Digital Public Relations and Social Sustainability: A Case of Le Minerale’s Disposable Gallons
Article information
Abstract
Le Minerale’s production of disposable water gallons has generated news in the national online media, strengthening public opinion about Le Minerale products polluting the environment. As Indonesian people are very concerned about environmental issues, Le Minerale responds to this situation immediately and appropriately. This study aims to analyze the case on how Le Minerale's public relations strategy is implemented in digital media platforms to respond the social sustainability issue of disposable gallons. To meet the aim of this case study, relevant texts or documentary sources were analyzed from Le Minerale's official website and social media which can be publicly accessed. In addition, the researchers gathered articles about Le Minerale and also online petitions. The collected data is then analyzed using the data analysis procedure proposed by Daymon and Holloway. Findings of this research found that Le Minerale has been successfully addressed the issue by implementing the PR strategy model framework from Ronald D. Smith's. This company proves himself as a competitive brand by using proactive strategy to build positive opinion with a coalition approach, activism, and philanthropy. Smith’s PR strategy model has also been used in Le Minerale’s communication strategy that focuses on publicity, spreading newsworthy information, and implementing communication transparency throughout digital media. Therefore, Le Minerale has successfully maintained the company’s image through the effective digital public relations strategy they do in addressing the issue and promote their commitment to social sustainability.
Introduction
Technological developments have a positive impact on the bottled drinking water (AMDK) industry in Indonesia. With Indonesia's growing population, various brands of bottled water have also emerged (Mardatilah and Perdana, 2018). The Nielsen survey in 2016 estimated that there were at least 500 small to large scale companies engaged in the bottled drinking water industry. One of them is Le Minerale which in the survey controlled 3.5% of the market (Ramadhan, 2018).
Le Minerale is a brand of bottled water produced by PT Tirta Fresindo Jaya. This brand began to tighten competition in the bottled drinking water market in 2015. In five years, Le Minerale has continued to improve the quality of its products in order to compete in the market. One of them is by using disposable gallons made of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. This PET plastic is generally used as a bottled water packaging material, but it is not recommended to use it more than once (Alodokter, 2021). Meanwhile in Indonesia, drinking water gallon bottles of 19 liter (hereafter called gallons) are commonly used many times. However, chemists claim that the raw material used to make plastic drinking water gallons, which is reused frequently, can be harmful to one's health (Azanella, 2020). This fact may encourage Le Minerale to innovate using disposable gallons so that the quality of the drinking water it produces is maintained.
Unfortunately, Le Minerale's innovation was met with negative response. At the end of 2020, two high school students who observe environmental issues initiated an online petition on the Change.org site. This petition demands Le Minerale to discontinue its disposable gallons of drinking water because they are thought to pollute the environment. This petition attracted the attention of the mass media and the public. Viewed on the Change.org site, more than fifty thousand netizens have expressed their support for this petition (Helfia, n.d). This generates news in the national digital media, strengthening public opinion about Le Minerale products as it is polluting the environment. Le Minerale needs to respond to this situation immediately and appropriately in order to maintain a positive brand image.
As the market leader in bottled drinking water, the situation that arises as a result of the petition will undoubtedly jeopardize Le Minerale's brand image. Customers are more likely to abandon brands with a bad reputation or bad image. A recent study conducted on 100 bottled water consumers stated that brand image is still one of the factors that consumers consider when buying drinking water products (Indrianto, 2021). The results of their study indicate that products with a negative brand image are less competitive in the market and are more likely to be abandoned by buyers.
Le Minerale must address the issue of disposable gallons as soon as possible so that it does not negatively impact public opinion and attitudes. Furthermore, environmental issues have always been a hotly debated topic in Indonesia. A survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in 2016-2020 reported that people's conversations on Twitter about natural resource depletion increased from 30 million to 50 million in five years. Meanwhile, the EIU reported that searches for climate change topics on Google increased by 53% in Indonesia between 2016 and 2020 (DW.COM, 2021). This data shows that the Indonesian people are very concerned about environmental issues as is it related to social sustainability.
The environmental problems that afflicted Le Minerale are not the first to occur in the business world. Previously, the paper raw material industry company PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper Tbk (IKPP) Perawang was accused of polluting the environment and inciting environmentalists to protest (Safitri, Kemala, and Aslati, 2019). The protest rally generated enough buzz in the digital media to capture the public's attention. To address this issue, the company takes a public relations approach that prioritizes open and transparent communication with environmental activists who hold protest rallies and the media that covers them.
