There’s little doubt that successful communicators need to constantly adapt to myriad changes in content creation and distribution.
“The digital age has not made [being a communicator] simpler,” says Erin Streeter, SVP, communications, National Association of Manufacturers(NAM). “The talent and infrastructure needed to be successful is greater and more complex than ever,” she says.
The org chart of her team reflects Streeter’s belief about the complexity of digital communications and the need to integrate communications and marketing. As the org chart below shows, communications for the country’s largest industrial trade association (14,000 members) is a team sport. Accordingly Streeter’s PR team includes units for social media, video, photography, marketing, media relations, strategic and executive communications and creative strategy.
More than having multiple talent bases, Streeter espouses the belief that the communicator’s role has expanded beyond communications. “In today’s world, to be a communicator means you have to be a strategist” for your brand, she says.
One of the strategic initiatives Streeter championed recently was a State of Manufacturing tour, whose goals included “injecting” NAM into the presidential discussion and “getting the candidates talking about manufacturing.” It included a multifaceted approach that cut through 7 states in 7 days incorporating strategic, creative and executive communications. NAM reached “tens of millions of social media users” and saw a 110% increase in volume of earned media.
Contact: @shopfloorNAM