COMMUNICATION DIRECTORY Newsletter for Corporate Communications and Public Relations January 2007 HAPPY NEW YEAR CONTENT Dear readers of Communication Directory, 01 Commentary Microsoft vs. EU-Commission A new year, a new look. With 2008 underway, Communication Director 02 Third Wave Branding: magazine`s newsletter has not only changed in appearance but also in breaking the ice By Maijken Shultz and Mary content. From now on we will present you with a selected article from Jo Hatch current issues of Communication Director magazine, on a monthly basis. Additionally, in each issue of Communication Directory you will find out 05 Excellence Awards 2007 about the latest personnel changes from the European corporate com - The Winners munications professionals scene as well as keeping you in the loop as far as events and dates in Europe are concerned. Communication Director 06 Personnel changes Recent appointments from the magazine`s team wishes you a happy and successful 2008! world of communications 08 Events Marc-Oliver Voigt Important events from all Editor -in-Chief [email protected] across Europe COMMENTARY EU´s slow dance with Microsoft Microsoft is in hot water with the European Commission over competition laws again. In 2004, the Commission ruled that their dominant market position was being abused in order to maintain a near-monopoly over operating systems (OS), and Mi- crosoft had to disclose interface code (allowing production of in- teroperable programs), provide their OS without the ubiquitous Windows Media Player, and pay €500 million in fines. But on January 14th the EU Commission – unsatisfied with Microsoft’s attempts to rectify the problems – launched two new antitrust suits. The Court of First Instance upheld judgements requiring comply with regulations, it seems that Microsoft – as dominant dominant companies to disclose interoperability information, OS manufacturer worldwide – is still loath to relinquish its near- and complaints from Opera and ECIS led the Commission to monopoly. But in view of the EU Commission’s slow progress examine how interoperable their Office Open XML suite is, and towards final judgements on the issue, who can blame Microsoft whether new technologies used in Internet Explorer hinder trans- for sticking to an as-yet highly successful business model. parency of interface protocols. After several years of attempts to by Daniel le Ray Photo: IKEA Photo: 1 COMMUNICATION DIRECTORY Newsletter for Corporate Communications and Public Relations January 2007 THIRD WAVE BRANDING: BREAKING THE ICE Brand management should exceed the confines of marketing and be embraced by corporate culture as a valuable way of thinking about the corporate environment. by Majken Schultz & Mary Jo Hatch very organisation needs specialists and by fast-moving consumer goods companies like Procter & Gamble specialised functions to do business: and Unilever. The branding sub-discipline of marketing grew over Strategic Planning, Human Resources, the years but never lost focus on the consumer, meaning corporate Public Relations, Marketing and so on. brands were mainly treated in this first wave as giant economy-sized When it comes to branding the organi- product brands that could be created and refreshed through adver- sation, however, the need to integrate tising campaigns in perpetuity. This failed to recognise the relevance across functions is imperative. Otherwise different groups doing of branding for non-marketing functions such as corporate commu- Edifferent things pull the brand in different directions and fail to nication, and ignored firms’ many other stakeholders. realise synergies. In the second wave of corporate branding, companies strived to Mapping functional specialties and the programs they are re- put the corporate into corporate branding and thereby made brand- sponsible for onto different parts of the brand highlights the ing a multifunctional activity. This meant that Corporate Commu- problem created when these activities are pursued independently. nications and to a lesser extent HR, Investor Relations and all the Far too often marketers tracking the corporate image are not in other communication functions joined with Marketing to manage conversation with HR folks handling the culture, and internal the corporate brand. Second-wave corporate branding led to innova- communication specialists are not talking to those from corpo- tions such as employer brands and a plethora of brand activation and rate communication, who promote the company externally to renewal programs each designed, orchestrated and led by a different the media, NGOs and partners. The failure to integrate typically group within the corporation. Over time, this activity contributed to means that the change programs a company has at any one time brand confusion as different groups claimed pieces of the branding rarely build on the corporate brand, nor do they deliver full value puzzle and the resources that came along with them. To balance this to stakeholders or the bottom line. Most tragically, this lack of tendency, second-wave branding often spawned cross-functional integration fragments the identity of the organisation, putting all task forces whose job was to coordinate all corporate brand efforts the equity invested in the corporate brand at risk. and to bring corporate brand thinking to the firm. SHIFTING PERCEPTIONS OF CORPORATE BRANDING THE NEW WAVE OF BRANDING Companies today are enter- Branding began as a marketing endeavour to create and manage ing an era of stakeholder capitalism that is changing the balance of the relationship between products and consumers, as practiced e.g. power within firms. New rules for doing business are being writ- 2 COMMUNICATION DIRECTORY Newsletter for Corporate Communications and Public Relations January 2007 ten as suppliers, investors, employees, communities, and a growing The functional specialties of marketing, corporate communica- number of global NGOs are organising to offset the influence global tion and HR all contribute to corporate and third wave branding. business represents. Stakeholders make stronger claims on compa- They have as much to offer as they ever did, if not more. Compa- nies than ever before, and their influence affects the identities of the nies just need to make better use of what these specialists can do firms that they relate to and target. by managing their limitations and helping them appreciate each other. Marketing specialists know what consumers and customers LISTENING TO STAKEHOLDERS In the context of stakeholder expect and desire, and can deliver what they want creatively. Their capitalism, a third wave of branding will evolve to respond to these affinity for customers and consumers, however, often leaves them gathering forces. This shifts the role of the corporate brand to be not at a loss when it comes to serving other stakeholder groups. just the voice of the company but of the entire enterprise. The third The various specialists of corporate communication, from media wave encompasses the interests and expectations of the full range relations to CSR experts, provide skills essential to effective com- of stakeholders and makes corporate branding a strategic asset of munication of the brand internally and externally. Their propensity increasing importance to CEOs and their top management teams. to value consistency and clarity of message is invaluable, though it More time and attention at the highest levels of an organisation will must be tempered by encouraging stakeholders to play with brand be given to listening and talking to stakeholders and engaging the meaning in their own ways. Although many communication spe- full range of them through the corporate branding process. To do cialists value two-way communication, it is still a challenge to many this kind of complex, interactive, and inclusive communicative work experts to learn to listen well to their stakeholders and practice what requires managers to become more conversant with the multi-stake- they preach. Human resource practitioners understand cultural mat- holder aspects of corporate branding, which is key to catching the ters within the firm and can help when culture change is needed. third wave. These are the people who can put together training and development NEW MEDIAThe main implication is that many voices will shape programs that will encourage employees to express cultural values and inform the corporate brand though myriad forms of communi- through behaviour, and adjust it to benefit the brand. They can also cation – direct and indirect, face-to-face and virtual – and through ensure that the brand draws into the firm people who fit the culture traditional channels as well as new media such as text messaging well and look forward to working on its behalf with your stakehold- and websites like MySpace and YouTube. As a result the next gen- ers. Sadly, many companies have outsourced critical HR and train- eration of both corporate communication and marketing managers ing functions that are key to translating the corporate brand into will spend increasing amounts of time looking at the brand through the eyes of stakeholders. Participation in brand community events will feature prominently in their schedules, and every interaction EXECUTIVE SUMMARY inside the firm and out will become more of a two-way process. Branding began as marketing & became a multifunctional tool, losing some focus. Employees will start to bring some of these stakeholders directly Third wave branding must integrate all elements