Public relations (PR) has indeed become a strategy that is frequently employed when a company is confronted with an issue that has the potential to harm the company's image. When faced with food safety issues in 2017, Pizza Hut implemented a public relations strategy that included customer mediation. This public relations strategy was implemented in response to the issue of food products that were labeled unsanitary and viral in online media, affecting the number of visitors. Following the issue management effort, the number of visitors to Pizza Hut locations was said to be gradually increasing (Kustiawati et al., 2019).
The concept of PR offers various strategies to maintain the company's image. However, even though the issues are the same, each company's implementation of public relations strategies differs. As of the digital era occurs, PR strategy can be implemented in various media platforms. Therefore, the case experienced by Le Minerale is important to study. This study aims to analyze the case on how Le Minerale's public relations strategy is implemented in digital media platforms to respond the social sustainability issue of disposable gallons. This study employs Ronald D. Smith's PR strategy model, which has also been used to analyze company's communication and branding strategy (Lestari et al., 2017). Smith PR strategy model suggests that public relations are managed through four processes, which are research, strategy, tactics, and evaluation.
Research Method
This study focuses on the PR strategy in digital media platforms undertaken by Le Minerale in responding to the social sustainable issue of disposable gallons. Researchers used qualitative research methods in the case study of Le Minerale. Qualitative methods are used so that researchers can explore problems and events in a social phenomenon (Loreta and Shihab, 2020). In this research, qualitative descriptive method is applied to answer the research question systematically. Qualitative descriptive method relies on the searching of techniques, data collection, data classification, and conclusions (Cresswell and Clark, 2017).
To meet the aim of this case study, the researchers analyzed relevant texts or documentary sources which consists of the products of social communication produced by individuals or certain parties for their personal utilization and public as well (Daymon and Holloway, 2011). In total, there were twenty documents analyzed in the research. The documents are sourced from Le Minerale's official website, social media, and online petition website which can be accessed openly by the public in the period of January to December 2021. Other related news articles utilized in this research are taken from authentic and credible national online news sites.
According to Daymon and Holloway (2011), the character of an authentic and credible document is a document that is clear by the author and ownership, complete, and reliable. This is important in a study that analyzes documents because the authenticity of the document will determine the quality of the research results. For this reason, researchers refer to news articles indexed on Google News. Google News has now become one of the digital platforms for finding accurate information and has also been used as a reference to validate the accuracy of information (Mangal and Sharma, 2021).
The collected data is then analyzed using the data analysis procedure proposed by Daymon and Holloway (2011). The procedure starts with transcribing data and organizing data to crosscheck collected data systematically. Then, the data is coded to reduce the overwhelming amount of data before the researchers finally interpret the data. All coded data gathered is then classified using Ronald D. Smith's PR strategy model framework, which includes formative research, strategy, tactics, and evaluation.
Results and Discussion
Public relations strategy is a series of processes carried out to achieve a public relations goal. Public Relations Society of America defines public relations as a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics (Smith, 2017). Smith (2005, as cited in Lestari et al., 2017) suggests that public relations strategies are managed through four phases, i.e., research, strategy, tactics, and evaluation.
The first phase of strategic public relations focuses on research. The research is conducted by gathering facts and analyzing situations to identify the public relations problems, both in the internal organization and externally. The second phase deals with determining goals and formulating the suitable reactive and proactive strategies. Reactive strategy can be done by addressing the related issues within the organizations. Meanwhile the proactive strategies are the further steps taken in addressing the issues. Implemented actions and its public communication are the form of proactive strategy. The third phase is the practical implementation of those strategies which is called tactics. Tactics work through communication tools and create visible elements of the communication plan, such as websites, social media contents, conferences, and events. The final phase of strategic public relations deals with assessment and evaluation. This phase enables the planner to determine which the stated objectives have been met and evaluate the unaccomplished plans (Smith, 2017).
In the following section, the researchers describe and review the strategies used by Le Minerale in responding to the social sustainability issue of disposable gallons.
