{"id":391,"date":"2007-12-26T10:49:00","date_gmt":"2007-12-26T17:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paulgillin.com\/2007\/12\/a-manifesto-for-the-new-pr.html"},"modified":"2007-12-26T10:49:00","modified_gmt":"2007-12-26T17:49:00","slug":"a-manifesto-for-the-new-pr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/a-manifesto-for-the-new-pr\/","title":{"rendered":"A manifesto for the new PR"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Arthur W. Page Society<\/a> has just released a manifesto for the new world of corporate communications, and I\u2019d recommend that anyone who works in PR or marketing download it. The Society is an exclusive group of senior execs from big companies, so their opinions carry some weight. While the report is short on quantitative research (though there is a survey of 31 CEOs discussed at the end), it\u2019s hard to argue with its overarching conclusions: businesses no longer control their messages; constituencies are expanding and diversifying; and corporations must be more transparent and open about nearly everything they do. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe 64-page report is called The Authentic Enterprise: Relationships, Values and The Evolution of Corporate Communications<\/a>. Below are some excerpts that I snipped from the PDF. They\u2019ll give you a flavor of the recommendations, but it\u2019s worthwhile to read the whole document.<\/p>\n

Thanks to George Faulkner at IBM<\/a> for tipping me off to this new research.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Quoting:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cFor those corporations that remain public and that aspire to build trusted brands, sustainable marketplace success and community reputation, the imperative of authenticity will inevitably grow in importance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are no longer in control of our traditional spheres of professional activity. Indeed, all business functions are at the dawn of an era of radical <\/span>de-professionalization<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026New priorities and skills for which the Chief Communications Officer must now assume a leadership role: 1. Leadership in defining and instilling company values; 2. Leadership in building and managing multistakeholder relationships; 3. Leadership in enabling the enterprise with \u201cnew media\u201d skills and tools\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cFor business, globalization has long been transforming markets for capital and labor. Now it is reshaping the footprint \u2013 and even the idea \u2013 of the corporation. This institution is shifting from a hierarchical, monolithic, multinational model to one that is horizontal, networked and globally integrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chief communications executive and the communications function of a 21st century corporation will increasingly be responsible not only for the reputation of their single company, but also for understanding, communicating and even helping to shape the reputations of its ecosystem partners \u2013 such as clients, partners, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and other influencers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than 300 million camera phones were shipped in 2005. They are now the most widespread image-capture devices in the world. At current growth rates, there could be one billion camera phones in use worldwide by 2008. That means nearly one person in six is a potential photojournalist \u2013 or, with the spread of video capabilities, documentary filmmaker.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeens in the U.S. \u2013 the consumers of today and the employees, shareholders, voters and leaders of tomorrow \u2013 spend 60 percent less time watching TV than their parents, and 600 percent more time online, interacting with, influencing and being influenced not by institutions, marketers or professional communicators, but by their peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cProcter & Gamble…\u201cimports\u201d 50 percent of its new ideas from outsiders. And Eli Lilly has created an open R&D marketplace called Innocentive <\/a>to match problems needing solutions with independent researchers who can solve them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this makes the 21st century enterprise vulnerable at a wholly new level to unexpected developments that can damage the brand, negatively affect employee commitment, undercut outside relationships and destabilize management, including the CEO and other corporate officers and Board members. This, in turn, means that the stakes are much higher for what corporate communicators do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to segment communications carefully to targeted audiences. In an open information commons, everyone can see (and, increasingly, modify) any public communication, no matter to whom it is targeted.<\/p>\n

\u201cMessage ‘segmentation’ is no longer practical or desirable. Despite the proliferation of diverse stakeholders, all are now on a level playing field.<\/p>\n

\u201cValues are the fundamental basis for enterprise communications. \u201cTo be an effective communications function in the authentic enterprise:<\/p>\n