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Calendar
September 11-12: Delahaye Group, "2nd Annual MeasureNet Conference," Portsmouth, 603/431-0111. September 16-19: IABC & MediaNet, "Touring Seminar Addressing New Rules for Business Presentations," Orlando (Sept. 16), Atlanta (Sept. 17) & Cleveland (Sept. 19), 800/776-4222. September 16-19: The Center for Corporate Community Relations, "Strategic Planning," Boston, 617/552-4545. September 17: Public Affairs Council, "Grassroots Roundtable for Associations with Corporate Members," Washington, D.C., 202/872-1790. September 17-20: Radio TV News Directors Association, "The 1997 RTNDA International Conference and Exhibition," New Orleans, 202/659-6510. September 18: Public Affairs Council, "Measuring the Value of Public Affairs," Arlington, Va., 202/872-1790. September 21-24: American Marketing Association, "Marketing Research Conference," Orlando, 312/648-0536. September 22: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., "Understanding Congress(UC)," Washington, DC, 202/887-8620. September 23: The Council of Communication Management, "Annual Conference," Phoenix, 201/575-1444. September 23-26: The Center for Corporate Community Relations, "Institute on Corporate Community Relations," Boston, 617/552-4545. September 29: National Investor Relations Institute, "The Nasdaq Stock Market," San Francisco, 703/506-3570. September 30: National Investor Relations Institute, "Managing Shareholder Relations," San Francisco, 703/506-3570. We are currently preparing our 1998 PR NEWS Calendar of Events. Please fax or email Editor Debra Murphey any information about workshops and conferences planned for 1998. Fax: 301/340-1451 |
Do You Have A Written Corp. Comm. Plan?
When it comes to planning and managing strategic goals, corporate communicators are doing their fair share in justifying what they do and why they do it, according to a benchmark survey that's being released in stages by Edelman Worldwide. The third (Planning Goals and Measurement) of four segments was released Aug. 13.
According to the survey, which probes how closely aligned corporate and communications objectives are, 99 percent of respondents said they have a written plan for corporate communications - while only 65 percent said their companies have written plans for reaching corporate goals.
We think this finding should raise some red flags: namely, when you're devising communications plans, make sure that what's being put together doesn't only amount to obligatory rhetoric and flashy job justifications; rather what's needed to propel PR are measurements proving which PR tactics work best.
The survey is a joint effort between Edelman, the Opinion Research Corp. and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism's Integrated Marketing Communications Department. (Edelman, 312/240-2685)
Regional Press Relying Heavily on Syndicated News
If you're trying to drum up grassroots coverage of national issues in a regional newspaper, chances are wire service stories (on the issues) will still take precedence. That' s according to a survey by The Omega Group of 27 daily newspapers in eight states. The New York-based company found that 92 percent of the time the source of national news was a press association (primarily the Associated Press) - and only 8 percent of the time was it staff-generated copy. However, there was this one hook: when a national figure showed up in a local market, regional staffers were more likely to take the bait and pump out a story. If you're not equipped to supply such figures, consider a satellite media tour. (Omega, 212/545-0190)
Cyber PR: Small Businesses Rely on Internet
Usually it's the Fortune 500s setting trends, but a study by Find/SVP shows that more small business owners are using the Internet to communicate with their vendors and customers. The study indicates that 36 percent of small businesses are communicating with customers online and 28 percent are communicating with vendors online - while the rest of the business world is communicating online with customers and vendors 29 and 25 percent of the time, respectively. For PR professionals, that's significant because it means that the Web - once again - is proving its worth as a communications vehicle. (Find/SVP, 212/645-4500)
Saying No to E-Mail
A recent survey by West Glen Communications shows that the jury's still out when it comes to convincing TV news directors that e-mail is the way to go. Ninety-four percent of the 82 TV news directors who responded said they do not like e-mail for story notifications. Another sign that TV newsrooms are surprisingly low-tech: 77 percent also said they wouldn't use a computer to preview a video news release even if such a feature were available on PC. Those findings differ from a trend on the print side: mega media outlets, especially those with a large core of high-tech reporters and editors, are learning to love e-mail. (West Glen, 212/921-2800)