Kmart's announcement of its Chapter 11 filing last month was a blow to the company's reputation - and to that of companies associated with it, like Martha Stewart Living. But
the retailer seems intent on turning a negative into a positive. It announced the hiring of a chief restructuring officer (PRN, Jan. 28) and plans to develop a new ad campaign
focused on the retailer's exclusive brands and convenient store locations, designed to revitalize its image among consumers.
Its communications department has been relatively reticent since the filing, however. After repeated requests for an interview on PR efforts behind the bankruptcy announcement,
Director of Marketing Communications Dave Karraker told PR NEWS in an email, "We are not doing any interviews on this topic at this time, as we feel it is way too early." Karraker
did, however, point out the corporate Web site's "Restructuring" section, still under construction, but already full of information on the bankruptcy and what the company is doing
to bounce back. The site is a nice example of how the Web can be used in a crisis as a powerful resource for the media - not to mention consumers, partners and investors.
(Karraker, 415/369-9090 ext. 770, [email protected])
Kmart Corp.
HQ: Troy, Mich.
Company Type: Discount Retailer
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Criteria
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Grade
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Comments
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| Link from Homepage | B | Kmart's main Web site is Bluelight.com, its e-commerce site, which complicates matters. The corporate site is linked to Bluelight.com at the bottom of the page. The news site is included in a prominent link on this graphically underwhelming but extremely easy-to-navigate corporate site. |
| Press Release Archive | A | Kmart has rich archives of neatly categorized press releases, going all the way back to 1997. |
| Contact Information | D | At the bottom of each section of its news site, Kmart lists a general number for corporate communications. Reporters wary of such numbers are justified in this case: a call to the number resulted in a message being taken by an unnamed employee, and the message was never returned. Kmart needs to include detailed contact information for communications execs in a more prominent spot. |
| Timeliness | A | The site already has a significant cache of information on restructuring, which is linked to its general corporate page. |
| Archive of News Coverage | F | This was nowhere to be found when we searched. |
| Ease of Navigation | A | The site is so simple in its layout, it would be hard not to find information you're seeking. |
| Search Functions | F | There are no search functions available. |
| Company Information | A | General corporate information, including a history on Kmart and executive information, is readily accessible. |
| Financial Information | A | Kmart's investor relations site, which is linked to its media center, is one of the richest we've seen. It includes financial releases, annual reports, Webcasts, FAQs, SEC filings and a wealth of other information for analysts, investors and reporters. |
| Graphics and other Value Adds | B | The site offers photos of top execs, which add a little panache to the otherwise Spartan site and are helpful for reporters looking for a graphic. Additional graphics - even streaming video - would be nice touches. |
| News by Email | F | This function, another value-add, is not offered on Kmart's site. |
| Overall | C+ | Kmart's corporate communications department understands how to build a strong media site and has included the necessities - and in some cases more. With attention to value adds like search functions and email news, this site could be an A+. |
Dear Editor,
I'm writing to take exception to your "Web Browser" column of Jan. 7, which claimed that "it took [Amgen] well over 24 hours to post the news [of its Immunex acquisition] on
its site." In fact, at the precise moment the press release was issued on Dec. 17, Amgen prominently posted a highly visible icon to its homepage, announcing availability of
"Amgen-Immunex Acquisition Information." That icon provided a link (http://amgen.acquisitioninformation.com) to the entire text of the press release, along with access to a fact
sheet on the transaction, a Webcast of the investor conference call, an index of SEC filings, and a short set of questions and answers about the announcement. [According to a
WebTrends report], those pages logged nearly 7,000 visits on Dec. 17 alone.
Sincerely,
Matthew Benson, Vice President
Citigate Sard Verbinnen
Editor's Note: PR NEWS apologizes to Amgen for the inaccuracy in our review, which we believe was caused when our corporate server's caching technology failed, allowing us to
view an outdated homepage. Our IT department is investigating the problem, but in the meantime, we assure readers that we will manually refresh all pages before conducting our
evaluations.
Look for a new and improved version of Amgen's corporate media center to go live the first week of February - including, communications execs promise, many of the
recommendations made in PR NEWS' Jan. 7 Web Browser.