Corporate Communication
Definition, Concept and Scope
Shift From PR to Corpcom
Form and structure
Corporate Communication as Management
Function
• 1. a management function that requires communication practitioners to look at
all communications in a holistic manner, and to link the communication strategy
to the corporate strategy and corporate objectives. Communication is seen as a
strategic and planned set of actions that follow from the overall corporate
strategy.
• A managerial framework for managing all communication used by an
organization to build reputations and relationships with stakeholders in its
environment. Corporate Communications offers a managerial framework that
goes above and beyond departmental boundaries, and enables the coordination
of the work of the communications practitioners involved.
• A vocabulary of concepts and sets of techniques for understanding and
managing communications between an organization and its stakeholders.
• Corporate Communication is a management function that offers a
framework and vocabulary for the effective coordination of all means
of communications with the overall purpose of establishing and
maintaining favourable reputations with stakeholder groups upon
which the organization is dependent.
• 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
Definition of Corporate Communications
• Joep Cornellisen in his book Corporate Communications, Theory and Practice
defines it in the following manner:
Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the
effective coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall
purpose of establishing and maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder
groups upon which the organization is dependent.
Corporate communication was defined by Peter Jackson in 1987 as the total
communication activity generated by a company to achieve its planned objectives.
Ed Blauw (1986) describes corporate communication as: the integrated approach to
all communication produced by an organization, directed at all relevant target
groups. Each item of communication must convey and emphasize the corporate
identity.
Concepts
• Mission
• Vision
• Corporate Objects and Goals
• Strategies
• Corporate Identity
• Corporate Image
• Corporate Reputation
• Stakeholder
• Public
• Market
• Issues
Shift from PR to Corporate Communication
• By the early 1900s, every organization realised that it had to engage through
communications with a number of groups in its environment, including the
general public and consumer markets, to remain economically afloat.
• The task of managing communications between an organization on the one
hand, and the general public and consumers on the other was for the
majority of the 20th century defined by the public relations and marketing
functions.
• Through socio-economic developments, and the practical need to coordinate
and draw communications disciplines together, previously failing under
marketing and PR headings have increasingly been integrated into the
corporate communications function.
Continue..
• Many organizations around the globe have experienced a shift from
being in markets characterised by rigid systems of mass production
and consumption to more flexible and increasing competitive market
places. This, together with a greater call from society for ‘corporate
citizenship’ has pushed many organizations into stakeholder
management strategies.
• Corporate communications is the management function that has
come to function in the stakeholder era, and caters for the need to
build and manage relationships with stakeholder groups upon which
the organization is economically and socially dependent.
Historical Models of PR
Characteristic Press Agentry/Publicity Public information Managerial discipline
Purpose Propaganda Dissemination of Persuasion &/or mutual
information understanding/accommodation
Nature of communication One-way complete, truth One-way truth important Two-way, (imbalanced efforts)
not essential
Communication model source Receiver source Receiver Source--- Receiver----feedback,
actor----actor
Nature of research Little if any Little, readership Formative attitude evaluation
readability
Quote ‘public be damned’ ‘public be informed’ ‘public be influenced, involved
&/or accommodated’
Communications Publicity (propaganda) Publicity, media relations Publicity, media relations,
disciplines involved employee communications,
investor relations, general
counsel, government affairs.
Period 1800-1899 1900-1940 1940-1990
Historical development of PR & Marketing
Public relations
Socio-Economic forces
Press agentry Public information Two-way (a)symmetrical orientation
Orientation orientation (managerial discipline)
Integration
Corporate Com.
Production Selling Orientation Market Orientation
Orientation (managerial discipline)
Socio-Economic Forces
Marketing
1800-1900 1900-1940 1940-1990 1980-1990 1990-
PR and Marketing Activities
Marketing
Marketing/PR Public Relations
Market Assessment
Image assessment Events
Product Development
Corporate Reputation Issues Management
Pricing
Media strategy Community Relations
Distribution
Corporate Advertising Identity/Corporate imagery
Servicing
Employee Attitudes Media
Salesforce
Lobbying/public affairs
Sales promotion
Social investments/CSR
Product advertising
Corp Comm Mix
