What is it?
Investor Relations is a strategic management responsibility that integrates: finance, communication, and marketing, for the most effective two way communication. The communication is between a company, the community and other constituencies.
Companies strive to maximize shareholder value, they must continually communicate their progress toward that goal to the investing public. Investor relations is an essential part of the corporate communication process. Investor relations need to link their communications to a companies strategy and vision, as frequently as possible. Investor relations is now taking some of the work originally done by the PR and media, they are communicating to many of the same people.
Because of changes in business and regulatory environment over the past decade have affected the way corporations decide how and to whom, and to what extent they convey financial and operating results.
Objectives of Investor Relations
Explain the company’s vision,. Strategy, and potential to investors and “conduit constituencies” such as analysts and the media.
Ensure that expectations of the company’s stock price are appropriate for its earnings prospects,the industry outlook, and the economy.
Reduce stock pricing volatility.
Types of Investors
Institutional Investors
Individual Investors
Intermediaries
The media
Sell-Side Analysts
Rating agencies
All of these investors use the companies annual reports to figure out if they would like to invest themselves, their money, and their time in the company. All of the above look at different parts of the company they are interested, but also as a whole. They need to know that if they invest in the company, it is the right choice, and they will know if it is by looking at past financial reports, and the predicted future of the company.
Real Life Experience
The only real life experience I have is working at Prodigal Media (advertising firm). While working there I had to type up annual reports. The firm was involved in creating the annual report, the look and the text. All the numbers and figures where given by the company we just designed the final product. This was hard to do. Number 1 it was hard to get all the figures typed up right, and to get it organized in a way that would be appealing to look further into. Like the Heinz annual report we wanted to make it appealing, as exciting as it could be and full of information. The annual report was one of my worst assignments while working at Prodigal, yet it taught me just how important it is for the investors in the company to want to read the report further and in a easy and well thought out fashion.
Other links:
While looking at this link, I see exactly who Microsoft is trying to appeal to in the investor realm. It gives links to look at for annual reports and also gives future plans for the company.
http://www.microsoft.com/MSFT/DEFAULT.MSPX
In class our assignment was to look at this website and see if all the components were involved for the investor relations. This website was wonderful, it explained the investor relations and in great detail, in a very appealing way. This was a great reference.
http://www.heinz.com/
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Intercultural Communications
What is it?
Intercultural communication is becoming a major part in doing business. Business is made between individuals; these individuals don’t necessarily have to have the same beliefs, morals, or ideas. The individuals need to have the want to do business, and the want to deal with different cultures, and their differences.
What to do?
The individuals need to “read between the lines” and understand the non-spoken expressions in various cultural contexts. More important than language are the non-verbal cues, they are sometimes overlooked when studying another country. When studying how you should act in dealing with another culture, you must know how to conduct yourself with non-verbals. Body language is a major part of communication and can make or break a deal if you disrespect the other person.
Example:
In India, you must not make eye contact, you must not point your feet at the person you are talking with, you should never touch anyone on the head. When standing around you should never put your hands on your hips or wag your finger at another person to get them to come to you. These little things are very important to follow. If you break one of these rules while there you will defiantly not get the sale or deal you are striving for while visiting the other country.
The differences in meeting times are also important. In India you have meetings at brunch time or in the mid afternoon never dinner meetings. Also you never ask for a drink or food, you wait to be asked, (and you wait to be told where to sit) and when you are asked you do not say yes the first time that is considered rude. When the meal is coming to an end, never finish everything on your plate, this is considered rude, you must leave a little bit not eaten, this means you are stratified with your meal and not still hungry.
Work Example:
As I have stated before, I am the assistant coach for the swim team. We have a swimmer that is from Israel and another one from Thailand. When talking about holidays with the Galit it is hard because, she is Jewish and does not like to talk about God or Christmas or any thing of that sort. So when at practice I need to be thoughtful when she is around to not make her feel uncomfortable. Also the girl from Thailand (Nune) she has the cultural differences some the same as in India. I always wondered why she never looked me in the eyes or never faced me while talking. The reason she does not do this is because in her culture she does not point her feet at the person she is talking to nor have eye contact with them. Also when she is around an elder she must be lower than them, if she is taller than her parents she must bend down while speaking with them. The good thing is Nune is very short so that is not a problem around me. She is a very nice girl but now that I know she has these cultural differences (from talking with her about India), I have been a bit more cautious not to aggravate her.
