BOOK REVIEW Christmas Reading List published December-November 2005 This issue we have reviewed three different books across a variety of topics. Hopefully at least one will spark your interest and provide you with an insightful read this season. Corporate Reputation and Competitiveness by Gary Davies Davies and his colleagues from the Manchester Business School argue the case for reputation as a long-term strategic tool for use within organisations in the 21st century. This thinking is backed by a number of case studies (many of them from U.K organisations). In regards to reputation management, Corporate Reputation and Competitiveness purports that: Reputations have value Reputations can be measured and managed Multiple stakeholders need to be considered with regards to reputation management Reputation and financial performance are linked and reputation drives financial performance Reputation can be lost more easily than it can be created! Davies presents an approach which has been used in a number of organisations; he calls this the ‘corporate reputation chain’. It is an evaluative system which links employee and customer satisfaction levels to reputation. The book demonstrates how by improving the reputation of a company, a 5% growth in sales can be achieved. Available from Dymocks www.dymocks.com.au The Anatomy of Buzz - How to create Word of Mouth marketing By Emanuel Rosen A well researched and comprehensive book from a former marketing executive which sat on both the Wall Street Journal’s business best seller list and the New York Times’ extended best seller list! Rosen presents the reader with ample evidence of products and company offerings which have been successful not through traditional advertising or marketing, but through ‘buzz’. Examples include the Palm Pilot, the iMac, FedEx, hotmail, There’s Something About Mary, The Blair Witch Project and the novel Cold Mountain. The text credits buzz with creating customer loyalty, which he says is built through the advice of friends, colleagues, the Internet (blogs, websites, email, etc) or trusted "mega-hubs" of information such as Oprah Winfrey. Whilst the The Anatomy of Buzz contains multiple case studies to inspire the reader, the chapter entitled ‘Buzz Workshop’ is relatively short. As a result, this book is not so much a how-to guide, but a showcase of success stories designed to inspire. Available from Collins Booksellers www.collinsbooks.com.au The PR Crisis Bible - How to take charge of the media when all hell breaks loose By Robin Cohn The saying ‘bad news travels fast’ is never more accurate than in the case of the media and potentially damaging news concerning an organisation or high profile individual. Robin Cohn has based her book on her experiences as owner of a public relations firm specialising in crisis management. She offers solid advice on how to keep an organisation afloat during times of crisis, and avoid the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ of PR crisis management. Cohn believes many executives fall into the trap of believing that disaster will never strike, or shifting blame and responding "no comment" when confronted with a difficult question. Cohn offers an extreme example of the dangers of this as she tells how an executive was once stopped in a hallway by a business reporter asking for directions and, when the man quickly hurried away muttering that he had no comment, the reporter was encouraged to dig for a story. Many have commented that the structure of the book is somewhat confusing, however all agree that reading the crisis stories (both successful and unsuccessful), strategic planning recommendations and well argued theories will be useful to any PR executive today. Available from Collins Booksellers www.collinsbooks.com.au Have something to say about this article? Why not email our editor at editor@prinfluences.com.au

PR Influences: Corporate Reputation and Competitiveness by Gary Davies. Reputation management. How to create Word of Mouth marketing By Emanuel Rosen The PR Crisis Bible - How to take charge of the media when all hell breaks loose By Robin Cohn