MARY ANN O. SEDANReporterBSED 1B

Businesses and organizations use computers and software applications to publicize ideas / products / people / etc.

The techniques used are the same as those described in the Communicating Ideas page of this site:

Image editing

Desktop publishing

Multimedia editing

Website design

However the type of document produced for businesses and organizations is often quite different to the sort that you might create at home...

Corporate Identity Businesses and organizations usually develop a

corporate 'identity' - an image that they use for all documents, websites, etc.

A corporate identity might consist of:

A logo to be used on documents, e-mails, website, etc.

Set of colors / themes

Set of fonts to be used for all documents

A jingle (short tune) for TV / radio advertising

A mascot / character to represent the organization

Every communication the business or organization has with the public, or with other organizations, will use the corporate identity. This makes the organization or business very recognizable.

Business Cards

Business cards are used by people who want to give their contact details to someone else.

A business card has a person's name, telephone number, e-mail address, etc. pre-printed on it so nothing needs to be written down.

Business cards use the logo / font / colour / style of the corporate identity so that the person receiving the card recognizes it immediately.

Letterheads

A letterhead is a header / footer used for printed documents such as letters.

Letterheads usually contain details such as the organization's name, address, telephonenumber, website, etc.

Often organizations will order boxes of paper with the letterhead pre-printed on it. This paper can then be used in printers, or for hand-written letters.

Letterheads use the logo / font / color / style of the corporate identity so that the person receiving the document recognizes it immediately.

Flyers

A flyer is a small, single sheet, printed document used to advertise an event, a product or an idea.

Flyers are often handed out to the public to raise awareness of the event / product / idea.

Information such as date, time, location, contactdetails, etc. are placed on the flyer for people to refer to later.

Flyers use the logo / font / color / style of the corporate identity so that the person receiving the document recognizes it immediately.

Brochures

Printed brochures are designed and produced to give details of an organization / product / event.

Brochures normally consist of several pages, combining text, images and other graphical elements. Glossy card may be used for brochure covers to give a more 'quality' feel.

Brochures use the logo / font / color / style of the corporate identity so that the person receiving the document recognizes it immediately.

We often have ideas or information that we wish to communicate with others, either personally, or as part of our work.

Examples of personal communication: You may want to tell your friends about a party that you are having, or you may want to let others know how about the impact of climate change.

Examples of business communication: In business, you may want to tell the world about a new product that your company has just created (this is called marketing), or you have information that you need to pass on to all of the employees in the business.

In all of these examples, IT can be used to help pass on the message.

Producing and Editing Pictures

The production of graphics and pictures has been revolutionized by the use of IT. Image editors such as PhotoShop allow computer users to easily manipulate images in many ways:

Crop (cut off bits that you don't want)

Resize

Distort (e.g. bend, twist, stretch, etc.)

Alter color (e.g. brighten, make black & white, etc.)

Add effects (e.g. shadows, glow, texture)

Add graphics (e.g. lines, circles, borders, etc.)

Add text

Etc.

Producing and Editing Pictures

It used to be the case that to produce images and graphics for posters or magazine, would take highly trained artists many hours.

Photos would be taken using old film cameras, the pictures would be printed onto paper. Effects could be applied during the printing by using clever darkroom techniques, but this took a lot of skill.

After printing the photos could then be edited by actually cutting/pasting with glue and scissors, or by adding lines, color, etc. using paint, etc.

There was no 'undo'!

Today, with image editors like PhotoShop, anyone can produce and edit images. A user at home can do in seconds what would have taken a professional editor many hours to do.

The tiny colored dots that make up a digital image are called pixels.

You make have heard this term in connection with digital cameras. A typical camera takes a 12 megapixel image, which means the image is made up of 12 million tiny dots!

Desktop Publishing

Desktop Publishing (DTP) is a system of software and hardware that allows a user to create and print documents such as:

books

posters

flyers

magazine

newspapers

etc...

DTP software is WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get -meaning that the document looks the same on the screen as it will when it's printed).

Document layout is produced using 'frames' - areas of the page that can contain text or images.

Website Design

A website is a collection of web 'pages' that provide a mixtures of content:•Text•Images•Animations•Video•Audio•Hyperlinks (to jump to other content)Websites are a fantastic way to communicate with people since websites can be accessed by literally millions of people.

However in some ways websites are not as good as printed documents for reaching people. Fore example, to view websites:•You need an Internet connection (not always available, and it can be expensive)•You need a computer (expensive)•You need some training to know how to use a computer (you don't need training to use paper!)

The World Wide Web has transformed information communication. For many people, most of the information that they consume each day comes via the Web, rather than as printed documents. Websites use many of the techniques that printed documents have used for hundreds of years: headings, columns of text, etc.

The original Web when it was invented back in 1991 was a very different place to today. At that time webpages were very basic with just text and a few pictures. (The Internet then was far too slow to stream video or audio.)

Multimedia Design

'Multimedia' refers to documents /

software applications that contain a mixture of:

text

images

animations

video

audio

Multimedia applications are commonly used for training / education. Compared to learning from a textbook, multimedia applications allow students to see animations, videos, etc. This can bring a subject to life and make it much easier to learn.

Creating Music

In the same way the it is now very easy to create printed documents using IT, it has also become easier to create and edit music with the help of computers.

To produce a musical score (sheets of written notes), you no longer need to write every note down by hand. You can use a WYSIWYG editor to write the music on the computer, edit it, print copies, etc.

Publicity for Business Key Concepts & Steps

Before you begin:

Tie your publicity strategy to goals that you’ve identified in your annual marketing plan.