Other Links:
This link goes into more depth about the subject of intercultural communication. It helped me explain the subject throughout my blog.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2008/10/142_32870.html
This link was handy while I was learning the cultural differences from working in India.
http://nealgandhi.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/working-in-india-cultural-differences/
Intercultural communication is becoming a major part in doing business. Business is made between individuals; these individuals don’t necessarily have to have the same beliefs, morals, or ideas. The individuals need to have the want to do business, and the want to deal with different cultures, and their differences.
What to do?
The individuals need to “read between the lines” and understand the non-spoken expressions in various cultural contexts. More important than language are the non-verbal cues, they are sometimes overlooked when studying another country. When studying how you should act in dealing with another culture, you must know how to conduct yourself with non-verbals. Body language is a major part of communication and can make or break a deal if you disrespect the other person.
Example:
In India, you must not make eye contact, you must not point your feet at the person you are talking with, you should never touch anyone on the head. When standing around you should never put your hands on your hips or wag your finger at another person to get them to come to you. These little things are very important to follow. If you break one of these rules while there you will defiantly not get the sale or deal you are striving for while visiting the other country.
The differences in meeting times are also important. In India you have meetings at brunch time or in the mid afternoon never dinner meetings. Also you never ask for a drink or food, you wait to be asked, (and you wait to be told where to sit) and when you are asked you do not say yes the first time that is considered rude. When the meal is coming to an end, never finish everything on your plate, this is considered rude, you must leave a little bit not eaten, this means you are stratified with your meal and not still hungry.
Work Example:
As I have stated before, I am the assistant coach for the swim team. We have a swimmer that is from Israel and another one from Thailand. When talking about holidays with the Galit it is hard because, she is Jewish and does not like to talk about God or Christmas or any thing of that sort. So when at practice I need to be thoughtful when she is around to not make her feel uncomfortable. Also the girl from Thailand (Nune) she has the cultural differences some the same as in India. I always wondered why she never looked me in the eyes or never faced me while talking. The reason she does not do this is because in her culture she does not point her feet at the person she is talking to nor have eye contact with them. Also when she is around an elder she must be lower than them, if she is taller than her parents she must bend down while speaking with them. The good thing is Nune is very short so that is not a problem around me. She is a very nice girl but now that I know she has these cultural differences (from talking with her about India), I have been a bit more cautious not to aggravate her.
Other Links:
This link goes into more depth about the subject of intercultural communication. It helped me explain the subject throughout my blog.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2008/10/142_32870.html
This link was handy while I was learning the cultural differences from working in India.
http://nealgandhi.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/working-in-india-cultural-differences/
Friday, November 7, 2008
Crisis Communication
What is it?
Crisis Communication is how an organization/company handles a situation that may arise that is out of their control that can be considered a crisis. How they communicate to the public means everything while keeping up your reputation for your company.
What is a Crisis?
A crisis can be anything from a natural or man-made disaster. A natural includes hurricanes, such as Hurricane Katrina. Man-made disasters are problems that could harm us. Such man-made disaster is the Tylenol crisis.
A crisis may occur on a personal or societal level. It may be a traumatic or stressful change in a person's life, or an unstable and dangerous social situation, in political, social, economic, military affairs, or a large-scale environmental event, especially one involving an impending abrupt change. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'.
Crisis Example
The Tylonal Crisis in 1982 was a disaster that was handled very well by Johnson and Johnson. The Tylanol capsuls were laced with cyanide, which caused 7 people to die. This was a major issue, and the way that the company handled the crisis is the biggest reason Tylanol is still around today. They had an immediate recall and took all Tylonal off the shelves. They carried themselves in a way that showed they cared about their consumers which kept up their respoinsiblity and trust.
