Right Idea-Wrong Approach
June 25, 2009Given the increasing expectations by employees to have a voice in company decisions thereby requiring a different level of engagement and information, why is it that major initiatives and strategies are often introduced like marketing campaigns? The result is an underwhelmed workforce and less than successful implementation of the new program. In our latest Memo to Management we explore this subject in some detail shining a light on what can be done to shift our thinking and improve organizational IQ.
Feeding the Beast
June 24, 2009In a media world with thinning staffs and smaller business news hole, the H1N1 flu outbreak has delivered a valuable reminder: It’s much tougher for businesses to get their messages across when a major news event occurs and dominates the media for weeks. To stand any chance of scoring coverage, corporate communicators must be more thoughtful than usual in determining how and when to communicate their stories. These realities emerged at a recent Edelman Chicago session with several representatives of local and national media who visited to talk about what they do. They represented local newspapers and TV and radio news shows; national newspapers and magazines, a TV talk show, bloggers and media freelancers. What they related about covering the H1N1 flu outbreak proved illuminating.
Rebuilding Corporate Reputations
June 23, 2009It’s becoming clearer and clearer how much the economic and financial turmoil has damaged corporate reputations. The 2009 Edelman Global Trust Barometer was the first survey to capture the injury early this year when it revealed the biggest drop in corporate reputation since the annual survey began a decade ago. Now the McKinley Quarterly has weighed in, citing Edelman’s trust barometer survey and other measures of reputation slippage. It also concludes that a company’s reputation matters more now than it has in decades.
Revving the Reputational Search Engines
June 23, 2009Digital search engines – not your official company or brand Web sites – are the new homepages. They have a global active reach of 85.9 percent of all users. And companies increasingly recognize that to get noticed by consumers in the right places and at the right time, they must develop aggressive search-engine visibility strategies. Now a new search-engine visibility discipline has emerged, and it sits squarely in the corporate communicator’s domain.
What the Graduates Heard
June 23, 2009Commencement speeches serve as a signpost. Every year, the messages mirror the issues confronting business and society. In 2008, for example, speakers conveyed the importance of fostering social responsibility; developing global perspective; building trust; recognizing the power of collaboration; and employing their imagination. This year, with the recession and job market as a backdrop, leadership proved the clear topic de jour – a subject that has special significance to the corporate communications world.