Corporate Branding and Public Relations - Term Paper Example

Public relations can be viewed as the reputation that is granted a company or entity as a result of its actions. It hinges on the need for social responsibility, as this has "a traceable effect on economic success for every type organization" (PRSA). Public relations also refers to the mechanism by which that entity seeks to present a favourable and attractive face to its public. Such "mechanisms," whose operations are often dictated by a public relations department, are in charge of determining which ideas about the organisation are of interest to the public and clarify the understanding between them. Communication between the public and the corporations' representatives is key in this relationship, and this type of transaction can be effected in several ways. One of these is through the use of corporate identities. Corporate branding is characterised by a deliberate thrust on the part of the management of corporations to present to its public its most important and distinguishing attributes and to differentiate it among other corporations (Balmer, 2001 qtd. In Kirby, 2003). It is a precursor to a more comprehensive corporate identity, which communicates these attributes beyond the mere public and also to the companies' stakeholders. The internal relations of the corporation bears heavily on the unity and consistency of the messages and images presented to the public, and this also has bearing on the way public relations is accomplished. The intention of those who manage corporate identities is to develop them along through strong internal relations that embody the unified intentions, meanings and vocations of the entire corporation, and to present them in that form to the public and to its stakeholders. The Strathclyde statement denotes the meaning and importance of the corporate identity: "Every organisation has its identity. It articulates the corporate ethos, aims and values and presents a sense of individuality that can help to differentiate the organisation within its competitive environment. By effectively managing its corporate identity an organisation can build understanding and commitment among its diverse stakeholders" (qtd. in Kirby, 2003, p. 12) Corporate identity has evolved throughout the years, but it can be assessed that a business' corporate identity is set by the managers of marketing in a given corporation. This approach to its formation includes the following areas of marketing defined by Balmer (2001). These are its identity, its personality, its service, and its image or reputation. The company's identity is said to embody all these, and public relations is seen as a vehicle that presents the whole to the public as its identity. Furthermore, there are several dimensions to the identity of a corporation: the actual, communicated, conceived, ideal and desired identities. The important players in establishing corporate identities have been identified as the management and the stakeholder groups, and the identity becomes the point of contact between these two players (Kirby, 2003, p. 11). The corporation's identity influences the direction of the public relations campaign. The strategy of the organization is often developed in order to garner the trust of the public. This strategy is a part of the organization's image, and once it is developed, the public relations campaign exploits as much of its attributes as possible in order to promote a particular aspect of the corporation's identity. The internal relations of the corporation demonstrates a process linked to that of creating and broadcasting the company's identity. This occurs within the corporation and involves the relationships between and among management, employees, and other decision makers in the company. Their activities establish the general idea that these persons have about the company itself, and this idea (this identity) and the decisions that proceed from it influence the directions and angles of public relations. Internal relations can be broken down into component parts, and some important methods of effecting good internal relations include planning, management of change and crises, strategic use of events, motivation of employees, and plans for making the executive bodies visible (Group Avant-garde). These all have a significant effect on public relations, as through these avenues, the public is privy to information about the corporation. The solidification of a corporate identity involves collaboration in all these departments and agreement about the true nature of the corporation. When these two harmonize, public relations can offer a more coherent and focused picture of the corporation-one that embodies (and eventually becomes embodied by) its identity. Planning and strategy involves not just the visualisation of a problem and subsequent action, but also much research. This means that the situation, the organisation, and then the public must be analysed. Situational analysis involves ensuring that the parties involved (supervisors, clients, decision-makers, etc.) are all in the utmost agreement about the characteristics of the problem or opportunity being faced. Organisational analysis ensures the concurrence of the mission, resources, and reputation of the corporation. Public analysis evaluates the different audience groups and sets priorities among them, so that a suitable solution to the problem might be reached to the best interest of all involved. This process, which involves all the different sectors that interact in the corporation, is an important aspect of the mediation that public relations provides between the corporation and its stakeholders (Smith, 2002). Beyond this, it is also necessary to formulate