Communications

Corporate communications is at a crossroads. Concerns over corporate scandals, globalization, environmental stewardship and other issues have seriously eroded public trust in business and the executives who head our largest corporations. All segments of society are looking for companies to demonstrate a renewed commitment to transparency and public accountability.

How will corporate communicators respond to this challenge? At Ketchum, we believe the answer lies in more than shifting perceptions or generating press coverage. The role of corporate communications as a management function is to help companies cultivate strong, positive relationships with their most important publics -- investors, government officials, employees, and communities. That philosophy underpins Ketchum's Corporate Practice and our approach in working with clients on their most pressing communications challenges. In fact, our Corporate Practice has been significantly bolstered by the addition of Pleon’s practitioners, bringing decades of experience and business acumen.

At Ketchum, our advocacy role goes both ways -- helping stakeholders understand our clients' positions and helping our clients understand the views of their most important stakeholders. This dialogue was key to a sweeping rebranding initiative and new go-to-market strategy for FedEx that resulted in increased revenues and recognition from Fortune magazine on its top 10 list of Most Admired Companies.

Part of our methodology is Influencer Relationship Management (IRM), Ketchum's proprietary approach for managing corporate relationships with the individuals and organizations that most directly affect stakeholder perceptions and behaviors. Through a proven seven-step approach, extensive expertise in key vertical markets, and our powerful IRM database, Ketchum can develop, manage and measure valuable influencer relationships.

Corporate reputation management is another of our core capabilities. Using proprietary Ketchum Corporate Reputation Brandbuilder research, we correlate a company's reputation assets to its business performance and build -- or rebuild -- a brand reputation using such techniques as influencer targeting and thought-leadership visibility. For Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, research provided a baseline to chart the success of Ketchum's Bucket Brigade program, a successful philanthropic initiative to fund firefighter training and enhance the company's reputation as a great place to work and to do business with.

In the area of corporate branding, our corporate communications consultants use the disciplines of consumer branding to create "ownable" positions that differentiate companies on Wall Street or Main Street. And our Ketchum Pleon Change business can help companies manage change and successfully transform business strategies into action by positively affecting employee attitude, behavior and performance.

Our global Public Affairs group offers a full-service government relations practice with experts who have worked in multiple facets of American and European government and national and local levels. Our consultants offer clients knowledge of the media, access to grassroots and grasstops networks, and proven legislative and regulatory lobbying experts.

Finally, our Financial Communications team helps companies communicate their message to the financial and investor communities in all major financial centers. Services include initial public offerings, investor targeting, road show preparations, capital increases, financial reporting and financial-crisis communications. Our corporate communications consultants also provide transaction support -- from mergers and acquisitions to spin-offs and restructurings.

Click here to learn more about the Communcation services provided by Ketchum.