62 ways to improve your press releases
There are many voices calling for the death of the press release (e.g. Die Press Release Die or Amy Gahran who wants to put them out of their misery). What is needed is not execution but reform. Here are my tips and suggestions for doing it:
Preparation
Have something interesting to say. A press release implies something newsworthy. A press release that isn’t is another form of spam. Don’t cry wolf when there isn’t one.
Remember your audience, forget your client. A press release that your client loves is not as useful as a press release a journalist (and her editor) loves. Make sure your press release will help sell the story and get you coverage.
Yes, journalists are cynical and lazy. Deal with it. Be uncynical. Work harder. Don’t assume an adversarial position. Don’t stoop to their level. (See The top ten lies of PR companies.) Trust me; you’ll get back what you put in.
Look at bad pitches. Studying bad pitches is a great way to learn about what mistakes to avoid. Sign up for some press release services. Also check out the Bad Pitch blog.
Read the blogs and magazines of the people you are trying to reach. This is the best way to understand what they are looking for in a story.
Employ a professional writer. Some PRs are good writers, many are ex-journalists. But it makes sense to use someone who knows the business. Just because everyone can write, it doesn’t follow that everyone can write well.
Use surveys sparingly. Surveys are the traditional standby for a PR company in want of news. They can be effective but I think the public and journalists are getting increasingly sceptical. See my post: Surveys, uses and abuses for writers and PRs.
Write it well
Be brief. Antoine de Saint-Exupery said it best: “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Most press releases would be more readable, more credible and more memorable if they were about 25-30% shorter.
Get to the point. Most press releases start with a paragraph of pious throat-clearing about how great the company is. You need to open strong and get straight to the point.
Killer lede. As with any article, the first sentence is the most important. You should aim to put as much work into the first sentence as into the whole of the rest of the press release. It needs to convince a busy, cynical journalist to read on.
Eliminate words. You can cut out about a third of the copy in a typical press release and it will read better and more convincingly. This is sound advice from Strunk and White, among others.
Be scannable. Press releases are very temporary documents. Readers don’t give them a lot of time because they are not, usually, a high priority. This is a lot like websites and one of the key lessons of writing for the web is to be scannable. That means using bullet points, sidebars, pull quotes, bold, underlining, lines and other page structure to make it easy to scan the page rather than read it from start to finish.
Tell a story. Human beings tell stories. They don’t go to the coffee house and share press releases or soundbites. Donald Murray explains what a good story is and how to get it in Writing to Deadline (also available as a ten-minute summary).
Construct an argument. As an alternative to the story-telling approach, construct a compelling argument using The Pyramid Principle: state a problem then explain how your product or service solves it. (See Barbara Minto’s website.) My history tutor at Oxford used to say ‘take your argument and drive it like Ayrton Senna.’
Create a sense of place. Was the product invented somewhere? Did you make an important announcement in an interesting building? Try, somehow, to anchor the press release in a real place. It will ground it and add credibility because most press releases seem to take place in the corporate ether.
Reveal personality. Again, it will enhance your credibility and make the press release more authentic if you can capture a sense of real people. What are they like? How do they talk? Do they have any experience, hobbies, interests etc. that relate to the subject of the press release? Details matter. Three or four words that give life to a name will animate a whole press release.
Echo your client’s tone of voice. If they don’t have one, help them find one.
Relax. Relax! For heaven’s sake won’t you people RELAX! Press releases don’t have to sound like a lawyer’s letter or the small print of an insurance contract. Write like you speak. Imagine explaining the subject to an intelligent friend.
Use everyday words and phrases. This is important. Somehow, people think that corporations have a dull, wordy, formal voice. Why? Their employees don’t. Use the language of everyday speech. So, do, get, make, build rather than develop, obtain, maximise, construct.
Understate rather than hype. This needs a touch of humour and good writing but it can be very effective. I loved that Virgin ad that said “British Airways don’t give a shiatsu.” As well as being a cheeky attack on a rival, it was a cunning way to mention the free massages in Upper Class without actually mentioning them. Another good example is Ronseal, the varnish company that advertises its products by saying “it does exactly what it says on the tin.”
Pick short, apposite quotes. The tendency in press releases is to quote whole paragraphs (usually made up) from VPs. Much better, I think to quote three or four words but pick really good words. Look for quotes that include metaphors, comparison, individuality, character and which get to the heart of the matter. If you, as a writer, can say something better than the quote you are using, don’t use a quote.
Eliminate hype. For an example of how hype words (e.g. prestigious, leading etc.) don’t work, read the worst press release ever. Readers don’t just discount hype words when they read them, they assume the opposite of what you said. Hype words are road blocks on the journey to credibility.
Eliminate jargon. Jargon is a vocabulary used within a specific company or industry. It is often meaningless to outsiders, including journalists. If your gadget can do 48 circumfludels a second, you had better explain what this means in English and why it matters. Don’t assume anything about what the reader understands. The same applies to little-known product names. Even Google, with its massive brand awareness, had to change Froogle to Products because people didn’t understand what it did.
Eliminate acronyms. Acronyms and abbreviations are another kind of jargon. They assume that the reader knows something. People often use jargon and acronyms to sound big and clever, without realising that it actually has the opposite effect on most readers.
Avoid buzzwords. These are phrases that mean more to you than they do to the reader. See: Buzzwords from hell, The Global War on ‘Solutions’, What is a ’solution’? and Ban the word ‘Leverage’.
Throw in the occasional firework. A one-sentence paragraph. A killer quote. A spectacular analogy. A powerful statistic. An appropriate use of an everyday expression. Always try to add a little fizz and ginger to everything you write.
Close with a kicker. Go out with a bang. The last sentence needs to be thought-provoking and memorable. It needs about half the work of the opening sentence. A typical magazine way to end a piece is with a memorable quote from an objective source, some kind of paradox or a tiny detail that illuminates the whole story. A short, pithy summary of the whole thing would do as well.
Be direct. Don’t use the passive voice (the mat was sat on by the cat).
Be human. Used sparingly and in the right context, the pronoun ‘we’ can be very powerful and authentic, as well as helping you avoid the passive.
Box out the key points. Have a sidebar titled ‘If you read nothing else, read this’ and summarise the story in three very short bullet points. Yes, you’d like people to read the whole case study, but only 10 percent will do that. Wouldn’t be great if another 30 percent at least knew something about the contents.
Write a Google-friendly headline. Write a headline that summarises the story (not what the PR wants you to think about it). See: Write press release headlines that make sense.
Check then double-check
Don’t beat about the bush. Don’t hedge your bets by overqualifying sentences (e.g. “many companies find they have different kinds of problems with certain email viruses”). Be more assertive: “Email viruses hit companies hard.”
Use a spell checker. D’oh! But it happens. I sometimes see final draft press releases for my clients that have two or three typos.
Use a grammar checker.
Use readability stats. Use the built-in tools in Microsoft Word. (For instructions on switching them on, see Microsoft Word Readability Statistics.) Aim for under 50 in the Flesch reading ease, under 8 for the grade level and no passive sentences. It’s hard but worth it.
Check facts. Especially names and titles. Most magazines are obsessive about this and you should do the same for a press release. It’s worth keeping a separate document tracking all the sources for the different information in the copy so that you can go back and check who said what.
Use Bullfighter. It’s a free download that measures readability and warns you if you’re using jargon.
Employ a proofreader. Read an interview with my own, Sarah Bee. (Incidentally, she doesn’t check my blog - mistakes here are my own!)
Redact hidden content. Word hides a lot of version control changes, including copy you would prefer journalists not to see. You can eliminate it easily by following this advice from the US National Security Agency (PDF). Read my post, Unintended press release disclosures, for an example of what happens when you don’t.
Friday, 28 December 2007
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
Looking inward: How internal branding and communications affect cultural change
In seeking to transform an organization, consultants should be commissioned to create strategies and media for internal stakeholders, as well as for external audiences. Using several informative case studies, William Faust and Beverly Bethge discuss the scope of this type of undertaking and demonstrate the benefits of such inward-focused brand initiatives in the arenas of human resources, organizational development, training, and operations.
When someone mentions the final frontier, we probably think of space exploration. However, many marine biologists would argue that there is a lot more to be learned-and gained-by looking inward and exploring the world's oceans. If we extend this analogy to corporate branding, there is a similar argument to be made that too much attention is spent developing and implementing external messages and customer-facing touch-points, without an equal emphasis on the internal customer-employees.
It is a tough sell, for several reasons. First, companies cannot exist without customers, and if there is any audience that needs to understand and indeed accept a brand, it's the target market. Second, most branding initiatives and their corresponding budgets are controlled by the company's marketing function-whose sole reason for existing is to reach the customer. Finally, it is difficult to calculate a return on investment for communicating more effectively with internal audiences.
Yet it strikes us as odd that the number-one complaint we hear with respect to major branding initiatives-and we all know how many there have been-in the past five years is their inability to effect real cultural change. This article is not meant to imply that internal communications is the sole answer to aligning employees with brand strategy. Other issues, like training, leadership, and organizational development, play an even greater role in this transformation and are beyond the scope of this discussion. However, we do believe that by applying brand design principles to internal communications, large organizations can accelerate the process of changing employee attitudes and, ultimately, employee behavior.
Just how important are internal communications, and how do we distinguish good communications from bad? In a recent study conducted by The Empower Group, a global human resource consultancy, a major European retailer surveyed more than 24,000 employees to quantify the link between communication and issues such as motivation, loyalty, and productivity. One finding examined the link between company-wide communications about such things as vision and mission with employee behavior. The study showed a .60 linkage coefficient between the transparency of communication (visibility) and employees' overall feelings about the company. The net conclusions of the study were twofold:
1. Positive communication creates a highly motivated staff.
2. Good communication has a positive impact on business.
But there's that question again: Just what is good communication? This is no less easy to answer than "What is good design?" We feel the two are linked, and when we use the same kind of criteria to evaluate internal communications that we do for external communications, we see marked improvement in loyalty, morale, performance, and alignment of behavior with corporate brand strategy.
Defining a reasonable scopePerhaps the biggest road block to developing a design-driven approach to branded internal communications is defining a realistic scope and identifying those internal touch-points that matter most in terms of aligning behavior with brand strategy. After all, when one adds up all the emails, memos, manuals, information packets, meetings, workshops, presentations, training materials, intranets, and the like, the volume of communication elements can be staggering. Too many companies atrophy under the sheer weight of these communications and opt to create a single, one-time internal branding campaign to herald the arrival of the new brand strategy.
This type of internal rollout is both appropriate and necessary when rebranding a large organization. However, it should be viewed as only the beginning, in the same way that a new ad campaign might be the first and most visible external manifestation of the new brand in the marketplace. Unfortunately, too many companies stop there-satisfied with a few one-shot internal tools, such as a brand identity manual, corresponding brand manifesto, and perhaps even the business cards, caps, t-shirts, and other promotional items that seem so necessary at the time but quickly become meaningless if not supported by a consistent and lasting employee communications plan. Internal communications must take on the brand's architecture, values, image, and voice in a pervasive and lasting way. However, as with most things, there are some tools that will be more effective than others.
Also reminiscent of an external branding campaign, internal communications simply need to be prioritized in terms of content, audience, frequency, and other variables in order to arrive at an approach that maximizes impact and return on investment. In our experience, there is no single formula to assigning these priorities; rather, it varies from company to company and depends upon the situation at hand. For example, a company experiencing a merger that will affect brand strategy will have very different needs from one that is simply undergoing an evolutionary rebranding initiative. However, several categories of communication are common to most firms and should be considered (figure 1).
We would like to address each of these areas in turn and discuss specific tactics and considerations through the presentation of several recent case studies.
Human resource communications
The Human Resource function is often the first interaction an employee has with a company. This can come through recruiting materials, onboarding tools, and orientation sessions. While it's true that the HR function in large organizations must occasionally deliver negative information, it is more often the bearer of good news as it attempts to reassure employees that they have made the right decision, and that the company is looking out for their best interests. Moreover, it is typically charged with explaining all the benefits and perquisites a company has to offer-training, health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off. Yet few companies leverage this opportunity to engage employees by communicating with the same voice they use for customer communications. Why not show employees the same love we offer customers? Why not reflect the same brand values and the same brand image? Several human resource directors interviewed for this article stated that when they redesigned their benefits materials to be more engaging and understandable-even though they had not changed the content-employees perceived that the benefits had improved.
One company that understands this is Limited Brands, the multi-billion-dollar retail company better known by some of its individual brand names, such as Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Express. In the mid-1990s, Limited Brands (then organized as two public companies-Limited Inc. and Intimate Brands) began to shift to a shared-services model for common functions such as human resources, technology, purchasing, real estate, and finance. The shared-services concept was new to the Limited culture, which historically espoused divisional autonomy and even encouraged competition among its brands for everything from employees to customers. It was clear that communicating this new policy would need to be carefully orchestrated so that employees would perceive a net improvement or, at worst, status quo. This would be challenging, given that an internal audit had revealed several potential hurdles. First, no two divisions had the same benefits plan, and indeed, some employees would have to compromise under the new plan. Second, in many cases the marketing departments were actually responsible for creating the benefits manuals and, not surprisingly, many of them were out of date, raising legal concerns.
Limited launched the new policy via a unique communications tool called The Guide(TM). At its essence, The Guide was simply a comprehensive catalog of all the consolidated employee benefits. But it was created using the metaphor of a fashion magazine-oversized, glossy, with full-page ads from each retail division so that individual brand identities could be showcased. Since no clear corporate brand language existed at the time for the parent company, The Guide was a visual and verbal amalgamation of the dozen or so retail brands to which it spoke, a paper mall aimed at a young, primarily female audience, most of whom were not located at a corporate office but rather in stores across the country. In addition, The Guide was launched like a new fashion magazine, with an internal teaser campaign that included postcards, posters, and other mailings to each associate (figures 2 and 3).
The Guide was one of the most successful internal communications campaigns in company history. For the next several years, it took on such a strong role in company communications that associates referred to it as if it were a brand unto itself. Supplements to The Guide were branded with the same verbal and visual elements so that they would be linked to the original in a strong way.
In mid-2002, The Guide was due for reprinting, and it was relaunched with some interesting changes. The two parent companies had since merged again, forming a new entity, Limited Brands, and a conscious corporate brand identity had been created for this public company. Thus version two of The Guide took on the new corporate brand image, which was still fashion-oriented but much more sophisticated and refined. Individual brands still had presence, but in a more subtle way. In addition, The Guide was redesigned in a smaller format to fit in file folders and briefcases, though it retained its "magazine" feel. (Some described it as a shift from Women's Wear Daily [a tabloid format] to Vogue.) Separate color-coded versions were created for store, corporate, and part-time distribution-center associates.
The second version of The Guide was launched as successfully as the first and met with tremendous employee acceptance. More important, it communicated to employees using the same image and voice the company used to communicate with customers and shareholders, helping to communicate the brand values of a large and diverse corporation (figures 4 and 5).
Organizational developmentThe second area in which brand design can affect internal communications is corporate change. By this, we refer primarily to mergers, acquisitions, sweeping policy changes, and large restructurings and downsizings. While it's easy to espouse the philosophy that all change is good, most broad change initiatives in large corporations are viewed with trepidation and anxiety by employees, regardless of the potential for a negative outcome-real or imagined. Communication is key. Without continuous and carefully orchestrated communications before, during, and after a company-wide shift, employees will create their own reality-generally negative-and will spread it via word of mouth throughout the organization. Managers can ill afford to ignore the fact that a communications void will be filled with rumors of layoffs, firings, loss of benefits, or other disasters-even the company's imminent demise.
There has been a tremendous amount of study and documentation regarding communications and corporate change, and it is beyond the scope of this discussion to review that literature in detail. Our focus is on situations in which a corporate branding initiative and some major policy change or restructuring intersect for the common good. One such situation occurred at Bank One Corporation in 1999. At the time, Bank One was the fifth-largest bank holding company in the United States, with more than 2,000 retail branches. It was in the midst of a company-wide rebranding program, as well as a pending merger with like-sized First Chicago NBD Bank that if approved would result in an organization with more than 90,000 employees. As regulators were reviewing the merger, Bank One's Information Technology group was busy preparing for many changes associated with the upcoming Y2K event. One such initiative was a planned standardization of all computer desktop configurations. This program would affect more than 30,000 employees by changing the software, and in some cases hardware, with which they worked on a daily basis.
The information technology managers responsible for the desktop standardization program were already beginning to communicate with those employees who would be affected. The process would occur over a six-month period that included logistics planning, training, change-out, and troubleshooting. However, the IT managers had not yet learned about the corporate branding initiative. Without realizing it, they were using vocabulary that was inconsistent with any tenets of the new brand strategy, which was focused on approachability and simple communications. Words and phrases like deployment teams, conversion windows, feedback loops, and compliance made the program sound more like a military operation than something that was going to help employees communicate more efficiently across the company.
Bank One seized the moment and brought together managers from marketing-who owned the branding program-and IT. After a review of both programs, it was determined that the IT initiative would take on the visual image and tone of voice of Bank One's emerging brand strategy and that furthermore, this would serve as a demonstration project prior to launch. It was also determined that the IT project could benefit from a unifying theme-one that conveyed a positive attitude about the change, without seeming trite. After a brainstorming session, the metaphor of a road trip was adopted as the theme, and the program was renamed Route One (figure 6). All communications materials took on a look and feel that was derived from Bank One's new brand toolkit but that also reinforced the highways and byways theme. Schedules became route maps; memos became postcards from the road, and training materials became Ride Guides and Starter Kits (figure 7). The campaign included posters, internal mailings, and a trouble-shooting guide that was designed to look like a car owner's manual.
From the printed materials to the Route One shirts worn by the banks' technicians, every detail was crafted to reflect the theme, without being overdone or gratuitous. Over approximately a six-month period, more than 30,000 computers and related equipment were converted-without the major cultural backlash that could have resulted from the company's mandatory change.
Training
Another area of opportunity in which to link branding with internal communications is training. While this area too has been intensely studied and well documented, it is an ideal communications channel within large organizations to leverage brand values and brand identity-for several reasons. First, training is typically interpreted as a positive thing. The goal is for people to enhance their skills and knowledge and somehow better themselves and their position in the company. Second, training generally occurs in smaller groups, where communications are more intimate and controllable. And third, studies show that when training content is conveyed through engaging and interactive learning tools, it is retained longer and in more depth than when more conventional means, such as lectures, are used. Injecting corporate branding principles in training tools and techniques will not only reinforce the brand values but is also likely to make the training more effective and meaningful.