Real life Examples
I have not been involved in a major crisis, and I am very happy about that (knock on wood) but within the swim team this year there was a swimmer who came to us coaching with an inncedent that accured outside of the pool that is very tramatic and very major. It turned into a crisis on the team this year. I am not going to go into detail about it because it is still going on. But the way we handled the situation was keeping it quiet, not shouting the details to the ceiling, but making sure the people who need to know know. The Athletic advisor knows all of the information needed, and the NCAA is involved. We have handled the siuation by banning the kids involved from swimming in meets until the situation gets cleared. Sorry I can not give many details, but I guess I am handling this “crisis” appropriotly.
Other links:
This link outlined what a crisis is, why it is important to react to in the right way and the process involved.
http://www.lsu.edu/pa/crisis.html
This site shows seven steps that must happen when a crisis may occur. It is another very helpful site to reference when learning about the subject.
http://www.globalprblogweek.com/archives/7_musthave_elements_.php
Crisis Communication is how an organization/company handles a situation that may arise that is out of their control that can be considered a crisis. How they communicate to the public means everything while keeping up your reputation for your company.
What is a Crisis?
A crisis can be anything from a natural or man-made disaster. A natural includes hurricanes, such as Hurricane Katrina. Man-made disasters are problems that could harm us. Such man-made disaster is the Tylenol crisis.
A crisis may occur on a personal or societal level. It may be a traumatic or stressful change in a person's life, or an unstable and dangerous social situation, in political, social, economic, military affairs, or a large-scale environmental event, especially one involving an impending abrupt change. More loosely, it is a term meaning 'a testing time' or 'emergency event'.
Crisis Example
The Tylonal Crisis in 1982 was a disaster that was handled very well by Johnson and Johnson. The Tylanol capsuls were laced with cyanide, which caused 7 people to die. This was a major issue, and the way that the company handled the crisis is the biggest reason Tylanol is still around today. They had an immediate recall and took all Tylonal off the shelves. They carried themselves in a way that showed they cared about their consumers which kept up their respoinsiblity and trust.
Real life Examples
I have not been involved in a major crisis, and I am very happy about that (knock on wood) but within the swim team this year there was a swimmer who came to us coaching with an inncedent that accured outside of the pool that is very tramatic and very major. It turned into a crisis on the team this year. I am not going to go into detail about it because it is still going on. But the way we handled the situation was keeping it quiet, not shouting the details to the ceiling, but making sure the people who need to know know. The Athletic advisor knows all of the information needed, and the NCAA is involved. We have handled the siuation by banning the kids involved from swimming in meets until the situation gets cleared. Sorry I can not give many details, but I guess I am handling this “crisis” appropriotly.
Other links:
This link outlined what a crisis is, why it is important to react to in the right way and the process involved.
http://www.lsu.edu/pa/crisis.html
This site shows seven steps that must happen when a crisis may occur. It is another very helpful site to reference when learning about the subject.
http://www.globalprblogweek.com/archives/7_musthave_elements_.php
Sunday, November 2, 2008
21st Century Communication Trends
What it is…
There are many different communication trends that are different than in the past. The world is changing. People are changing and our priorities have changed. In the past most woman did not work, and just stayed home with their children. Now a days woman do work, some hold jobs very high up in the corporate latter. There is business done in different countries, which causes diversity, and people to network. This is one reason why communication trends have changed.
Different Trends
Globalization
Diversity
Flexibility
Flat
Networked
In my blog I am going to concentrate on three of the trends I think are most important, globalization, diversity, and flexibility.
Globalization
Globalization is a main trend because of the cross country business deals, meetings, and expanded corporations. McDonalds is one of the biggest corporations that have done this. McDonalds has products in different countries that appeal to the culture in that particular country.
Diversity
In the workplace there are major diversities. Even in our class there are many different ethnic groups. This is a trend that we must get used to considering we must know the difference between our cultures to be able to communicate effectively. Even non-verbal actions mean different things between different cultures. In knowing the definitions of certain actions of the diverse employees you are working with will give an advantage to your organization. If your organization does not know how to communicate effectively between the different diversities, your organization will have a hard time succeeding.
