Introduction to Corporate Communication

Chapter One(1)

Inas A.Hamid

Modern organizations operate through different departments charged with community relations, government relations, customer relations, labor relations, human resources – both at the corporate level and at the business unit level. Also they have various stakeholders who play a role in achieving the organizations, objectives. Organizations use communication to communicate with these targets to achieve their objectives.

Top management

Production Unit

HR

Finance

PR

Customer

Service

The Public

Media

Customers

Employees

GovernmentInvestors

Corporate communication is the total communication activity generated by a company and directed at all relevant target groups to achieve its planned objectives and create favorable relationships with stakeholders on which the company depends.Each item of communication must convey and emphasize the ”corporate point of view and its identity”

Why do corporations need to develop effective communication?

Corporate Communication

Organizations need communication to : Acquire resources they need in order to

operate. Communicate with different stakeholders. Communication with employees to increase

their loyalty. Influence the environment within which

they operate. Retain their license to operate. Improve the image. Encourage all employees to work together to

support the company's objectives. Develop the corporate branding.

In all organizations, communication flows as the following:

vertically and horizontally

internally : linking employees internally to each other, to various layers of management. Externally with different targets (customers, government, resource – holders …) .

formally and informally : which means not all communications in an organization are work related or aiming at fulfilling organizational objectives.

Corporate Communicatio

ns

Vertical & Horizontal

Internal & External

Formal & Informal

Management Comm.

Marketing Comm.

Organizational Comm.

In this course we will focus on the formal communications that link internal and external audiences of the organizations.

Help the organization to :- Create Images - Build a strong brand- Develop Reputation

1-Management communication: It is the most strategic communication.

Communication is one of the most important skills a manager must have to :◦ gain the acceptance for the organization's

goals.◦ Develop a shared vision of the company

within the organization.◦ Establish and maintain trust in the

organization's leadership.◦ Initiate and manage the change process.

Communication specialist are needed to support managers in improving the effectiveness of their communications.

Communications between the organization and its audiences (investors, the public, share holders, financial journalist, investment analyst, regulators, legislators….).

Do not directly aim at generating sales but at developing long – term relationship.

Apply a different style of communication: messages are more formal and honest.

Initiated by external parties and that means the audiences decide whether the organization should communicate with them.

2- Organizational Communications

MarCom is very important to support management communications.

MarCom gets the bulk of the budget in most organizations.

Traditionally termed promotion. It is a part of the 4Ps marketing mix (product,

price and place). It aims at facilitating the process of exchange. The organizations choose the target market

and avoid communicating with those that are not commercially interesting.

3- Marketing communication

Marketing communication: all forms of communication between an organization and its customers and potential customers, that facilitate exchanges by establishing shared meaning with the brand’s customers or clients.

Marketing communications Mix

Packaging

Sponsorship

Exhibitions

Internal Marketing

WebsitesSales

Promotion

Branding

Personal Selling

Branding

WordOf

mouth

Advertising

PublicRelations

ChannelAudiences

Consumer audiences

All Stakeholders

Audiences

The most important practices to achieve Corporate integrated communications are:

◦ Use of integrated marketing communications (IMC).

◦ Application of visual identity systems (house style).

◦ Depending on team works.◦ Adoption of a centralized planning system.

Tools of corporate communication

In recent years organizations become aware of the need to produce consistent messages (free of contradictions) and this what we can call “ Integrated marketing communication” to describe a process for building a fully coordinated communication system inside the organization.

1- Integrated Marketing Communications

Allocating resources

Moore & Thorson (1996) suggest that integrated

marketing communication (IMC) can be achieved by:

To produce consistent themes on products and services through the use of common names, logos, sounds, packaging, furniture, building design and even smells.

This led to the emergence of “identity firms” that help the organization to develop a uniform set of symbols, guidelines for employees to create a uniform image for the organization(clothing, way of greetings….).

2- Visual identity Systems

Team Work

3-Coordinated teams work groups

It is a software that can be used to◦ set up and manage communication projects

targeted to internal and external audiences.◦ Manage and control at a general level by

providing employees with certain information.◦ Offers standard structure of reports that can be

used in various situations.

4-Communication planning system (CPS)

Types of communication in organizations

Gruing & Hunt (1984)developed four types of PR practices focusing on the nature of communication in different organizations.

These types are : ◦ Press agent- propaganda◦ Public information◦ Two – way asymmetric communication.◦ Two – way symmetric communication.

According to Gruing point of view: The first model “propaganda” is the least

desirable form of communication because:◦ it involves a one-way flow of information.◦ The organization is not honest about its

activities and it effects on the community. ◦ They will also resist efforts to establish a

dialogue about it. The fourth is the best type.

◦ It involves a company in two-way symmetric communication.

◦ Under this model, both parties are open and truthful about each other's point of view to arrive at a common understanding.

Types Press agent propaganda

Public information

Two-way asymmetric

Two-way symmetric

Purpose Propaganda Transmit facts Feedback & persuasion

Mutual understanding

Communication One-way ,little respect to truth

- One-way - - truthful,

complete facts

Two-way , in favor of the sender, accurate info.

Tow-way ,balance interest.

Type of organization

Entertainment& sport Organizations

-Non- Profit& governmental organizations-Instructions about health and safety procedures given to employees.

PR agencies, competingOrganizations, pharmaceutical organizations.

Depends on ensuring that the organization's communications policies are derived from the core strategy-identity-brand (SIB) to develop a set of “common starting points”

Strategy• Apply PPT model• Apply KAB model

Identity BrandC

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Effective Corporate communication

The corporate strategy can be translated into common starting points by applying the PPT model as : indicate what the organization wants to Promise to its most important internal and external stakeholders; indicate how it expects to Prove it ; and identify what Tone of voice it wants to use to communicate messages to those audiences.

Make plans more specific by applying the KAB model as: specify what the organization wants target groups to know (knowledge), to feel (attitude)and to do (Behavior), both with respect to the entire company and with respect to the individual business unit.

What will happen if the organizations' departments are not coordinated in the way of creating consistency messages?

How can organizations limit fragmentation in their communications?

Assignment