Amgen Corp., the world's largest biotechnology firm, made big news last month when it announced a deal to acquire Immunex, another biotech leader with a portfolio of cutting
edge pharmaceuticals, for $16 billion in cash and stock. The deal is set to close later this year.
Unfortunately, while major media outlets were buzzing with the news, the company's own Web site was ignoring it. It took the company well over 24 hours to post the news on its
site, after announcing the deal during a conference call the morning of Dec. 17.
Posting releases on the Web site simultaneously with distribution through newswires and other outlets is crucial for maintaining your corporate site's credibility with
reporters, who, according to a Vocus survey conducted last year, find the information they need from a corporate site less than 75 percent of the time.
"If a company makes a news announcement, the release should go on the Web site the same day," says Marc Hausman, president and CEO of Strategic Communications Group in Silver
Spring, Md. Providing timely postings of press releases and other need-to-know information positions your site as the first source when your company issues news.
In this first installment of the PR NEWS Web Browser, we take a close and objective look at Amgen's online media center -- the good and the not-so-good -- from a journalist's
point of view. To share your thoughts on our evaluation, or to suggest a site for a future installment of Web Browser, contact Peggy Stuntz at [email protected].
Amgen Corp
HQ: Thousand Oaks, California
Company Type: Biotechnology firm
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Criteria
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Grade
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Comments
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| Link from Homepage |
A
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Amgen links its "Media Center" directly to the homepage, http://www.amgen.com, with a prominent button in the left-hand navigation bar. Impatient reporters are rarely willing to dig for the information they need, so linking the press site to the homepage is a big step in the right direction. |
| Press Release Archive |
B
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The Media Center features a rich trove of press releases from the past nine months or so, as well as a link to an archive of older releases. Unfortunately, the company doesn't update the releases simultaneously with distribution to other sources -- so reporters may find a release on Businesswire before they find it at Amgen.com |
| Contact Information |
B
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Amgen offers reporters complete contact information for corporate headquarters, a satellite corporate communications office and, most importantly, its director of global public relations and its SVP of government affairs. Unfortunately, IR contact info takes the form of a generic [email protected] email address -- a press site taboo. Whether or not you monitor and promptly respond to messages sent through these addresses, reporters -- and other stakeholders -- have learned to avoid them. Another mistake on Amgen's site: burying the contact information beneath a list of press releases dating back to March. This valuable information should be featured at the top of the page. Instead, a "Contact Us" tab is much more prominent upon entering the Media Center, and this link leads to a "Feedback Form" for the Amgen customer service department. |
| Timeliness |
C
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Although Amgen delayed updating the press release archive by more than 24 hours upon announcement of its Immunex acquisition, we've seen much worse. |
| Archive of News Coverage |
F
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An Archive of past coverage by other reporters is often of interest to journalists, expecially those doing research on the company's history or overall brand. This valuable content was nowhere to be found when we visited. |
| Ease of Navigation |
B
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The press site is relatively easy to navigate. The company could make improvements by moving contact information to the top and providing easy links to information found elsewhere on the site. |
| Search Functions |
F
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Corporate press sites -- especially those with such a rich archive of press releases -- should feature some sort of search tool allowing journalists to troll for needed information quickly and easily (without sifting through a year's worth of product announcements or new hire news). |
| Company Information |
C
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The Amgen site has a nice cache of corporate information, including a detailed listing of corporate officers, FAQs and backgrounders, a message from the CEO and a detailed list of Amgen values and goals. Plus, the company offers information on the biotechnology field as a whole and links to other sources of information. Unfortunately, they're not bundled into the Media Center, but are located in a "Corporate Center" and a "Research Center." Lesson: journalists often will not take the time to wade through other areas of the site for information. And even if they are willing to do so, putting the information in one easily accessible media area is sure to put them in a good mood. |
| Financial Information |
A
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Amgen does a good job of detailing its financials, with the annual report, FAQs and a scrolling ticker tape updated with daily stock information available online. The information is in the "Investor Center," and the company provides a link to it within the Media Center. Key financial information is often an important tool for journalists researching your company, and while detailed financials need not be a part of the press center, offering a link to this key data is beneficial. |
| Graphics and other Value Adds |
F
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When we checked the site, there were no downloadable graphics, photos or other extras in the Media Center. While these types of "value adds" are not an absolute necessity, they're helpful for reporters on deadline. The added bonus for corporate communicators: no more wasted time spent sending journalists jpegs of the latest campaign or headshots of the CEO. |
| News by Email |
A
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Offering journalists covering your industry an email update on your latest news is an advantageous way of keeping your organization top of mind with them. Plus, it's an easy way to score reporter contact information for your communications database. Amgen offers email news updates tailored for reporters and for the general public through its Media Center. |
| Overall |
C+
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The press site has good bones -- with a little tweaking and polishing, it could be a model online newsroom. Amgen has built a strong corporate site overall and now should focus on pulling resources from elsewhere on the site and adding them to the strong basic information already found in the Media Center |
| (Amgen Contact: Jeff Richardson, Director, Global Public Relations, [email protected]) |
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