues,
Dear CEM (Council for Electronic Media) members,
Dear representatives of national and regional institutions in the Republic of Bulgaria,
Sofia, 24 March, 2020
In times of unprecedented crisis, the business will not only pay a high price, but we will count on it to bear its high public responsibility.
The responsible business supports the extraordinary measures implemented by our government, but also initiates its own projects and works actively to help combat COVID-19. Good examples given by businesses only for the last few days: donations for the purchase of respirators, equipment and supplies for hospitals that are at the forefront of the fight against the virus; protective equipment for law enforcement officers; setting up a fund for fundind actions at regional level to support medical facilities; donation of personal care products; opening access to services or increasing the volume of services for free use by the customers so that they can stay at home, as required by the state of emergency and more.
Among the names of the fast-growing list are A1 Bulgaria, Alcomet, America for Bulgaria, Vivacom, Gurmenitsa, Kaufland, Lidl, Citibank, Tesy, Telenor Bulgaria, UniCredit Bulbank, Fantastico, Ficosota, Chaos Group and others. The list is growing and we’re probably missing some names. The important thing here is that these companies do all this unconditionally and their efforts deserve recognition. All these actions taken by the businesses in the state of emergency are an additional burden on their current budgets, but they are doing it so that all of us together to be able to overcome the growing crisis. Moreover, they are aware that the post-crisis period will be difficult for all of us – institutions, business, media, NGOs – all.
Therefore, we think that in a state of emergency, it is time to rethink some of our current attitudes. For years, businesses have been active corporate citizens and as such the names of socially responsible companies deserve to be known. The names of these organizations should be made public and their stories should serve as an example and inspiration. Today, they are doing more than usual because they are working outside their core business and are doing it in the name of tackling the most serious health and economic crisis globally.
Our request to you is to mention the names of these companies in news, broadcasts and other formats in the electronic media. This gives the so far missing information value to the viewers and inspires other businesses. This is quality assistance for every Bulgarian citizen in difficult times.
It is known that mentioning of company names does not contradict the provisions of the Radio and Television Act and European directives. In order to facilitate this process and the assessment of the media, the CEM Guidelines on prohibited subliminal commercial messages and the positioning of products as a form of commercial communication of May 2012 have also been adopted. The admissibility of mentioning of goods, services, names, trademarks or activities of a manufacturer (in the form of speech or image) when intended for information purposes is clear.
We find that hiding company names today is a significant barrier to citizens’ awareness and commitment, as well as to creating a sense of community cohesion at this difficult time. We believe that one of the functions of the media, in addition to providing verified and factually accurate information and educating its audience, is to build trust in institutions and in private business (to which they largely belong). Private business in Bulgaria – large, medium, small – is the main source of national wealth and prosperity, it pushes the economy, innovation and education forward. Its absence in the business-themed news stream reporting of significant success or doing good creates an information deficit. Therefore, we believe that now is the time to replace this practice with responsible media coverage, in which the public interest and awareness are a priority.
We would like to thank the media which have already been clearly mentioning the names of corporate donors. But we expect feedback from those who still have concerns about doing so. In fact, we will be extremely happy if, in the coming days, we begin to hear more and more names of our and worldwide donor companies in your news. Moreover, we will enjoy this normal practice to continue after the termination of the health emergency in our country.
Yours faithfully:
Iliana Zaharieva, Chairperson of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Public Relations Asociation (BPRA)
Radoslav Nedelchev, Chairman of the Management Board of IAB Bulgaria
Maria Gergova, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Association of PR Agencies (BAPRA)
Nenad Lozovic, Chairman of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Association of Communications Agencies (BACA)
Radosvet Radev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA)
Irina Yordanova, Director of Public Policy and Projects of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIB)
Miglena Uzunova-Tsekova, Chairperson of the Bulgarian Association for People Management (BAPM)
Boryana Manolova, Ph.D./Eng., Chairperson of the Management Board of the Council of the Women in the Business in Bulgaria (CWBB)
Mihaela Maleeva, Executive Director of ASKO
Dr. Vanya Babanin, Head of the Bulgarian Branch of the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD)
Lyubomir Blatski, Chairman of the Association of PR professionals to the Union of Bulgarian Journalists (UBJ)
Daniel Kiryakov, Chairman of the Professional Ethics Committee at the Bulgarian Public Relations Asociation (BPRA)
