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Corporate Communications
Reputation Management
Brand Journalism
Brand Experience
Impression Management
Corporate Communications Manager
The Craftsman Business Repute
The right role
© The content of this note is copy righted which must not be amended while it can be downloaded and shared for the sake of learning. For any clarity, find the authors contact in the end of this note.
Preface
Everything is changing at a right pace in this universe and if we have to measure
the exact performance of this pace change process amongst all the physical
elements of this universe then the scientific answer will be: (Performance level at
100% with absolutely zero% chance of error) which means nothing goes wrong, it
never went wrong and will never be.
Amongst all the things which exist, existed or will exist, the shadow is something
which actually doesn’t exist while every shadow is rightly placed. (Performance level
at 100% with absolutely zero% chance of error in every given situation) So if a shadow intangible yet
it does exist with such excellence then how come tangibles could go wrong. There is no way and the
only way to escape through realities is by Human wisdom because we are born free with ability to
make choices and that only a human has the ability to choose to make mistake, nothing else physical
could do that, even not a shadow which shows a true picture, every time its formed.
Being a reputation specialist and a research student of corporate communications, I am pleased to share
this learning note with the reputation management professionals. I am sure this will help you
understand things better and perform a more empowered role as a corporate communications
manager.
Crafting the Business Mirror by Shahzad Ahmad
It’s like how exactly you wish your brand to be recognized amongst the audience – How a Communications
manager can think like a brand activation expert ?
There are millions of professionals around, doing a lot of things and most of them are doing what others have
tried already. There are a very few, trying out new ideas, the simple ideas - the great ideas.
If you are a professional who is responsible to develop strategy for reputation management via brand activation
which can portray the right side of your brand then you should know one thing at first and it is to be creative,
interactive and interesting.
Can a great idea be a stupid idea ? Yes for someone who just thought of it but this idea can be an idea which has
come in your brain at first and in no one else’s. You must not discard any idea because with a little tweak any idea
can become a great idea.
You should be a great thief and should have expertise in stealing the most brilliant ideas from your brain. The
process is that you keep one question at top of your mind and keep thinking of solutions with empty brain. Just
keep thinking and you will get it.
Some people take 20 years to explore the best idea in their life while some just need 20 minutes for the same. It’s
just about how you understand the process of generating an idea and that how you plan your brain’s innovation
muscle to act.
Taking reputation management as a subject and doing research on it helps professionals understand it better. The
brand is the most valuable fixed asset of a Corporation. It’s how world knows a business, maintain a perception on
the quality and standards of a business. That’s we always see a detailed history of many years attached with many
leading brands in the world and they always advertise it and even print on their branding materials. Interestingly
brands are burning trillions of dollars on research and it’s because they want to understand their customers better,
plan their customers to understand more about their brand.
Brand Activation allows you to get your brand recognized amongst target group by setting up on ground
engagement programs.
Brand activation is a way to engage people in a manner that they can experience Brand and can perceive a good –
positive and lasting impression. (An experience, a slot of brand in mind, Brand Recall) The activation is the
execution of the marketing mix in which companies plan their marketing activities which not only help in creating
brands goodwill but also helps companies in brand research , customer feedback through which brand standing
can be gauged through marketing analytics. It’s like normally people see companies doing lot of advertising
through TV commercials, outdoors and now a day’s digital advertising but a very few organizations organize on
ground brand activation activities which allow customers to experience the brand.
What are the objectives which can be achieved through Brand Activation? The key objective is to improve the
existing brand impression by focusing on building lasting emotional connection between the brand and the
customer.
Success of activation not only helps achieving the strategic objectives of the business but it also helps increasing
the brand equity.
Wikipedia
Corporate Communication As per Wikipedia Corporate communication is the set of activities involved in managing and
orchestrating all internal and external communications aimed at creating favourable point-of-view among
stakeholders on which the company depends.[1]
It is the messages issued by a corporate organization,
body, or institute to its audiences, such as employees, media, channel partners and the general public.
Organizations aim to communicate the same message to all its stakeholders, to
transmit coherence, credibility and ethic. Corporate Communications help organizations explain their
mission, combine its many visions and values into a cohesive message to stakeholders. The concept of
corporate communication could be seen as an integrative communication structure linking stakeholders to
the organization.