In late 2002, QSP-a division of Reader's Digest Association and a leader in school fundraising programs-identified the need to enhance its sales training and orientation program to reinforce the company's vision, create an image that was engaging, and reassure new sales associates that QSP was a great career choice. All of QSP's sales associates-more than 400 people-are dispersed across the country in order to be close to the schools that make up their customer base. As such, their most intimate connection to the company vision and message is through regional meetings and periodic training sessions.
This case study is interesting because QSP's training organization made a conscious decision not to extend the visual aspects of its outward brand image to the internal communications program. Instead, they developed a new visual language that leveraged the company's brand values and external tone of voice. This decision was driven by several factors. First, the market-facing brand image for QSP was somewhat fragmented visually, and certain decisions about brand architecture and visual brand language were in flux due to recent acquisitions and the addition of new product lines. Second, QSP's external brand language reflected almost exclusively its core customer base-schools representing all age groups. Thus a new, more sophisticated visual language was necessary to communicate to the sales force, whose ages ranged from 25 to 55. School imagery needed to be incorporated, but not in an overwhelming manner.
To tie elements of the training program together, a campaign theme was developed with a corresponding visual and verbal language. The theme-Surround Yourself-was a reference to the tools, techniques, and products with which QSP surrounded its sales force. A 360-degree symbol (figure 8) was created to identify all forms of training communications, from the flagship Training Toolkit to all the printed and electronic correspondence originating from the training department (figure 9). These primary identifiers were supported by a color palette, type font, graphic layout and grid guidelines, and standards for photography. Thus, while the campaign was not considered a stand-alone brand by the company, it was implemented and managed like one. As of this writing, the program was just being rolled out, so no results are available, but QSP management was optimistic about the impact it would have in creating a deeper connection between a decentralized sales force and the overall company mission and vision.
OperationsOur last example was launched in early 2003. Big Lots Inc. is the largest closeout retailer in the United States, with more than 1,100 stores nationwide. Closeout retailing is a unique variant of discount retailing, in which companies specialize in discontinued merchandise and liquidation. Shopping at a closeout store can be a bargain but also a treasure hunt, because merchandise is often inconsistent from week to week. Like many retailers, Big Lots grew organically and through acquisition, and by 2001 it found itself on the verge of becoming a national brand with stores from coast to coast. However, it actually operated under several different names and identities, so the company decided to embark on a company-wide initiative to create a single master brand-Big Lots-and a clear positioning. This strategy was announced externally with a new national advertising campaign and a prototype store design. The brand identity was updated, and one of the strongest identity elements became the color orange, which was only an accent in the logo but took on greater significance in things like signage and store decor.
The brand strategy was communicated internally through a few one-time communications, including a video, regional manager meetings, and the company-wide newsletter. But Big Lots saw an opportunity to leverage their Associate Handbook, a fairly dry, operations-oriented manual, to carry the new brand message in an engaging way. This booklet was distributed to every company employee, and it represented an opportunity to combine basic policy information with the new brand image. It was viewed as a key tool to shift associate attitudes and give them a sense of belonging to something unique. Big Lots management felt that this shift would reinforce behavior changes that were being introduced via new training and incentive programs.
The new handbook was designed to incorporate a unifying theme: Look at the World Through Orange-Colored Glasses. This variant on the old saying leveraged the color orange in yet another way and was played out not only though introductory copy that reinforced the brand strategy but also through engaging photos of real staff, real executives, and real customers playfully wearing paper glasses with orange lenses (figure 10). The remainder of the handbook leveraged orange as a design element and used inspirational call-outs to balance the sometimes dry, factual text (figure 11). The handbook was successfully launched to all employees and by all accounts has been very successful in extending the internal branding campaign.
The design consultant's roleWhether you are a design consultant or a corporate design manager, how many times have you heard someone say the following about internal communications: "That looks too nice, people will think we spent a lot of money on it?" This is a common sentiment. The sad and ironic implication here is that large companies care only about customers and would not consider investing time, money, or even much thought in improving how they speak to their most important asset: people. While it's true that this is a pervasive view, the preceding case studies show that some companies are finding value in taking a marketing-oriented approach to communicating internally by applying branding and design thinking. And we are certain that there are many other recent examples that simply have not been documented because of the confidential nature of the information or other valid reasons. Design consultants are in an ideal position to help corporate design and communications managers plead their case. They might also be able to debunk several myths about internal communications:
Myth 1: Employees don't careWhy would this be the case? Employees are people, just like customers. They have emotions and want to be valued. They want to be recognized. Every human resources department knows this, but typically they are not linked to the people in their company who know how to build brands and communicate with customers.
Myth 2: Good design is expensiveWe all know that this does not have to be the case. If good design is the objective from the beginning, it should cost no more than... well, bad design. Good design is consistent branding and simple communications. It is well-conceived information design with a theme, not expensive paper and four-color printing.
Myth 3: It sends a bad message to shareholdersThat we care about our employees? Most shareholders will respect and invest in any company that can align its employees' behavior with strategy. They also might forgo a glossy annual report in favor of better employee communications that would lead to improved performance and shareholder value.
When someone mentions the final frontier, we probably think of space exploration. However, many marine biologists would argue that there is a lot more to be learned-and gained-by looking inward and exploring the world's oceans. If we extend this analogy to corporate branding, there is a similar argument to be made that too much attention is spent developing and implementing external messages and customer-facing touch-points, without an equal emphasis on the internal customer-employees.
It is a tough sell, for several reasons. First, companies cannot exist without customers, and if there is any audience that needs to understand and indeed accept a brand, it's the target market. Second, most branding initiatives and their corresponding budgets are controlled by the company's marketing function-whose sole reason for existing is to reach the customer. Finally, it is difficult to calculate a return on investment for communicating more effectively with internal audiences.
Yet it strikes us as odd that the number-one complaint we hear with respect to major branding initiatives-and we all know how many there have been-in the past five years is their inability to effect real cultural change. This article is not meant to imply that internal communications is the sole answer to aligning employees with brand strategy. Other issues, like training, leadership, and organizational development, play an even greater role in this transformation and are beyond the scope of this discussion. However, we do believe that by applying brand design principles to internal communications, large organizations can accelerate the process of changing employee attitudes and, ultimately, employee behavior.
Just how important are internal communications, and how do we distinguish good communications from bad? In a recent study conducted by The Empower Group, a global human resource consultancy, a major European retailer surveyed more than 24,000 employees to quantify the link between communication and issues such as motivation, loyalty, and productivity. One finding examined the link between company-wide communications about such things as vision and mission with employee behavior. The study showed a .60 linkage coefficient between the transparency of communication (visibility) and employees' overall feelings about the company. The net conclusions of the study were twofold:
1. Positive communication creates a highly motivated staff.
2. Good communication has a positive impact on business.
But there's that question again: Just what is good communication? This is no less easy to answer than "What is good design?" We feel the two are linked, and when we use the same kind of criteria to evaluate internal communications that we do for external communications, we see marked improvement in loyalty, morale, performance, and alignment of behavior with corporate brand strategy.
Defining a reasonable scopePerhaps the biggest road block to developing a design-driven approach to branded internal communications is defining a realistic scope and identifying those internal touch-points that matter most in terms of aligning behavior with brand strategy. After all, when one adds up all the emails, memos, manuals, information packets, meetings, workshops, presentations, training materials, intranets, and the like, the volume of communication elements can be staggering. Too many companies atrophy under the sheer weight of these communications and opt to create a single, one-time internal branding campaign to herald the arrival of the new brand strategy.
This type of internal rollout is both appropriate and necessary when rebranding a large organization. However, it should be viewed as only the beginning, in the same way that a new ad campaign might be the first and most visible external manifestation of the new brand in the marketplace. Unfortunately, too many companies stop there-satisfied with a few one-shot internal tools, such as a brand identity manual, corresponding brand manifesto, and perhaps even the business cards, caps, t-shirts, and other promotional items that seem so necessary at the time but quickly become meaningless if not supported by a consistent and lasting employee communications plan. Internal communications must take on the brand's architecture, values, image, and voice in a pervasive and lasting way. However, as with most things, there are some tools that will be more effective than others.
Also reminiscent of an external branding campaign, internal communications simply need to be prioritized in terms of content, audience, frequency, and other variables in order to arrive at an approach that maximizes impact and return on investment. In our experience, there is no single formula to assigning these priorities; rather, it varies from company to company and depends upon the situation at hand. For example, a company experiencing a merger that will affect brand strategy will have very different needs from one that is simply undergoing an evolutionary rebranding initiative. However, several categories of communication are common to most firms and should be considered (figure 1).
We would like to address each of these areas in turn and discuss specific tactics and considerations through the presentation of several recent case studies.
Human resource communications
The Human Resource function is often the first interaction an employee has with a company. This can come through recruiting materials, onboarding tools, and orientation sessions. While it's true that the HR function in large organizations must occasionally deliver negative information, it is more often the bearer of good news as it attempts to reassure employees that they have made the right decision, and that the company is looking out for their best interests. Moreover, it is typically charged with explaining all the benefits and perquisites a company has to offer-training, health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off. Yet few companies leverage this opportunity to engage employees by communicating with the same voice they use for customer communications. Why not show employees the same love we offer customers? Why not reflect the same brand values and the same brand image? Several human resource directors interviewed for this article stated that when they redesigned their benefits materials to be more engaging and understandable-even though they had not changed the content-employees perceived that the benefits had improved.
One company that understands this is Limited Brands, the multi-billion-dollar retail company better known by some of its individual brand names, such as Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Express. In the mid-1990s, Limited Brands (then organized as two public companies-Limited Inc. and Intimate Brands) began to shift to a shared-services model for common functions such as human resources, technology, purchasing, real estate, and finance. The shared-services concept was new to the Limited culture, which historically espoused divisional autonomy and even encouraged competition among its brands for everything from employees to customers. It was clear that communicating this new policy would need to be carefully orchestrated so that employees would perceive a net improvement or, at worst, status quo. This would be challenging, given that an internal audit had revealed several potential hurdles. First, no two divisions had the same benefits plan, and indeed, some employees would have to compromise under the new plan. Second, in many cases the marketing departments were actually responsible for creating the benefits manuals and, not surprisingly, many of them were out of date, raising legal concerns.
Limited launched the new policy via a unique communications tool called The Guide(TM). At its essence, The Guide was simply a comprehensive catalog of all the consolidated employee benefits. But it was created using the metaphor of a fashion magazine-oversized, glossy, with full-page ads from each retail division so that individual brand identities could be showcased. Since no clear corporate brand language existed at the time for the parent company, The Guide was a visual and verbal amalgamation of the dozen or so retail brands to which it spoke, a paper mall aimed at a young, primarily female audience, most of whom were not located at a corporate office but rather in stores across the country. In addition, The Guide was launched like a new fashion magazine, with an internal teaser campaign that included postcards, posters, and other mailings to each associate (figures 2 and 3).
The Guide was one of the most successful internal communications campaigns in company history. For the next several years, it took on such a strong role in company communications that associates referred to it as if it were a brand unto itself. Supplements to The Guide were branded with the same verbal and visual elements so that they would be linked to the original in a strong way.
In mid-2002, The Guide was due for reprinting, and it was relaunched with some interesting changes. The two parent companies had since merged again, forming a new entity, Limited Brands, and a conscious corporate brand identity had been created for this public company. Thus version two of The Guide took on the new corporate brand image, which was still fashion-oriented but much more sophisticated and refined. Individual brands still had presence, but in a more subtle way. In addition, The Guide was redesigned in a smaller format to fit in file folders and briefcases, though it retained its "magazine" feel. (Some described it as a shift from Women's Wear Daily [a tabloid format] to Vogue.) Separate color-coded versions were created for store, corporate, and part-time distribution-center associates.
The second version of The Guide was launched as successfully as the first and met with tremendous employee acceptance. More important, it communicated to employees using the same image and voice the company used to communicate with customers and shareholders, helping to communicate the brand values of a large and diverse corporation (figures 4 and 5).
Organizational developmentThe second area in which brand design can affect internal communications is corporate change. By this, we refer primarily to mergers, acquisitions, sweeping policy changes, and large restructurings and downsizings. While it's easy to espouse the philosophy that all change is good, most broad change initiatives in large corporations are viewed with trepidation and anxiety by employees, regardless of the potential for a negative outcome-real or imagined. Communication is key. Without continuous and carefully orchestrated communications before, during, and after a company-wide shift, employees will create their own reality-generally negative-and will spread it via word of mouth throughout the organization. Managers can ill afford to ignore the fact that a communications void will be filled with rumors of layoffs, firings, loss of benefits, or other disasters-even the company's imminent demise.
There has been a tremendous amount of study and documentation regarding communications and corporate change, and it is beyond the scope of this discussion to review that literature in detail. Our focus is on situations in which a corporate branding initiative and some major policy change or restructuring intersect for the common good. One such situation occurred at Bank One Corporation in 1999. At the time, Bank One was the fifth-largest bank holding company in the United States, with more than 2,000 retail branches. It was in the midst of a company-wide rebranding program, as well as a pending merger with like-sized First Chicago NBD Bank that if approved would result in an organization with more than 90,000 employees. As regulators were reviewing the merger, Bank One's Information Technology group was busy preparing for many changes associated with the upcoming Y2K event. One such initiative was a planned standardization of all computer desktop configurations. This program would affect more than 30,000 employees by changing the software, and in some cases hardware, with which they worked on a daily basis.
The information technology managers responsible for the desktop standardization program were already beginning to communicate with those employees who would be affected. The process would occur over a six-month period that included logistics planning, training, change-out, and troubleshooting. However, the IT managers had not yet learned about the corporate branding initiative. Without realizing it, they were using vocabulary that was inconsistent with any tenets of the new brand strategy, which was focused on approachability and simple communications. Words and phrases like deployment teams, conversion windows, feedback loops, and compliance made the program sound more like a military operation than something that was going to help employees communicate more efficiently across the company.
Bank One seized the moment and brought together managers from marketing-who owned the branding program-and IT. After a review of both programs, it was determined that the IT initiative would take on the visual image and tone of voice of Bank One's emerging brand strategy and that furthermore, this would serve as a demonstration project prior to launch. It was also determined that the IT project could benefit from a unifying theme-one that conveyed a positive attitude about the change, without seeming trite. After a brainstorming session, the metaphor of a road trip was adopted as the theme, and the program was renamed Route One (figure 6). All communications materials took on a look and feel that was derived from Bank One's new brand toolkit but that also reinforced the highways and byways theme. Schedules became route maps; memos became postcards from the road, and training materials became Ride Guides and Starter Kits (figure 7). The campaign included posters, internal mailings, and a trouble-shooting guide that was designed to look like a car owner's manual.
From the printed materials to the Route One shirts worn by the banks' technicians, every detail was crafted to reflect the theme, without being overdone or gratuitous. Over approximately a six-month period, more than 30,000 computers and related equipment were converted-without the major cultural backlash that could have resulted from the company's mandatory change.
Training
Another area of opportunity in which to link branding with internal communications is training. While this area too has been intensely studied and well documented, it is an ideal communications channel within large organizations to leverage brand values and brand identity-for several reasons. First, training is typically interpreted as a positive thing. The goal is for people to enhance their skills and knowledge and somehow better themselves and their position in the company. Second, training generally occurs in smaller groups, where communications are more intimate and controllable. And third, studies show that when training content is conveyed through engaging and interactive learning tools, it is retained longer and in more depth than when more conventional means, such as lectures, are used. Injecting corporate branding principles in training tools and techniques will not only reinforce the brand values but is also likely to make the training more effective and meaningful.
In late 2002, QSP-a division of Reader's Digest Association and a leader in school fundraising programs-identified the need to enhance its sales training and orientation program to reinforce the company's vision, create an image that was engaging, and reassure new sales associates that QSP was a great career choice. All of QSP's sales associates-more than 400 people-are dispersed across the country in order to be close to the schools that make up their customer base. As such, their most intimate connection to the company vision and message is through regional meetings and periodic training sessions.
This case study is interesting because QSP's training organization made a conscious decision not to extend the visual aspects of its outward brand image to the internal communications program. Instead, they developed a new visual language that leveraged the company's brand values and external tone of voice. This decision was driven by several factors. First, the market-facing brand image for QSP was somewhat fragmented visually, and certain decisions about brand architecture and visual brand language were in flux due to recent acquisitions and the addition of new product lines. Second, QSP's external brand language reflected almost exclusively its core customer base-schools representing all age groups. Thus a new, more sophisticated visual language was necessary to communicate to the sales force, whose ages ranged from 25 to 55. School imagery needed to be incorporated, but not in an overwhelming manner.
To tie elements of the training program together, a campaign theme was developed with a corresponding visual and verbal language. The theme-Surround Yourself-was a reference to the tools, techniques, and products with which QSP surrounded its sales force. A 360-degree symbol (figure 8) was created to identify all forms of training communications, from the flagship Training Toolkit to all the printed and electronic correspondence originating from the training department (figure 9). These primary identifiers were supported by a color palette, type font, graphic layout and grid guidelines, and standards for photography. Thus, while the campaign was not considered a stand-alone brand by the company, it was implemented and managed like one. As of this writing, the program was just being rolled out, so no results are available, but QSP management was optimistic about the impact it would have in creating a deeper connection between a decentralized sales force and the overall company mission and vision.
OperationsOur last example was launched in early 2003. Big Lots Inc. is the largest closeout retailer in the United States, with more than 1,100 stores nationwide. Closeout retailing is a unique variant of discount retailing, in which companies specialize in discontinued merchandise and liquidation. Shopping at a closeout store can be a bargain but also a treasure hunt, because merchandise is often inconsistent from week to week. Like many retailers, Big Lots grew organically and through acquisition, and by 2001 it found itself on the verge of becoming a national brand with stores from coast to coast. However, it actually operated under several different names and identities, so the company decided to embark on a company-wide initiative to create a single master brand-Big Lots-and a clear positioning. This strategy was announced externally with a new national advertising campaign and a prototype store design. The brand identity was updated, and one of the strongest identity elements became the color orange, which was only an accent in the logo but took on greater significance in things like signage and store decor.