Flexibility
Flexibility is an awesome thing that an organization can offer to their employees. Flexibility can include the amount and time of hours per week or day of working, the amount of work you do yourself and the amount of work you share with another employee. Another example of flexibility is when an organization offers a workout facility, meals or a hair salon within the organization. The company Google does all of those and also allows their employees to bring their dogs to work. This is a great example of an organization that flourishes with flexibility.
Work Experiences
When I was working in my internship at Prodigal Media, they were very flexible with my class schedule. I would work only 4 hours a day 5 days a week. They let me come in when I would like depending on my class schedule, and the amount of homework I had per week. This type of flexibility was a organization wide schedule, everyone in the organization can pick their hours. The employees work a lot more efficient when they can pick their hours.
Also at this internship we were able to go to lunch together and discuss projects. The reason why we were able to leave the office and go to a paid lunch together was to get our creative juices flowing. This is a very important aspect in a creative workplace.
With my graduate assistant position I am able for the most part to leave and go to lunch whenever I would like. I also can go home whenever I would need to. I think this is good because I tend not to over indulge in this. I want to be at work, so it works out that I am there, but it is nice to know that I can leave whenever I would like.
Other links:
In this article it explains all of the aspects of flexibility in the workplace. Flexibility is a great way to keep your employees happy and wanting to work at your organization.
http://www.familiesandwork.org/3w/tips/downloads/companies.pdf
This link shows how IBM incorporates different countries into their internet website. It is a good way to actually see the globalization in action.
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/lwwcm-global/
There are many different communication trends that are different than in the past. The world is changing. People are changing and our priorities have changed. In the past most woman did not work, and just stayed home with their children. Now a days woman do work, some hold jobs very high up in the corporate latter. There is business done in different countries, which causes diversity, and people to network. This is one reason why communication trends have changed.
Different Trends
Globalization
Diversity
Flexibility
Flat
Networked
In my blog I am going to concentrate on three of the trends I think are most important, globalization, diversity, and flexibility.
Globalization
Globalization is a main trend because of the cross country business deals, meetings, and expanded corporations. McDonalds is one of the biggest corporations that have done this. McDonalds has products in different countries that appeal to the culture in that particular country.
Diversity
In the workplace there are major diversities. Even in our class there are many different ethnic groups. This is a trend that we must get used to considering we must know the difference between our cultures to be able to communicate effectively. Even non-verbal actions mean different things between different cultures. In knowing the definitions of certain actions of the diverse employees you are working with will give an advantage to your organization. If your organization does not know how to communicate effectively between the different diversities, your organization will have a hard time succeeding.
Flexibility
Flexibility is an awesome thing that an organization can offer to their employees. Flexibility can include the amount and time of hours per week or day of working, the amount of work you do yourself and the amount of work you share with another employee. Another example of flexibility is when an organization offers a workout facility, meals or a hair salon within the organization. The company Google does all of those and also allows their employees to bring their dogs to work. This is a great example of an organization that flourishes with flexibility.
Work Experiences
When I was working in my internship at Prodigal Media, they were very flexible with my class schedule. I would work only 4 hours a day 5 days a week. They let me come in when I would like depending on my class schedule, and the amount of homework I had per week. This type of flexibility was a organization wide schedule, everyone in the organization can pick their hours. The employees work a lot more efficient when they can pick their hours.
Also at this internship we were able to go to lunch together and discuss projects. The reason why we were able to leave the office and go to a paid lunch together was to get our creative juices flowing. This is a very important aspect in a creative workplace.
With my graduate assistant position I am able for the most part to leave and go to lunch whenever I would like. I also can go home whenever I would need to. I think this is good because I tend not to over indulge in this. I want to be at work, so it works out that I am there, but it is nice to know that I can leave whenever I would like.