Contents
[hide]
1 Methods and tactics
2 Components
o 2.1 Corporate branding
o 2.2 Corporate and organizational identity
o 2.3 Corporate responsibility
o 2.4 Corporate reputation
o 2.5 Crisis communications
o 2.6 Internal/employee communications
o 2.7 Investor relations
o 2.8 Public relations: issues management and media relations
2.8.1 Issues management
2.8.2 Media relations
2.8.3 Company/spokesperson profiling
3 References
Methods and tactics
Three principal clusters of task-planning and communication form the backbone of business and the
activity of business organizations. These include management communications, marketing
communications, and organizational communications.
Management communications are between management and its internal and external audiences. To
support management communications, organizations rely heavily on specialists in marketing
communications and organizational communications.
Marketing communications get the bulk of the budgets in most organizations, and consist of product
advertising, direct mail, personal selling, and sponsorship activities.
Organizational communications consist of specialists in public relations, public affairs, investor
relations, environmental communications, corporate advertising, and employee communications.
The responsibilities of corporate communication are:
to flesh out the profile of the "company behind the brand" (corporate branding)
to minimize discrepancies between the company's desired identity and brand features
to delegate tasks in communication
to formulate and execute effective procedures to make decisions on communication matters
to mobilize internal and external support for corporate objectives
to coordinate with international business firms
A Conference Board Study of hundreds of the US‘s largest firms showed that close to 80 percent have
corporate communication functions that include media relations, speech writing, employee
communication, corporate advertising, and community relations.[2]
The public is often represented by self-
appointed activist non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who identify themselves with a particular
issue.
Most companies have specialized groups of professionals for communicating with different audiences,
such as internal communications, marketing communications, investor relations, government relations
and public relations.[3]
Components
Corporate branding
A corporate brand is the perception of a company that unites a group of products or services for the
public under a single name, a shared visual identity, and a common set of symbols. The process of
corporate branding consists creating favorable associations and positive reputation with both internal and
external stakeholders. The purpose of a corporate branding initiative is to generate a positive halo over
the products and businesses of the company, imparting more favorable impressions of those products
and businesses.
In more general terms, research suggests that corporate branding is an appropriate strategy for
companies to implement when:
there is significant "information asymmetry" between a company and its clients;[4]
That is to say
customers are much less informed about a company's products than the company itself is;
customers perceive a high degree of risk in purchasing the products or services of the company;[5]
features of the company behind the brand would be relevant to the product or service a customer is
considering purchasing.[6]
Corporate and organizational identity
There are two approaches for identity:
Corporate identity is the reality and uniqueness of an organization, which is integrally related to its
external and internal image and reputation through corporate communication[7]
Organizational identity comprises those characteristics of an organization that its members believe
are central, distinctive and enduring. That is, organizational identity consists of those attributes that
members feel are fundamental to (central) and uniquely descriptive of (distinctive) the organization
and that persist within the organization over time (enduring)".[8]
Four types of identity can be distinguished:[9][10]
Perceived identity: The collection of attributes that are seen as typical for the ‗continuity, centrality
and uniqueness‘ of the organization in the eyes of its members.
Projected identity: The self presentations of the organization‘s attributes manifested in the implicit
and explicit signals which the organization broadcasts to internal and external target audiences
through communications and symbols.
Desired identity (also called ‘ideal’ identity): The idealized picture that top managers hold of what
the organization could evolve into under their leadership.
Applied identity: The signals that an organization broadcasts both consciously and unconsciously
through behaviors and initiatives at all levels within the organization.
Corporate responsibility[edit]
Main article: Corporate social responsibility
Corporate responsibility (often referred to as corporate social responsibility), corporate citizenship,
sustainability, and even conscious capitalism are some of the terms bandied about the news media and
corporate marketing efforts as companies jockey to win the trust and loyalty of constituents. Corporate
responsibility (CR) constitutes an organization‘s respect for society‘s interests, demonstrated by taking
ownership of the effects its activities have on key constituencies including customers, employees,
shareholders, communities, and the environment, in all parts of their operations. In short, CR prompts a
corporation to look beyond its traditional bottom line, to the social implications of its business.[11]
Corporate reputation[edit]
Main article: Reputation management
Reputations are overall assessments of organizations by their stakeholders. They are aggregate
perceptions by stakeholders of an organization's ability to fulfill their expectations, whether these
stakeholders are interested in buying the company's products, working for the company, or investing in
the company's shares. In 2000, the US-based Council of PR Firms identified seven programs developed
by either media organizations or market research firms, used by companies to assess or benchmark their
corporate reputations. Of these, only four are conducted regularly and have broad visibility: "America's
Most Admired Companies" by Fortune Magazine;
The "Brand Asset Valuator" by Young & Rubicam;
"RepTrak" by Reputation Institute.