The brand strategy was communicated internally through a few one-time communications, including a video, regional manager meetings, and the company-wide newsletter. But Big Lots saw an opportunity to leverage their Associate Handbook, a fairly dry, operations-oriented manual, to carry the new brand message in an engaging way. This booklet was distributed to every company employee, and it represented an opportunity to combine basic policy information with the new brand image. It was viewed as a key tool to shift associate attitudes and give them a sense of belonging to something unique. Big Lots management felt that this shift would reinforce behavior changes that were being introduced via new training and incentive programs.
The new handbook was designed to incorporate a unifying theme: Look at the World Through Orange-Colored Glasses. This variant on the old saying leveraged the color orange in yet another way and was played out not only though introductory copy that reinforced the brand strategy but also through engaging photos of real staff, real executives, and real customers playfully wearing paper glasses with orange lenses (figure 10). The remainder of the handbook leveraged orange as a design element and used inspirational call-outs to balance the sometimes dry, factual text (figure 11). The handbook was successfully launched to all employees and by all accounts has been very successful in extending the internal branding campaign.
The design consultant's roleWhether you are a design consultant or a corporate design manager, how many times have you heard someone say the following about internal communications: "That looks too nice, people will think we spent a lot of money on it?" This is a common sentiment. The sad and ironic implication here is that large companies care only about customers and would not consider investing time, money, or even much thought in improving how they speak to their most important asset: people. While it's true that this is a pervasive view, the preceding case studies show that some companies are finding value in taking a marketing-oriented approach to communicating internally by applying branding and design thinking. And we are certain that there are many other recent examples that simply have not been documented because of the confidential nature of the information or other valid reasons. Design consultants are in an ideal position to help corporate design and communications managers plead their case. They might also be able to debunk several myths about internal communications:
Myth 1: Employees don't careWhy would this be the case? Employees are people, just like customers. They have emotions and want to be valued. They want to be recognized. Every human resources department knows this, but typically they are not linked to the people in their company who know how to build brands and communicate with customers.
Myth 2: Good design is expensiveWe all know that this does not have to be the case. If good design is the objective from the beginning, it should cost no more than... well, bad design. Good design is consistent branding and simple communications. It is well-conceived information design with a theme, not expensive paper and four-color printing.
Myth 3: It sends a bad message to shareholdersThat we care about our employees? Most shareholders will respect and invest in any company that can align its employees' behavior with strategy. They also might forgo a glossy annual report in favor of better employee communications that would lead to improved performance and shareholder value.
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Enhancing corporate credibility: do you need to take the 'spin' out of employee communications?
Mark Schumann
Employees are hungry for the truth from their companies, but only half are satisfied with what they're being fed.
That's the reality captured by Towers Perrin's recent study of the credibility of corporate communication. And it raises some important questions for those of us who communicate with employees for a living.
Are we, even as we try to convey the truth, falling into a "spin zone" that contributes to employee skepticism?
Are we in tune with our audience enough to recognize the danger signals of falling into the spin zone?
What simple steps can we take to get out of the spin zone and, if necessary, restore credibility to the communications we create?
STUDY RESULTS
Results from the survey of 1,000 "average" U.S. workers tell us that companies may be trying too hard to spin their internal communications and, as a result, may be undermining their credibility with many employees.
Employees want plain talk that makes it easy to evaluate issues of deep importance to them. For many employees, the company is their only source of information on many personal topics, including career, retirement and health care.
Although other research shows that Americans in general have become increasingly cynical and suspicious of major organizations, both public and private, most corporate leaders would likely be concerned that only half of employees believe what their companies tell them. Perhaps more telling is that the workers surveyed believe companies are more truthful with shareholders and customers than with employees.
Consider these survey responses.
* Half of respondents believe their company generally tells the truth to employees ... and half do not.
Employees are looking for greater transparency from their employers, but only half think they are getting it.
The survey responses show that many employees do not feel they are getting a full and accurate picture from their company, even though the vast majority of employees believe they are ready to hear the truth about their company, pay, benefits and jobs.
Of course, where to draw the line in trying to be open and honest with employees is a difficult call, depending on the organization's issues and culture, and whether other stakeholders may be affected. But organizations that fail to address these concerns risk damaging their credibility even further with an increasingly important, and at some point mobile, group of stakeholders.
* Employees believe their companies are more honest outside the organization.
This is a tough one. Employees who participated in the survey believe their company is less truthful in communicating with them than with customers and shareholders.
At the same time, 55 percent of respondents feel their organizations try too hard to spin the internal story instead of telling it to them straight. Now, this isn't the same as saying these employees believe they are deliberately being lied to, but it's hardly the kind of trust that's necessary to build employee engagement and commitment to a company.
* Demographic differences in perceptions of truthfulness to employees suggest a "cynicism" factor.
In general, short-service employees (with fewer than five years of service) are more likely than longer-service employees to view their company's communications as credible.
Younger employees (under age 35) are more likely than those age 50 or older to believe their company tells them the truth. Higher-paid employees are more likely than lower-paid workers to view their company as a credible source of information.
These findings suggest something many communicators have known for years--they need to carefully analyze and segment the audience to ensure that messages are understood and believed.
* Employees feel their companies are least truthful when communicating about the "deal,"
Employees want plain talk they can easily evaluate on personal issues of deep importance to them. Few issues are as personal, or important, as what an employee receives from a company in return for what the employee contributes.
Because companies are many employees' sole source of information on personal topics such as career, retirement and health care, it's troubling that survey respondents feel their employer is least truthful when communicating about the fundamental "deal" between the company and its employees--what the company needs from employees and what the employee can expect to receive in return.
Indeed, only half of employees surveyed believe the company is open and honest in communicating what the organization needs from employees, and well under half (39 percent) believe the company is honest in communicating what the organization offers.
* Employees do not have confidence in the truthfulness of communication about the business.
Of course, any understanding of the elements of "the deal" requires a fundamental understanding of the business issues a company faces and the strategy it follows.
Unfortunately, fewer than half of the survey respondents believe their employer is completely open and honest in communicating with employees about important business issues like corporate strategy, financial results and the competitive landscape.
Many communicators spend a lot of time helping focus employee communication on the line of sight between employees and the business to help drive performance improvements, teamwork and esprit de corps. But it's hard to engage employees in the business if most of them put little faith in the business information they receive from their organization.
* Pay and benefits communications are the most trusted type of information provided by the company.
According to the survey responses, pay and benefits communication are the most trusted types of information among U.S. employees. This finding was surprising.
The "why" behind this response may be that these topics, although highly personal, tend to be concrete and easy to verify. Or the response may suggest that corporate human resource departments, in collaboration with corporate communicators, have done a better job than business leaders in telling a consistent and credible story.
Whatever the reason, this area of relative strength in employee communication can be leveraged to support other communication objectives.
* Almost half of respondents believe they receive more credible information from their immediate manager or supervisor than from the company's CEO.
This credibility gap should be a concern.
As communicators, we carefully manage the appearances and messages of our senior leaders. But according to survey respondents, our plan is not quite working. The CEO is rated below other sources of information in credibility.
At the same time, other recent research shows that senior leadership's interest in employee well-being is the most important driver of employee engagement. Employees' preferred and most credible sources of information are their immediate supervisor and their colleagues. On the other hand, companies can take some comfort in that internal company media are viewed as more credible than the external media, the Internet or labor unions.
NEXT STEPS
So what can a communicator do? Here are a few proven approaches that, in time, can help enhance the effectiveness of employee communication and boost the credibility of leaders and managers.
* Take it from the top. For any organization to communicate effectively, senior leadership must set the tone by being visible, accessible and open. Top leaders should be walking examples of clear, candid communication.
* Understand your audience. Gut feelings are fine as they go, but high performing companies are more likely to use objective measurement techniques (including surveys, focus groups and other feedback channels) to take the ongoing pulse of communication effectiveness.
* Align company messages and information channels, Employee confidence in the company's credibility is seriously undermined when the company intranet says one thing and management says another. A periodic audit of communication processes and media can help manage messages and channels.
* Train leaders and managers, Although some people are born communicators, in most cases communication is a learned skill, and one that traditionally hasn't been emphasized among managers moving up through the ranks. High-performing companies tend to focus considerable attention on communication skills and training in their leadership development programs.
* Remember to tell the whole story. Many organizations confuse information with communication. They concentrate on disseminating facts rather than providing the context and business rationale for company decisions and actions. The "why and how" is critical to understanding the "what."
* Ensure a two-way dialogue, Providing frequent opportunities for two way communication demonstrates leadership's interest in employees' opinions and well-being. This can help create an environment of mutual trust, accountability and responsibility that's important to engage people and win their discretionary effort.
* Expect the unexpected. Sooner or later, something will go wrong in every organization. Having an effective crisis communication plan in place is essential for managing employee actions, reactions and perceptions of the organization during emergencies.
ARE YOU IN DANGER OF ENTERING THE SPIN ZONE?
Ask yourself a few questions:
* When have you asked your employees if they believe what your organization communicates? How have you adjusted your message and approach?
* When you release communications to employees, what do you hear? Or do you hear nothing (a clear signal of the spin zone)?
* What do you read about your company in public chat rooms? And how does it differ from what people tell you? A big gap may indicate perceptions of spin.
* What do you read about your company in the external media that you do not discuss in the internal media? The longer the list, the greater the chance of spin.
* How often do you draft a message without a clear point of view? The less clear the message, the greater the chance for spin.
* How much "corporate-ese" creeps into your draft during the edit process? The less plain and simple the language, the greater the likelihood of spin.
"My company generally tells the truth in its communications to ..."
Shareholders
Agree 60%
Mixed 28%
Disagree 12%
Customers
Agree 58%
Mixed 29%
Disagree 13%
Employees
Agree 51%
Mixed 30%
Disagree 19%
Note: Table made from pie chart.
"My company generally tells the truth in its communications to
employees."
% Agree % Mixed % Disagree
Tenure
Less than five years 59 25 16
Five or more years 48 32 20
Income
More than $100,000 56 28 16
$50,000-$100,000 55 28 17
Less than $50,000 45 32 23
Age
Less than 35 66 25 9
35-49 49 30 21
50 or older 44 34 22
Note: Table made from bar graph.
"To what extent do you believe/understand the communications
you receive from your company are open and honest for..."
% Believe
communications % Understand
are open and communications
honest
My Benefits 64 73
My Pay 59 79
My learning and
development opportunities 52 59
What the company needs
from employees 50 64
The company's competitive
Environment 49 59
The company's financial
results 46 52
My career opportunities 44 59
The company's financial
Challenges 44 52
The company's business
Strategy 42 47
What employees get in
return for doing what
the company needs 39 53
Note: Table made from bar graph.
The survey shows the strongest trust in internal, face-to-face meetings
with supervisors.
% Agree % Mixed % Disagree
I receive more credible information
from my supervisor than from my CEO 48 23 28
I receive more credible information
from my company in face-to-face
meetings than in formal media 45 30 25
I receive more credible information
about my company from the external
news media than the internal 27 23 50
company media
Note: Table made from bar graph.
"I am ready to hear the truth about the future of ..."
% Agree % Mixed % Disagree
My company 94 5 1
My pay and benefits 94 5 1
My job 93 6 1
Note: Table made from bar graph.
About the Study
Towers Perrin's online survey of 1,000 working Americans was conducted by Harris Interactive. The survey sample was designed to represent a typical cross section of workers--the "average worker"--in U.S.-based organizations with at least 1,000 employees. The sample cuts across a broad range of industries and includes a statistically valid range of ages, education levels, genders and incomes. For a complete report of the study findings, send an e-mail to mark.schumann@towersperrin.com.
Mark Schumann, ABC, is the global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin HR Services, one of the world's largest management, human resource consulting and administration firms. Schumann is the winner of 13 IABC Gold Quill awards, as well as the IABC Communicator of the Year designation for Dallas and Houston. Schumann is a past member of the IABC Executive Board and the IABC Research Foundation Board of Trustees and can be reached at mark.schumann@towersperrin.com.
Employees are hungry for the truth from their companies, but only half are satisfied with what they're being fed.
That's the reality captured by Towers Perrin's recent study of the credibility of corporate communication. And it raises some important questions for those of us who communicate with employees for a living.
Are we, even as we try to convey the truth, falling into a "spin zone" that contributes to employee skepticism?
Are we in tune with our audience enough to recognize the danger signals of falling into the spin zone?
What simple steps can we take to get out of the spin zone and, if necessary, restore credibility to the communications we create?
STUDY RESULTS
Results from the survey of 1,000 "average" U.S. workers tell us that companies may be trying too hard to spin their internal communications and, as a result, may be undermining their credibility with many employees.
Employees want plain talk that makes it easy to evaluate issues of deep importance to them. For many employees, the company is their only source of information on many personal topics, including career, retirement and health care.
Although other research shows that Americans in general have become increasingly cynical and suspicious of major organizations, both public and private, most corporate leaders would likely be concerned that only half of employees believe what their companies tell them. Perhaps more telling is that the workers surveyed believe companies are more truthful with shareholders and customers than with employees.
Consider these survey responses.
* Half of respondents believe their company generally tells the truth to employees ... and half do not.
Employees are looking for greater transparency from their employers, but only half think they are getting it.
The survey responses show that many employees do not feel they are getting a full and accurate picture from their company, even though the vast majority of employees believe they are ready to hear the truth about their company, pay, benefits and jobs.
Of course, where to draw the line in trying to be open and honest with employees is a difficult call, depending on the organization's issues and culture, and whether other stakeholders may be affected. But organizations that fail to address these concerns risk damaging their credibility even further with an increasingly important, and at some point mobile, group of stakeholders.
* Employees believe their companies are more honest outside the organization.
This is a tough one. Employees who participated in the survey believe their company is less truthful in communicating with them than with customers and shareholders.
At the same time, 55 percent of respondents feel their organizations try too hard to spin the internal story instead of telling it to them straight. Now, this isn't the same as saying these employees believe they are deliberately being lied to, but it's hardly the kind of trust that's necessary to build employee engagement and commitment to a company.
* Demographic differences in perceptions of truthfulness to employees suggest a "cynicism" factor.
In general, short-service employees (with fewer than five years of service) are more likely than longer-service employees to view their company's communications as credible.
Younger employees (under age 35) are more likely than those age 50 or older to believe their company tells them the truth. Higher-paid employees are more likely than lower-paid workers to view their company as a credible source of information.
These findings suggest something many communicators have known for years--they need to carefully analyze and segment the audience to ensure that messages are understood and believed.
* Employees feel their companies are least truthful when communicating about the "deal,"
Employees want plain talk they can easily evaluate on personal issues of deep importance to them. Few issues are as personal, or important, as what an employee receives from a company in return for what the employee contributes.
Because companies are many employees' sole source of information on personal topics such as career, retirement and health care, it's troubling that survey respondents feel their employer is least truthful when communicating about the fundamental "deal" between the company and its employees--what the company needs from employees and what the employee can expect to receive in return.
Indeed, only half of employees surveyed believe the company is open and honest in communicating what the organization needs from employees, and well under half (39 percent) believe the company is honest in communicating what the organization offers.
* Employees do not have confidence in the truthfulness of communication about the business.
Of course, any understanding of the elements of "the deal" requires a fundamental understanding of the business issues a company faces and the strategy it follows.
Unfortunately, fewer than half of the survey respondents believe their employer is completely open and honest in communicating with employees about important business issues like corporate strategy, financial results and the competitive landscape.
Many communicators spend a lot of time helping focus employee communication on the line of sight between employees and the business to help drive performance improvements, teamwork and esprit de corps. But it's hard to engage employees in the business if most of them put little faith in the business information they receive from their organization.
* Pay and benefits communications are the most trusted type of information provided by the company.
According to the survey responses, pay and benefits communication are the most trusted types of information among U.S. employees. This finding was surprising.
The "why" behind this response may be that these topics, although highly personal, tend to be concrete and easy to verify. Or the response may suggest that corporate human resource departments, in collaboration with corporate communicators, have done a better job than business leaders in telling a consistent and credible story.
Whatever the reason, this area of relative strength in employee communication can be leveraged to support other communication objectives.
* Almost half of respondents believe they receive more credible information from their immediate manager or supervisor than from the company's CEO.
This credibility gap should be a concern.
As communicators, we carefully manage the appearances and messages of our senior leaders. But according to survey respondents, our plan is not quite working. The CEO is rated below other sources of information in credibility.
At the same time, other recent research shows that senior leadership's interest in employee well-being is the most important driver of employee engagement. Employees' preferred and most credible sources of information are their immediate supervisor and their colleagues. On the other hand, companies can take some comfort in that internal company media are viewed as more credible than the external media, the Internet or labor unions.
NEXT STEPS
So what can a communicator do? Here are a few proven approaches that, in time, can help enhance the effectiveness of employee communication and boost the credibility of leaders and managers.
* Take it from the top. For any organization to communicate effectively, senior leadership must set the tone by being visible, accessible and open. Top leaders should be walking examples of clear, candid communication.
* Understand your audience. Gut feelings are fine as they go, but high performing companies are more likely to use objective measurement techniques (including surveys, focus groups and other feedback channels) to take the ongoing pulse of communication effectiveness.
* Align company messages and information channels, Employee confidence in the company's credibility is seriously undermined when the company intranet says one thing and management says another. A periodic audit of communication processes and media can help manage messages and channels.
* Train leaders and managers, Although some people are born communicators, in most cases communication is a learned skill, and one that traditionally hasn't been emphasized among managers moving up through the ranks. High-performing companies tend to focus considerable attention on communication skills and training in their leadership development programs.
* Remember to tell the whole story. Many organizations confuse information with communication. They concentrate on disseminating facts rather than providing the context and business rationale for company decisions and actions. The "why and how" is critical to understanding the "what."
* Ensure a two-way dialogue, Providing frequent opportunities for two way communication demonstrates leadership's interest in employees' opinions and well-being. This can help create an environment of mutual trust, accountability and responsibility that's important to engage people and win their discretionary effort.
* Expect the unexpected. Sooner or later, something will go wrong in every organization. Having an effective crisis communication plan in place is essential for managing employee actions, reactions and perceptions of the organization during emergencies.
ARE YOU IN DANGER OF ENTERING THE SPIN ZONE?
Ask yourself a few questions:
* When have you asked your employees if they believe what your organization communicates? How have you adjusted your message and approach?
