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
• customer
• defined set of channels
• controlled communication
types
• positions a product or service
• more room for creativity
• needs to be consistent with
• product/brand attributes
CORPORATE
multiple stakeholders
multiple channels
variety of communication
positions an entire
organisation
less room for creativity
needs to be consistent with
corporate identity/corporate
brand attributes
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…… 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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