1. Le Minerale as a competitive brand
Before delving deeper into Le Minerale's strategy, the researchers conducted an analysis to gain a better understanding of the company's situation and position. Based on the findings of the analysis, the researchers gained an understanding of Le Minerale as a relatively new and competitive brand. The Le Minerale brand first appeared in Indonesia in 2015 by positioning itself as a quality bottled drinking water that offers a distinct freshness and slightly sweet taste. In the midst of intense competition in the bottled drinking water market, Le Minerale targets middle and upper-middle class consumers, particularly those concerned with the quality of bottled drinking water (Bachdar, 2017). Le Minerale's products are priced between IDR 3,200 and IDR 3,500 per 600 ml bottle and between IDR 15,000 and IDR 19,000 per 15-liter gallon (Syafina, 2018; Tokopedia, n.d.).
Le Minerale is one of the superior products of a leading food and beverage company, PT Mayora Indah, Tbk. In 2020, the company recorded an increase in local sales of 16.0% to Rp 4.4 trillion when compared to the same first quarter period in 2020 (Jatnika, 2021). However, the researchers did not find the source of the document that explicitly stated how many sales figures were for Le Minerale.
The positive growth of Le Minerale products cannot be separated from the brand image and public trust. A study conducted on 87 students in Jakarta in 2017 concluded that a positive brand image greatly influences consumer decisions to buy Le Minerale products (Ronitua et al., 2017). This demonstrates that the positive sales trend of Le Minerale products is supported by the positive brand image of Le Minerale.
Public trust in the quality of Le Minerale is good. The results of a study by Gracia and Tamburian (2020) show that consumers are aware and believe that Le Minerale has quality products. They concluded this after conducting a survey of 99 people who participated in the "Let's Drink For Healthy" campaign held by Le Minerale in 2019.
The public has confidence in the quality of Le Minerale drinking water. This is evidenced by the acceptance of Le Minerale as a drinking water provider at the COVID-19 Emergency Hospital (RSDC) Wisma Atlet. The amount of drinking water provided reaches 65,000 gallons or the equivalent of 975,000 liters of Le Minerale water (Haryanto, 2021). This reinforces Le Minerale's positioning as having high-quality drinking water products because it is consumed by medical officers who are concerned about hygiene and the quality of the minerals in the water they drink. In addition, Le Minerale was previously trusted to be a sponsor in the 2018 national basketball league (IBL) competition (Wulandari, 2018).
In 2021, Le Minerale focused on a campaign to raise awareness about how to properly dispose of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic waste in beverage packaging. This campaign aims to strengthen Le Minerale's position as a highquality, environmentally friendly bottled water brand. To raise awareness of this issue, they collaborate with environmental communities and organizations such as the Indonesian Plastic Recycling Association (ADUPI) and the Indonesian Scavengers Association (IPI) (Dirgantoro, 2021).
2. Public Relations Strategy of Le Minerale in Response to the Issue of Disposable Gallons Rejection
According to Smith (2005), there are two ways to respond to an issue, i.e., a proactive strategy and a reactive strategy (in Lestari et al., 2017). A proactive strategy is one that has been planned and is intended to interact with the community, whereas a reactive strategy is one that is used to respond to an issue.
Regarding the issue of disposable PET plastic gallons, Le Minerale uses a reactive strategy called pre-buttal strategy. When bad news is unavoidable, a pre-buttal strategy must be implemented (Smith, 2017). Le Minerale refutes the notion that using disposable gallons will increase waste. This was conveyed by Le Minerale's Marketing Manager, Febri Hutama, in an interview published on the Kompas.com website. He stated that the PET plastic used in the Le Minerale gallons is safe to use, environmentally friendly due to its ease of recycling, and economically valuable to scavengers. In addition, he stated that recycled PET plastic can be made into a variety of goods that can be exported. During the interview, Febri emphasized Le Minerale's commitment to developing an ecosystem for waste management in Indonesia. He acknowledged that Le Minerale had worked with the waste recycling community and the government to address waste issues.
Furthermore, Le Minerale uses a proactive strategy to build positive opinion with a coalition approach, activism, and philanthropy. Coalition is a formal cooperative relationship between two or more parties to achieve their respective goals (Smith, 2017). In order to address the issue of rejecting disposable gallons, Le Minerale has formed a coalition with community associations and communities such as IPI, ADUPI, PlasticPay, the Indonesian Waste Entrepreneurs Association (APSI), Bank Sampah (Waste Bank), and Lingkar Daur Ulang (Recycling Circle). This coalition is relevant to the growing issue of disposable gallons because all parties in the coalition have the same concern for PET plastic waste. The researchers argue that Le Minerale formed this coalition in order to create common interests and gain third-party support for the use of disposable gallons. On the one hand, Le Minerale wants to fight the issue of rejecting disposable gallons by educating the public about plastic waste management and the circular economy. On the other hand, these communities and associations focus on advanced plastic waste management. Thus, this coalition with communities and community organizations benefits both parties.