* When you release communications to employees, what do you hear? Or do you hear nothing (a clear signal of the spin zone)?
* What do you read about your company in public chat rooms? And how does it differ from what people tell you? A big gap may indicate perceptions of spin.
* What do you read about your company in the external media that you do not discuss in the internal media? The longer the list, the greater the chance of spin.
* How often do you draft a message without a clear point of view? The less clear the message, the greater the chance for spin.
* How much "corporate-ese" creeps into your draft during the edit process? The less plain and simple the language, the greater the likelihood of spin.
"My company generally tells the truth in its communications to ..."
Shareholders
Agree 60%
Mixed 28%
Disagree 12%
Customers
Agree 58%
Mixed 29%
Disagree 13%
Employees
Agree 51%
Mixed 30%
Disagree 19%
Note: Table made from pie chart.
"My company generally tells the truth in its communications to
employees."
% Agree % Mixed % Disagree
Tenure
Less than five years 59 25 16
Five or more years 48 32 20
Income
More than $100,000 56 28 16
$50,000-$100,000 55 28 17
Less than $50,000 45 32 23
Age
Less than 35 66 25 9
35-49 49 30 21
50 or older 44 34 22
Note: Table made from bar graph.
"To what extent do you believe/understand the communications
you receive from your company are open and honest for..."
% Believe
communications % Understand
are open and communications
honest
My Benefits 64 73
My Pay 59 79
My learning and
development opportunities 52 59
What the company needs
from employees 50 64
The company's competitive
Environment 49 59
The company's financial
results 46 52
My career opportunities 44 59
The company's financial
Challenges 44 52
The company's business
Strategy 42 47
What employees get in
return for doing what
the company needs 39 53
Note: Table made from bar graph.
The survey shows the strongest trust in internal, face-to-face meetings
with supervisors.
% Agree % Mixed % Disagree
I receive more credible information
from my supervisor than from my CEO 48 23 28
I receive more credible information
from my company in face-to-face
meetings than in formal media 45 30 25
I receive more credible information
about my company from the external
news media than the internal 27 23 50
company media
Note: Table made from bar graph.
"I am ready to hear the truth about the future of ..."
% Agree % Mixed % Disagree
My company 94 5 1
My pay and benefits 94 5 1
My job 93 6 1
Note: Table made from bar graph.
About the Study
Towers Perrin's online survey of 1,000 working Americans was conducted by Harris Interactive. The survey sample was designed to represent a typical cross section of workers--the "average worker"--in U.S.-based organizations with at least 1,000 employees. The sample cuts across a broad range of industries and includes a statistically valid range of ages, education levels, genders and incomes. For a complete report of the study findings, send an e-mail to mark.schumann@towersperrin.com.
Mark Schumann, ABC, is the global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin HR Services, one of the world's largest management, human resource consulting and administration firms. Schumann is the winner of 13 IABC Gold Quill awards, as well as the IABC Communicator of the Year designation for Dallas and Houston. Schumann is a past member of the IABC Executive Board and the IABC Research Foundation Board of Trustees and can be reached at mark.schumann@towersperrin.com.
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Monitoring Employee E-mail
A recent survey finds that some U.S. companies employ workers to personally monitor employee e-mail and that more than one-quarter of surveyed companies have terminated employees for e-mail policy violations.
By Barbara Worthington
Outbound e-mail and other electronic communication protocols continue to pose significant risks for U.S. companies, according to a recent survey by Cupertino, Calif.-based Proofpoint. The survey of 308 e-mail decision-makers at large companies showed increasing concern regarding leaks of sensitive information via outbound e-mail and other electronic communications devices.
Among companies with 1,000 or more employees, more than three in 10 (32 percent) indicated they hire staff to read or analyze contents of outbound e-mail. Of companies with more than 20,000 employees, almost four in 10 (39 percent) employ staff for the same purpose.
The average among all companies surveyed was 17 percent.
The impact of e-mail misuse on companies is significant, according to the survey. More than one-quarter (26 percent) reported that business was affected by the exposure of sensitive or embarrassing information in the last year. More than one-third (34 percent) investigated a suspected e-mail leak of confidential or proprietary information.
Among the largest organizations, with 20,000 or more employees, nearly three in 10 (29 percent) reported that employee e-mail was subpoenaed in the last 12 months.
"Generally, companies should have a good reason to monitor broadly in that fashion, such as a serious internal or client confidentiality risk," says labor and employment attorney Gregg Lemley, a partner at Bryan Cave LLP in St. Louis.
Lemley says the need to monitor employees' e-mails "depends upon the type of company. If you are housing protected health information, consumer-credit information or the formula of the next big inventions, then 'yes' [companies should consider such a process]."
It's essential, however, he says, for companies to "communicate clearly with employees what kind of monitoring you will or may be doing and make absolutely clear that they have no right of privacy in their e-mail systems, or anything else you intend to monitor."
Employees should also be warned of potential consequences related to policy infractions, he says.
Modern technologies, such as instant messaging and camera phones, make it even more difficult for companies to track data leaks and purloined information. "Extensive background checks for security-sensitive positions can help," Lemley says.
However, e-mail remains a primary source of information leakage, according to the survey. Respondents estimated that nearly 20 percent of all outbound e-mail poses a legal, regulatory or financial risk. More than one-third of companies surveyed admitted to having investigated a suspected e-mail leak of confidential or proprietary information in the past 12 months.
Nearly half (46 percent) of companies surveyed have disciplined an employee for violating e-mail policies in the past year. And more than one-quarter (27 percent) have terminated an employee for a violation in the past 12 months.
Companies need to protect against lawsuits brought by employees when termination follows monitoring of employee e-mails, according to Lemley. "Privacy invasion torts are the most likely vehicle" for employee recourse against a company, he says, adding that's the reason "it's so important to have a good policy."
Newer communications vehicles, such as YouTube, MySpace and FaceBook, pose problems to companies as well. Such Web sites provide increased opportunities for information dispersal.
Among those surveyed, 14 percent of companies have disciplined an employee for violating social-networking policies during the past year and nearly 5 percent terminated an employee for such a violation. About one in 10 (11 percent) companies have disciplined an employee for violating media-sharing policies, with 7 percent terminating an employee for such a violation.
Other communications channels of growing concern among respondents include blogs and peer-to-peer networks, which Wikipedia describes as a network between participants instead of a conventional centralized server resource. One of the earliest peer-to-peer networks was the Usenet news-server system. Survey respondents said peer-to-peer networks were their No. 1 source of concern for information leakage via non-e-mail channels.
In the past 12 months, 21 percent of respondents said they had investigated the exposure of sensitive information via blog or message-board postings. Such infractions resulted in termination at 9 percent of companies surveyed.
Lemley emphasizes the importance of incorporating policies designed to address each aspect of employee communications use and activity.
"If you haven't made clear your propensity to monitor, or the consequences, or if you single people out without legitimate reason, you open yourself up to discrimination or retaliation claims," he says.
By Barbara Worthington
Outbound e-mail and other electronic communication protocols continue to pose significant risks for U.S. companies, according to a recent survey by Cupertino, Calif.-based Proofpoint. The survey of 308 e-mail decision-makers at large companies showed increasing concern regarding leaks of sensitive information via outbound e-mail and other electronic communications devices.
Among companies with 1,000 or more employees, more than three in 10 (32 percent) indicated they hire staff to read or analyze contents of outbound e-mail. Of companies with more than 20,000 employees, almost four in 10 (39 percent) employ staff for the same purpose.
The average among all companies surveyed was 17 percent.
The impact of e-mail misuse on companies is significant, according to the survey. More than one-quarter (26 percent) reported that business was affected by the exposure of sensitive or embarrassing information in the last year. More than one-third (34 percent) investigated a suspected e-mail leak of confidential or proprietary information.
Among the largest organizations, with 20,000 or more employees, nearly three in 10 (29 percent) reported that employee e-mail was subpoenaed in the last 12 months.
"Generally, companies should have a good reason to monitor broadly in that fashion, such as a serious internal or client confidentiality risk," says labor and employment attorney Gregg Lemley, a partner at Bryan Cave LLP in St. Louis.
Lemley says the need to monitor employees' e-mails "depends upon the type of company. If you are housing protected health information, consumer-credit information or the formula of the next big inventions, then 'yes' [companies should consider such a process]."
It's essential, however, he says, for companies to "communicate clearly with employees what kind of monitoring you will or may be doing and make absolutely clear that they have no right of privacy in their e-mail systems, or anything else you intend to monitor."
Employees should also be warned of potential consequences related to policy infractions, he says.
Modern technologies, such as instant messaging and camera phones, make it even more difficult for companies to track data leaks and purloined information. "Extensive background checks for security-sensitive positions can help," Lemley says.
However, e-mail remains a primary source of information leakage, according to the survey. Respondents estimated that nearly 20 percent of all outbound e-mail poses a legal, regulatory or financial risk. More than one-third of companies surveyed admitted to having investigated a suspected e-mail leak of confidential or proprietary information in the past 12 months.
Nearly half (46 percent) of companies surveyed have disciplined an employee for violating e-mail policies in the past year. And more than one-quarter (27 percent) have terminated an employee for a violation in the past 12 months.
Companies need to protect against lawsuits brought by employees when termination follows monitoring of employee e-mails, according to Lemley. "Privacy invasion torts are the most likely vehicle" for employee recourse against a company, he says, adding that's the reason "it's so important to have a good policy."
Newer communications vehicles, such as YouTube, MySpace and FaceBook, pose problems to companies as well. Such Web sites provide increased opportunities for information dispersal.
Among those surveyed, 14 percent of companies have disciplined an employee for violating social-networking policies during the past year and nearly 5 percent terminated an employee for such a violation. About one in 10 (11 percent) companies have disciplined an employee for violating media-sharing policies, with 7 percent terminating an employee for such a violation.
Other communications channels of growing concern among respondents include blogs and peer-to-peer networks, which Wikipedia describes as a network between participants instead of a conventional centralized server resource. One of the earliest peer-to-peer networks was the Usenet news-server system. Survey respondents said peer-to-peer networks were their No. 1 source of concern for information leakage via non-e-mail channels.
In the past 12 months, 21 percent of respondents said they had investigated the exposure of sensitive information via blog or message-board postings. Such infractions resulted in termination at 9 percent of companies surveyed.
Lemley emphasizes the importance of incorporating policies designed to address each aspect of employee communications use and activity.
"If you haven't made clear your propensity to monitor, or the consequences, or if you single people out without legitimate reason, you open yourself up to discrimination or retaliation claims," he says.
Monday, 6 August 2007
Practitioners to focus on CSR and ethics at annual IIRME PR Congress
As Dubai becomes “cleaner and greener” public relations practitioners are taking a good hard look at the part they play in promoting sound ethical practices and more community and social responsibility (CSR) activity.
Both topics are high on the agenda at IIR’s Public Relations Congress 2007 to be held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel from October 28 - November 1.
IIR Middle East senior conference manager Jennie Bishop says it is clear that Dubai is moving into a new phase where environmentally friendly practices are becoming an integral part of most developments.
“Companies are now realising that what they do can have both positive and negative effects on people as well as the environment and that they need to become more CSR-focused.
“PR consultancies have to remind their clients that CSR is not charity, but more about creating a better legacy for their children and grandchildren by using resources wisely and developing in a sustainable way,” she said.
But one of the challenges that clients and their PR consultancies face is convincing the media that CSR is not just being used as another “sales tool”.
One of the panel discussions at the Public Relations Congress 2007 is aimed at helping practitioners make a clear definition between their client’s standard promotional activities and what they are doing in CSR.
PR ethics are the subject of the keynote address at the congress, with International Public Advertisement
Relations Association (IPRA) President Philip Sheppard to update the delegates on best ethical practices in the US and Europe.
“There is an increasing global need for trust,” Jennie says, “and many of the case studies being presented at the congress will build on this theme.”
IIR Middle East’s Public Relations Congress 2007 has established itself as a highly strategic and informative event and is the region’s premier annual conference for PR professionals. This year the event has two Gold Sponsors, Asda’a Public Relations and Cicero & Bernay.
The two-day congress will be preceded by the Cicero & Bernay - sponsored ‘A Day with Alastair Campbell’, and followed by two days of interactive workshops
Both topics are high on the agenda at IIR’s Public Relations Congress 2007 to be held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel from October 28 - November 1.
IIR Middle East senior conference manager Jennie Bishop says it is clear that Dubai is moving into a new phase where environmentally friendly practices are becoming an integral part of most developments.
“Companies are now realising that what they do can have both positive and negative effects on people as well as the environment and that they need to become more CSR-focused.
“PR consultancies have to remind their clients that CSR is not charity, but more about creating a better legacy for their children and grandchildren by using resources wisely and developing in a sustainable way,” she said.
But one of the challenges that clients and their PR consultancies face is convincing the media that CSR is not just being used as another “sales tool”.
One of the panel discussions at the Public Relations Congress 2007 is aimed at helping practitioners make a clear definition between their client’s standard promotional activities and what they are doing in CSR.
PR ethics are the subject of the keynote address at the congress, with International Public Advertisement
Relations Association (IPRA) President Philip Sheppard to update the delegates on best ethical practices in the US and Europe.
“There is an increasing global need for trust,” Jennie says, “and many of the case studies being presented at the congress will build on this theme.”
IIR Middle East’s Public Relations Congress 2007 has established itself as a highly strategic and informative event and is the region’s premier annual conference for PR professionals. This year the event has two Gold Sponsors, Asda’a Public Relations and Cicero & Bernay.
The two-day congress will be preceded by the Cicero & Bernay - sponsored ‘A Day with Alastair Campbell’, and followed by two days of interactive workshops
Thursday, 2 August 2007
Brandtique: DirecTV, 'Burn Notice'
by David Goetzl, Thursday, Aug 2, 2007 8:30 AM ET
A YEAR AGO AT A MediaPost event, Starcom chief John Muszynski spoke about the emerging trend of not just consumers, but advertisers becoming platform-agnostic. His thrust was that as popular content--he cited ABC's "Lost"--migrates to different outlets, advertisers eager to reach its devoted audience would find ways to insert their messages on those multiple platforms.
So, a Starcom client would "follow 'Lost'" to streaming on ABC.com, episodes on iTunes, perhaps mobile distribution, and whatever else pops up.
It's sort of a "surround sound" marketing approach, where perhaps the link between product and content brand can serve to elevate each other, a vision set out in a much-hyped address at an Ad Age event several years ago by then-Coke chief marketer Steve Heyer.
This summer, DirecTV is attempting the emergent "surround sound" strategy in its tie-in with the USA Network original series "Burn Notice," about a one-time spy essentially relieved of his duties or "burned" by his former employers.
The satellite operator's link with the series is near-ubiquitous, from presenting the premiere commercial-free to billboards leading into commercial breaks to product integration--then off-air to banner dominance on the series' Web site to a mobile game and more.
The July 19 episode demonstrates the tie-in at its most prevalent (one of the top product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX). In addition to the "brought to you by" plugs, there are some DVR-proof attempts to pump the brand within the show itself. There's an on-screen "presented by DirecTV" tab during the action in the bottom of the screen that switches to a plug for the mobile game. And then there's an audio mention for the brand integrated into the dialogue, apparently one of two times that'll happen in the "Burn Notice" season.
It happens as a character meets up with the central figure, ex-spy Michael Westen (played by Jeffrey Donovan), and complains about his hijinks at a favorite bar, an establishment where they offer "DirecTV Sunday Ticket in HD."
The short line would likely have gone unnoticed by the audience, except for all the other DirecTV appearances.
No doubt, it's possible that the onslaught could burn DirecTV via backlash from viewers who feel they are simply a target of a marketing barrage.
But DirecTV has a certain cool factor that should protect it. It's carefully cultivating an image as the locus of HD programming, promising 100 HD channels by the end of the year. And in one billboard on the July 19 episode, a voiceover refers to it as "the future home of the most HD channels on the planet," with the slick-looking, sun-glassed Westen right there.
Also a smart move: making 'Sunday Ticket' the focus of the audio mention. That's a brand that has an appeal on any day.
A YEAR AGO AT A MediaPost event, Starcom chief John Muszynski spoke about the emerging trend of not just consumers, but advertisers becoming platform-agnostic. His thrust was that as popular content--he cited ABC's "Lost"--migrates to different outlets, advertisers eager to reach its devoted audience would find ways to insert their messages on those multiple platforms.
So, a Starcom client would "follow 'Lost'" to streaming on ABC.com, episodes on iTunes, perhaps mobile distribution, and whatever else pops up.
It's sort of a "surround sound" marketing approach, where perhaps the link between product and content brand can serve to elevate each other, a vision set out in a much-hyped address at an Ad Age event several years ago by then-Coke chief marketer Steve Heyer.
This summer, DirecTV is attempting the emergent "surround sound" strategy in its tie-in with the USA Network original series "Burn Notice," about a one-time spy essentially relieved of his duties or "burned" by his former employers.
The satellite operator's link with the series is near-ubiquitous, from presenting the premiere commercial-free to billboards leading into commercial breaks to product integration--then off-air to banner dominance on the series' Web site to a mobile game and more.
The July 19 episode demonstrates the tie-in at its most prevalent (one of the top product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX). In addition to the "brought to you by" plugs, there are some DVR-proof attempts to pump the brand within the show itself. There's an on-screen "presented by DirecTV" tab during the action in the bottom of the screen that switches to a plug for the mobile game. And then there's an audio mention for the brand integrated into the dialogue, apparently one of two times that'll happen in the "Burn Notice" season.
It happens as a character meets up with the central figure, ex-spy Michael Westen (played by Jeffrey Donovan), and complains about his hijinks at a favorite bar, an establishment where they offer "DirecTV Sunday Ticket in HD."
The short line would likely have gone unnoticed by the audience, except for all the other DirecTV appearances.
No doubt, it's possible that the onslaught could burn DirecTV via backlash from viewers who feel they are simply a target of a marketing barrage.
But DirecTV has a certain cool factor that should protect it. It's carefully cultivating an image as the locus of HD programming, promising 100 HD channels by the end of the year. And in one billboard on the July 19 episode, a voiceover refers to it as "the future home of the most HD channels on the planet," with the slick-looking, sun-glassed Westen right there.
Also a smart move: making 'Sunday Ticket' the focus of the audio mention. That's a brand that has an appeal on any day.
