I’ve been in Comms long enough to remember the good old “spin control” era (for you young’uns…those were the glorious days when we used to believe we could “control the message”).  Ahhhh, them’s was some great times.

Back in the day* we used to think, “It’s not what you say…it’s how you say it!”

TRANSLATION: We communicators are crafty enough to be able to get our stakeholders to swallow just about anything, if we say it in just the right way.

Today, however, as we’ve entered a more stakeholder-centric, “the-people-control-the-message” era: ”It’s not what you say…it’s what people hear.”

This new reality requires us to make adaptations in our value proposition.  It’s not hard to do, and it’s SO well worth the mental effort.  Because once you shift your self-image as a communicator — away from thinking of yourself as a world-class wordsmith, to becoming an increasingly excellent interpreter of how things sound to people who don’t always “get” what we’re trying to accomplish — it’s amazing what kinds of results you can create. Read More »

One unique element of the Communication Executive Council is our close relationship with sister programs serving heads of Sales, Marketing, and Market Research. Leading executives in these spaces are rapidly adopting new strategies in response to changes in customer behavior brought on by both new technologies and economic realities. In aggregate, these changes acknowledge a significantly more empowered and circumspect buyer who is ever less reliant on brands themselves in the purchase decision process. To respond, the best companies are improving the quality of information they have and provide to the customer while trying to influence the broader information landscape that influences purchase decisions. For those of you in the high-tech, computer software, and electronics industries, this trend is even more important as your consumers are some of the most tech-savvy and early adopters out there.

Communications ability to impact the flow of this information both internally and across earned media channels will be critical to success in these initiatives, so after the jump, let’s review some early findings from our systems program’s latest research and the implications for our function. Read More »

By Kirsten Robinson

It’s one thing for communicators to listen to people—and quite another to be able to do something about what you’re listening to. A good listener will ask the right questions and use a mix of tools to harvest important information. But a smart listener knows that it’s not enough to just take note; they recognize the best way to really understanding stakeholders’ wants and needs is to integrate the resulting data.

A disjointed approach to media monitoring causes many Communications teams to miss out on big opportunities to understand and then ultimately influence their stakeholders. But you can avoid this mistake by being a smart listener, too. Check out the examples set by these smart companies: Read More »

Those of you who are following CEC research this year will know that we’re focusing our efforts on change, especially given that in the last 6 months alone, 82% of employees experienced some sort of major change at their organization.

Where better to look for examples of change and adaptation than in the pharmaceutical industry? In particular, significant changes in government regulations, market conditions, a sharp rise in technology, and ever higher scrutiny are all impacting the future success of these players. Moreover, it seems success will depend on how companies handle the following three trends:

• Increasing Role of Generic Drugs
• Increased Personalized Medicine
• Innovation from Emerging Markets

Furthermore, as we highlighted in our “Influencing Stakeholders in a Networked Environment” research last year, there’s another important change we, as communicators, need to be adapting to – our audiences.  They now have a lot more control of the corporate messages they want to listen to, and therefore the messages that they pass along on your behalf.

So how do you ensure that patients will want to continue using your drugs when the cheaper generic versions are released? How can you better accommodate for the potential increase in more personalized medicine, and how can you better understand your target audiences in these newer, often unknown emerging markets? Now, I am certainly not claiming to be an expert of YOUR industry, but I did want to bring your attention to a few of the CEC’s best practices, which might be helpful, or at the very least, thought-provoking. Read More »

Following years of layoffs or hiring freezes, many organizations are looking to grow their workforce again. Recruiters and team leaders  are doing this with a conscious eye—closely evaluating the skill sets and alignment of potential new employees with the strategic direction of the company (hopefully one of the attributes you are hiring for is an adaptability to change.)

Successful recruiters are being more than just thorough as they weed through an increasing pile of applicants. They are re-strategizing how to capture the attention of the highest performers in the marketplace (between jobs or not) to lure them into their organization. This often starts with a look at the organization’s unique employee value proposition (EVP.)

What makes the job worth it in the eyes of your employees? What motivates them to not only show up  but to put in the extra effort to succeed at their jobs? And how would they describe their experience to a potential employee?

HR may use employee engagement data and say the EVP is centered in good benefits and attentive managers, but the true value proposition of your company for potential employees lies is in the eyes of your current employees. The key to a winning employee value proposition comes down to understanding employees values and then translating their story to potential hires. To define and translate this winning EVP, the HR Recruiting team needs Communication’s help. Read More »

It’s May, and you know what that means—graduation season! Congrats, new grad! Now, what are you going to do with your life? If you’re thinking of a career in communications, be forewarned: your social-media savvy and ability to condense complex thoughts into 140 characters won’t be enough to stand out.

Yep, even toddlers are tweeting now. You, college grad, need to bring something else to the table to shine through in this ultra-competitive environment. But what?

Two critical things you need to be able to excel at as a communicator are:

1. Project management skills &
2. Listening skills.

You may be a master of these skills now, but some of you may need to work on them. Here’s a quick litmus test based on your college years: Read More »

By Evelyn Ostrovsky 

Did you know that Celine Dion is the youngest of 14 children?
Did you know that Justin Bieber likes white toast more than wheat?
Did you know your stakeholders don’t care about the same things you do?

If the CEC had a MTV Diary episode (motto: “You think you know…but you have no idea”), you’d probably be surprised by the look inside our yearly quantitative findings.

As most of you are aware of by now (being loyal readers of the CEC Insider), we’re in the middle of our biggest research initiative of the year, taking a look at how some the smartest communicators are Influencing Stakeholders in a Networked Environment.  Alongside our 100s of conversations with CEC members, industry experts, academics, journalists, and vendors, we’re also analyzing hard data about what drives stakeholder support of companies.

First, it won’t come as a surprise to Comms that people are more likely to support organizations that seem to share their interests and values. And on that front, most communicators are confident that they know what their stakeholders care about—a belief that doesn’t seem all that far-fetched. (I mean, that’s our job, right?)
Read More »