Other links:
In this article it explains all of the aspects of flexibility in the workplace. Flexibility is a great way to keep your employees happy and wanting to work at your organization.
http://www.familiesandwork.org/3w/tips/downloads/companies.pdf
This link shows how IBM incorporates different countries into their internet website. It is a good way to actually see the globalization in action.
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/lwwcm-global/
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Internal Communications
What is it?
Internal communications is everything that is communicated within a company, and how it is communicated. Because of the changing environment, today’s workforce is different than it was in the past. There are longer hours, work from home, and greater workloads, more emphasis on performance and values are different. The way a company communicates within the business can make or break how the employee feels about the company, and this will correlate the amount of performance that is taken and the amount of revenue gained.
First Step in Communication Process
The first step in figuring out how to implement internal communication within your business is to see how the employer feels about the company. You can do this by giving and audit, and by the audits results develop a solution to the communication problems.
Problems know…now what?
Now that you know what the problems are you must figure out how to fix them. This can be done by having a meeting and discussing ideas for implication, simply coming up with a plan and enforcing it. The way you go about figuring what you should do in the communication process differs from a big organization to a smaller organization. The bigger organization will simply come up with a plan and implement it. The smaller organization can communicate with all employees in one-on-one meetings, or in meetings of small groups to get everyone involved which will make them feel stronger about fixing the communication problem.
Ways of Communicating
There are many ways of communicating:
· Up and down
· Face-to-face
· Online
· Employee-Oriented Publications
· Visually
· Internal Branding
· Grapevine
All of these types of communication are good for different situations. It is always best to have up and down communication in any organization. This keeps everyone from the janitor of the company to the C.E.O connected and creates a more peaceful and understanding work place.
Face –to-face communication creates a since of caring. This shows that you are important as an employee and that you are involved with every aspect of the process.
Online communication is the easiest way to communicate with many of your employees. It is an easy way to also communicate an employee-oriented publication. An employee-oriented publication is a way to keep the employees updated on the important happenings throughout the organization/company. They can read articles, stories, and information within the company, about their clients, and even about fun stuff like a Christmas party.
Real Life Experience
I have a few job experiences that involve internal communication. I am the assistant swim coach as I have stated in previous blogs. For our program we send out news letters to recruits, parents, swimmers and people interested at the University. In this news letter we communicate what is happening, what is going to happen and even include some videos of meets/practices we have had. This is a good way to keep everyone informed and with all the same information. Also Coach Villa and I have individual face-to-face meetings with each kid on the team (43) of them each 3 weeks. This makes it easier for them to trust us and know they can come to us and talk about anything and everything.
While working at an internship at an advertising firm (Prodigal Media), we had a lot of internal communication. Every Monday we would have a meeting with every person in the business. The creative director, the AD, the C.E.O, the graphic designers, and the accountant. WE would all go over every project that was active, through around ideas and get on the same page. This was a great idea. We also had breakfast every Monday in these meetings together which also brought the moral up in the company.
Other links:
This link also explains what internal communication is, the process, and the implementation of internal communication. It was a good resource for me to continue understanding the process.
http://performance-appraisals.org/Bacalsappraisalarticles/articles/comstrat.htm
Co-Founder of Gatehouse has a blog all about internal communication within his organization. This blog was a great way to see other examples of internal communication at its best.
http://www.talkingic.typepad.com/
Internal communications is everything that is communicated within a company, and how it is communicated. Because of the changing environment, today’s workforce is different than it was in the past. There are longer hours, work from home, and greater workloads, more emphasis on performance and values are different. The way a company communicates within the business can make or break how the employee feels about the company, and this will correlate the amount of performance that is taken and the amount of revenue gained.
First Step in Communication Process
The first step in figuring out how to implement internal communication within your business is to see how the employer feels about the company. You can do this by giving and audit, and by the audits results develop a solution to the communication problems.
Problems know…now what?