Thursday, 26 July 2007
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide Names Experienced Communicator Mike Hatcliffe to Lead Chicago Office
July 25, 2007: 08:00 AM EST
CHICAGO, July 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR) today announced the promotion of Mike Hatcliffe to Managing Director of its Chicago office. Hatcliffe will be responsible for managing all aspects of the Chicago office, including client service, financial oversight and personnel management. Hatcliffe will also continue to maintain his role as head of the agency's U.S. Corporate Practice, directing strategies for corporate clients across the Ogilvy PR network, which he has undertaken since October 2005.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070725/DCW002)
"2007 has been a solid year for Ogilvy PR/Chicago and Mike has been a tremendous factor in our success," said Marcia Silverman, global CEO of Ogilvy PR. "His deep expertise in corporate communications, vision for the future and ability to successfully manage both client accounts and talent, made Mike the ideal person to lead our Chicago office."
With over 20 years' experience, Hatcliffe has engaged with clients in the areas of corporate communications, issues and crisis management, with a particular focus on corporate reputation management. He has been extremely valuable to the agency's clientele, advising some of the world's most prominent corporations in both the United States and Europe.
Hatcliffe attended Leeds University in England and moved to Chicago in 1999. He is a member of the Business Council for La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago and a board member of the Arts & Business Council of Chicago.
About Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR) is a leading global marketing communications firm, with offices in more than 60 cities around the world. In its 26th year, Ogilvy PR provides strategic public relations counsel to a variety of clients across its consumer marketing, corporate, healthcare, technology, public affairs, social marketing and entertainment practices. The agency also offers biotechnology and government affairs expertise through its subsidiaries Feinstein Kean Healthcare and Ogilvy Government Relations, respectively. Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide is part of the WPP Group, one of the world's largest communications services organizations . For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.ogilvypr.com.
CHICAGO, July 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR) today announced the promotion of Mike Hatcliffe to Managing Director of its Chicago office. Hatcliffe will be responsible for managing all aspects of the Chicago office, including client service, financial oversight and personnel management. Hatcliffe will also continue to maintain his role as head of the agency's U.S. Corporate Practice, directing strategies for corporate clients across the Ogilvy PR network, which he has undertaken since October 2005.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070725/DCW002)
"2007 has been a solid year for Ogilvy PR/Chicago and Mike has been a tremendous factor in our success," said Marcia Silverman, global CEO of Ogilvy PR. "His deep expertise in corporate communications, vision for the future and ability to successfully manage both client accounts and talent, made Mike the ideal person to lead our Chicago office."
With over 20 years' experience, Hatcliffe has engaged with clients in the areas of corporate communications, issues and crisis management, with a particular focus on corporate reputation management. He has been extremely valuable to the agency's clientele, advising some of the world's most prominent corporations in both the United States and Europe.
Hatcliffe attended Leeds University in England and moved to Chicago in 1999. He is a member of the Business Council for La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago and a board member of the Arts & Business Council of Chicago.
About Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR) is a leading global marketing communications firm, with offices in more than 60 cities around the world. In its 26th year, Ogilvy PR provides strategic public relations counsel to a variety of clients across its consumer marketing, corporate, healthcare, technology, public affairs, social marketing and entertainment practices. The agency also offers biotechnology and government affairs expertise through its subsidiaries Feinstein Kean Healthcare and Ogilvy Government Relations, respectively. Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide is part of the WPP Group, one of the world's largest communications services organizations . For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.ogilvypr.com.
Monday, 16 July 2007
Communications execs go beyond print in monitoring media
A single platform for searching across different mediums—broadcast, print, Internet—can greatly reduce the labour associated with reputation management, especially for large organizations like Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
In particular, the ability to search for "media mentions" across the broadcast medium is invaluable to Beja Rodeck, director of media and public relations with RBC Financial, who uses dnaEnterprise Suite v4.0, a communications management application by Ottawa, Ont.-based dna13 Inc.
"I have access to [the broadcast] literally within five minutes of it being live. It allows me, from a response perspective, to be much more proactive and provide information and have corrections made if there are inaccuracies in stories," she said.
In the old days, she added, a transcript would arrive 24 hours later, making it difficult to correct errors before they got perpetuated in proceeding newscasts.
Besides timely monitoring of the direction that issues may be taking in the media, Rodeck said the application allows for "issues management" across the organization. In other words, through the system, the almost 20 users at RBC can get up to speed on the corporation's position on particular issues, or be aware of inquiries reporters may be making via multiple channels.
The application provides users the ability to create search terms that are not only meaningful, but that act on all medium types, said Chris Johnson, CEO of dna13. "It's a single-use framework," he said.
Besides television, the application searches content across radio Web sites, said Johnson. The company is looking to add radio to text functionality into the tool, "but we haven't found anything that meets what we think will work, but it is part of our R&D effort."
According to Chris, media mentions are generally dispersed across disparate sources, making the task of finding them difficult for any organization -- many dna13's clients were using multiple services to locate and produce information via Factiva or LexisNexis, for instance.
The technology provides alerts on monitoring hits; the ability to track e-mail interactions with colleagues and media; and produce reports detailing media mentions, the associated publication or television channel, the reporter's name, and whether the mention is positive, negative or neutral.
"It provides a comprehensive view of the issue from its inception right through to the communications or resolution of the subject at hand," said Andy Church, vice-president of marketing with dna13.
The tool integrates with Microsoft Outlook, said Johnson, which enables e-mails to be copied to the application and be associated with a particular project.
CNW Group, a partner to dna13 has embedded the technology into its own communications management application. MediaVantage addresses a "definite pain point for public relations people," said Laurie Smith, CNW Group's director of marketing and communications.
"It can be a real challenge especially in a big organization where they've got people speaking to reporters around the world," she said.
The use of such applications are gaining acceptance in companies in Canada and around the world, said Chris Pepper, director of media relations with Fidelity Investment.
The company has been using MediaVantage for close to two years. "It gives the ability to track media coverage of my own company, of competitors, on issues," said Pepper.
The speed of the broadcast search capability, he said, is "incredibly impactful because it's so timely."
"I can watch it on my computer or office television. When I come back to my desk, I can have a full transcript on what the interview is all about," he said.
According to Sue Feldman, vice-president for content technologies with research firm IDC, vendors providing search capabilities across the broadcast medium is much more widespread than before, however, it's really speech that's the source of information.
Redundancy in language allows the text to be easily searched, she said, however, proper names are more difficult to handle due to the lack of redundancy and the fact that they are not often found in dictionaries.
Close captioning, assuming it's spelled correctly, often helps resolve this problem, said Feldman.
The rise in broadcast-medium search functionality may be due, in part, to the availability of more robust technologies, said Feldman. But also, the presence of broadcast content on the Internet has encouraged vendors to provide this capability. "As soon as something is online, people want to do things with it."
In particular, the ability to search for "media mentions" across the broadcast medium is invaluable to Beja Rodeck, director of media and public relations with RBC Financial, who uses dnaEnterprise Suite v4.0, a communications management application by Ottawa, Ont.-based dna13 Inc.
"I have access to [the broadcast] literally within five minutes of it being live. It allows me, from a response perspective, to be much more proactive and provide information and have corrections made if there are inaccuracies in stories," she said.
In the old days, she added, a transcript would arrive 24 hours later, making it difficult to correct errors before they got perpetuated in proceeding newscasts.
Besides timely monitoring of the direction that issues may be taking in the media, Rodeck said the application allows for "issues management" across the organization. In other words, through the system, the almost 20 users at RBC can get up to speed on the corporation's position on particular issues, or be aware of inquiries reporters may be making via multiple channels.
The application provides users the ability to create search terms that are not only meaningful, but that act on all medium types, said Chris Johnson, CEO of dna13. "It's a single-use framework," he said.
Besides television, the application searches content across radio Web sites, said Johnson. The company is looking to add radio to text functionality into the tool, "but we haven't found anything that meets what we think will work, but it is part of our R&D effort."
According to Chris, media mentions are generally dispersed across disparate sources, making the task of finding them difficult for any organization -- many dna13's clients were using multiple services to locate and produce information via Factiva or LexisNexis, for instance.
The technology provides alerts on monitoring hits; the ability to track e-mail interactions with colleagues and media; and produce reports detailing media mentions, the associated publication or television channel, the reporter's name, and whether the mention is positive, negative or neutral.
"It provides a comprehensive view of the issue from its inception right through to the communications or resolution of the subject at hand," said Andy Church, vice-president of marketing with dna13.
The tool integrates with Microsoft Outlook, said Johnson, which enables e-mails to be copied to the application and be associated with a particular project.
CNW Group, a partner to dna13 has embedded the technology into its own communications management application. MediaVantage addresses a "definite pain point for public relations people," said Laurie Smith, CNW Group's director of marketing and communications.
"It can be a real challenge especially in a big organization where they've got people speaking to reporters around the world," she said.
The use of such applications are gaining acceptance in companies in Canada and around the world, said Chris Pepper, director of media relations with Fidelity Investment.
The company has been using MediaVantage for close to two years. "It gives the ability to track media coverage of my own company, of competitors, on issues," said Pepper.
The speed of the broadcast search capability, he said, is "incredibly impactful because it's so timely."
"I can watch it on my computer or office television. When I come back to my desk, I can have a full transcript on what the interview is all about," he said.
According to Sue Feldman, vice-president for content technologies with research firm IDC, vendors providing search capabilities across the broadcast medium is much more widespread than before, however, it's really speech that's the source of information.
Redundancy in language allows the text to be easily searched, she said, however, proper names are more difficult to handle due to the lack of redundancy and the fact that they are not often found in dictionaries.
Close captioning, assuming it's spelled correctly, often helps resolve this problem, said Feldman.
The rise in broadcast-medium search functionality may be due, in part, to the availability of more robust technologies, said Feldman. But also, the presence of broadcast content on the Internet has encouraged vendors to provide this capability. "As soon as something is online, people want to do things with it."
Thursday, 12 July 2007
Don’t Let Other People Brand You - Brand Yourself
If you don’t brand yourself, someone else will – and it probably won’t be the brand you want. Discover a new self-paced coaching program and brand yourself to success.
Chicago, IL, June 15, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Most people who are over 40 years old can recall a time when someone else, such as a boss or co-worker, decided who they were, what they could do for a company, if they should be promoted, what they were capable of, and perhaps, what they were worth to the company monetarily.
Those people were branded by others in the workplace. Products get branded all the time. Who knew that people would get branded? The important thing is that people brand themselves rather than allow other people to do it for them.
To help business men and women with this process, business coach Glory Borgeson created a self-paced coaching program, the “Brand Yourself! Coaching Program.” It is intended for both corporate employees and entrepreneurs.
“Whenever I talk about Self-Branding for business, people always have a story to tell me about a time when someone else branded them in some way that they didn’t like,” says Borgeson. “They realize how important it is to brand yourself, and they all wish they knew this information when they were in their 20’s and 30’s.”
While traditional coaching is done by telephone with a coach and can cost several hundred dollars per month, the self-paced coaching program is considerably cheaper, and the client works the program at their own pace.
The truth is, if you don’t brand yourself, someone else will – and it probably won’t be the brand you want.
For more information about the “Brand Yourself! Coaching Program,” contact Glory Borgeson at www.borgesonconsulting.com; e-mail info@BorgesonConsulting.com, or call 630-653-0992.
Chicago, IL, June 15, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Most people who are over 40 years old can recall a time when someone else, such as a boss or co-worker, decided who they were, what they could do for a company, if they should be promoted, what they were capable of, and perhaps, what they were worth to the company monetarily.
Those people were branded by others in the workplace. Products get branded all the time. Who knew that people would get branded? The important thing is that people brand themselves rather than allow other people to do it for them.
To help business men and women with this process, business coach Glory Borgeson created a self-paced coaching program, the “Brand Yourself! Coaching Program.” It is intended for both corporate employees and entrepreneurs.
“Whenever I talk about Self-Branding for business, people always have a story to tell me about a time when someone else branded them in some way that they didn’t like,” says Borgeson. “They realize how important it is to brand yourself, and they all wish they knew this information when they were in their 20’s and 30’s.”
While traditional coaching is done by telephone with a coach and can cost several hundred dollars per month, the self-paced coaching program is considerably cheaper, and the client works the program at their own pace.
The truth is, if you don’t brand yourself, someone else will – and it probably won’t be the brand you want.
For more information about the “Brand Yourself! Coaching Program,” contact Glory Borgeson at www.borgesonconsulting.com; e-mail info@BorgesonConsulting.com, or call 630-653-0992.
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
Web users: Brands should engage online with internet marketing
The majority of web users believe that brands should be engaging with them online, according to new research.
A survey by Shiny Red, entitled 'Effective Online PR: Helping brands succeed through new media', found that 51 per cent of respondents think that brands should be engaging with them on the internet.
Some 46 per cent of internet users also said that their awareness of brands increases if they see information online, and more than a third (35 per cent) are more likely to visit a company's website if they have read about it on the net.
This clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of internet marketing in today's commercial world, when a potential global audience of millions is awaiting those companies looking to boost their web presence.
Building a solid presence on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft is therefore vital for firms looking to the future.
Other figures from the report show that 34 per cent of respondents think they will spend more time "looking at stuff online" in the future, as opposed to just four per cent who will spend less time doing so.
In comparison, in general people believe they will spend less time reading newspapers, reading magazines and watching TV in the future, as they increasingly choose to browse the web through Google, Yahoo and Ask.com.
Responsible link building delivers results
With the average price of advertiser keywords rising in the 3rd Quater of 2006 by 16.5% to £0.75 and online marketers looking to increase their online advertising budgets in 2007, many marketers are looking beyond simply investing in pay per click advertising.
In 2007 many online marketers will turn to direct link advertising and search engine optimisation to complement their pay per click advertising spends.
When buying direct-link-ads responsibly they can deliver very effective results and high return on investment.
Check List: How your Specialist link building agency should build one way links:
• Place links on websites as if they were only text-ads generating click through traffic.
• Only link from contextually relevant websites with keywords that appear on your site.
• Links should be one way Inbound Links (not link exchange).
• Link building should be gradual with no growth spikes.
• Always link from sites with a variety of LinkRanks.
• Always match the target keyword with your most relevant page by Deep Linking.
• Make sure that there are relevant keywords near your inbound link.
• Test the effectiveness of publisher sites by tracking all keywords placed in the link text.
• Trialling a link building consultant or agency for a few months would always be wise.
• Cease campaigns if MSN, Google or Yahoo ranking does not improve within the first 8 weeks.
Do not make common link building mistakes:
• Causing link growth spikes may do more harm than good.
• Duplicate keywords in link-ads across an entire publisher site would not add much value.
• Placing random links on irrelevant site will waste time and money.
• Be very wary of placing site wide links on websites.
Do not use link building spamming techniques:
• Never Buy Links from link farms.
• Placing hidden links on websites is very bad practice.
• Link churning (randomly changing link positions or link text) will cause serious issues.
• Using keywords that are irrelevant to the website where they are placed will not be effective in the long run.
A survey by Shiny Red, entitled 'Effective Online PR: Helping brands succeed through new media', found that 51 per cent of respondents think that brands should be engaging with them on the internet.
Some 46 per cent of internet users also said that their awareness of brands increases if they see information online, and more than a third (35 per cent) are more likely to visit a company's website if they have read about it on the net.
This clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of internet marketing in today's commercial world, when a potential global audience of millions is awaiting those companies looking to boost their web presence.
Building a solid presence on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft is therefore vital for firms looking to the future.
Other figures from the report show that 34 per cent of respondents think they will spend more time "looking at stuff online" in the future, as opposed to just four per cent who will spend less time doing so.
In comparison, in general people believe they will spend less time reading newspapers, reading magazines and watching TV in the future, as they increasingly choose to browse the web through Google, Yahoo and Ask.com.
Responsible link building delivers results
With the average price of advertiser keywords rising in the 3rd Quater of 2006 by 16.5% to £0.75 and online marketers looking to increase their online advertising budgets in 2007, many marketers are looking beyond simply investing in pay per click advertising.
In 2007 many online marketers will turn to direct link advertising and search engine optimisation to complement their pay per click advertising spends.
When buying direct-link-ads responsibly they can deliver very effective results and high return on investment.
Check List: How your Specialist link building agency should build one way links:
• Place links on websites as if they were only text-ads generating click through traffic.
• Only link from contextually relevant websites with keywords that appear on your site.
• Links should be one way Inbound Links (not link exchange).
• Link building should be gradual with no growth spikes.
• Always link from sites with a variety of LinkRanks.
• Always match the target keyword with your most relevant page by Deep Linking.
• Make sure that there are relevant keywords near your inbound link.
• Test the effectiveness of publisher sites by tracking all keywords placed in the link text.
• Trialling a link building consultant or agency for a few months would always be wise.
• Cease campaigns if MSN, Google or Yahoo ranking does not improve within the first 8 weeks.
Do not make common link building mistakes:
• Causing link growth spikes may do more harm than good.
• Duplicate keywords in link-ads across an entire publisher site would not add much value.
• Placing random links on irrelevant site will waste time and money.
• Be very wary of placing site wide links on websites.
Do not use link building spamming techniques:
• Never Buy Links from link farms.
• Placing hidden links on websites is very bad practice.
• Link churning (randomly changing link positions or link text) will cause serious issues.
• Using keywords that are irrelevant to the website where they are placed will not be effective in the long run.
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
Branding Matters -- Even When Searching
Science Daily — Web searchers who evaluated identical search-engine results overwhelmingly favored Yahoo! and Google, providing evidence that branding matters as much on the Internet as off, according to a Penn State study.
Researchers in the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) copied Google results pages from four different e-commerce queries, ascribing them to four different search engines -- Google, MSN Live Search, Yahoo! and an in-house engine created for the study. Then the researchers showed the pages to 32 study participants who were asked to evaluate the engines' performance in returning relevant results.
The queries included "camping Mexico," "laser removal," "manufactured home" and "techno music." Despite the results pages being identical in content and presentation, participants indicated that Yahoo! and Google outperformed MSN Live Search and the in-house search engine.
"Given that there was no difference in the results, all of the search engines should have had the exact same score," said Jim Jansen, assistant professor and lead researcher. "Some emotional branding is having an effect here." Jansen and co-author, Mimi Zhang, an IST graduate student, detailed the study in a paper, "The Effect of Brand Awareness on the Evaluation of Search Engine Results," at the recent Computer/Human Interaction 2007 Conference in San Jose, Calif.
