Just as no two snowflakes are the same, the fifth PR News/VMS Thought Leaders Roundtable proved no two communicators think the same, taking the "Future of
Integrated Communications" theme in a previously unexplored direction and offering executive-level commentary on the challenge of effectively implementing integrated
communications strategies. The attendees at the May 1 event in Chicago approached the discussion with frank examples of day-to-day snafus, strategic advice for overcoming them,
and case studies of top-notch integration practices in action. (See sidebar, p. 6, for a list of attendees.) Here's a summary of what they had to say.
Clearing The Hurdles
The Chicago roundtable executives cited a number of challenges in achieving integrated communications throughout their organizations, many of which are echoed by communicators
nationwide on a daily basis. A sampler of struggles:
Nancy Brennan, Manning Selvage & Lee: It's a cultural mindset, even amongst each other. It's an issue of education and discipline. Executives know better, but they
are still too territorial. Everyone has to figure out their specific role within each initiative. That makes integration incredibly complex. Because of the complexity, planning
time has tripled. By the time you get to execution, it's two years later.
John Moore, IL Office of Comms: Planning is also a problem when it comes to new media. In six months, it will have completely changed again.
Gary Ross, CDW: There's no commitment from anyone to get on the same page.
Cheryl Procter-Rogers: It's about personal economics. Business still comes down to who gets credit for what. The challenge is more than getting everyone in the same
room; it's destroying a tradition. Walls must be totally abolished.
Jim Motzer: It's not always just a challenge of silos within a company. Sometimes the struggle is what is news versus how that fits into the communications message. If
the media doesn't see your campaign as newsworthy, they will take their own angle.
Lou Thompson: The problem boils down to all departments not being equal. It's very difficult to combine them under one hat. Then it's a matter of who gets credit, how
they get credit, money and power.
Matt Messinger: PR people can also [act like victims], but they are the ones who have to open themselves to other groups. We must show our value to different parts of
the organization before we can fight the battle.
Fighting The Fight
The challenges execs acknowledged were not insignificant, but there was a bright side: The practitioners offered strategic advice for making headway in integrating
communications, especially when it comes to breaking down the silos between PR and marketing. Some best practices:
Moore: Always train entry-level employees in all disciplines.
Andy Hopson: You can't execute a campaign until you understand how everything from advertising to marketing to sales fits together. So it is an issue of training.
Luis Hernandez: On the agency side, it's important to get client buy-in, but it's also essential to challenge their message if you don't agree with it. [As far as
integrating new media], it provides communicators the opportunity to drive content. If your target audience isn't new media savvy, go through their kids.
Procter-Rogers: Rewards should be based on how well you work together [with other departments]. Don't measure success within your silo; measure within your
organization.
Motzer: Don't just focus on the idea of "one;" consider complementary messages.
Lisa Jillson: At Allstate, we have an actual integrated communications department.
Best In Show
It's fine to talk the talk, but the money is all about walking the walk. Being seasoned communicators, the attendees were well aware of this, and they were quick to point out
examples of organizations - even if they weren't their own - that implemented the above best practices to the greatest results.
Cars, cars and more cars: Procter-Rogers pointed out Enterprise's strategy of measuring employees' performance based on how happy their customers are. This
naturally integrates the communications and customer relations functions, and it gives employees incentives to work well across all disciplines if they want to succeed. She also
tipped her hat to Nissan, pointing out the company's policy that every employee can only be in one position for so long before they must move to a different department -
and those moves aren't just within communications, but across all disciplines. This circles back to Moore and Hopson's emphasis on employee training as the crux of successful
integration.
Hitting the messaging bull's eye: Jillson pointed to Target when she said, "There needs to be a level of leadership that pushes messaging from the top down.
Target has a clear vision at the very top level, and everything filters down from there." Following up on the importance of messaging, Procter-Rogers explained how her former
employer, HBO, established one overriding message and had every employee speak to that.
"Everyone sits down together. They're not measured against [their silo's messages]. They're measured against the organization as a whole."
Digital takes the show on the road: New media channels offer challenges and opportunities aplenty. When it comes to integration, Roundtable attendees cited a few
companies that harness digitalization's power to facilitate integration. For True Value and Banco Popular, both of which have target audiences that fall outside the
traditional new-media user (senior citizens and immigrants), the communicators target these audiences' children to deliver the message. Juan Carlos Cruz of Banco Popular mentioned
seeing one child teaching his parent how to manage money online - something that likely wouldn't have happened if the bank hadn't targeted a younger audience through new media
channels and integrated marketing campaigns.
Roundtable Attendees
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Cheryl Procter-Rogers, President, A Step Ahead PR
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Lisa Jillson, Senior Manager, Internal Marketing Comms, Allstate
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Matt Messinger, Senior Director, Media Development and Communications, Bally Total Fitness
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Juan Carlos Cruz, Vice President, Banco Popular
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Robb Barrett, Mktg Manager, Cancer Treatment Centers of America
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Michael Burbach, PR Manager, Cancer Treatment Centers of America
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Paul Misniak, VP, Career Education
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Gary Ross, GM, Corporate Communications, CDW
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Luis Hernandez, Director of PR, Chicago White Sox
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Marybeth Johnson, VP, Corporate Comms, Exelon Corporation
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Jim Motzer, VP/Gatorade Marketing, Fleishman-Hillard Chicago
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John Moore, IL Office of Communications
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Jonni Hegenderfer, President, JSH&A
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Lou Williams, CEO, LC Williams
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Nancy Brennan, Managing Director, Manning Selvage & Lee
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Andy Hopson, Managing Director, Ruder Finn
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Chris Taylor, Director, Corporate Communications, True Value
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Monique Hanson, CDO, Communications, YMCA of the USA
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Susan Kollon, Marketing Director, YMCA of the USA
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Diane Schwartz, VP/Group Publisher, PR News
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Angie Jeffrey, VP, Editorial Research, VMS
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Gary Getto, VP, VMS
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Courtney Barnes, Editor, PR News PRN