In a too-media-savvy environment, where so many PR spinners
sidestep the uncomfortable questions about beleaguered companies or
react to a crisis by pretending it doesn't exist, the Web site for
telecom giant WorldCom is a breath of fresh air. The creators of
this site know darn well visitors are there to monitor the train
wreck, so the now- bankrupt company addresses its woes in detail
from page one. Bravo.
On the other hand, perhaps in the rush to appease a skeptical
public and press, Worldcom.com puts on a friendly face, but
unfortunately forgets some of the tools necessary to make the
reporters' jobs as easy as possible.
This site is a good example of the power of a honest smile and
confident handshake. The openness with which the site engages the
company's trouble goes a long way.
Nevertheless, by ignoring some basic press needs for a Web site,
WorldCom also risks losing out on more and better coverage of its
attempt to turn its business around -- and thus a higher level of
trust among all stakeholders.
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Criteria
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Grade
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Comments
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| Link from Homepage | A | Not only does WorldCom.com have an oversized link to the online "press kit" area on the home page, but fully half of this landing page anticipates press interest. The top press release headlines take up a fair percentage of the right side of the screen and a specific link "WorldCom Wants You to Know" leads to a well- organized repository of assets that address key areas of public and investor concern: management, customer service, financials, etc. Each piece meets head-on the issue of how WorldCom is progressing since the scandals. Also linked from the home page is the superb "Restructuring Desk," yet another trove of court documents, corporate explanations, and even employment resources for laid-off workers, all surrounding the company's recent bankruptcy filing and restructuring plan. This area not only recognizes and services the company's main constituencies but it also communicates to everyone, including the media, that Worldcom is concerned...even with the people it laid off. |
| Press Release Archive | B | The press releases go back to 1995, making it a genuine archive. They are organized chronologically, but in a business as vast and diverse as WorldCom, why aren't they also categorized by economic or business sector? We like that every press release page had a printable version and an email option, but for a researching journalist the lack of a search function is a gaping hole. |
| Contact Information | D | There is no prominent contact information in the supposed press kit. Say what? The site seems to be saying, "Sure you can talk to us. Just drill into a couple of press releases and root around for a name and a number." We did find a contact in some press releases, but for a multi-national such as this, press contacts should be prominent, categorized by businesses covered, and include names, phone numbers, and email addresses so that the press has direct access to the most likely contact. |
| Timeliness | A | Press releases are posted same day with the most important ones fed to the home page. The entire Web site appears to have been re-launched and re- written to deal with the company's crisis, so the feel throughout is current and responsive. |
| Archive of News Coverage |
F | The absence of a news archive at WorldCom demonstrates how this sort of oversight can undermine an otherwise strong PR effort. Without the third- party evidence from the press that the company is indeed turning itself around - or even evidence that the company is being covered in a neutral way - the Web site itself can come off as more spin than substance. Press clippings would not only help the media cover WorldCom better and faster, but would reinforce the message of the site itself. |
| Ease of Navigation | A | If the world leader in Internet backbone services doesn't know how to build a Web site, then who does? With print, email, and site map links on every page, contextual links to related material everywhere, the site is a model of cross-navigation, clear labeling, and intelligent information architecture. |
| Search Functions | F | D'oh! We forgot to put in a search box. Reporters will need to nail down names, dates, and facts about the company and its history, so the absence of search here is a fatal oversight, especially with so much information to drill through. |
| Company Information | A | WorldCom has gobs of well-organized information about itself and its services throughout the massive multi-national site. More to the point for the press, it has capsule descriptions of its main businesses within the press kit area. Small documents address the basic general media questions: what do you do, who and where are you, what is recent performance like. A reporter is up to speed in three minutes. |
| Financial Information | A | WorldCom has a dedicated investor relations site, including the "Restructuring Desk," which even includes a glossary of terms related to bankruptcy - key for constituents who understand little about bankruptcy and restructuring. All the usual and necessary earnings reports and press releases are here, but WorldCom goes the extra mile with conveniences like an investment calculator and putting reports into Excel. Well done. |
| Graphics and Media Assets |
D | Oops. Aside from a few shots of the new CEO, none of which are hi-res enough for use in print, there isn't even a downloadable logo to be found here. Usable images of products and personnel help the media do the job of reporting on a company. WorldCom gets a few points for including a full transcript and streaming video of the press conference announcing the new CEO, Michael Capellas. |
| News by Email | C | WorldCom provides email notification of releases involving "restructuring information," but we find that labeling a bit cagey. Also, the link is not present in the press kit but it is prominent on other parts of the site. Users should know exactly what they are getting when they sign up for a service like this. The press should have options for receiving industry-specific news from the company or all releases. |
| Overall | B | WorldCom's PR heart is in the right place here, and that actually helps cover up a multitude of little sins in catering to the press. In another context, the lack of search and news archives would seem oblivious, but here it almost seems as if the PR team was so caught up in the spirit of openness and making amends for past transgressions that they just plumb forgot. Overall, the Web site meets a crisis with an eagerness to be open about the state of the company and its efforts to turn around. That said, the site needs to work at the nuts and bolts of online PR. The site anticipates why the press generally is coming to WorldCom.com, but it doesn't anticipate well enough what reporters need in order to do the reporting - better contacts, better research tools, better media assets. Good intentions at the site may translate into press coverage but using a site to answer a reporter's professional needs will almost certainly translate into more coverage. |