Now that you know what the problems are you must figure out how to fix them. This can be done by having a meeting and discussing ideas for implication, simply coming up with a plan and enforcing it. The way you go about figuring what you should do in the communication process differs from a big organization to a smaller organization. The bigger organization will simply come up with a plan and implement it. The smaller organization can communicate with all employees in one-on-one meetings, or in meetings of small groups to get everyone involved which will make them feel stronger about fixing the communication problem.
Ways of Communicating
There are many ways of communicating:
· Up and down
· Face-to-face
· Online
· Employee-Oriented Publications
· Visually
· Internal Branding
· Grapevine
All of these types of communication are good for different situations. It is always best to have up and down communication in any organization. This keeps everyone from the janitor of the company to the C.E.O connected and creates a more peaceful and understanding work place.
Face –to-face communication creates a since of caring. This shows that you are important as an employee and that you are involved with every aspect of the process.
Online communication is the easiest way to communicate with many of your employees. It is an easy way to also communicate an employee-oriented publication. An employee-oriented publication is a way to keep the employees updated on the important happenings throughout the organization/company. They can read articles, stories, and information within the company, about their clients, and even about fun stuff like a Christmas party.
Real Life Experience
I have a few job experiences that involve internal communication. I am the assistant swim coach as I have stated in previous blogs. For our program we send out news letters to recruits, parents, swimmers and people interested at the University. In this news letter we communicate what is happening, what is going to happen and even include some videos of meets/practices we have had. This is a good way to keep everyone informed and with all the same information. Also Coach Villa and I have individual face-to-face meetings with each kid on the team (43) of them each 3 weeks. This makes it easier for them to trust us and know they can come to us and talk about anything and everything.
While working at an internship at an advertising firm (Prodigal Media), we had a lot of internal communication. Every Monday we would have a meeting with every person in the business. The creative director, the AD, the C.E.O, the graphic designers, and the accountant. WE would all go over every project that was active, through around ideas and get on the same page. This was a great idea. We also had breakfast every Monday in these meetings together which also brought the moral up in the company.
Other links:
This link also explains what internal communication is, the process, and the implementation of internal communication. It was a good resource for me to continue understanding the process.
http://performance-appraisals.org/Bacalsappraisalarticles/articles/comstrat.htm
Co-Founder of Gatehouse has a blog all about internal communication within his organization. This blog was a great way to see other examples of internal communication at its best.
http://www.talkingic.typepad.com/
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Media Relations
What is it?
The media is a part of our lives whether we like it or not. We are influenced by the media even if we try to stay away from it. The media can make or break you. They take it to the extreme, and usually advertise the worse news. Some people say that even bad media is good media. But the thing is, in the business setting it can ruin your reputation and the trust that your constituents have in your business.
Media Relations is a very important aspect of a business. If you do not have a good relationship with the media the media can tear your business apart. Your reputation can be ruined on the spot just by a simple interview.
How to Create Relationships with Media
To build better relationships with the media, organizations must take the time to create meaningful relationships with the right people in the media. To do this someone should be hired for the organization as the media relations coordinator. This person will be the representation of the organization. This is the face that the media always sees, the person who knows all the answers and if they do not know the answers they know how to avoid or redirect the question into a positive light. This media relation coordinator must have a personality and look that is attractive to an audience. They need to be able to talk in public well.
It is good to have lasting relationships. These lasting relationships can be a positive in the future. The contacts you make will trust you to be fair, they will let you pick people for interviewing and not go behind your back to sabotage if that relationship is solid.
Interviews
The representation for an interview must prepare. They must prepare in various ways. They must have a put together look, their hair should be flawless, their clothes the right color, size and texture, and (if a woman) their make-up touched up. Just the physical look of this person can cause uproar by the media. If you are watching someone on T.V. representing a company and they look like they are not put together, than the company will seem not put together. You will not be hearing the words they are saying but you will only be thinking about their outward appearance.
The words you use can be interpreted in various ways. You must choose the right words, with the right grammar when in an interview. Silence is good in an interview, you must make sure you are not letting the silence get to you and filling it with unneeded information.