The researchers were motivated to understand why Web users gravitate toward a handful of search engines when there are about 4,000 search engines that have similar technologies and similar interfaces. The performance -- defined as the ratio of relevant documents to the total number returned at some point in the results listing -- of those search engines also is practically the same.
To determine each engine's "performance," participants rated the returned results on a three-point scale: very relevant, somewhat relevant, and not relevant. After averaging the scores, the researcher determined an average -- about 36 percent of all results were judged relevant to the query.
The researchers then looked at each engine's "score" to determine whether it fell above or below the average. Participants ranked results from Yahoo! more relevant across the four queries. Given that many of the participants said they used Google to search, Jansen said he was surprised that Yahoo! came out on top. Its total scores were 15 percent above the average for the four queries while Google's total scores were just 0.7 percent above the average. Future research will consider whether participants "carried over" satisfaction with other products when ranking search engines, Jansen said.
AI2RS, the search engine created in-house with no brand-name recognition, fared the worst. The researchers calculated its average precision rating as 10 percent below the average although AI2RS had the highest score when the query was "laser removal."
The study ties branding not just to product identification but also to product performance, Jansen said.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Penn State.
Researchers in the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) copied Google results pages from four different e-commerce queries, ascribing them to four different search engines -- Google, MSN Live Search, Yahoo! and an in-house engine created for the study. Then the researchers showed the pages to 32 study participants who were asked to evaluate the engines' performance in returning relevant results.
The queries included "camping Mexico," "laser removal," "manufactured home" and "techno music." Despite the results pages being identical in content and presentation, participants indicated that Yahoo! and Google outperformed MSN Live Search and the in-house search engine.
"Given that there was no difference in the results, all of the search engines should have had the exact same score," said Jim Jansen, assistant professor and lead researcher. "Some emotional branding is having an effect here." Jansen and co-author, Mimi Zhang, an IST graduate student, detailed the study in a paper, "The Effect of Brand Awareness on the Evaluation of Search Engine Results," at the recent Computer/Human Interaction 2007 Conference in San Jose, Calif.
The researchers were motivated to understand why Web users gravitate toward a handful of search engines when there are about 4,000 search engines that have similar technologies and similar interfaces. The performance -- defined as the ratio of relevant documents to the total number returned at some point in the results listing -- of those search engines also is practically the same.
To determine each engine's "performance," participants rated the returned results on a three-point scale: very relevant, somewhat relevant, and not relevant. After averaging the scores, the researcher determined an average -- about 36 percent of all results were judged relevant to the query.
The researchers then looked at each engine's "score" to determine whether it fell above or below the average. Participants ranked results from Yahoo! more relevant across the four queries. Given that many of the participants said they used Google to search, Jansen said he was surprised that Yahoo! came out on top. Its total scores were 15 percent above the average for the four queries while Google's total scores were just 0.7 percent above the average. Future research will consider whether participants "carried over" satisfaction with other products when ranking search engines, Jansen said.
AI2RS, the search engine created in-house with no brand-name recognition, fared the worst. The researchers calculated its average precision rating as 10 percent below the average although AI2RS had the highest score when the query was "laser removal."
The study ties branding not just to product identification but also to product performance, Jansen said.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Penn State.
Branding your organization; Your logo will help reinforce your brand
Brenda Herchmer
I recently hung out with a good friend and her young daughter Katrina. Although only eight years old, Katrina is remarkably bright, sensitive, and unexpectedly fashion savvy. One of her favourite television shows is TLC's What Not to Wear. One of the surprisingly mature conversations we had resulted when I told her I refuse to own or wear anything with a logo.
While Katrina was initially quite horrified by my position, she eventually understood that I simply refuse to pay for the privilege of being a walking billboard. If I'm going to wear someone else's logo, I certainly don't believe I should be paying more for the privilege. I do however make an exception for my employer and non-profit organizations. For them I will quite willingly become a billboard.
While on one level it was good to know Katrina might now be thinking about marketing and branding in a different way, it was also quite scary to think the media had managed to infiltrate the psyche of someone as young as eight. The entire exchange got me thinking about branding. While most businesses have figured out how to brand themselves, many government and community organizations have a long way to go in communicating their messages.
So what is branding?
Branding is what helps the public identify an organization or business, as well as distinguish it, from other organizations or businesses. Although we typically think logos when we think branding, a brand is a blending of the overall image, mission and focus of the organization with the core marketing message. A good brand means coming up with something that sticks in the minds of the public. It is who you are and what you do, packaged clearly and memorably.
So why is branding important?
Branding is essential for any business, government, or voluntary sector organization. It is about establishing a meaningful relationship with stakeholders and building trust in your organization. As such, it is a powerful tool. The process of branding helps you understand who you are by linking your mission statement to your brand. As well, it helps you better understand what makes your organization unique.
If you clarify what you stand for within your business or organization, it motivates and instills a sense of pride, ensures consistency and a focus for all communications, programs, and services. While a brand reflects the identify of a business or organization as something distinct and memorable, it is the images and words or the visual that identifies the organization or business. The most important element of a visual identity is a logo or "mark". The logo and logo type reinforces a brand - it is not the brand - the brand is the essence of an organization or business. A logo is only a tangible representation that works to reinforce a brand.
So what makes a good logo?
In logo design, simplicity is a good thing. A good logo is easy to read and comprehend and should work well in black and white as well as in colour. The basis of the best logos are simple geometric shapes - lines, circles, squares, and triangles and it should be clear and legible when reduced to a business card or expanded on a billboard.
The overall shape of a logo is best as a rectangle because our eyes find it easier to look at rectangles than squares. Rectangles also work better on the Web. Most logos have a simple font and it is best to keep the colours to two or at best a maximum of three or four (the more colours the more expensive it will be to reproduce). Aim your logo design directly at your target audience. For example, a conservative organization would be best having its image reflected in a conservative logo design and font.
Think seriously before you change your logo, as consistency is key, and change could create confusion. In fact, research suggests that many change their logo at the worst possible time. They change it because the internal stakeholders are tired of it and want something different. Unfortunately, that's typically the time when it's just starting to be recognized outside your organization. Bottom line? If you want your message to be heard, invest some time and energy and get ready, get set, get branding.
Brenda Herchmer is the Manager of Niagara College's Centre for Community Leadership. For more information about the support and services they are providing to Niagara's voluntary sector, see www.communityleadership.net or email bherchmer@niagarac.on.ca
I recently hung out with a good friend and her young daughter Katrina. Although only eight years old, Katrina is remarkably bright, sensitive, and unexpectedly fashion savvy. One of her favourite television shows is TLC's What Not to Wear. One of the surprisingly mature conversations we had resulted when I told her I refuse to own or wear anything with a logo.
While Katrina was initially quite horrified by my position, she eventually understood that I simply refuse to pay for the privilege of being a walking billboard. If I'm going to wear someone else's logo, I certainly don't believe I should be paying more for the privilege. I do however make an exception for my employer and non-profit organizations. For them I will quite willingly become a billboard.
While on one level it was good to know Katrina might now be thinking about marketing and branding in a different way, it was also quite scary to think the media had managed to infiltrate the psyche of someone as young as eight. The entire exchange got me thinking about branding. While most businesses have figured out how to brand themselves, many government and community organizations have a long way to go in communicating their messages.
So what is branding?
Branding is what helps the public identify an organization or business, as well as distinguish it, from other organizations or businesses. Although we typically think logos when we think branding, a brand is a blending of the overall image, mission and focus of the organization with the core marketing message. A good brand means coming up with something that sticks in the minds of the public. It is who you are and what you do, packaged clearly and memorably.
So why is branding important?
Branding is essential for any business, government, or voluntary sector organization. It is about establishing a meaningful relationship with stakeholders and building trust in your organization. As such, it is a powerful tool. The process of branding helps you understand who you are by linking your mission statement to your brand. As well, it helps you better understand what makes your organization unique.
If you clarify what you stand for within your business or organization, it motivates and instills a sense of pride, ensures consistency and a focus for all communications, programs, and services. While a brand reflects the identify of a business or organization as something distinct and memorable, it is the images and words or the visual that identifies the organization or business. The most important element of a visual identity is a logo or "mark". The logo and logo type reinforces a brand - it is not the brand - the brand is the essence of an organization or business. A logo is only a tangible representation that works to reinforce a brand.
So what makes a good logo?
In logo design, simplicity is a good thing. A good logo is easy to read and comprehend and should work well in black and white as well as in colour. The basis of the best logos are simple geometric shapes - lines, circles, squares, and triangles and it should be clear and legible when reduced to a business card or expanded on a billboard.
The overall shape of a logo is best as a rectangle because our eyes find it easier to look at rectangles than squares. Rectangles also work better on the Web. Most logos have a simple font and it is best to keep the colours to two or at best a maximum of three or four (the more colours the more expensive it will be to reproduce). Aim your logo design directly at your target audience. For example, a conservative organization would be best having its image reflected in a conservative logo design and font.
Think seriously before you change your logo, as consistency is key, and change could create confusion. In fact, research suggests that many change their logo at the worst possible time. They change it because the internal stakeholders are tired of it and want something different. Unfortunately, that's typically the time when it's just starting to be recognized outside your organization. Bottom line? If you want your message to be heard, invest some time and energy and get ready, get set, get branding.
Brenda Herchmer is the Manager of Niagara College's Centre for Community Leadership. For more information about the support and services they are providing to Niagara's voluntary sector, see www.communityleadership.net or email bherchmer@niagarac.on.ca
Tuesday, 3 July 2007
Discover the Role of Branding in the Modern World of Business
Introduction to Branding
What is the role of branding in the modern world of business? This chapter considers the changing nature of branding, including: current debate about the role of brands; the world's most valuable brands.
Definition of Terms: What is a Brand?
Most people can name examples of brands, but the precise meaning of the concept is more difficult. This chapter examines some of the classic definitions of brand. It includes: the common characteristics brands share; types of brand.
The Evolution of Brands
The modern idea of a brand has its roots in ancient history. This chapter examines how the concept of the brand has evolved. It includes: the introduction of the classical concept of the "product brand"; where we are now in the evolution of branding.
The E-Dimension: E-Branding
Branding on the Internet presents new challenges for e-marketers. This chapter explores the key issues, including: the invisibility of the online brand; the transparency of markets; creating trust online.
The Global Dimension
"One world, one brand" has become a marketing mantra. But is the global brand a good idea? This chapter discusses the challenges of building and sustaining a global brand. These include: the rise of the global brand; reasons for going global; building a global brand; case study: McDonald's; think local; act local.
The State of the Art
Brand theory is constantly evolving. So what are today's hot topics in branding? This chapter explores current trends, including: corporate branding; branding inside the organization; the role of the CEO; brand custodianship.
In Practice: Branding Success Stories
What are the secrets of creating a great brand? This chapter explains how Intel, Toyota, Virgin, and Coca-Cola have managed to create some of the greatest brands of all time. It includes case studies of: Intel's "Intel inside" strategy; Coca-Cola; Virgin; Toyota.
Key Concepts and Thinkers
Branding has its own language. Get to grips with the lexicon of brands through the Express Exec branding glossary in this chapter, which also covers: key concepts; key thinkers.
Resources
Countless words have been written about the subject of branding. This chapter identifies the best branding resources: Websites; books and articles on branding.
Ten Steps to Making Branding Work
Brand theory is one thing; putting it into practice another. This final chapter provides some key insights into creating and sustaining a brand in today's business environment, covering the following steps: own minds, not products; dare to be different; fall in love ("brandlove"); put a price on the brand; make your brand a corporate touchstone; know your place; get continuous feedback; find brand partners; protect your brand; nurture the brand.
What is the role of branding in the modern world of business? This chapter considers the changing nature of branding, including: current debate about the role of brands; the world's most valuable brands.
Definition of Terms: What is a Brand?
Most people can name examples of brands, but the precise meaning of the concept is more difficult. This chapter examines some of the classic definitions of brand. It includes: the common characteristics brands share; types of brand.
The Evolution of Brands
The modern idea of a brand has its roots in ancient history. This chapter examines how the concept of the brand has evolved. It includes: the introduction of the classical concept of the "product brand"; where we are now in the evolution of branding.
The E-Dimension: E-Branding
Branding on the Internet presents new challenges for e-marketers. This chapter explores the key issues, including: the invisibility of the online brand; the transparency of markets; creating trust online.
The Global Dimension
"One world, one brand" has become a marketing mantra. But is the global brand a good idea? This chapter discusses the challenges of building and sustaining a global brand. These include: the rise of the global brand; reasons for going global; building a global brand; case study: McDonald's; think local; act local.
The State of the Art
Brand theory is constantly evolving. So what are today's hot topics in branding? This chapter explores current trends, including: corporate branding; branding inside the organization; the role of the CEO; brand custodianship.
In Practice: Branding Success Stories
What are the secrets of creating a great brand? This chapter explains how Intel, Toyota, Virgin, and Coca-Cola have managed to create some of the greatest brands of all time. It includes case studies of: Intel's "Intel inside" strategy; Coca-Cola; Virgin; Toyota.
Key Concepts and Thinkers
Branding has its own language. Get to grips with the lexicon of brands through the Express Exec branding glossary in this chapter, which also covers: key concepts; key thinkers.
Resources
Countless words have been written about the subject of branding. This chapter identifies the best branding resources: Websites; books and articles on branding.
Ten Steps to Making Branding Work
Brand theory is one thing; putting it into practice another. This final chapter provides some key insights into creating and sustaining a brand in today's business environment, covering the following steps: own minds, not products; dare to be different; fall in love ("brandlove"); put a price on the brand; make your brand a corporate touchstone; know your place; get continuous feedback; find brand partners; protect your brand; nurture the brand.
Corporate Branding
By Bill Valentino
Even the most sophisticated marketers need the reminder from time to time that the "walk" counts for more than the "talk".
Nowadays, Corporate Social Responsibility has become a bridge that provides cohesion between disparate marketing elements and brand building, giving companies the tools to work with passion and imagination to maintain the capability to deliver everything they believe in and aspire to.
The cliché, "actions speaks louder than words" underscores the reality that "everything" communicates and this is where brands supported greatly by CSR, visibly manifest themselves through the many ways they touch people’s lives.
Branding is more important today than ever given the ever-increasing emphasis being placed on connecting corporations, their products and values to stakeholders in an emotionally profound way. Giving back to society is indisputably good business and in this context CSR has an essential role to play in creating, building and protecting brands.
The coexistence of business and social engagement has manifested itself in the founding beliefs of many companies and has become an integral part of their brand image. But this always tends to be separated from main business activities - a program run by a service department, using PR to publicize it as a badge of respectability and goodness. CSR is sometimes just tacked on to brands. The real challenge is to infuse the brand with the concept of weaving CSR into the business process and business strategy, not on the basis of being something just nice to have, but as an integral part of the process of doing business itself.
CSR excites by creating brand belief with an intuitive feel for people and a strong grasp of contemporary life and issues. It allows companies to be perceptive about changing conditions by giving them the tools to work with passion and imagination to maintain the capability to deliver everything they believe in and aspire to while at he same time contributing to the solutions of some of the most pressing problems and needs in society. It is through brands that companies get talked about and strong communities form around them inspiring loyalty.
It is here that powerful logo identities backed by powerful brand equity become the shorthand for the meanings attached to them. This greatly influences stakeholders to be receptive to the messages and perceptions communicated by logos, which act as a symbol of what a company represents or desires to represent.
These efforts ultimately join together what a brand does commercially, with what CSR does socially and environmentally for a company, thereby aiming to make them inseparable. It is here that brand building can integrate CSR into a seamless, cohesive and consistent process that creates the true definition of a brand, which is simply a collection of perceptions in the mind of consumers and stakeholders.
Marketing leadership champions brand leadership but CSR connects both marketing and branding to the heart of an organization, that is to the leadership at the very top. Within a company, CSR helps to ensure that a brand is both consistent over time and cohesive across disciplines.
While marketing is the ongoing process identifying the particular wants and needs of a target market of customers and satisfying those needs better than the competitors, branding is inextricably linked to it because it supports marketing’s sole objective to facilitate making a purchase decision. Branding facilitates this by offering strong brands that are clearly differentiated and that offer clear, real value and potential for competitive advantage to companies.
It is true that the best brands tend to have a strong sense of their past but they live in the present and aim to create the future.
Brands infused with CSR have an instinctive feel for the zeitgeist, an eye for the subtle shifts in modern culture and alertness to economic, social and environmental developments. At a brand level, companies seek to understand the way people lead their lives and go about their day, of which consumption is a part. It looks at what people do, not just what they say and explores issues like social and personal identity while developing a picture of stakeholders within the context of contemporary society. It begins to uncover how consumers are making extraordinary fundamental decisions on behalf of the brands they buy or how stakeholders interact with the companies that hold them.
Strong brands that are consistent have the power to anchor values, which liberate the brands to respond to changes in markets, culture, competition, legislation, environmental issues in whatever market they are competing in. When a brand stands for something and is able to deliver, this creates an inspiring belief backed by great capability that leads to greater brand confidence.
The business world operates today with a completely different set of values where speed has replaced stability, intangible assets have become more valuable than tangible assets and new market opportunities are not based on squeezing costs and increasing profits as in the traditional business model. Goods and services are no longer enough to attract a new market or even to maintain existing markets or customers. The combination of CSR and branding appeals more to the emotional aspect of products and services and is defining the key difference between consumers’ ultimate choice and the price they are willing to pay. The emotional aspect underscores "how a brand engages consumers and stakeholders on the level of the senses and emotions: how a brand comes to life for people and forges a deeper, lasting connection." (Marc Gobe – Emotional Branding)
The future of branding is listening carefully to stakeholders in what is called stakeholder dialogue. This enables companies to connect powerfully with them by bringing a diverse array of solutions to their world.
Traditional companies will not be able to rely on their brand history or dominance in markets. They will have to focus on providing brands with a powerful emotional content and to deliver messages about their products, which also have relevance in respect to social and environmental issues.
Through CSR, companies have the tools to connect and serve consumers and stakeholders as real living, breathing, complex people which will always win out over short-term marketing hype and will always be the key to creating the kind of brand that have a long-term emotional affect and presence in peoples lives.
