Working with American Express

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Strategies for Corporate Communications
Roderick E Wilkes, DipM, Hon FCIM, FIOD, FCMI,
FRSA, FCAM, Chartered Marketer Chief Executive
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To communicate or not to communicate

• Understanding markets.
• Identifying where you can add value.
• Communicating with those within the organisation.
• Communicating with those outside the
  organisation.
• Measuring the effectiveness of the value you
  deliver.

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Managing relationships
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Evolution of Competitive Advantage
Industrial Age Intellectual Capital Skilled
Labour Productivity Efficiency Quality Economi
es of Scale Mass Marketing Growth
Information Age Structural Capital Knowledge Le
arning Systems Processes Innovation Customer
Satisfaction Change
Consciousness Age Cultural Capital Relationships
Shared Values Shared Vision Social
Responsibility Creativity Customer
Collaboration Transformation/Evolution
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Why is Marketing Communications Viewed as a
Tactical Rather than a Strategic Function?

• Outsourced to marketing services agencies
• Advertising and promotion risks being short to
  medium term
• Traditional rivalries between marketing
  communications disciplines (such as media
  advertising and public relations), and
  compartmentalised thinking amongst both clients
  and their agencies

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Organisation-centred or Customer-centred?

• Organisation-centred
• The different ways of reaching the consumer
  exist in isolation

Customer-centred The channel is unimportant.
Relevance, timeliness, convenience and
consistency
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Marketing departments have got used to the idea
of the tactical integration of communications
messages across different media. Increasingly in
the future they will have to embrace the idea of
strategic vertical integration speaking with
one voice from the CEO's office right down to the
point of sale even though such a realignment
may eclipse their former pre-eminent role.
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Marketing communications is traditionally seen as
a subset of marketing strategy.
Corporate
Marketing
Marketing is becoming a way of delivering a
communications strategy, rather than the other
way round.
Communications
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Corporate
In this new model, communications starts with
the company, and marketing becomes part of the
delivery mechanism for the communications
strategy.
Communications
Marketing
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• Communications will stand above other elements
  of the marketing mix
• It will define what the company stands for (its
  vision) and it is tasked with expressing that
  on behalf of the corporation
• whether that be directly to stakeholders
• via PR
• through advertising etc. to customers.
• By contrast, marketing in those companies will
  be charged with physically delivering the
  corporate vision, via its products, to the end
  user.

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Tactical versus Strategic Communications

• Tactical communications support specific
  marketing initiatives

Strategic communications emanate from the highest
levels of the corporation to inform all its
activities.
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Implications

• The importance of integrating internal and
  external marketing communications
• The importance of developing distribution
  channels as conduits of information as well as of
  goods and money
• Push or pull?

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How customers form a view of your brand
Direct mail
Customer Service
Product design
Customers view of marketers brand
Pricing
In store displays
Advertising
Distribution
Sales promotion
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Key audiences G4 Securicor
Investors Media Employees
Current shareholders City Analysts Stock Exchanges (UK/DK) Potential Investors Sharesave holders City Financial Business Security Trade Press Boards x 2 Execs x 2 Senior Management Unions Works Councils Middle Management Supervisors Communications Community 360,000 front line staff
Govt Related Customers Others
UK Takeover Panel EU Competition Local Competition UK Home Office Others Current Potential Suppliers JV Partners Competitors Trademark agencies
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Key messages G4 Securicor
Investors Media Employees
Merger benefits Business case Benefits of investing in newco Share price Increased opportunities for growth profit generation Dividends Future world leader Merger benefits Business case Benefits of investing in newco Creating awareness Key people Facts about G4S Positive for all stakeholders Next steps Merger benefits Positive for employees Key Roles Key timescales / milestones Impact on jobs Impact on individuals 80 of business unaffected 20 of business integrating
Govt Related Customers Others
Merger benefits Good for market (s) Improve quality for customers Market share data Good for staff Merger benefits Good for market Impact on customers, service levels and contracts What would be different Merger benefits Nothing to be afraid of! Good for competition Benefits to them
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Key tools G4 Securicor
General Management Meetings (Top 30) Senior Management Conferences (Top 300)
Video Web / Intranet Letters / Newsletters Notice Boards / Briefing Notes Meetings Call cascades Local presentations Media coverage Their role in communicating Exchange views Agree key roles Develop vision Develop values Role of corporate centre November 2004 April 2006 Communicate Motivate Reward
Surveys Integrating Businesses QA
Investor perception study Employee/management survey Brand survey (international internal/external) Own integration team Tailored project plan Tailored communications plan Co-ordinated by the corporate centre On everything!!
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Key learning points G4 Securicor

• Break down communication into manageable chunks
• Agree priorities early on (but be flexible)
• Agree responsibilities quickly (internal
  external)
• Manage locally co-ordinate centrally
• Guide support as much as possible
• Compromise is not necessarily the answer
• Recognise that youll never please everyone
• Win over the key people the others will come
• Make sure management are on message and walk
  the talk
• Robust crisis management communications plans
• Day to day business continues throughout

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Developing Brand Communications

• Objectives
• Position around the central proposition to be the
  leading specialist recruitment company in the
  world
• Build the following associations into the brand
  through all marcomms
• aspirational, achievement-based, centre of
  attention, confident, strong relationships,
  honest, in control, professional, smart,
  specialist, trusting
• Motivate each business unit to share in overall
  Hays brand associations
• Reinforce via in-house marketing team
  management level brand advocates

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Creating the guidelines that govern the brand
communications

• Logo usage size, international, exclusion zone,
  misuse, sign-offs
• Colours corporate, secondary, tints, print
  web specifications
• Typography standard fonts, weights, alignment,
  spacing, measures
• Stationery letterhead, business cards,
  compliments slips, fax, memo
• Brochures layout templates, covers / inners,
  sizes, grids
• Photography direction, colours, cropping,
  movement, focus
• Advertising design grid, mandatory elements,
  colour/mono, sizes, flexibility
• Website HTML templates, colour matching, font,
  tone of voice
• Signage grid, sign-off, colours, materials,
  change management

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Launching the new Hays Brand

• Communications plan was created for key audiences
• Internally directors, consultants business
  support staff
• Externally clients, candidates, city
  competitors
• Integrated marcomms plan featuring offline
  online marketing implemented throughout May, June
  July 2004
• Also involved programme of internal engagement at
  business unit management level with brand project
  presentation given on 30 occasions

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• Great communication should demonstrate the
  following
• Its clear who we are talking to
• Were showing we know the audience its based
  on clear insight
• Were exploiting the media to the best of its
  ability
• Where necessary, this integrates cohesively
  with other activity
• Were demonstrating a point of view
• Its a fresh idea, executed
• There arent too many clichés
• Its like having your face splashed in cold
  water

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Thank you
Rod Wilkes, Chief Executive