objectives for action and reaction, effectively communicate with both internal and external stakeholders, and then evaluate the strategy once it has been implemented. The management of changes or crises is an important aspect of internal relations that prompts the immediate action on the part of pubic relations. These may come about through natural disasters, communication problems within the corporation, mechanical or functional problems (machinery, etc.), and bad (or lack of) decision making on the part of the management. These crises, without the proper public relations intervention, have the potential to taint the corporate identity by presenting an unfavourable image to the stakeholders in/of the company. In relating to the public in the face of such an internal relations crisis, the company representatives are prompted to collect factual information and then determine how that information will be disseminated to the public. In expression, clarity and conciseness is genial and should be pursued. In addition, honesty and admission to being wrong can re-establish the favourable identity of a company in the eyes of the public (Anderson, 2006). The corporate identity can be projected to the public through the use of public events. The public relations officers in certain industries, such as hotel/tourism and entertainment, often plan special events that are prompted by internal decisions about which it would like to inform the public and other stakeholders. One prime example is the campaign of a political leader. The internal relations aspect involves the planning and outlining of the strategic directions of the campaign. These directions reflect the tenets of the campaign ideology, or its identity. These then prompt a public relations event, in which these new decisions are publicised. Employee motivation is a very significant aspect of internal relations because the persons who have close day-to-day relations in the internal aspect of the company can be a major contributor to the general image of the company. This occurs through their communication with the public, being also a part of that group. The employees are stakeholders as well, and therefore are an important part of the internal transactions that form the corporate identity. When the employee fully understands and appreciates the identity of the corporation, he or she effectively becomes a part of that identity, and in turn becomes one of the company's means of relating to the public. The opportunities available to the employee to forge good relationships within the corporation, as well as the existence of fair and adequate compensation (provided monetarily or through job satisfaction) increases the cohesion of the corporation, improves its image and identity, and produces good public relations. A final aspect of internal relations and corporate identity which has a role in public relations is the visibility of the executive body. It is necessary that the ruling body of the corporation be seen by the workers from time to time in order to provide assurance and to communicate the idea of the existence of a the team in the corporation. Executive visibility is also important to the public, as it allows them to meet the head of the corporation as a person, and gives the CEO or other representative an opportunity to relate to its public on a one-to-one level. Diplomacy is to be considered in conjunction with the type of communication that is practised in public relations. Three components have been identified by L'Etang (1996) as the representational, the dialogic, and the advisory (qtd. in Kirby, 2003). The idea of the corporate brand as establishing an identity is representational in the sense that the logo of a company calls to the mind of the observer the company itself. It stands in place of the company and embodies all that the company or corporation does and all for which it stands. This type of branding stems from the need "to be identified by the media" (L'Etang, 1996; qtd. in Kirby, 2003). The use of a brand to represent what a company stands for can only follow after the identity has been meticulously fostered, and this involves very careful development and maintenance of the internal relations. The public or stakeholder is the focus of both corporate branding (identity) and public relations. They both seek to present something about the company to entities inside and outside of it, entities that have an effect on the running or on the health of the corporation. The idea of public relations is presented as a two-way communication strategy where both the representatives of the corporation and the public engage in a dialogue that constructs an understanding between them about the attributes of the company. The internal relations, which involves effective planning, management and strategy, is an important aspect of corporate identity development, and strong, effective internal relations contributes to a solid and beneficial corporate identity. References Anderson, Kate. 2006. "Turning a public crisis around." Pertinent Information. http://www.pertinent.com/articles/communication/KareCom10.asp Group Avant-garde. Internal communications and public relations. http://www.groupeavantgarde.com/page-17.htm Kirby, Simon. 2003. "New wine in old bottles: is corporate branding really public relations in disguise" Current debates and issues in public relations research and practice. http://www.ipr.org.uk/academic/simonk.pdf PRSA (Public Relations Society of America). "The public relations profession." http://www.prsa.org/_Resources/Profession/index.aspident=prof1 Smith, R.D. 2002. Strategic planning for public relations." Buffalo: BSU. http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/smithrd/PR/steps.htm Read More