Breaking down the silos and integrating communications in all organizational activities isn't always just about attaching dollar signs to every business effort. In the case of PR,
especially, it's about building emotional connections and fostering resonance among all constituents. Consumers are more likely to be loyal and investors are more likely to invest if
a brand's identity is strong and memorable; but making it that way begins with employees' connections to and influences on the brand.
And this, of course, begins with the communications department.
At the December PR News/VMS Leadership Roundtable held in Charlotte, North Carolina, SunCom Wireless executive director of corporate communications Rose Cummings offered an
innovative way to turn employees into brand ambassadors: Hold a Brand Summit. And no, this isn't your average annual meeting; rather, it's an opportunity for employees and executives
across the organization to come together and drill down into every aspect of the company's brand.
"A brand summit recalibrates everyone inside the organization," Cummings says. "Then, afterward, its findings help recalibrate everyone from the outside perspective."
This "recalibration" is a main goal of any brand summit, and its effects are widespread. It supplies the obvious benefits of getting everyone in the organization on the same page
with brand identity and messaging, as well as the opportunity to, Cummings says, "socialize a new concept or direction for the brand." What's more, it's an opportunity for
organizations (no matter their structure) to integrate their communications sub-functions (PR, marketing).
"Integrated communications is clearly the wave of the future," says Angela Jeffrey, vice president of Editorial Research at VMS and Roundtable co-facilitator. "Our own research
shows that more and more companies are actively engaged in changing internal processes to enable the cross-pollination of creative thoughts and are approaching communications
measurement more holistically."
While a Brand Summit can accomplish these goals and more, poor planning and communications pitfalls could threaten to turn a well-meaning effort into a disorganized, unfocused
"annual meeting." So, when proposing a Brand Summit to senior management and planning the day and its activities, consider these best practices:
Don't make it a cookie-cutter event. Cummings emphasizes that no two Brand Summits are the same in her organization; rather, each one accommodates a specific audience or
initiative for the sake of remaining focused and meeting the greatest possible number of objectives.
"It goes back to the fundamentals of PR planning: Figure out who the audiences should be for the summit. Figure out who you need to be talking to," Cummings says. At SunCom, "the
corporate communications function is included in the marketing department, so periodically the brand/ad group conducts a Brand Summit on a variety of levels. For example, it could
include all the heads of the marketing department and outside agency representatives, or it could be with all the leadership in the company."
That said, don't get pigeon-holed in a "horizontal guest list." Bringing only senior executives together doesn't go the distance when the topic du jour is the brand. All employees
within the organization should adopt a "live the brand" philosophy, and they should all feel they have a stake in the identity of the company.
"What we need to have is not just horizontal attendance, but vertical attendance. Otherwise, certain groups can be pigeon-holed in their own motivations for living the brand," says
Kirkland Ahern, assistant VP of communications for Wachovia Corporation and attendee of the December Leadership Roundtable. "A Brand Summit would be much more useful if each line of
business [Wachovia has seven] has representatives from the executive levels all the way down to the people on the floor. Imagine the mind-meld that could come out of that."
While Ahern's organization doesn't currently hold Brand Summits, she says the conversation sparked at the Roundtable has led to the development of plans for a Summit - plans that
have "gotten great feedback so far."
Set a clear objective. Each Brand Summit held by an organization will have different goals and objectives based on the current business initiatives. If the company is going
through a re-branding, then an essential focus would be realigning messaging and business units to "sing from the same songbook," so to speak. If it is about to launch a new
marketing campaign, a good goal would be integrating PR into the effort to draw media attention and increase brand recognition.
Prepare people. Think of it as a summer reading assignment before the start of the new school year. Everyone on the roster should have an agenda at least a week ahead of time,
and there should be "assignments" that require preparation.
"If you have concepts to test, ads that are in developmental stages or a PR plan that hasn't been rolled out yet, it's good to give people a few days to familiarize themselves,"
Cummings says. "They need to understand what's expected of them. No one should come to the table empty-handed or empty-minded. Contributions from every level of the organization can
then be molded by the communications team and integrated into future initiatives." Otherwise, a morning-of program will increase the likelihood that people come just for the free
coffee and doughnuts - not for the exchange of ideas.
Consider an off-site location. This is especially important if you will have people flying in from various locations. Plus, an off-site venue keeps people focused on the issues at
hand, rather than on when they can slip out of the room to check their e-mail.
Go over semantics and research at the beginning of the meeting. "We can all get caught up in our own jargon, so it's important not to alienate anyone," Cummings says. "If you're
looking at research, spend a few minutes qualifying that research with history and methodology so it's all validated. You can fail when people begin picking apart the research
without understanding the formality that went into that research. It wastes too much time."
Set the plan into action. After a Brand Summit, it's important to keep all the topics of discussion top-of-mind so that the progress made doesn't get lost in the corporate
shuffle. Communications executives should follow-up with electronic materials - Summit notes, summaries, and next steps - to keep the momentum going and maintain touch points with
their audience.
The opportunities presented by a Brand Summit are organization-specific, thus benefiting companies (and agency clients) of all shapes and sizes. And, perhaps most important to
communications executives, it offers another tool for breaking down the silos between PR and marketing, and integrating their efforts through the entire organization - no matter where
the "branding" function lies.
"It's very important to become aligned with the branding group because you want to look for consistency in messaging. The way the brand is defined as a company's personality,"
Cummings says. "Who is the face of the company more than the PR folks? If you don't understand and buy into the branding, then you are at a complete disadvantage."
(For information on upcoming Roundtables, contact PR News' Diane Schwartz at [email protected] or Angie Jeffrey at [email protected])
Contacts:
Rose Cummings, [email protected]; Angie Jeffrey, [email protected]; Kirkland Ahern, [email protected]