Another benefit that Le Minerale derives from this coalition is the positive influence of a credible source. Because these organizations and communities are made up of people with influence and credibility in the waste management field, their knowledge and experience can help dispel negative perceptions of disposable PET plastic gallons. They can become news magnets for the media and become Le Minerale's unofficial spokesperson who can give positive opinions about PET plastic. For example, in the Beritasatu.com article, the Chairperson of IPI explained how PET plastic can be recycled and is in accordance with the circular economy process promoted by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Situmorang, 2020). The same thing was also done by APSI to respond to the issue of online petitions rejecting disposable plastic gallons (Nordiansyah, 2021).
After a petition against disposable gallons went viral on social media, Le Minerale reaffirmed its position as a high-quality, environmentally friendly product. Le Minerale launched an activism activity in the form of a National Circular Economic Movement campaign in February 2021, which is expected to be a solution to Indonesia's waste problem, particularly plastic waste. The general goal of this movement is to educate the public about the benefits of sorting plastic waste for recycling. In particular, this movement targets an increase in the plastic collection rate and recycling rate by 20 percent (Purba, 2021). As a result, the movement has collected about a thousand tons of PET plastic waste in four months.
This movement also received a positive response from the Director General of Waste, Garbage and B3 Management of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Usman, 2021). This movement is thought to be in line with the government's vision of achieving a waste-free Indonesia by 2025 by reducing 30 percent and handling 70 percent of waste reduction. Previously, Le Minerale had also built a circular economy movement on Komodo Island in the third quarter of 2020 (Damaledo, 2020). With this movement, Le Minerale and the government have a good relationship and a common vision that has the opportunity to create collaborations in the future.
In addition, Le Minerale supports the "Indonesian Waste Alms Movement" (Gradasai) which was initiated by the Environmental and Natural Resources Breeding Institute (LPLH and SDA) of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). This movement was also initiated by the National Coordination Team for Marine Debris Management (TKN PSL) under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. This movement is in line with the Le Minerale’s circular economy campaign in encouraging people to collect their PET plastic waste at participating mosques. As the initiator, MUI welcomes and appreciates Le Minerale as a leading company in supporting waste management to prevent environmental damage (Wulandari, 2021). This partnership also strengthens the position of Le Minerale brand of halal and high-quality products.
Philanthropy is another strategy that Le Minerale employs. Philanthropy is the company's contribution to society as an appreciation for the company's success. This activity is an effort to build relationships with the community (Smith, 2017). The researchers found that Le Minerale carried out two philanthropic activities. First, Le Minerale provided assistance to a 75-year-old scavenger whose viral news was reported by the Instagram account @partners_in_goodness. In the news it is told that this scavenger lives only by scavenging, and eats and drinks only modestly. Le Minerale provided cash assistance, daily necessities, and equipment to support the scavenger's work (Prambadi, 2021). As a result, this action received positive appreciation from the public and was covered in national online media.
Furthermore, as previously explained, Le Minerale donated 65,000 gallons of Le Minerale for medical workers at the Wisma Atlit Jakarta COVID-19 Emergency Hospital (Haryanto, 2021). In addition, Le Minerale also donated drinking water at COVID-19 vaccination locations. Although not directly related to the circular economy movement, the researchers contend that this CSR activity strengthens Le Minerale's positive position and image as quality drinking water because its products are approved for consumption in a medical environment. The visibility of Le Minerale products in these locations can make people associate the product with health. In other words, Le Minerale can be associated as a healthy bottled water product.
3. Le Minerale's Digital Communication Strategy in Responding to the Issue of Disposable Gallons
Another strategy that is part of public relations is a communication strategy. According to Smith (2017), the communication strategy consists of publicity, newsworthy information, news creation, news pegs, and transparent communication. To reduce the issue of disposable PET plastic gallons, Le Minerale uses three strategies, i.e., publicity, spreading newsworthy information, and implementing communication transparency. This is done to form a positive opinion about the PET plastic used to make Le Minerale gallons. The researchers discovered that the majority of the publicity that Le Minerale received focused on Le Minerale's efforts in the circular economy movement in digital media platforms. For examples are how traders gain profits from used gallons of Le Minerale (Haryanto, 2021), disposable gallon materials and their effects, and Le Minerale's synergy with PET plastic waste management communities (Situmorang, 2020). Search on Google News returns 1040 articles with the keyword "Le Minerale gallon" as of August 25, 2021 at 21.00 WIB, with 45 of the 50 article titles on the first five pages of search results being positive.
