Mike McCurry Speaks at Council of PR Firms Event in New York
Former White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry might have had some stressful days during his twilight hours as Bill Clinton's key spokesperson fielding queries about Miss Lewinsky, but he doesn't seem any worse for the wear. McCurry spoke at a Council of PR Firms gathering Wednesay in New York, with more than 100 PR executives showing up to hear what the now has to say as an executive with PR firm Public Stategies, Austin and Washington, D.C.
No question: McCurry's draw as a speaker appears to be his sense of humor and his ability to connect with his audience. (He's been working the circuit like mad, but no one will tell us what he gets paid.)
Despite several pointed questions about his views on Clinton, McCurry diplomatically walked the communications line, neither condemning or lauding his former boss. But he did say that the media's scrutiny of government officials underscores how delicate public trust is.
"We better have places in government and the private sector that are reliable and known for their credibility - and if the White House isn't one of them, we're in a world of hurt," McCurry said. His linked that point to how critical communications is for both government and corporations. "Reputation is something that has real currency," McCurry added. "PR is not voodoo - it is a central task [in running an organization]."
Multicultural Healthcare Agency Debuts
To meet the growing demand for targeted and culturally relevant minority healthcare communications, True North Communications recently formed the New America Wellness Group in New York.
Specializing in multicultural healthcare communications, the agency is comprised of Stedman Graham & Partners (targeting African Americans), Siboney USA (targeting Hispanics) and Imada Wong Communications (True North's Asian Pacific affiliate).
The ever more diverse U.S. population offers tremendous healthcare PR opps. Consider the numbers: collectively, multicultural Americans represent 25 percent of the U.S. population and 70 percent have some form of health insurance.
Sheila Thorne heads the new firm as managing director. The firm's communications offerings include advertising, PR, diversity training, education, research, business planning and new product development. Its current roster of clients include Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Glaxo Wellcome.
(New America Wellness, Sheila Thorne, 212/727-5129)
Brands as Capital
More companies than ever are placing value on their corporate brand, but most still aren't measuring reputation capital, according to a new study by Hill & Knowlton. The survey shows all CEOs believe corporate reputation is important to their business, but most don't measure it or hold themselves accountable for it. The study was rolled out at the 1999 East Coast Corporate Communication Conference in New York last week.
"The corporate brand is the company behind the product brand," said Harlan Teller, executive managing director for H&K, Inc.
Corporate reputation and corporate brand are just two different ways of saying the same thing, he said. "This is the era of the corporate brand, especially in the commodities market," Teller said.
Brand-building can be challenging in the face of a "hostile and skeptical" public, said Teller, but CEOs increasingly recognize the importance of corporate brand management. Although 96% of CEOs surveyed who were interviewed in the survey believe that corporate reputation is very important, less than 20 percent have measurement mechanisms in place.
A strong corporate brand should have a consistent message, a strategic vision and high employee motivation and retention, said Teller. The CEO should be used as a "standard bearer." In other words, branding should "personify the company with the CEO," he said. He cited Disney's Michael Eisner as one example of a CEO who is at the forefront his company. Although Disney's financial statements looked grim this year, it remained on Fortune's top 10 admired companies list.
It's interesting to note, then, that more than half of the companies surveyed (58 percent) do not hold the CEO responsible for corporate reputation management.
The survey was commissioned by H&K and Chief Executive magazine and was conducted by Yankelovich Partners. (H&K, 212/885-0300)
Corporate Brand vs. Product Brand
"Who we are"
- Heritage
- Character
- Relationships
- Purpose & People
- Performance (financial)
"What we do"
- Attributes
- Benefits
- Functionality
- Performance (product and service)
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