"Best Global Brands" by Interbrand.
Crisis communications
Main article: Crisis communications
Crisis communication is sometimes considered a sub-specialty of the public relations profession that is
designed to protect and defend an individual, company, or organization facing a public challenge to its
reputation. These challenges may come in the form of an investigation from a government agency, a
criminal allegation, a media inquiry, a shareholders lawsuit, a violation of environmental regulations, or
any of a number of other scenarios involving the legal, ethical, or financial standing of the entity. The
crisis for organizations can be defined as follows:[13]
A crisis is a major catastrophe that may occur either naturally or as a result of human error,
intervention, or even malicious intent. It can include tangible devastation, such as the destruction
of lives or assets, or intangible devastation, such as the loss of an organization's credibility or
other reputational damage. The latter outcomes may be the result of management's response to
tangible devastation or the result of human error. A crisis usually has significant actual or
potential financial impact on a company, and it usually affects multiple constituencies in more
than one market.
Internal/employee communications
Main article: Internal communications
As the volume of communications grows, many companies create an employee relations (ER)
function with dedicated staff to manage the numerous media through which senior managers can
communicate among themselves and with the rest of the organization. Internal communications in the
21st century is more than the memos, publications, and broadcasts that comprise it; it‘s about
building a corporate culture on values that drive organizational excellence. ER specialists are
generally expected to fulfill one or more of the following four roles:[14]
Efficiency: Internal communication is used primarily to disseminate information about corporate
activities.
Shared meaning: Internal communication is used to build a shared understanding among
employees about corporate goals.
Connectivity: Internal communication is used mainly to clarify the connectedness of the
company's people and activities.
Satisfaction: Internal communication is used to improve job satisfaction throughout the company.
Investor relations
Main article: Investor relations
The investor relations (IR) function is used by companies which publicly trade shares on a stock
exchange. In such companies, the purpose of the IR specialist is to interface with current and
potential financial stakeholders-namely retail investors, institutional investors, and financial analysts.
Public relations: issues management and media relations]
Main article: Public relations
The role of the public relations specialist, in many ways, is to communicate with the general public in
ways that serve the interests of the company. PR therefore consists of numerous specialty areas that
convey information about the company to the public, including sponsorships, events, issues
management and media relations. When executing these types of activities, the PR Specialist must
incorporate broader corporate messages to convey the company‘s strategic positioning. This ensures
the PR activities ultimately convey messages that distinguish the company vis-à-vis its competitors
and the overall marketplace, while also communicating the company‘s value to target audiences.
Issues management
A key role of the PR specialist is to make the company better known for traits and attributes that build
the company‘s perceived distinctiveness and competitiveness with the public. In recent years, PR
specialists have become increasingly involved in helping companies manage strategic issues – public
concerns about their activities that are frequently magnified by special interest groups and NGOs.
The role of the PR specialist therefore also consists of issues management, namely the ―set of
organizational procedures, routines, personnel, and issues‖.[15]
A strategic issue is one that compels
a company to deal with it because there is ― a conflict between two or more identifiable groups over
procedural or substantive matters relating to the distribution of positions or resources‖.[16]
Media relations
To build better relationships with the media, organizations must cultivate positive relations with
influential members of the media. This task might be handled by employees within the company‘s
media relations department or handled by a public relations firm.
Company/spokesperson profiling
These "public faces" are considered authorities in their respective sector/field and ensure the
company/organization is in the limelight.
Managing content of corporate websites and/or other external touch points
Managing corporate publications - for the external world
Managing print media
References
1. ^ Riel, C.B.M. van & Fombrun, C. (2007) Essentials of Corporate Communication, Abingdon:
Routledge.
2. ^ ―Managing Corporate Communications in a Competitive Climate,‖ a Conference Board Study, by
Kathryn Troy, 1996.
3. ^ Riel, Cees B.M. van and Fombrun, Charles J. (2007) Essentials of Corporate Communication,
Abingdon: Routledge.
4. ^ Nayyar, P.R. (1990) "Information asymmetries: a source of competitive advantage for diversified
service firms", Strategic Management Journal, 11: 513-519.
5. ^ Aaker, D.A. and Myers, J.G. (1991) Advertising Management, New York: Prentice-Hall.
6. ^ Brown, T.J. and Dacin, P.A. (1997) "The company and the product: corporate associations and
consumer product responses", Journal of Marketing, 61 (1): 68-84.
