New Corporate Communication Thinking:Why Corporations should stop talking to target groups and start creating dialogues with stakeholder groups

A PR Professional 1985

A PR Professional 2008

Things have changed

Who is in control?

“The power is with the consumer. Consumers are beginning, in a very real sense, to own our brands and participate

in their creation. We need to begin to learn to let it go…”

- A.G. Lafley, CEO, P&G Company

“The power is with the consumer. Consumers are beginning, in a very real sense, to own our brands and participate

in their creation. We need to begin to learn to let it go…”

- A.G. Lafley, CEO, P&G Company

INFLUENCEInstead of

Control

Uncontrolled messages are trusted more than controlled

Focus group of thousands

Companies must create trust between their brands and stakeholders

Allows you to be more influential in controlled media

Real time

Reputation Mgt Invest in

RELATIONSHIPSNot Transactions

Risk is inNOT

Participating

Push messages may drive a one-time action, whereas dialogue can build advocacy

Invest in building relationships to generate self-propagating conversations and brand loyalty

Conversations are happening with or without you

Companies who do not participate risk being seen as irrelevant and out of touch

Audiences do not want or respond to marketing messages, but they are open to conversations

Unstructured nature of digital media creates new participation opportunities

Identify what messages you want to amplify or minimize versus where you can influence versus control

Key thoughts

How digital is playing out

Flickr user Bennet sees Target Ad on Times SquarePuts photo with critical comment and tags on FlickrWeblog Shapingyouth.org writes a critical article and contacts Target‘s communication team to get a statement

“The power is with the consumer. Consumers are beginning, in a very real sense, to own our brands and participate

in their creation. We need to begin to learn to let it go…”

- A.G. Lafley, CEO, P&G Company

How digital is playing out

“Unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not

participate with nontraditional media outlets … This practice is in place to

allow us to focus on publications that

reach our core guest.”

Target’s media team

How digital is playing out

Now, news really flies:More Bloggers jump on the story (approx 7‘000 blog posts on topic)Traditional mass media press picks up the storyPressure on target leads to media policy shift

How digital is playing out

Weblog

Weblog

Weblog

Weblog

The return to more intimate customer interactionsIn

tima

cy o

f the

Inte

ract

ion

Pre 1930’s

Merchant to

Customer

Present

DialogueAge

1930’s - Present

MassMarketing

We arehere

Changing Paradigms

Media

Individual Individual

Media

Way Back Yesterday

Media

Individual

Social Media

Today

Multi-Stakeholder Dimensions

“There is a much greater level of scrutiny of the purpose, vision and values aspects of a company now than 5 years ago”

Strongly agree 58%

Somewhat agree 34%

Somewhat disagree 7%

Strongly Disagree 2%

Q: Thinking about businesses generally, do you agree there is greater scrutiny on vision and values?

Corporate Communications in 2008

Arthur W. Page Society (www.awpagesociety.com): White paper „The authentic company“

What does all this mean for a company CCO:1. Leadership in defining and instilling company values2. Leadership in building and managing multi-stakeholder

relationships3. Leadership in enabling the enterprise with „new media“

skills and tools4. Leadership in building and managing trust in all

dimensions

What are CEOs or Communications Officers doing about it?

10 ways to sell Social Media to your CEO

10

Your customers build their opinions increasinglyonline and through SM

1

Percentage who would be swayed to purchase when reading a positive review from a consumer or private individual on the internet

TEAMYour customers build their opinions increasinglyonline and through SM

You cannot manage crisis in a todays 7/24/365 world only through traditional media any more

2

Social media tools are more (cost) effective in reachingthe millions online

3

Social Media can act as a way to reduce customerservice or product development investments

4

SM helps you to differentiate and establish athought leadership platform

5

You learn more about the needs or concerns of your stakeholders if you listen or participate in a dialogue

6

Traditional Media is losing ground

Traditional media is still important, but user-generated media is rapidly growing

- New relationship between classic and digital Media

- Journalists get their stories online, they check information online

- Online news and online content creates its own influential dynamic

- The digital space serves as the memory of humanity

- Citizen journalism – Bloggers -> E-Fluentials

7

Important stakeholders such as NGOs run campaigns that can create great awareness at low cost

8

Many of your stakeholders have developed newexpectancies regarding „tonality“ from Corporations

Openness, directness, speed and authenticity

9

PERSPECTIVE

Deg

ree o

f In

flu

en

ce

Website

Discussion forums

Email marketing

Social network

Company blog

Search optimisatio

n

Third party blog

Product wikis

Online video

Wikipedia

Search marketing

Display advertising

Website dialogue

Low HighDegree of Control

You can learn step by step (monitoring, listening, from internal to external, selective participation)

10

High

Low High

Dep

th of

En

gag

em

en

t

Degree of Control

Collaboration

Communication Information

Conversation

TeamThe new playing field

High

Come gather 'round peopleWherever you roam

And admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soon

You'll be drenched to the bone.If your time to you

Is worth savin'Then you better start swimmin'

Or you'll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin'.

The Times they are a-changin‘

It all starts with listening

THANK YOU

www.b-m.chwww.crossmedia.b-m.chwww.twitter.com/bmswitzerland