PR Agencies Using Net To Research Issues
Industry trends show PR agencies are using the Net to gather background and track issues just as exhaustively as journalists. Based on about 200 responses to a poll of PRSA's Counselors Academy members, most PR executives say they are using the Internet to track issues.
Other ways they put the Internet to use:
- Monitoring news
- Monitoring client competition
- Researching media outlets and contacts
- Contacting the press
- Distributing news releases
- Monitoring firm's competition
- Sending artwork or graphics
- Electronic clippings
- Prospective new business
- Employee recruitment
- Contacting client investors
- Crisis communications
Other less-cited uses included buying media lists, hosting video conferences and frequenting chats. (Academy Monograph, 212/995-2230)
Organizational Change Means Communicating Urgency
No one wants to cry fire amid organizational change, but companies that don't relay the urgency of change pay the price. That's according to a just-released "Communicating Change" analysis by Nancy Welch and Mark Goldstein for the International Association of Business Communicators.
Companies that announce change without creating a sense of immediacy have worse outcomes than those that fan the flames.
Other common mistakes in organizational transformation which can doom the best of intentions include:
- Failing to create a powerful coalition to guide the process;
- Lack of vision;
- Under-communicating;
- Failing to identify obstacles;
- Failing to plan for, and create, short-term wins;
- Not grounding vision changes in the corporate culture; and
- Calling it a "win" too soon.
Clarification: A chart in the Oct. 14 issue was misleading. According to The Delahaye Group, the "Total Visibility" numbers represent the number of impressions (articles x circulation) a story placement would equal - not circulation or market penetration. The figures werebased on a review of a specified number of articles for each publication.