Crises: From Sagging Stocks To Environmental Woes
Concerns raised by companies analyzing indicate how varied the view of the contemporary crisis is, according to a just-released segment of the "Corporate Communications Benchmark 1997."
The study was released this year in waves by Edelman, the Opinion Research Corporation and the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism Integrated Marketing Communications Department.
Respondents listed as the top three potential crises:
1. Injuries or fatalities;
2. Environmental issues; and
3. Financial or economic concerns. (Edelman, 312/240-2685)
Cyber PR
Latin America Journalists Not Reliant on Net Yet
Most journalists in the Latin American market (Mexico and South America) don't have regular access to the Internet, according to The Jeffrey Group, a Shandwick International Agency based in Miami.
Although the study was minor (TJG conducted it among more than 25 participants in a Latin American PR workshop it hosted), the firm reports that most journalists in the Latin American media don't have personal e-mail addresses and that the Internet hasn't become a timely way for them to get information.
Ironically, these journalists also said they welcome follow-up calls and contact - something most of their colleagues in America frown upon. They also said the best way to cultivate a relationship with their news rooms is through personal contact - not faxed releases. (The Jeffrey Group, 305/860-1000)
Web Sites Show Marketing Potential; PR A Suitor Too?
Eighty-four percent of online retailers responding to a survey use their sites for marketing and information purposes, according to the Direct Marketing Association's "Best Practices in Interactive Marketing, 1997." Given that, PR folks would be smart to integrate marketing and PR efforts - it could both cut costs and give you a better sense of what marketing staffers see as the Net's greatest promise and how PR can fit into the equation. (DMA, 212/790-1500)