Experiences
When I work swim camp our first week is a week of rules upon rules upon rules. One of the big rules is not to talk to the media if a problem where to arise. Our boss told us a story about another swim camp that went up in flames because of an incident, and how the media destroyed the camps reputation. The story was that some counselors were consuming alcohol in the dorm where they live with the kids. One of the kids needed help one night and he could not get the attention of the counselors because they locked their intoxicated selves into a room away from the kids. The media got a hold of the story the next day, and the entire community was in an uproar. The director of the camp was not ready for the media to attack their reputation; he did not know how to handle the situation. This just goes to show that in any organization they must be ready to answer to the media if needed.
With my GA position, I am told that if there is any NCAA investigation I am not to say a word; the Athletic Advisor is our media relation coordinator. It is not my job to talk to outside sources. My job is to tell my story to the AD and he will relay the message to the media unless there is a specific investigation with myself directly involved.
Other links:
This link goes into detail, just like the book about the operation of media relations. It goes through the steps needed and every aspect involved. This helped me out in creating the information in my blog.
http://www.porternovelli.co.nz/media/ns9/35_1977_2894.pdf
This link is to a blog. The blog asks questions about media relations and then people that have real like examples answer and give their advice. This is a good way to get real experienced examples.
http://wordpress.com/tag/media-relations-strategy/
The media is a part of our lives whether we like it or not. We are influenced by the media even if we try to stay away from it. The media can make or break you. They take it to the extreme, and usually advertise the worse news. Some people say that even bad media is good media. But the thing is, in the business setting it can ruin your reputation and the trust that your constituents have in your business.
Media Relations is a very important aspect of a business. If you do not have a good relationship with the media the media can tear your business apart. Your reputation can be ruined on the spot just by a simple interview.
How to Create Relationships with Media
To build better relationships with the media, organizations must take the time to create meaningful relationships with the right people in the media. To do this someone should be hired for the organization as the media relations coordinator. This person will be the representation of the organization. This is the face that the media always sees, the person who knows all the answers and if they do not know the answers they know how to avoid or redirect the question into a positive light. This media relation coordinator must have a personality and look that is attractive to an audience. They need to be able to talk in public well.
It is good to have lasting relationships. These lasting relationships can be a positive in the future. The contacts you make will trust you to be fair, they will let you pick people for interviewing and not go behind your back to sabotage if that relationship is solid.
Interviews
The representation for an interview must prepare. They must prepare in various ways. They must have a put together look, their hair should be flawless, their clothes the right color, size and texture, and (if a woman) their make-up touched up. Just the physical look of this person can cause uproar by the media. If you are watching someone on T.V. representing a company and they look like they are not put together, than the company will seem not put together. You will not be hearing the words they are saying but you will only be thinking about their outward appearance.
The words you use can be interpreted in various ways. You must choose the right words, with the right grammar when in an interview. Silence is good in an interview, you must make sure you are not letting the silence get to you and filling it with unneeded information.
Experiences
When I work swim camp our first week is a week of rules upon rules upon rules. One of the big rules is not to talk to the media if a problem where to arise. Our boss told us a story about another swim camp that went up in flames because of an incident, and how the media destroyed the camps reputation. The story was that some counselors were consuming alcohol in the dorm where they live with the kids. One of the kids needed help one night and he could not get the attention of the counselors because they locked their intoxicated selves into a room away from the kids. The media got a hold of the story the next day, and the entire community was in an uproar. The director of the camp was not ready for the media to attack their reputation; he did not know how to handle the situation. This just goes to show that in any organization they must be ready to answer to the media if needed.
With my GA position, I am told that if there is any NCAA investigation I am not to say a word; the Athletic Advisor is our media relation coordinator. It is not my job to talk to outside sources. My job is to tell my story to the AD and he will relay the message to the media unless there is a specific investigation with myself directly involved.
