CCI - New York - March 13, 2008

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION PRACTICES AND TRENDS

A European Union Benchmark Study 2008

Finn Frandsen and Winni JohansenASB Centre for Corporate Communication

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Agenda

• Presentation of ASBccc• What do we understand by corporate

communication? How and why?• Corporate communication in Europe:

− What about Öffentlichkeitsarbeit and communication institutionnelle?

• Corporate communication in Denmark:− Novo Nordisk− Grundfos− Arla Foods− LEGO

• Preliminary findings from the European Union Benchmark Study 2008 (Danish survey)

• Discussion

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ASB Centre for Corporate Communication

• Research centre created in November 2001• Long-term contracts (-> 2007-2012)• Mission: to conduct research within the

field of corporate communication• Vision: to become an international centre

of excellence within the field of corporate communication

• We combine humanities and social sciences:− Theory (academia) and practice

(business world)− Strategic approaches and operational

approaches− Text and context

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Staff

18 (almost 20) researchers (March, 2008):

• Two scientific assistants• Four (almost five) PhD students• One post.doc (funded by Velux)• Four (almost five) assistant professors• Six associate professors• One full professor (director of centre)• One centre administrator (full time)

So far, ASBccc has produced six PhD theses

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Research projects

• Corporate branding• Marketing communication• Strategic CSR communication• Crisis communication (and management)• Change communication (and management)• Environmental communication (climates

change)• Internal/organizational communication:

“Strategic conversations” (recruitment, job appraisal, sickness leave, downsizing)

• Executive communication (coaching)• Organizational development: A discourse

approach

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Five (inter)national study programmes

• BA Language and Communication (taught in Danish), 2001-− 550 students

• MA Corporate Communication (taught in Danish), 2004-− 180 students

• BA Marketing and Management Communication (taught in English), 2003-− 200 students

• MA Corporate Communication (taught in English), 2006-− 110 students

• Executive Master Corporate Communication (taught in Danish and English), 2003- − 22 students

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Executive Master in Corporate Communication at the ASB

• A two-year research based programme • Designed for communication executives and

officials who have 3 years of practical experience

• Private & public organizations and authorities and communication agencies and consultants

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Executive Master in Corporate Communication at the ASB

• To develop their skills within− Strategic management− Integrated communication− Issues and stakeholder management− Change communication & management− Crisis communication & management− Corporate branding and corporate identity− Reputation management & CSR− Communication audits, etc.

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What do we understand by corporate communication?

• Corporate communication: 1) a business practice and 2) an academic discipline (research and teaching)

• A definition: • The strategic and integrated approach to

all communication activities between an organization and its internal and external stakeholders in order to build relevant relations and to create economic, social (thrust) and symbolic capital (image, reputation)

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How and why?

• Three types of drivers for strategy and integration:

1) Market and environment-based drivers Stakeholder roles - needs and overlap Increased competition

2) Organizational drivers Increased accountability Provision of strategic direction and

purpose3) Communication-based drivers

Increased message effectiveness Media multiplication

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Corporate communication in Europe

• Diversity− Germany: Öffentlichkeitsarbeit− France: Communication institutionelle

• Convergence− All global companies work with

strategic communication

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Corporate communication in Denmark

• Novo Nordisk− Best practice in corporate

commmunication (in general)• Grundfos

− Best practice in corporate branding• Arla Foods

− Best practice in intercultural crisis communication/new social media

• LEGO− Best practice in internal

communication

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A European Union Benchmark Study (2008)

• Six countries:− United Kingdom− Germany− France− Sweden− Norway (associated nation)− Denmark

• The study is carried out by a group of researchers at the ASBccc in collaboration with − CCI (Michael Goodman) and - perhaps - − Center for Corporate Communication in

Norway (Peggy Brønn)?

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The Danish study (2008)

• Research design: following the guidelines of the CCI studies 2000-2005

• Triangulated method:1) A 27-question survey (electronic

questionnaire sent to 100 DK1000 companies (Børsen))

Response rate: 23%

2) Additional interviews3) Site visits

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Preliminary findings (1)

Chief communication officers in Denmark

• Sex: Male (13) - Female (6)• Age: 40-49 (13), 20-39 (5), 50-64 (3)• Education: MA (10), EMBA (3)

• Title: chief communication officer - but also:− Marketing director− Press officer− HR− Even a PR firm is mentioned!

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Preliminary findings (2)

• Salary:− 500.000-800.000 DKK: (8)− 800.000-1 mio DKK: (6)− 1 – 1.5 mio DKK: (3)

• The corporate communicator reports to:CEO (17); CFO (3); corporate counsel (2)

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Preliminary findings (3)

Key functional responsibilities:• Communication policy (20)• Communication strategy (20)• Employee (Internal) communication (19)• Internet and intranet communication (19)• Crisis communication (18)• Media relations (18)• Public relations (18)• Annual report (14)• Corporate identity (14)• Brand strategy (12)• Issues management (12)• Community relations (11); CSR (11) • Executive communication (10)

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Preliminary findings (4)

The use of agencies or vendors

• Advertising (8)• Annual Report (7) • Internet communication (4)• Marketing communication (4)

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Preliminary findings (5)

Corporate communication budget/staff• Number of staff members will remain the

same: 16• Number of staff members will increase: 5

• Budget will increase: 11• Budget will remain the same: 7• Budget will decrease: 2

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Concluding remarks

• Corporate communication has been institutionalized (as a corporate function)− Corporate communication, not PR

• There is a strong focus on the strategic approach− Corporate communication is a

management discipline

• The corporate communication officer/staff becomes more and more educated (a professional approach)

• USA and Denmark: differences and similarities

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Discussion

• Comments?

• Questions?

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Contact

Finn Frandsen, Professorff@asb.dk

Winni Johansen, Associate Professor, PhDwj@asb.dk

ASB Centre for Corporate CommunicationAarhus School of Business, University of

Aarhus