Furthermore, Le Minerale disseminated newsworthy information by positioning themselves as an expert. In the Indonesia Green Summit 2021 forum, the Sustainability Director of Le Minerale became one of the speakers and promoted Le Minerale's efforts to implement the circular economy movement (Budoyo, 2021). The audience in this event came from various circles, such as academics, employees of BUMN and private sector, associations, and non-governmental organizations. This is an excellent opportunity for Le Minerale to persuade the audience of the company's commitment to producing environmentally friendly and economically valuable products.
Regarding the issue of disposable gallons, Le Minerale uses its website to educate consumers about the advantages of disposable gallons. Le Minerale website showcases the advantages and reasons why consumers should consider disposable gallons. Le Minerale explicitly mentions the benefits of its gallon products on this page, which are always new, free of harmful BPA, and have anti-seepage screw caps to give the impression of a sterile gallon. This page also features a picture of a consumer, a young pregnant mother holding her stomach, and a glass of water in front of a dispenser with a gallon of Le Minerale attached. Le Minerale affixed the following paragraph which appears to be a consumer testimonial.
For daily consumption at home, I choose gallon packaging which is always new and not re-washed. With an airtight and tightly sealed screw cap protection, the water inside is kept clean and safe. Because it is made of BPA-free material triangle code no. 1, it is safe for all my family members to consume (Le Minerale, n.d.).
The researchers contend that this message is a strong enough reason for consumers to prioritize quality and sterile drinking water. With the visualization of pregnant young mothers, they form a perception that Le Minerale drinking water is good for pregnant women.
In addition to showcasing the advantages of disposable gallons, Le Minerale uses a website with the sub-domain recyclepoint.leminerale.com to educate consumers about the process of recycling PET plastic gallons and bottles (Le Minerale, n.d.). This website statically educates consumers on how PET plastic can be used. This sub-domain website describes seven types of plastic, including PET plastic used as gallon packaging and Le Minerale bottles. Le Minerale mentions PET plastic as the type of plastic that is most easily recycled and has high economic value. The recycling process and the recycling results are displayed visually. The community is also invited to participate in recycling used gallons and PET bottles by taking them to the recycling locations provided on the map or by calling a contact number if they have difficulty reaching the recycling location.
Le Minerale's website displays a variety of products, including superior features, product types, collections of articles and educational videos, archives, activity schedules (events), and contact information. In addition, the Le Minerale website also publishes newsworthy articles through the leminerale.com website. These articles educate consumers about the importance of consuming quality mineral water. However, there were no articles that mentioned PET plastic. The articles on the Le Minerale website have not been updated enough, whereas the website can actually be the main means for the public to explore Le Minerale products.
On social media, the Instagram account @le_mineraleid prioritizes informative content about the importance of consuming mineral water for health. Le Minerale's Instagram account is dominated by content in the form of healthy living tips, which are always accompanied by the hashtags #LeMineraleHealthCircle and #AyoMinumUntukSehat. Images of the Le Minerale bottle packaging are often shown in these posts. However, the researchers did not find any informative content that explicitly explains the economic value of gallons of PET plastic.
The promotion of PET plastic gallons is carried out through product placement through influencers, artists, parenting Instagram accounts, and well-known radio Instagram accounts, using the hashtag #gallonnewnormal with a total hashtag upload of 500+ uploads. The featured characters include dr. Reisya Broto Asmoro, Hotman Paris, @jak101fm, and @theasianparent_id. Endorsement videos through artists and influencers started in May 2020 and were collected as one in the "GalonLeMinerale" highlights on Instagram @le_mineraleid.
Comments about Le Minerale gallons can be found in several posts. The majority of the comments are in the form of queries about the availability of gallons in specific cities, testimonials, and queries about how to dispose of gallons. Some negative comments regarding PET plastic gallons were also found in some posts, which expressed disapproval about disposable plastic gallons. The Le Minerale Instagram admin's response explained the reasons for the creation of disposable plastic gallons and how to solve the problem with an explanation of plastic recycling.