7. ^ Gray, E.R. and Balmer, J.M.T. (1998) Managing Corporate Image and Corporate Reputation,
London: Long Range Planning.
8. ^ Pratt, M.G. and Foreman, P.O. (2000) "Classifiying managerial responses to multiple organizational
identities", Academy of Management Review, 25 (1): 18-42).
9. ^ Balmer, J.M.T. (1997) Corporate Identity: Past, Present and Future, International Centre for
Corporate Identity Studies, Working paper series 1997/4.
10. ^ Balmer, J.M.T. and Wilson, A. (1998) "Corporate Identity: there is more to it than meets the
eye", International Studies of Management & Organization, 28 (3): 12-31.
11. ^ Argenti, P.A. (2009) Corporate Communication, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
12. ^ Charles, F. (1996) Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image, Boston: Harvard Business
School Press.
13. ^ Argenti, P.A. (2009) Corporate Communication, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
14. ^ Krone, K., Jablin, F.M., and Putnam, L.L. (1987) "Communication theory and organizational
communication: multiple perspectives", in F.M. Jablin et al (eds), Handbook of Organizational
Communication, pp. 18-69, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
15. ^ Dutton, J. and Ottensmeyer, E. (1987) "Strategic issue management systems: forums, function and
context", Academy of Management Review, 12: 355-365.
16. ^ Cobb, B.W. and Elder, C.D. (1972) Participation in American Politics: the Dynamics of Agenda
Building, boston: Allyn and Becon
Reputation management Reputation management is the understanding or influencing of an individual's or business's reputation. It
was originally coined as a public relations term, but advancement in computing, the internet and social
media made it primarily an issue of search results. Although it is often associated with ethical grey areas,
such as astroturfing review sites, censoring negative complaints or using SEO tactics to game the
system and influence results, there are also ethical forms of reputation management, such as responding
to customer complaints, asking sites to take down incorrect information and using online feedback to
influence product development.[1][2]
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Concepts
3 Ethics
4 Justification
5 See also
6 References
History[edit]
The concept was initially intended to broaden public relations outside of media relations.[3]
With the rise of
the internet and social media the meaning has shifted to focus on review sites, social media and—most
prominently—the top search results on a brand or individual.[4][5]
In 2007 a study by the University of California Berkeley found that some sellers were undertaking
reputation management on eBay by selling products at a discount in exchange for positive feedback
to game the system.[6]
Concepts[edit]
Reputation management is the practice of monitoring the reputation of an individual or brand, addressing
contents which are damaging to it, and using customer feedback to get feedback or early warning signals
to reputation problems. Most of reputation management is focused on pushing down negative search
results.[7]
Reputation management may attempt to bridge the gap between how a company perceives
itself and how others view it.[8]
Some examples of websites where a company may conduct reputation management is the feedback
system on eBay,[9]
and Wikipedia. Google search results are the primary target of reputation management
efforts. Some of the tactics used by reputation management firms include the following:[10]
Improving the tagging and search engine optimization of company-published materials, such as white
papers and positive customer testimonials in order to push down negative content.[11]
Publishing original, positive websites and social media profiles, with the aim of outperforming
negative results in a search.[12]
Submitting online press releases to authoritative websites in order to promote brand presence and
suppress negative content.