Other links:
This link goes into detail, just like the book about the operation of media relations. It goes through the steps needed and every aspect involved. This helped me out in creating the information in my blog.
http://www.porternovelli.co.nz/media/ns9/35_1977_2894.pdf
This link is to a blog. The blog asks questions about media relations and then people that have real like examples answer and give their advice. This is a good way to get real experienced examples.
http://wordpress.com/tag/media-relations-strategy/
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Corporate Advertising
What it is…
Corporate advertising is a companies attempt to advertise the image of the company rather than a product or service. It is a way to use the company’s money and media to seek benefit for the short-run or for the long-run depending on the situation at hand.
These corporate advertising plans must be strategic-which means looking toward the future of the company so the company is able to continue to thrive. Also it must be consistent- which means that the images of the products and the messages must fit within the corporate vision of the company.
What kind of Corporate Advertising
There are different reasons for a company to have a corporate advertising plan:
To advertise to reinforce identity or enhance reputation.
This is used to strengthen their identities following structural changes. When a company merges or adds a new company they must specify who they are, their vision, and the strategy of the image of the company.
Advertising to attract investment.
This kind of corporate advertising is used to stimulate interest by potential investors to increase the companies stock. Some corporate advertising assert that a strong financially oriented corporate advertising campaign can actually increase the price of a company’s stock.
Advertising to influence opinions
This type of corporate advertising is also called issue or advocacy advertising. Issue advertising usually deals with controversial subjects it is a way for companies to respond to challenges to their company’s reputation. This type of advertising is a way to respond to threats from the government or special interest groups.
Delayed reaction
There is a delayed reaction between corporate advertising and sales, compared to product advertising and sales. The reason for corporate advertising is not to sell a product but to sell the idea of the company. So constituents have a warm feeling when they think of the company. For this reason it is hard to get a company to understand the effectiveness of corporate advertising and its positive effect. This type of advertising is not immediate or directly satisfying so to those who do not understand it, do not understand the need for it.
Creates a strong reputation
One of the biggest reasons for corporate advertising is to create a strong reputation for the company. By letting your constituents know what is going on in your company, and what the organization is all about, is beneficial to the company. The reason is the community now knows what they did not know, and have a better understanding of the business.
Recruiting and retaining employees
Corporate advertising is a big reason why it is easy to attract employees. The company attracts the best and the brightest both at the entry level and higher level positions. A good campaign can create an excitement for current and potential employees. The campaign explains in simple terms what the company is made of, and what it is all about, which helps employees as well is the outside constituents know exactly what the company is there for.
Real life examples:
I got my undergrad degree in Advertising/PR. I have worked in an advertising firm, where I worked on many projects. Some of them were product advertisements and one project in particular that was a corporate advertisement. The corporate advertisement was not a print advertisement. I was actually in-charge of calling businesses within a ten minute radius of Pinnacle Health, the company I was working for. The reason for calling was to give the companies called a certificate for a free massage. The reason for this project was to get the word out of the company, what they were all about, what services they had available, and why they were there for the Youngstown community. After calling all of the businesses I personally dropped off the certificates to add a personal touch, to produce a trust for the company I was working for.
Another example is when I worked for the Red Cross. They had an event that was for the community of Toledo Ohio. It was a rib fest on the river with bands, food, drinks, and fun for all ages. The Red Cross did this to reach out to the community. They were not there to sell any products; they were there to sell themselves, as an organization. There were booths set up all over the place to get awareness to the community of what the Red Cross was all about and how the community can get involved. There were prize giveaways, and fun for all.
Those are just corporate advertising on a smaller scale that per say a Target corporate advertisement. But all the same, they were conducted for the same reason. There was no immediate effect on sales, or community involvement, but seemed to be a positive campaign.
Links:
I am attaching links that outline the steps in corporate advertising. The first one is the seven steps that AlphaTrade does its corporate advertising. It is nice to see exactly how a company uses corporate advertising. It helps in my understanding on the subject and I hope it helps you in understanding also.
http://www.alphatrade.com/pr-marketing-corporate-advertising.php
My second link is about how the Target Company is outshining its competition just by the way it advertises. They have a fresh look, a clean shopping environment, shorter waiting time, and the explanation that price is not everything. They do not advertise products, they advertise the company. Take a look, read and learn more on the subject.
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4319.html
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