Good communicators

When Ports of Stockholm picked up the 2011 Espo Award for societal integration for its “Port Vision 2015” entry it was undoubtedly thrilled with the comment that its entry was described as “nothing less than a manual of best practice for port communication campaigns”.

The AIVP, which oversees various port initiatives under the global network of global port cities umbrella, was particularly interested in the quality and scope of the approach adopted by Ports of Stockholm, which it said encompassed a multi-form and multi-faceted strategy addressing a wide variety of targets.

These made the needs and development strategy of the port understood and accepted, while at the same bringing to the attention of local residents spatial and environmental integration measures it had undertaken.

Ports of Stockholm Group, which is responsible for a number of ports and terminals spread throughout the Swedish capital, is perhaps therefore in a good position to advise other ports on communication strategies.

Camilla Strümpel, the port’s head of communications, says there are two key elements involved in spreading the word: “You have to start with your colleagues and then make sure that you are prepared to be open and to listen,” she says.

However, it is very much a case of ‘horses for courses’, because an initiative that might work very well for, say, the main port of Stockholm, which is surrounded by residential areas, might not be suitable for outer lying harbours or terminals located in smaller towns close to the city, which is a scenario faced by Ports of Stockholm.

“Irrespective of the location of our facilities, explaining why the port is important – and listening to what residents find good and bad – is something that we consider to be very important. We view this as being part of what we do,” she says.

Asked how easy is it to find common ground on controversial issues, Ms Strümpel notes: “Our goal is not to make everybody love us, but rather to explain why the port is important. We are always open about what we do and keep everybody informed about our plans, as well as being prepared to listen to question and provide appropriate answers.”

She adds that Ports of Stockholm along with its customers tries to tackle issues such as noise reduction and black and grey water as positively as possible.

As to whether external lobby groups have ever prevented the port from implementing what it thought to be necessary measures, Ms Strümpel stresses that, when developing port areas, ensuring that a thorough legal process is adhered to is vital, as is dialogue with residents and groups representing different interests.

The Stockholm Royal Seaport area, which is where many of Stockholm’s port areas are located, is also one of Sweden’s most dynamic urban development projects. Rebuilding work at Värtahamnen to bring the port into line to meet future needs is one of the first stages in this new port district development. It will be a part of Stockholm where new residents, offices and the port will grow side by side and, at the same time, be one of the world’s most sustainable areas. It forms part of the so called Clinton Climate Initiative and will require both port authority and users to adapt to new technology.

“This is one example of how we try to think and work ahead along with the city, customers and residents. We take questions regarding sustainability seriously and think that being in the front line in this area is important to the business in various ways.”

As for practical measures taken by the port in its communication activities, Ms Strümpel stresses that the most important is openness. To ensure this, the communications team makes use of a variety of different media: consultation meetings, exhibitions, the port’s website, local media, mail outs, printed information, Facebook, Twitter and so on.

“Above all, we have professional, competent and concerned colleagues that take dialogue with residents seriously. I think that is the key to being able to sustain a dialogue with local residents,” she says.

Ms Strümpel nevertheless concedes that it is not always easy to measure the success or not of individual activities. However, surveys are undertaken yearly to see what the residents think about the port and what is taking place there.

Overall, identifying the target group, she adds, is the best way of finding which communication channels work best.