Submitting legal take-down requests if someone believes they have been libeled.[13]
Getting mentions of the business or individual in third-party sites that rank highly in Google.[13]
Creating fake blogs pretending to be a different person that shares the same name in order to push
down negative search results on the actual person or brand.[13]
Using spam bots and denial-of-service attacks to force sites with damaging content off the web
entirely.[13]
Astroturfing third-party websites by creating anonymous accounts that create positive reviews or lash
out against negative ones.[13]
Proactively offering free products to prominent reviewers.[14]
Proactively responding to public criticism stemming from recent changes.[14]
Ethics[edit]
The practice of reputation management raises many ethical considerations.[13]
There is no agreement
within the industry on where to draw the line on issues of disclosure, astroturfing and censorship. Firms
have been known to hire staff to pose as bloggers on third party sites without disclosing they were paid,
and some have been criticized for asking websites to remove negative posts.[4][11]
In some instances the
act of unethical reputation management can itself be risky to the reputation of the firm, if their tactics to
hide negative information are exposed.[15]
Some firms practice ethical forms of reputation management. The Online Reputation Management
Association tries to promote ethical best practices through a certification program.[4]
Google consider
there to be nothing inherently wrong with reputation management, but they may take action on companies
using spammy or manipulative techniques to alter search results.[12]
Google even introduced a toolset in
2011 for users to monitor their online identity and request removal of unwanted content.[16]
Many firms are
selective about clients they accept. For example, they may avoid individuals that committed violent crimes
that are looking to push information about their crimes lower on search results.[13]
Justification[edit]
According to a 2010 study by Microsoft and Cross-Tab Market Research, 70 percent of companies have
rejected candidates based on the candidate's online reputation, but only 7 percent of Americans believe it
affects their job search.[17]
A survey by CareerBuilder.com found that 1 in 4 hiring managers used search
engines to screen candidates. One in 10 also checked candidates' profiles on social networking sites
such as MySpace or Facebook.[18]
According to a December 2007 survey by the Ponemon Institute, a
privacy research organization, roughly half of U.S. hiring officials use the Internet in vetting job
applications.[19]
There are cases of reputable organizations or individuals—even those with newly created websites—that
may find their brand or name listed in search engine's suggestions as scam. Such negative suggestions
which are harmful to the reputation of the organization or individual are often caused by negative contents
on personal blogs, complaint sites, scraper sites, forums and comment sections. In such cases where it is
not possible to ask for the negative contents to be taken down, experts agree that reputation
management is justifiable in this regard, and some experts advise that the proper thing to do is to push
down the visibility of such negative search engine results through proactively publishing useful, positive
information about the organizations or individuals.[20]
See also[edit]
Impression management
Online identity management
Reputation capital
Spin (public relations)
References[edit]
1. ^ Paul Harris (August 1, 2010). "Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan... and you too. Why your reputation needs an
online detox". The Observer (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved August 3, 2012.
2. ^ Bruce Sterling (August 1, 2010). "Online "Reputation Management"".Wired (magazine) Blog. Condé Nast
Publications. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
3. ^ S. Jai, Shankar (June 1, 1999). "Reputation is everything". New Straits Times (Malaysia).
4. ^ a b c John Tozzi (April 30, 2008). "Do Reputation Management Services Work?". Bloomberg
Businessweek (Bloomberg L.P.). Retrieved August 3, 2012.
5. ^ Bilton, Nick (April 4, 2011). "The Growing Business of Online Reputation Management". The New York
Times. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
6. ^ Mills, Elinor (January 11, 2007). "Study: eBay sellers gaming the reputation system?". CNET. Retrieved
July 14, 2012.
7. ^ Lieb, Rebecca (July 10, 2012). "How Your Content Strategy Is Critical For Reputation
Management". MarketingLand. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
8. ^ "MT Masterclass - Reputation management". Management Today. May 1, 2007.
9. ^ Resnick, Paul; Zeckhause, Richard (May 2, 2001). Trust among strangers in internet transactions:
Empirical analysis of eBay's reputation system. Emerald Group Publishing
Limited. CiteSeerX: 10.1.1.123.5332.
10. ^ Stephan Spencer (September 12, 2007). "DIY reputation management". CNET (CBS Interactive).
Retrieved August 3, 2012.
11. ^ a b Thomas Hoffman (February 12, 2008). "Online reputation management is hot -- but is it
ethical?". Computerworld (John Amato). Retrieved August 3, 2012.
12. ^ a b Kinzie, Susan; Ellen Nakashima (July 2, 2007). "Calling In Pros to Refine Your Google Image". The
Washington Post. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
13. ^ a b c d e f g Krazit, Tom (January 11, 2011). "A primer on online reputation management". CNET. Retrieved
July 13, 2012.
14. ^ a b Thompson, Nicholas (June 23, 2003). "More Companies Pay Heed to Their 'Word of Mouse'
Reputation". The New York Times. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
15. ^ "Reputation management: Glitzkrieg". The Economist (Economist Group). March 10, 2011. Retrieved
August 3, 2012.
16. ^ Kessler, Sarah (June 16, 2011). "Google Launches Tool for Online Reputation Management". Mashable.
Retrieved July 13, 2012.
17. ^ Purewal, Sarah (January 11, 2011). "How to clean up your online reputation". PCWorld. Retrieved July
13, 2012.
18. ^ Cristian Lupsa (November 29, 2006). "Do you need a Web publicist?". The Christian Science Monitor.
19. ^ Ellen Nakashima (March 7, 2007). "Harsh Words Die Hard on the Web". Washington Post.
20. ^ Susan Moskwa (October 15, 2009). "Managing your reputation through search results". Google Official
Blog. Retrieved August 3, 2012.