In this pursuit, CSR activities should not be random but a theme that relates to a company’s business purpose. Such CSR programs can tell you how the company wants to think of itself, how it would prefer to be seen by investors, other stakeholders and the communities where they do business.
A brand is brought to life for stakeholders by the personality of the company behind it and that company’s commitment to reaching them on an emotional level. In this context, in order to remain relevant and survive, it has become essential that companies begin to align themselves with causes important to stakeholders and consumers who are constantly raising the bar for the expectations of social and environmental responsibility on the part of corporations.
In this age of consumer empowerment, corporations that are caught in the act of negligence or disregard in terms of social or environmental issues will experience a devastating negative impact on their brand equity. The bottom line is that CSR, at its core, addresses what really matters to stakeholders and that has not only proven to bolster brand equity but at the same time provided a channel through which a stakeholder / brand relationships can deepen. This holistic experience based on CSR that consumers have with products and that stakeholders have with corporate brands will have a profound impact on the future of not just branding but on how business on a whole will be conducted.
In all honesty, brands can survive without belief or without emotional connections but in terms of sustainable business, survival is just not a valid option for any organization.
Words, even words backed by actions and changes in behavior against a backdrop of an overload of advertising clutter, media scrutiny, and the seemingly limitless choices available for stakeholders are not enough. Branding, focuses on a most compelling aspect of human character, the desire to transcend material satisfaction and experience emotional fulfillment. This is how CSR, interacting with branding in companies begins to tap into the aspirational drives which underlie human motivation and as the tool to accomplish just that, branding is essential in the MBA toolkit.
About the author:
Bill Valentino, continuously working for Bayer in China since 1987, holds a MBA from Thunderbird, the Gavin School of Management, and a MA in Technology and Communications from Columbia University, New York. He co-directs the Tsinghua-Bayer Public Health and HIV/AIDS Media Studies Program and is a Senior Guest Lecturer at the Center for International Communications at Tsinghua University. He is also currently the Chairman of the European Chamber's CSR Working Group and a long-standing member of the AmCham CSR Committee in Beijing.
Monday, 2 July 2007
Restaurant: public relations
KB NETWORK NEWS
AC Why do you feel that chefs need a publicist? And do all chefs need one?
KB Chefs need guidance and support. They need somebody who understands what they're doing, to help them bring out their best. Before we start promoting them, we make sure we understand them. I believe I know what the public is looking for, and I believe I know what the critics are looking for. They're two different things, and it's important that a menu reflects and cooks for both audiences. Some chefs come in and say, 'I want to be a TV superstar.' Well, that's a bad attitude. You should be a chef Look at the most famous chefs out there--Boulud, Ducasse, Thomas Keller--all the press you ever see about them is about being a chef. The chefs marketing their pots and pans, promoting this and that, at some movie premiere--that's not about being a chef. Cooking extraordinary food is what makes you famous, so don't stop doing it. I tell them do what you love, the money will come. Our goal is to make sure the public is enjoying the experience, and the restaurant is going to get well-reviewed. We get their name out there, get the pre-opening press, opening press, bring them to the attention of the critics, and get as much editorial coverage as possible. Make sure that everybody knows this restaurant is opening. Then it's up to them to keep the restaurant open and keep it successful by delivering the experience. We can only deliver the promise. They have to keep the promise.
But I don't think every chef needs a publicist. They have to be ready. They have to be able to afford it. They have to have something interesting to say. There has to be a news hook. We won't represent anything we don't believe in.
AC What about chefs in smaller markets, or in rural areas--do they need publicity?
KB I think even more so. [Publicists] are bringing the chef to the attention of magazines that they wouldn't necessarily be familiar with. If it's something that's exciting, this chef from the middle of nowhere is doing this fantastic thing--you know, people graduate from the CIA or the French Culinary Institute, they come to New York, it's on easier route, but if somebody's really doing extraordinary food--whether you're looking in the Michelin guidebooks, or any kind of books, they're always telling you about restaurants off the beaten path. Those are the ones that you look for ... That's what's exciting. That's the kind of stuff that journalists and editors and food writers get excited about, too.
AC So, it sounds like a publicist's role varies based on who the client is. Is there anything that a publicist doesn't do?
KB Don't date the client. Ever. Or you're fired. There's no way. There's no dating clients. Absolutely not. Or journalists for that matter. If an employee happens to be married to a chef, that's lovely, but he's not going to be our client. And [my employees] can never talk back. I believe we have to always behave like ladies and be very gracious and strong, but accommodating. Especially with a chef, you don't cross the line by being negative.
I think we have to always understand that the chef is the client and we are the publicists, and we get abused all the time. It's part of the job, unfortunately. It shouldn't be, but it is. I tell my girls, instead of saying, 'You know where you can go,' I will say to the chef, 'As your publicists, we need to love you so that we'll pitch you and represent you better. If you're mean to your publicist, how is she supposed to say that you're the greatest thing since sliced bread?' Chefs should be nice, be supportive, be grateful, because people are working hard for them. They can't treat us like their psychiatrists, even though they do. They can't treat us like their girlfriends, even though they do. You want the client to trust you and feel comfortable around you, but you have to create a level of professionalism and not let them cross the line. We're not their personal assistants. Forget it. We do only what pertains to the job, the PR. We're always accessible to them, and we'll go the extra mile. They have to go to a TV shoot on a Sunday at o am, we go with them. We'll do all of that, but it has to pertain to their professional career.
AC What do you ask or encourage a chef to do in order to become a great client?
KB They need to understand what their concept is, who they want to feed. I'll ask them, what do you want the New York Times review to say about you? And they'll say, That I'm doing really good food that's ingredient-driven.' Well if it's not ingredient-driven food, what the hell is it? What does that mean? Bottom line, I'll say, 'Who are you cooking for?' It's about bringing them to the truth. We give them advice on their appearance, of course. We tell them if they need media training. We'll tell them to deliver the promise that we're making on their behalf. Another thing that I'll do with chefs is tell them what restaurants to eat at. Don't copy it, but be inspired. Get to know your market, know your industry, empower yourself with
What can you do once a bad review or other bad press has materialized?
Well, that's always very difficult. More often than not, we've warned them. We give tasting reports and pre-review restaurants constantly in the beginning phases and throughout the process. Often, if they don't pay attention to what we've said, you'll read the exact same comments in the newspaper review. Then they'll say, 'You were right.' I don't want to be right. I just want you to have had a good review. We do a complete analysis of the review, and separate the good from the bad, look at the bad and say, 'Do we agree with any of these things?' It's very damaging. Very damaging. However, some restaurants have never been reviewed, or had not-great reviews, and are still always busy. Why? Consistency. They're delivering the promise. So it's not just about press, it's not just about reviews. Word-of-mouth is very strong.
What would you recommend for a chef whose establishment can't afford to retain a publicist--are there things that they can do that won't cost them a lot of money?
I think anyone can afford a publicist. You don't have to go for haute couture, you can go off the rack. You have to spend money to make money, and everybody knows that as well. I wouldn't recommend that chefs just do it themselves, although they can. I would recommend that they have an assistant helping them. Or their wife. Not everybody needs a big national campaign. A lot of chefs really don't write well. They're not writers. They're chefs. In a small town, maybe the chef wears all the many hats and he's on the phone talking to press, because there's maybe five people in the whole town that are journalists. Fine, but you can get yourself into trouble. They don't all want the same story. You need to worry about exclusives. It can get a little difficult, and they can find themselves in an area that they're not familiar with and say the wrong thing. Who knows? It can be pretty serious. But it depends on the individual. I have some clients that I tell them, 'You could do this yourself. You should be my publicist.'
jennifer baum is the founder and owner of Bullfrog & Baum, a full-service public relations, consulting and marketing firm with a focus on restaurants, hotels, retail stores, personalities and products. Baum got her start in the world of beauly PR, paid her dues in New York and Philadelphia restaurants, and holds an MBA in finance and management. She has worked in management, marketing and business development for a number of restaurant groups, including Ark Restaurants and Toscorp, and she opened Bullfrog & Baum in 2000. She currently manages a staff of seventeen, in New York and Los Angeles.
BULLFROG & BAUM
AC What's a typical day for you?
JB Well, there is no typical day. That's why I like this business, because nothing is rote. There's definitely task work and administrative work, but--I'll tell you what I did today. I had my weekly staff meeting. Then we had a meeting with a new video producer. I had a conference call with a new client. I had lunch with a journalist. Then I came back and had to do some dining reports. I had to touch base with some new clients, deal with getting their contracts back. Then I took Pilates (laughing) which I do twice a week because that's for my sanity. Tonight I'll go to dinner with a journalist at a new restaurant that we represent. That's today. That's sort of representative of how any day can be. I'll have client meetings, tastings, media dinners or media lunches. I don't have an assistant, so I write my own proposals and I write my own contracts, with my lawyer. Twice a week I'm out at dinners. So that's my basic week.
AC Why does a chef or restaurant need a publicist?
JB I feel that in order for people to stay ahead of the curve and on top of the media in this market [New York], they need an advocate. There are great chefs out there without publicists. I've always said this. I sat on a panel for Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, and there was this big argument in the audience about why chefs need publicists. I do think, in a perfect world, that great journalists will find those restaurants that are family-run and putting out great food and great hospitality, but the reality is that there's so much of that going on in major markets that, in order to navigate the landscape, you need some help. That doesn't mean that there aren't [well-known] chefs and restaurants who don't have publicists, or who didn't for the longest time. Mario Batali, Tom Colicchio, Danny Meyer--they never had PR until very recently.
[As publicists] we don't just send press releases. I will eat at one of my new restaurants four times this week, because I have to work my way through the menu. We give them dining reports. We work on the menu with them. We work on the dining experience with them, to get them ready for the public.
AC Is PR as essential in smaller markets and rural areas?
JB You'd be surprised how many people call for PR from those areas. They don't necessarily need PR. In some places, it's all word-of-mouth and loyal customer following, and there aren't thousands of choices, so if you put out good food at a decent price and your maitre d' knows the people who come in, that's enough. The press is not going to increase their business. Those smaller markets have maybe three local media outlets. You invite them in, and they review you and that's the end of it.
AC What kind of advice do you give chefs to make them more marketable?
JB I encourage them to be truthful and honest about what they're doing. We encourage goodwill participation in [charity] events. One thing I absolutely cannot stand is when a chef says he's going to do something, and then wants to know what he's going to get in return for it. You have to do it because you want to do it.
AC What happens when a bad review or other bad press surfaces?
JB 0It depends. If it's on a blog, we do not respond. It is our policy not to respond. [Blogs] represent one person's voice, and they have this need to be heard. What they seek is power, and if you respond, you give it to them. How do we respond to a bad review? We let it go. I had a client who got a "satisfactory" [from the New York Times]. We had given him dining reports, everything in writing that we suggested before he opened. He sat us down and said, 'I got a call from another PR firm and they said that if they represented me, I wouldn't have gotten a satisfactory.' We ended that relationship. He just called me to represent him againl (Laughing). Here's the deal. I will do what I can to get you ready but if you don't listen to me, there's nothing I can do.
AC Do you have advice for those chefs whose restaurants cannot afford PR?
JB For them, it's about getting the local people in. We would advise smaller restaurants to write a release, send it to all the local publications. Invite the reviewers in, and keep sending them your menus. That's the only thing you can really do if you don't have an advocate out there. The bottom line is that people should build PR into their budget. When people don't put it into their budget for PR, it becomes a reactive expense. But smaller restaurants really need to reach out to their local community. I really believe that if you're serving good food in a friendly environment, someone will find you. Even if no one ever writes about you, your local community will support you.
I think it's a shame that everybody needs to have a publicist, because it's a lot of money. Let's say the fee is $5,000 a month. That's $60,000 a year. As it is, only 15 percent of a restaurant's revenue comes back to them, if that, so then we're taking a piece of that? It's so much money. I'm not saying that we're not worth it. We work really hard and we do keep our chefs out there. But it feels bad to me that every restaurant feels that they're nothing if they can't hire a publicist.
'blog: Short for 'web log': a web site that contains a journal with reflections, news or comments, as well as links to related sites, proviaed by the author.
steven hall
sam firer
THE HALL COMPANY
Steven Hall and Sam Firer are the founders and co-owners of the Hall Company. They are both veterans of the New York restaurant scene who began their careers in front-of-house positions. Hall got his start in PR as an associate at KB Network News, and left to open his own firm, with the help of Simon Oren's Tour de France restaurant group. He then recruited Firer, whom he'd met working at Iridium. The company recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and opened a satellite office in Tokyo.
AC Why do you think that chefs need publicists?
SH We're the eyes and ears of our clients. Let's face it, how often does a chef get to go out and eat in other restaurants if they're working? But we do. We can say, 'We went to this place, maybe you should check it out, look at this menu, and learn from what your peers are doing.' So I think they hire us to be that sounding board, and not just to handle the press. They want us to let them know what's going on in the industry.
AC Is there a holy grail of press or publicity that chefs aspire to?
SH If they're a first-time restaurateur, they want to be part of the restaurant game. They want to know that they can be included in events. They want to be known as a restaurant owner. They want to develop a personality for themselves as restaurant owners because they're thinking about the next project as soon as they've opened their first project.
SF I think that the two biggest holy grails are, they want a fabulous career, and they want to retire early. (Laughing).
AC What do you do when a bad review or other bad press materializes?
SF Buy every single paper. (Laughing).
SH Life goes on, life definitely goes on. Part of the reason we have a business is because there's life beyond good reviews and bad reviews. One review doesn't make or break you anymore. New media has really changed the scene. I think things are creeping up that are going to be amazing. Podcasts, stuff like that. There's a whole world of people out there that don't care about the printed word. They get their news somewhere else.
SF We've found that blogs are becoming a very popular way for people to get their news. You know, we've combated many bad reviews. Years ago, when we did Roy's New York and it was Bill Grimes' second or third review as the critic of the New York Times, that was brutal. It took down somebody who was a nationally known figure, but the fact is, so many people loved Roy anyway that the review didn't matter. People still wanted to write about him.
SH You have to think that people have five minutes of memory. That's all they have. I said to Roy [Yamaguchi], 'It's not a big deal, people will not remember this in three weeks.'
SF Who has time to read, in New York City, all five weekly and daily publications that are out there, plus the monthly publications? I can sometimes not remember who got reviewed last week. How can I expect somebody who's not in the industry to remember who got reviewed last week? So, nothing has the same staying power that it used to. What we try and do is take every single aspect of our restaurants to get them press. There's a lot of press on cocktail culture. Soon the bar chef thing will be tiresome to people. They're not going to write about it anymore. Now one of our clients has a beer sommelier. So far we've gotten more press on that than we have on the food.
SH I've found it's the elements of the restaurant that give it buzz, not the whole concept.
SF Right. I mean, how many stories have we seen on restaurant bathrooms?
AC What would you suggest for the chef who wants to raise his or her profile, but whose establishment cannot afford the services of a publicist?
SH Keep in touch with hotels and concierges, people who send people to restaurants. Become a part of your industry, so people will recognize who you are Do events. Make friends with other chefs. Make sure that you shake hands and kiss babies when you're out on the floor. Look clean. Go out there, say hello to your customers, and keep them coming back. know the key media people in your area.
SF It's the message on the phone, and what the host says when guests arrive, and what the waiters say, the words and the images that they're looking at It's not that magical. It's really the management of a thousand tiny things.
robin insley earned a master's degree in nutrition from Tufts University, and is a veteran of the New York restaurant PR game, having spent eight years working with Fern Berman Communications and another two with Susan Magrino Public Relations. After a stint with global PR powerhouse Fleishman-Hillard, Insley opened her own firm, representing chefs, restaurants, wines and spirits.
ROBIN INSLEY ASSOCIATES
AC Why do you think that chefs and restaurants need publicists?
RI There have been high-profile restaurants that I've worked with that need a publicist to help manage all the press inquiries, making sure it's being handled appropriately, because there is just so much going on in a restaurant, that they can't possibly be able to do it all. The other thing is for new restaurants, getting them known to the public. Sometimes it's hard for a chef to reach out and explain, in his or her own words, what makes them unique and worthwhile. They need to be guided.
AC What about a chef that's working in a suburban or rural area, where there's not a huge media presence? What can a publicist do for them?
RI I think what a publicist can do for them is make people aware that they're out there, make people aware that these are quality chefs. They've chosen a particular region for a particular reason, and they're a talent that's worthy of recognition. They're contributing to the culinary landscape of America. A publicist can also serve a marketing role within a community, and still help chefs with their press needs on a local level.
AC What are some of the things that chefs typically expect when hiring a publicist? Is there a holy grail of publicity among chefs?
RI Instant stardom. (Laughing). You know, they want to be on the 'Today' show, and be the front-cover story of the big magazines. Chef and restaurateurs approach publicists for different reasons. They want to become well-known. They want be a personality on television. They have a long-term goal of writing cookbooks. I get behind them and raise the public's awareness of them.
I think a lot of it is teaching and making them aware of how the whole system works. There's a lot of media training. People sometimes want me to work with advertising and marketing, but that's not my expertise and it wouldn't do them any service to have me do it. There's a lot of hand-holding. I've worked with a couple of clients who have been new to the whole idea of public relations, some that have come to New York from smaller cities. New York is a different animal. I do a lot of explaining in simple but explicit terms that this is what I do, this is what you do, kind of laying it all out, and letting them know that it's ultimately up to them to sell themselves. We can bring the journalists to them and showcase all the positive things, the uniqueness of the story, but when the journalist goes to the restaurant, it really is their own dining experience, and we can't write their experience for them. Public relations makes people aware, but it doesn't determine the outcome. I think that's hard for some chefs, when they're first starting out with PR, to understand.
AC Are you saying that hiring a publicist doesn't mean you're hiring a sure-thing good review or other positive editorial mention?
RI Yes. You could hire the most high-profile publicist around, spend so much money on it, and they can bring the high-profile journalists in, but it's ultimately up to you, the chef, to make them have that great experience. And I do think that the media wants to hear from the chef him- or herself. They can have a whole press kit and learn about the chef, but it's not until the chef comes out for that one-on-one interaction that the journalist is satisfied.
AC What advice or encouragement do you give to help chefs become more marketable?
