Corporate PR: Insights into corporate communication trends                   published April-May 2006 Transparency, trust and reputation are all key ingredients in modern communication practices as PR and communication takes on a more strategic role in many companies. The roles, responsibilities and skills of those in PR and communication are evolving to match these changes. These are among the insights into communication practices and priorities in PR and communications among Fortune 1000 companies identified in the fifth CCI Corporate Communication Practices & Trends Study 2005, produced in the US in conjunction with Fairleigh Dickinson University. The research consisted of a 27 question survey, followed by additional interviews and 50   one-on-one interviews with the CEO, CFO, chief communication officer and the investor relations officer at 11 selected companies. Some of the key insights into communication trends and priorities are: Trust is crucial - the need to build trust with all audiences remains a fundamental challenge for corporations.  “Trust is the key objective for global companies today because it underpins corporate reputation and gives them a license to operate.” Communication is becoming more strategic - corporate communication executives see themselves ‘counsel to the CEO’ and ‘manager of the company’s reputation’ almost equally as their primary role for the company. “For the majority of corporate communication executives … come great opportunities and challenges to become a trusted advisor to the corporation and its leaders.”  Media and new technologies make communication more complex - news media and technologies are pervasive, instantaneous, and global. More news outlets demand more attention, tools and techniques.  “The answer is become a ‘glass-box’ company.  The opportunity for success lies in how soon a corporation can embrace new communication tools and technologies. The challenge for professionals is how to manage the messages.” Transparency is best practice - transparency is becoming a best practice strategy for reputation management because more than 50% of the market value of a business can be attributed to intangibles.  “The opportunity for corporate communicators is to add value through offering constructive suggestions on improving corporate reporting and corporate governance.”  The study also identified the perceived skills and capabilities of PR and communication practitioners revealing:  Media relations is the perceived key functional responsibility. This is followed by public relations, crisis communication, executive communication, employee relations and communication policy and strategy.  Manager of the company’s reputation and being a source of public information about the company are the perceived as the prime corporate communication roles. This is followed by ‘counsel to the CEO and corporation’, ‘engineer of public opinion’, ‘manager of the company’s image’ and ‘driver of company publicity’.  Writing remains the core skill for corporate communication. This is followed by ‘knowledge of the company and of business principles’. Access the Executive Summary of the study  or to request a copy of the full report please email us at PR Influences

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