For senior PR execs, reports of the death of print media have turned out to be, with apologies to Mark Twain, greatly exaggerated.
Despite the rapid growth of online communications in the last few years, 51% of PR executives responding to a recent survey say newspapers still have the greatest influence on
their companies' ability to build (and protect) their reputations. And although the blogosphere has been all the rage throughout media circles this year, just 2% of respondents
say blogs have the biggest influence on their companies' reputations.
"Print is still the most important to us," says Kim Arcuelo, director of communications for Opteum Financial Services (Atlanta), a national mortgage-lending company with
$400 million in annual revenues. "[Stories in print] have a very long shelf life, and our executives can hang on to that information for a long time and share it with various
stakeholders. Broadcast is often a one-shot deal, and blogs are still new, but we're anticipating major growth in that area in the next few years."
Mark Weiner, president of Norwalk, Conn.-based Delahaye, adds: "The PR community doesn't put much stock in consumer-generated media. That being said, Dan Rather's
experience has shown how blogs can help to bring down America's great institutions. Intel's Pentium-chip debacle of the past decade originated in an academic chat room
which, in today's world, would have been called a blog."
Others, however, say PR managers have to jump on blogs. "There's a hidden influence of blogs because traditional media, from newspapers and magazines, are looking to the
blogosphere to get their stories," says Mike Schultz, founder and publisher of RainToday.com (Framingham, Mass.), an online source for insight, advice and tools for
business services. "PR managers who are just monitoring their reputations according to print are not getting as much out of the media" as they would by following blogs that cover
their market(s).
The survey, sponsored by PR News and Delahaye, was distributed in August online and garnered more than 370 responses among PR News subscribers. Getting a better
handle on how reputation (or the lack thereof) impacts the bottom line is one of the toughest challenges facing PR pros, what with the continued erosion in corporate trust
following a slew of corporate scandals and the growing interest among members of the investment community to gauge non-tangibles assets - like reputation - before they place any
bets.
While newspapers hold the greatest influence on reputation, it's not to prominence (or even frequency) that PR pros pay the most attention when measuring clips, but tone.
"Executives are not so interested in positioning," Arcuelo says. "Whether [an article about the company] is in the Wall Street Journal, a local paper or an online media
site, senior executives want to make sure tone is consistent."
Au contraire, according to Schultz. "That number should be on the flip side," he says, referring to the 10% of respondents who said "reach" has the biggest impact on
measurement. "You may have a great brand but the focus should be on reaching the right people, those you want to turn into customers. This is the reason why marketing executives
tend to laugh at PR people when they go on and on about how they're building the brand. That number should definitely be higher."
PR observers also are divided on which core messages contribute the most to enhancing corporate reputation, with 45% saying "product and services," and just 3% saying
"financial management."
"While survey respondents rated 'financial performance' measures as contributing the least to a company's overall reputation, major reputation rankings, including
Fortune, The Reputation Institute and The Delahaye Index, consistently show that a reputation for strong financial reputation is enough to overshadow every other
attribute nine times out of 10," Weiner says.
However, Schultz stresses PR managers should make sure their company has, er, the right stuff. "Good financial management and organizational integrity are necessary but not
sufficient," he says. "The focus should be on your 'stuff,' that it's better than your competitors' and that your customers find value in it. That's where the PR game should be
played."
Contacts: Kim Arcuelo, 678.742.6647, [email protected]; Mike Schultz, 508.405.0438 x305, [email protected]; Mark Weiner, 203.663.2446, [email protected]
Reputation Measurement Survey Results
1. In analyzing coverage, which one of the following key measures do you think has the greatest impact on corporate reputation?
Tone: 44%
Prominence (extent of mention): 25%
Frequency: 21%
Reach: 10%
2. Which of the following key media have the greatest influence on your company's reputation?
Newspaper: 51%
Broadcast: 20%
Magazines: 27%
Blogs: 2%
3. Which one of the following core messages contributes the most to your company's reputation?
Stockholder relations: 2%
Products & services :45%
Financial management: 3%
Organizational integrity (i.e., ethical, legal, corporate governance): 30%
Organizational strength (CEO, leadership, employer-of-choice): 20%
4. Why do you monitor your company's reputation?
To effectively gauge strategic positioning: 36%
To monitor your performance against the competition: 16%
To make decisions and implement new strategies: 42%
To communicate results internally: 6%
5. How do you currently measure your company's reputation?
Survey research: 29%
Media analysis: 35%
Clip counts: 23%
Don't measure: 13%