RI You can do outside media training, or the publicist can sit down with them one-on-one, rehearse, for their first couple of interviews. Run some questions by them and talk about how to answer them. It helps when I get the questions in advance. Or, we go through a list of standard questions they can expect. For a chef who is just breaking into the industry, it's important to make sure that all the talking points are reviewed. Being on television is much harder and much more complicated than it appears, so, I do encourage chefs who've never been on television to go to a media trainer, because that is a certain expertise that's not necessarily instinctive. I also make sure they're out there on the scene, being seen in public, being seen in the dining room. It doesn't mean that you spend your whole night in the dining room, because everyone likes to know that the chef is in the kitchen cooking for them, but it is nice to maybe make a sweep during each turn. You want to seem visible. The other thing is participating in charity events. Participating in cooking classes. A lot of places do their own advertising, so you'll benefit from their advertising with your picture and the name of your restaurant.
It doesn't happen overnight. You also have to understand that some publications are working as far as four or six months in advance, and just because I make a phone call, it doesn't mean that you're going to be in that issue. It's a long process, even for daily and weekly publications, it's a long process of needling away and being persistent. You have to look at the person who handles your PR as part of your team.
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AC Why do you feel that chefs need a publicist? And do all chefs need one?
KB Chefs need guidance and support. They need somebody who understands what they're doing, to help them bring out their best. Before we start promoting them, we make sure we understand them. I believe I know what the public is looking for, and I believe I know what the critics are looking for. They're two different things, and it's important that a menu reflects and cooks for both audiences. Some chefs come in and say, 'I want to be a TV superstar.' Well, that's a bad attitude. You should be a chef Look at the most famous chefs out there--Boulud, Ducasse, Thomas Keller--all the press you ever see about them is about being a chef. The chefs marketing their pots and pans, promoting this and that, at some movie premiere--that's not about being a chef. Cooking extraordinary food is what makes you famous, so don't stop doing it. I tell them do what you love, the money will come. Our goal is to make sure the public is enjoying the experience, and the restaurant is going to get well-reviewed. We get their name out there, get the pre-opening press, opening press, bring them to the attention of the critics, and get as much editorial coverage as possible. Make sure that everybody knows this restaurant is opening. Then it's up to them to keep the restaurant open and keep it successful by delivering the experience. We can only deliver the promise. They have to keep the promise.
But I don't think every chef needs a publicist. They have to be ready. They have to be able to afford it. They have to have something interesting to say. There has to be a news hook. We won't represent anything we don't believe in.
AC What about chefs in smaller markets, or in rural areas--do they need publicity?
KB I think even more so. [Publicists] are bringing the chef to the attention of magazines that they wouldn't necessarily be familiar with. If it's something that's exciting, this chef from the middle of nowhere is doing this fantastic thing--you know, people graduate from the CIA or the French Culinary Institute, they come to New York, it's on easier route, but if somebody's really doing extraordinary food--whether you're looking in the Michelin guidebooks, or any kind of books, they're always telling you about restaurants off the beaten path. Those are the ones that you look for ... That's what's exciting. That's the kind of stuff that journalists and editors and food writers get excited about, too.
AC So, it sounds like a publicist's role varies based on who the client is. Is there anything that a publicist doesn't do?
KB Don't date the client. Ever. Or you're fired. There's no way. There's no dating clients. Absolutely not. Or journalists for that matter. If an employee happens to be married to a chef, that's lovely, but he's not going to be our client. And [my employees] can never talk back. I believe we have to always behave like ladies and be very gracious and strong, but accommodating. Especially with a chef, you don't cross the line by being negative.
I think we have to always understand that the chef is the client and we are the publicists, and we get abused all the time. It's part of the job, unfortunately. It shouldn't be, but it is. I tell my girls, instead of saying, 'You know where you can go,' I will say to the chef, 'As your publicists, we need to love you so that we'll pitch you and represent you better. If you're mean to your publicist, how is she supposed to say that you're the greatest thing since sliced bread?' Chefs should be nice, be supportive, be grateful, because people are working hard for them. They can't treat us like their psychiatrists, even though they do. They can't treat us like their girlfriends, even though they do. You want the client to trust you and feel comfortable around you, but you have to create a level of professionalism and not let them cross the line. We're not their personal assistants. Forget it. We do only what pertains to the job, the PR. We're always accessible to them, and we'll go the extra mile. They have to go to a TV shoot on a Sunday at o am, we go with them. We'll do all of that, but it has to pertain to their professional career.
AC What do you ask or encourage a chef to do in order to become a great client?
KB They need to understand what their concept is, who they want to feed. I'll ask them, what do you want the New York Times review to say about you? And they'll say, That I'm doing really good food that's ingredient-driven.' Well if it's not ingredient-driven food, what the hell is it? What does that mean? Bottom line, I'll say, 'Who are you cooking for?' It's about bringing them to the truth. We give them advice on their appearance, of course. We tell them if they need media training. We'll tell them to deliver the promise that we're making on their behalf. Another thing that I'll do with chefs is tell them what restaurants to eat at. Don't copy it, but be inspired. Get to know your market, know your industry, empower yourself with
What can you do once a bad review or other bad press has materialized?
Well, that's always very difficult. More often than not, we've warned them. We give tasting reports and pre-review restaurants constantly in the beginning phases and throughout the process. Often, if they don't pay attention to what we've said, you'll read the exact same comments in the newspaper review. Then they'll say, 'You were right.' I don't want to be right. I just want you to have had a good review. We do a complete analysis of the review, and separate the good from the bad, look at the bad and say, 'Do we agree with any of these things?' It's very damaging. Very damaging. However, some restaurants have never been reviewed, or had not-great reviews, and are still always busy. Why? Consistency. They're delivering the promise. So it's not just about press, it's not just about reviews. Word-of-mouth is very strong.
What would you recommend for a chef whose establishment can't afford to retain a publicist--are there things that they can do that won't cost them a lot of money?
I think anyone can afford a publicist. You don't have to go for haute couture, you can go off the rack. You have to spend money to make money, and everybody knows that as well. I wouldn't recommend that chefs just do it themselves, although they can. I would recommend that they have an assistant helping them. Or their wife. Not everybody needs a big national campaign. A lot of chefs really don't write well. They're not writers. They're chefs. In a small town, maybe the chef wears all the many hats and he's on the phone talking to press, because there's maybe five people in the whole town that are journalists. Fine, but you can get yourself into trouble. They don't all want the same story. You need to worry about exclusives. It can get a little difficult, and they can find themselves in an area that they're not familiar with and say the wrong thing. Who knows? It can be pretty serious. But it depends on the individual. I have some clients that I tell them, 'You could do this yourself. You should be my publicist.'
jennifer baum is the founder and owner of Bullfrog & Baum, a full-service public relations, consulting and marketing firm with a focus on restaurants, hotels, retail stores, personalities and products. Baum got her start in the world of beauly PR, paid her dues in New York and Philadelphia restaurants, and holds an MBA in finance and management. She has worked in management, marketing and business development for a number of restaurant groups, including Ark Restaurants and Toscorp, and she opened Bullfrog & Baum in 2000. She currently manages a staff of seventeen, in New York and Los Angeles.
BULLFROG & BAUM
AC What's a typical day for you?
JB Well, there is no typical day. That's why I like this business, because nothing is rote. There's definitely task work and administrative work, but--I'll tell you what I did today. I had my weekly staff meeting. Then we had a meeting with a new video producer. I had a conference call with a new client. I had lunch with a journalist. Then I came back and had to do some dining reports. I had to touch base with some new clients, deal with getting their contracts back. Then I took Pilates (laughing) which I do twice a week because that's for my sanity. Tonight I'll go to dinner with a journalist at a new restaurant that we represent. That's today. That's sort of representative of how any day can be. I'll have client meetings, tastings, media dinners or media lunches. I don't have an assistant, so I write my own proposals and I write my own contracts, with my lawyer. Twice a week I'm out at dinners. So that's my basic week.
AC Why does a chef or restaurant need a publicist?
JB I feel that in order for people to stay ahead of the curve and on top of the media in this market [New York], they need an advocate. There are great chefs out there without publicists. I've always said this. I sat on a panel for Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, and there was this big argument in the audience about why chefs need publicists. I do think, in a perfect world, that great journalists will find those restaurants that are family-run and putting out great food and great hospitality, but the reality is that there's so much of that going on in major markets that, in order to navigate the landscape, you need some help. That doesn't mean that there aren't [well-known] chefs and restaurants who don't have publicists, or who didn't for the longest time. Mario Batali, Tom Colicchio, Danny Meyer--they never had PR until very recently.
[As publicists] we don't just send press releases. I will eat at one of my new restaurants four times this week, because I have to work my way through the menu. We give them dining reports. We work on the menu with them. We work on the dining experience with them, to get them ready for the public.
AC Is PR as essential in smaller markets and rural areas?
JB You'd be surprised how many people call for PR from those areas. They don't necessarily need PR. In some places, it's all word-of-mouth and loyal customer following, and there aren't thousands of choices, so if you put out good food at a decent price and your maitre d' knows the people who come in, that's enough. The press is not going to increase their business. Those smaller markets have maybe three local media outlets. You invite them in, and they review you and that's the end of it.
AC What kind of advice do you give chefs to make them more marketable?
JB I encourage them to be truthful and honest about what they're doing. We encourage goodwill participation in [charity] events. One thing I absolutely cannot stand is when a chef says he's going to do something, and then wants to know what he's going to get in return for it. You have to do it because you want to do it.
AC What happens when a bad review or other bad press surfaces?
JB 0It depends. If it's on a blog, we do not respond. It is our policy not to respond. [Blogs] represent one person's voice, and they have this need to be heard. What they seek is power, and if you respond, you give it to them. How do we respond to a bad review? We let it go. I had a client who got a "satisfactory" [from the New York Times]. We had given him dining reports, everything in writing that we suggested before he opened. He sat us down and said, 'I got a call from another PR firm and they said that if they represented me, I wouldn't have gotten a satisfactory.' We ended that relationship. He just called me to represent him againl (Laughing). Here's the deal. I will do what I can to get you ready but if you don't listen to me, there's nothing I can do.
AC Do you have advice for those chefs whose restaurants cannot afford PR?
JB For them, it's about getting the local people in. We would advise smaller restaurants to write a release, send it to all the local publications. Invite the reviewers in, and keep sending them your menus. That's the only thing you can really do if you don't have an advocate out there. The bottom line is that people should build PR into their budget. When people don't put it into their budget for PR, it becomes a reactive expense. But smaller restaurants really need to reach out to their local community. I really believe that if you're serving good food in a friendly environment, someone will find you. Even if no one ever writes about you, your local community will support you.
I think it's a shame that everybody needs to have a publicist, because it's a lot of money. Let's say the fee is $5,000 a month. That's $60,000 a year. As it is, only 15 percent of a restaurant's revenue comes back to them, if that, so then we're taking a piece of that? It's so much money. I'm not saying that we're not worth it. We work really hard and we do keep our chefs out there. But it feels bad to me that every restaurant feels that they're nothing if they can't hire a publicist.
'blog: Short for 'web log': a web site that contains a journal with reflections, news or comments, as well as links to related sites, proviaed by the author.
steven hall
sam firer
THE HALL COMPANY
Steven Hall and Sam Firer are the founders and co-owners of the Hall Company. They are both veterans of the New York restaurant scene who began their careers in front-of-house positions. Hall got his start in PR as an associate at KB Network News, and left to open his own firm, with the help of Simon Oren's Tour de France restaurant group. He then recruited Firer, whom he'd met working at Iridium. The company recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and opened a satellite office in Tokyo.
AC Why do you think that chefs need publicists?
SH We're the eyes and ears of our clients. Let's face it, how often does a chef get to go out and eat in other restaurants if they're working? But we do. We can say, 'We went to this place, maybe you should check it out, look at this menu, and learn from what your peers are doing.' So I think they hire us to be that sounding board, and not just to handle the press. They want us to let them know what's going on in the industry.
AC Is there a holy grail of press or publicity that chefs aspire to?
SH If they're a first-time restaurateur, they want to be part of the restaurant game. They want to know that they can be included in events. They want to be known as a restaurant owner. They want to develop a personality for themselves as restaurant owners because they're thinking about the next project as soon as they've opened their first project.
SF I think that the two biggest holy grails are, they want a fabulous career, and they want to retire early. (Laughing).
AC What do you do when a bad review or other bad press materializes?
SF Buy every single paper. (Laughing).
SH Life goes on, life definitely goes on. Part of the reason we have a business is because there's life beyond good reviews and bad reviews. One review doesn't make or break you anymore. New media has really changed the scene. I think things are creeping up that are going to be amazing. Podcasts, stuff like that. There's a whole world of people out there that don't care about the printed word. They get their news somewhere else.
SF We've found that blogs are becoming a very popular way for people to get their news. You know, we've combated many bad reviews. Years ago, when we did Roy's New York and it was Bill Grimes' second or third review as the critic of the New York Times, that was brutal. It took down somebody who was a nationally known figure, but the fact is, so many people loved Roy anyway that the review didn't matter. People still wanted to write about him.
SH You have to think that people have five minutes of memory. That's all they have. I said to Roy [Yamaguchi], 'It's not a big deal, people will not remember this in three weeks.'
SF Who has time to read, in New York City, all five weekly and daily publications that are out there, plus the monthly publications? I can sometimes not remember who got reviewed last week. How can I expect somebody who's not in the industry to remember who got reviewed last week? So, nothing has the same staying power that it used to. What we try and do is take every single aspect of our restaurants to get them press. There's a lot of press on cocktail culture. Soon the bar chef thing will be tiresome to people. They're not going to write about it anymore. Now one of our clients has a beer sommelier. So far we've gotten more press on that than we have on the food.
SH I've found it's the elements of the restaurant that give it buzz, not the whole concept.
SF Right. I mean, how many stories have we seen on restaurant bathrooms?
AC What would you suggest for the chef who wants to raise his or her profile, but whose establishment cannot afford the services of a publicist?
SH Keep in touch with hotels and concierges, people who send people to restaurants. Become a part of your industry, so people will recognize who you are Do events. Make friends with other chefs. Make sure that you shake hands and kiss babies when you're out on the floor. Look clean. Go out there, say hello to your customers, and keep them coming back. know the key media people in your area.
SF It's the message on the phone, and what the host says when guests arrive, and what the waiters say, the words and the images that they're looking at It's not that magical. It's really the management of a thousand tiny things.
robin insley earned a master's degree in nutrition from Tufts University, and is a veteran of the New York restaurant PR game, having spent eight years working with Fern Berman Communications and another two with Susan Magrino Public Relations. After a stint with global PR powerhouse Fleishman-Hillard, Insley opened her own firm, representing chefs, restaurants, wines and spirits.
ROBIN INSLEY ASSOCIATES
AC Why do you think that chefs and restaurants need publicists?
RI There have been high-profile restaurants that I've worked with that need a publicist to help manage all the press inquiries, making sure it's being handled appropriately, because there is just so much going on in a restaurant, that they can't possibly be able to do it all. The other thing is for new restaurants, getting them known to the public. Sometimes it's hard for a chef to reach out and explain, in his or her own words, what makes them unique and worthwhile. They need to be guided.
AC What about a chef that's working in a suburban or rural area, where there's not a huge media presence? What can a publicist do for them?
RI I think what a publicist can do for them is make people aware that they're out there, make people aware that these are quality chefs. They've chosen a particular region for a particular reason, and they're a talent that's worthy of recognition. They're contributing to the culinary landscape of America. A publicist can also serve a marketing role within a community, and still help chefs with their press needs on a local level.
AC What are some of the things that chefs typically expect when hiring a publicist? Is there a holy grail of publicity among chefs?
RI Instant stardom. (Laughing). You know, they want to be on the 'Today' show, and be the front-cover story of the big magazines. Chef and restaurateurs approach publicists for different reasons. They want to become well-known. They want be a personality on television. They have a long-term goal of writing cookbooks. I get behind them and raise the public's awareness of them.
I think a lot of it is teaching and making them aware of how the whole system works. There's a lot of media training. People sometimes want me to work with advertising and marketing, but that's not my expertise and it wouldn't do them any service to have me do it. There's a lot of hand-holding. I've worked with a couple of clients who have been new to the whole idea of public relations, some that have come to New York from smaller cities. New York is a different animal. I do a lot of explaining in simple but explicit terms that this is what I do, this is what you do, kind of laying it all out, and letting them know that it's ultimately up to them to sell themselves. We can bring the journalists to them and showcase all the positive things, the uniqueness of the story, but when the journalist goes to the restaurant, it really is their own dining experience, and we can't write their experience for them. Public relations makes people aware, but it doesn't determine the outcome. I think that's hard for some chefs, when they're first starting out with PR, to understand.
AC Are you saying that hiring a publicist doesn't mean you're hiring a sure-thing good review or other positive editorial mention?
RI Yes. You could hire the most high-profile publicist around, spend so much money on it, and they can bring the high-profile journalists in, but it's ultimately up to you, the chef, to make them have that great experience. And I do think that the media wants to hear from the chef him- or herself. They can have a whole press kit and learn about the chef, but it's not until the chef comes out for that one-on-one interaction that the journalist is satisfied.
AC What advice or encouragement do you give to help chefs become more marketable?
RI You can do outside media training, or the publicist can sit down with them one-on-one, rehearse, for their first couple of interviews. Run some questions by them and talk about how to answer them. It helps when I get the questions in advance. Or, we go through a list of standard questions they can expect. For a chef who is just breaking into the industry, it's important to make sure that all the talking points are reviewed. Being on television is much harder and much more complicated than it appears, so, I do encourage chefs who've never been on television to go to a media trainer, because that is a certain expertise that's not necessarily instinctive. I also make sure they're out there on the scene, being seen in public, being seen in the dining room. It doesn't mean that you spend your whole night in the dining room, because everyone likes to know that the chef is in the kitchen cooking for them, but it is nice to maybe make a sweep during each turn. You want to seem visible. The other thing is participating in charity events. Participating in cooking classes. A lot of places do their own advertising, so you'll benefit from their advertising with your picture and the name of your restaurant.
It doesn't happen overnight. You also have to understand that some publications are working as far as four or six months in advance, and just because I make a phone call, it doesn't mean that you're going to be in that issue. It's a long process, even for daily and weekly publications, it's a long process of needling away and being persistent. You have to look at the person who handles your PR as part of your team.
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