Create a publicity strategy

Don’t just “shotgun” press releases when you need to drum up some attention. Plan your publicity strategy as you would any marketing campaign:

Develop a calendar that ties story ideas to key events and spreads your storytelling out over the year.

List events that may offer good speaking opportunities.

Identify publications, reporters and bloggers who cover subjects that are relevant for your company.

Create traditional and online press materials to give reporters support materials for their stories.

Know the audience for each story and carefully target your media.

Develop newsworthy story ideas

Every day, journalists are bombarded with press releases touting new product releases, business alliances, research discoveries, etc. But journalists don’t just make announcements — they need to tell compelling stories that their readers will find interesting and useful. A trade journal may run one-paragraph blurbs about new products, but to get headlines, photos, interviews and pages, you need to develop real stories.

Like movies, good news stories are often about conflict. An endless stream of positive information is boring. Instead, develop stories with substance: Good vs Evil, Nature vs Nurture,

Why Publicity is Important …

The downside to publicity is that it can be expensive at times. However, you don’t have to go broke to integrate a little PR into your business. There are plenty of useful ways to get free publicity, and many won’t cost you an arm-and-a-leg either.

Here are a few:

Press Releases

Article writing or guest posting on blogs

Just Saying “YES!” to The Media: If you are approached by any media outlet, open your mind, set aside your fears, and rise to the challenge.

Have a Contest: Contests are ideal for gaining public attention and most, especially those created on social media, don’t have huge price tags. They also can have a far reach, and are valuable for spreading the word about your business or your message.

Ever heard the old saying, “if you don’t toot your own horn…?” The number rule of publicity and promotion is to learn how to “toot your own horn” and contribute a message that has value to others.

CORPORATE IMAGE Corporate image, or reputation, describes the manner in which a

company, its activities, and its products or services are perceived by outsiders. In a competitive business climate, many businesses actively work to create and communicate a positive image to their customers, shareholders, the financial community, and the general public. A company that mismanages or ignores its image is likely to encounter a variety of problems. "Reputation problems grow like weeds in a garden," Davis Young wrote in his book Building Your Company's Good Name. "Direct and indirect costs escalate geometrically."

o In businesses of all sizes, it is vital that managers recognize the importance of creating and maintaining a strong image, and that they also make employees aware of it. Corporate image begins within the offices of a company's managers. It should be based on the development of good company policies, rather than on controlling the damage caused by bad company policies.

IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE IMAGE

Several factors have contributed to the increasing importance of corporate image in recent years. For example, the business climate in the United States has become one of environmental complexity and change. This has forced many business enterprises to significantly alter their strategies to better compete and survive. The acceleration of product life cycles is another vital dimension of the turbulent business environment.

Globalization has been still another catalyst in the rise of corporate image programs, as companies have sought ways to spread their reputations to distant markets. A related factor is that as a corporation expands its operations internationally, or even domestically, through acquisitions, there is a danger that its geographically dispersed business units will project dissimilar or contrary images to the detriment of corporate synergy.

IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE IMAGE

A final factor stimulating the current interest in corporate image is society's growing expectation that corporations be socially responsible. Many of today's consumers consider the environmental and social image of firms in making their purchasing decisions. Some companies have recognized this reality and reaped tremendous benefits by conducting themselves in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. Some of these companies act out of genuine altruism, while others act out of a simple recognition of the business benefits of such behavior.

THEORY OF CORPORATE IMAGE In the process of managing corporate image, the

fundamental variables are: corporate identity, corporate communication, corporate image, and feedback.

Corporate identity is the reality of the corporation—the unique, individual personality of the company that differentiates it from other companies.

Corporate communication is the aggregate of sources, messages, and media by which the corporation conveys its uniqueness or brand to its various audiences.

Corporate image is in the eye of the beholder—the impression of the overall corporation held by its several audiences.

CORPORATE IDENTITY

Corporate identity—the reality and uniqueness of the organization—may be broken down into four component parts: corporate strategy, corporate culture, organizational design, and operations. Strategy is the overall plan that determines the company's product/market scope and the policies and programs it chooses to compete in its chosen markets. Corporate culture is the shared values and beliefs that the organization's members hold in common as they relate to each other, their jobs, and the organization. It defines what the firm's personnel believe is important and unimportant, and explains to a large degree why the organization behaves the way it does.

CORPORATE IMAGE

Corporate image is the reputation of the firm with the various audiences that are important to it. These groups that have a stake in the company are known as stakeholders. Stakeholders are affected by the actions of the company and, in turn, their actions can affect the company. Consequently, its image in the eyes of its stakeholders is important to the company. The principal stakeholders with which most large corporations must be concerned are: customers, distributors and retailers, financial institutions and analysts, shareholders, government regulatory agencies, social action organizations, the general public, and employees.

CORPORATECOMMUNICATION

Corporate communication provides the link between corporate identity and corporate image. It should be defined in the broadest possible sense, because companies communicate identities in many different ways. Communication can include almost anything the company does, from the way telephones are answered to the involvement of company employees in community affairs. Some of the principal sources of corporate communication include company and product names and logos, formal statements (mission statements, credos, codes of ethics, annual reports, advertising copy, and company slogans), and behavior during important events.

FEEDBACK

Feedback is essential to the management of corporate image. Business owners and managers need accurate information on how they and their company are perceived if they are to make sound decisions. Ideally, feedback should be continuous. As a practical matter, continuous feedback can be elicited from salespeople, clients, employees, and other local business owners. Based on such input, modifications may be made in the company's communication methods or, if warranted, a formal study of the corporate image may be initiated.