If I have one impression to share about the panel discussion the Council put on last weekend at this year’s SXSW conference, and about the conference in general, it is the sheer energy, excitement, and interest we encountered. We have attended SXSW these past two years in the belief that as marketing communications gets more…

I know the world is changing at a dizzying pace, but not everything is changing. If you really think about it, public relations at its core is all about influencing the influencers.  So when people say that our industry is changing, I generally think “not really.”  The thinking, the process, the methodology, and much of…

In the latest study exploring strategic initiatives — new market entry, M&A, product launches, recaps, downsizing, etc. — FD and Forbes Insights asked 180 CEOs, corporate strategists, and senior communications officers how much the recession has changed the rules of the game in the corporate world. We found that risk aversion and caution still dominate…

So many social media campaigns fail to break through. Sometimes clients are hamstrung by internal impediments, such as skittishness on the part of legal. More often the problem is with the strategy. Or lack thereof. With social media so entrenched, some companies don’t understand the consequences of their actions or inactions, nor have they mapped…

If you’re Vikram Pandit, the CEO of Citibank, the answer is yes. Last year, Pandit vowed he’d take no salary until the bank became profitable. So he didn’t. But Citibank is now back in the black, which is why this past week, Citibank’s board announced that they’d reinstate a salary for Pandit. Of course, Pandit…

Today, as recent news coverage has confirmed, we communications professionals find ourselves not merely in the trenches, but in the boardroom acting as valuable strategic counsel to corporate leadership. While our industry will continue to provide clients with the tactical help they need to execute communications programs, a real opportunity exists to add value by…

Although so much of marketing has traditionally been outside-facing, more companies are discovering the importance of marketing their brand to their employees, with an eye toward serving customers better. Internal communication designed to mobilize employees as brand ambassadors is a burgeoning field, and a huge growth area for public relations firms. We all know that…

You’re used to talking to employees, customers, and community leaders. What about ex-employees or the mothers of customers? Last week, part one explored how social media is not merely altering the influence that accrues to traditional stakeholder groups, but the very definition of those groups itself. Focusing on customers, we examined how existing stakeholder identities…

It’s well known that social media tools enhance both stakeholders’ and managers’ power to influence perceptions. As some have argued, employees, customers, management, investors, vendors, the public, and other stakeholders comprise a complex “ecosystem” of influence thanks to the new technology.  The very concept of “stakeholder” is changing, becoming multidimensional rather than one dimensional. This…

What do today’s CEOs care about? It’s a burning question for any agency seeking to be considered indispensable. Fortunately, some initial answers are there for the taking. Recent survey data reveals that several of the issues preoccupying CEOs are ones that our industry is especially well placed to help address. Take reputation. As our economy…