With all the aforementioned findings above, the researchers concluded that Le Minerale has successfully addressed the disposable gallon issue. The indicator of successful is determined by the positive impression of the public. Their strategy of countering this environmental issue is by using external spokespersons from community partners. The influence of credible community partners becomes very significant in shaping the society positive impression. These community partners have trustworthy experience and competence, which can counteract negative perceptions occurs (Lolita, 2022).
Researchers believe that Le Minerale’s efforts in building an environmentally-friendly brand image through its circular economy campaign also give big contribution to create a positive public perception. Le Minerale’positioning as a brand that is responsible for plastic waste through initiatives like recycle points and partnerships with plastic recycling companies has proven to be quite effective in influencing purchasing decisions (Anggraini and Syahrinullah, 2023). The research results demonstrate that consumers are not influenced by the negative issues surrounding Le Minerale.
The environmentally-friendly brand promotion carried out by Le Minerale through this campaign is part of a green marketing strategy. Green marketing is recognized as strategic efforts undertaken by companies to provide environmentallyfriendly products and services to target consumers to create an incentive for purchasing a product. Research findings have proven that green marketing has an impact on the purchasing decisions of Le Minerale products (Tusyaidah et al., 2023). Therefore, Le Minerale needs to engage in environmentally-conceptualized activities and enhance education about the circular economy movement to increase public participation in the circular economy initiative.
Conclusion and Recommendations
This research has elaborated the public relations strategy undertaken by Le Minerale in responding to the issue of disposable gallons accusations of being environmentally unfriendly in increasing the plastic pollution. The PR strategy is implemented in on-site programs and through digital media platforms. By employing the PR strategy model framework from Ronald D. Smith's (2005) which consist of four phases: research, strategy, tactics, and evaluation, this research found that Le Minerale has been successfully addressed the issue that their product is considered polluting the environment. This company proves himself as a competitive brand by using proactive strategy to build positive opinion with a coalition approach, activism, and philanthropy. The company uses a pre-buttal strategy by emphasizing the company's commitment to waste management in Indonesia and its collaboration with the waste recycling community and the government. To build positive opinion, Le Minerale formed a coalition with community associations and organizations which brings benefits both parties by educating the public about plastic waste management and the circular economy. Le Minerale reaffirmed its position as a high-quality, environmentally friendly product by conducting a national campaign and donating huge number of gallons to hospital and vaccination places during the COVID-19 pandemic. This CSR activity strengthens Le Minerale's positive position and image as a healthy bottled water product.
Furthermore, Smith’s PR strategy model has also been used to analyze Le Minerale’s communication strategy that focuses on publicity, spreading newsworthy information, and implementing communication transparency. By examining Le Minerale’s social media communications and promotional campaigns, this study shed light on the company's efforts to mitigate the negative environmental perceptions associated with their product. Therefore, Le Minerale has successfully maintained the company’s image through the effective public relations strategy they do in addressing the current social issue and promote their commitment to social sustainability.
The significance of this research lies in its potential to provide insights into how corporations in the beverage industry can strategically manage and respond to social and environmental challenges. In order to build the competitive brand image in the society, PR practitioners, who currently seek for the best PR strategy to address the social sustainability issue, can implement the strategies found in this research. The aforementioned research result can be beneficial to be applied by PR practitioners in real practice of their own company cases. By analyzing a real-life case, this study offers valuable lessons and recommendations for other companies who are facing similar issues and seeking to adopt more sustainable practices. Specifically, the corporate PR practitioners can do these following steps of PR strategy: (1) conduct deep research to examine the happening issue and to look at the core problems. (2) After knowing the core problems occur, the next step is formulating the suitable strategies in addressing the issue. (3) Communicate the determined strategies to the related parties and public. This is important to build a positive image that your company is aware of this issue and plan to do something to overcome the issue. (4) The next step is implementing the planned strategies, or so-called tactics, through various elements of communication such as social media, websites, conferences, and events. (5) The last step is assessing and evaluating the implemented tactics whether they have addressed the issue or not.
Every research has its own limitation to be developed. This research was conducted based on the analysis of document interpretation as its limitation. Further research in the future is expected to explore more about the public perception toward the circular economy campaign conducted by Le Minerale.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our special thanks to Angelina Natasha for her contribution to the completion of this research paper. She is a Communication graduate of President University who has helped in gathering the relevant and reliable resources in the process of data collection of this research.