LECTURE 5
Corporate Communications:
A Dimension of Corporate
Meaning
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Objectives
• Appreciating the complexity of corporate
communications
• Understanding Common Starting Points
(CSPs) and the Sustainable Corporate Story
(SCS)
• MODEL(S) OF THE MOMENT:
THE NEW CORPORATE
COMMUNICATIONS WHEEL AND
THE T W O CORPORATE
COMMUNICATIONS MIXES
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Marketing and Corporate
Communications: What are the
differences ?
MARKETING
CORPORATE
• customer
• defined set of channels
• controlled communication
types
• positions a product or service
multiple stakeholders
multiple channels
variety of communication
• more room for creativity
• needs to be consistent with
• product/brand attributes
positions an entire
organisation
less room for creativity
needs to be consistent with
corporate identity/corporate
brand attributes
3
…… model of the
moment
The Trade
THE
CORPORATION
Country of Origin
The New Corporate Communication
Wheel: Balmer and Greyser.
4 Adapted
from D. Bernstein (1984)
Model of the Moment: ii
(A process for using the Balmer and Greyser’s New Corporate
Communications Wheel * * adapted from Bernstein )
• 1 DEFINE ALL STAKEHOLDER GROUPS
• 2 IDENTIFY COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
• 3 PRIORITISE STAKEHOLDERS
• 4 IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE CHANNELS FOR
EACH GROUP
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Model of the Moment: iii
• 5 TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE IMAGE OF:
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN and of THE INDUSTRY
• 6 additional elements identified by Balmer and
Greyser
• TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE CORPORATE
BRANDING COVENANT (where appropriate)
• PARTNERSHIP(s) and the effect of
ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES
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……model of the moment: iv
• Provides a foundation by which a
significant part of a corporate
communications strategy can be established.
• Illustrates the VAST SCOPE of the TASK
(comparing corporate communications to
marketing communications) For instance, 11
stakeholder groups and 11 channels results
in 121 considerations alone!
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Common Starting Points (CSPs):
what are they ?
• An early example of an integrated approach
to corporate communications (developed by
Van Riel)
• Rationale: to achieve CONSISTENCY in
corporate communications activities by
establishing COMMON STARTING
POINTS that underpin ALL FORMAL
corporate communications
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Common Starting Points continued...
• CSP is an integrated and interdisciplinary
approach taking account of STRATEGY,
IDENTITY and IMAGE.
• CSP process: representatives from the
corporation’s various communications
departments establish commonalties (based
on the above) which form the basis of all
formal corporate communications.
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The Sustainable Corporate Story
(SCS)
• What is it? A realistic and relevant
description of key aspects of the
organization (origins, vision and
mission)
• How is it distinct? It is derived from
an organization’s distinctive
characteristics (its’ identity)
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The Sustainable Corporate
Story…………....continued
• Perceived Benefits?
• Via communications distinctiveness of
message and consistency of message is
achieved.
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The Sustainable Corporate Story….. continued
• Van Riel suggest that the following should underpin
sustainable corporate stories in that they should be:
REALISTIC (based on the identity)
RELEVANT (offer added value elements for
stakeholders)
• RESPONSIVE (allows for two way symmetrical
communication)
• SUSTAINABLE (needs to meet the sundry demands
of various stakeholder groups)
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What are the parameters of
corporate communications ?
• Just as there is a marketing mix, services
marketing mix, promotional mix
(communication mix) a number of authors
have attempted to articulate a
• CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS MIX
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TWO CORPORATE
COMMUNICATIONS MIXES
• (a) THE CORPORATE
COMMUNICATIONS MIX OF VAN RIEL
and
• (b) THE TOTAL CORPORATE
COMMUNICATIONS MIX OF BALMER
AND GRAY
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Van Riel’s Corporate Communication Mix
• Comprises:
• Management Communication: managers need
to establish a shared vision and trust
WITHIN the organization
• Marketing Communication: the traditional
marketing communications mix
• Organizational Communication:
communicating to the various external
groups (encompassing a plethora of
corporate-level communications functions)
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Balmer and Gray’s Total Corporate
Communications Mix
• Encompasses:
• Primary Communications: the communications
effects of products, services, management, staff and
corporate behavior.
• Secondary Communications: controlled forms of
communications such as advertising and pr
• Tertiary Communications: word of mouth/spin
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Finally……………...
• If the importance of corporate
communications are not
understood/managed this can lead to
communications that are
• diffuse,
• confusing,
• contradictory and sometimes
• prolix.
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One More Time: why are corporate
communications important?
• Bernstein (1984) argues that:
• many business failures are caused by poor
corporate communications.
• many businesses lack a clear, overarching,
corporate communications platform
• managers NEED to communicate to internal
and external groups
• fragmentation across communication
disciplines (pr, advertising, print, investor
relations) causes many difficulties.
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Summary: i
• Corporate Communications is broader, and more
complicated than marketing communications.
• It is complicated because of the existence of multiple
channels of communication in addition to multiple
stakeholder groups.
• Moreover, individuals invariably belong to multiple
stakeholder groups.
• Common Starting Points/the Sustainable Corporate
Story are two routes by which organizations may
achieve consistency in their communications.
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Summary: ii
• Van Riel’s Corporate Communication Mix and
Balmer and Gray’s Total Corporate Communications
Mix afford two contrasting perspectives on the area.
• The New Corporate Communications Wheel (Balmer
and Greyser) affords a framework for prioritising
stakeholder groups and channels and takes account
of other important factors such as corporate brand,
country of origin, and industry image.
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Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
Stephen Covey
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