Between Tweed and Twitter –
Corporate Communication under the Conditions of Web 2.0
Paper for the 10th IASS/AIS world congress
A Coruña, September 2009

What is this about?
• Who is KMB?
• The new variety of corporate communication
• Corporate identity the unifying vision
• Semiotic insights and semiotic tools
• Consequences for enterprises
• Consequences for semiotics

Who is KMB?

KMB|Dr. Klaus M. Bernsau – professional
• Dr. Klaus M. Bernsau: nearly 20 years experience as consultant and
conceptionist for advertising and marketing agencies
• Founder and owner of the consultancy “KMB|Konzept • Management •
Beratung für Unternehmenskommunikation”
(i.e. Concept Management Consulting for Corporate Communication C4)
• Clients: Coca-Cola, ContiTech, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Post, Opel,
Rewe, but also many small and middle seized companies
• Branches: automotive, energy, finance, retail/FMCG, industry, IT/telecom,
logistics, pharma, fashion
• www.kommunikation-kmb.de

KMB|Dr. Klaus M. Bernsau – scientific
• Dr. Klaus M. Bernsau: Studies of Communication Science, German
Literature, Marketing, Physics, Sociology and Information Management
• Magister (M.A.) Degree in Communication Science about “Signs for Sale –
Coca-Cola-Marketing looked upon in a semiotic way”
• Dr. phil. Degree about “Changing the economic structure is changing the
social meaning – Regional-marketing of the Ruhrgebiet”
• For over 15 years teacher and researcher at University Duisburg Essen
main subjects: Corporate Communication, Communication Theory, and
Semiotics
• Different presentations and publications about the theory of corporate
communication in nowadays globalizing media society

The new are results corporate communicationpeople
Meanings variety of of acting and thinking

The continuum of corporate communication
Public Media Corporate Environment
Corporate Products
Personal Media
Social Media Corporate Media Corporate Tool Personal Tools
virtual controllable physical
Letters Blue collar
Blogs Press Releases Hardware
Twitter Manuals tools
Speeches Plants Clothing
Communitys Advertising Engines
Software
Services Uniform White collar
Broschures Vehicels tools

The web is personal (again)
“The power of a single
individual to shape
perceptions on a massive
scale is a dramatic and
fundamental shift.
Brands aren’t defined by
campaigns anymore, but by
the consumer ecosystems
we nurture to support
5 Behaviours to survive them.”
1) Turn consumers into “prosumers”
2) Built bilateral brand experiences Mike Mendenhall,
3) Place context on par with content Marketing Chief of HP
4) Master the new calculus of communication
5) Collaboration is king

A short view especially on twitter

First theorectical approach
4 Levels of the web
• technology
• morphology
• texts and hypertexts
• social interaction
Quelle: Zerfaß/Welker/Schmidt
The web as socio-technical space:
• Interface-based Do you social web?
• space-time-structure: synchronic – asynchronic,
[DGOF2] (2008)
ubiquitous, real – virtual, parallel; multi-modal
• Dimension: non-linear; multi-dimensional

Clothing as social system
4 Levels of fashion
• function
• morphology
• texts and hypertexts
(traditions)
• social interaction
Do you fashion?

Clothing as prototypic field of social individuality –
uniformity vs. diversity
• Which person has the most individuality?
• Individuality is all about differentiation from eachother (G. Simmel)
• But integation into a group is an important factor of self confidence
and personality (=identity)
• Finding one‘s personality by joining and avoiding groups
• Yesterday‘s difference is nowadys fashion and tomorrow boaring
• Fashion and clothing is a social semiotic system

A short view especially on corporate wear

Corporate identity as the unifying vision
Corporate
Behaviour
Source: Birkigt/Stadler/Funck (1998)
Corporate
n
tio
un ate
Philosophy
Co esig
ica
mm or
rpo n
D
Co Corp
rat
Acting like one
e
individual person
Seen as one
individual person

The idea of corporate identity
Corporate view
• An enterprise is (like) a living human being with an own personality
• This personality can focus all internal an external activities of the
enterprise
Peoples’ view
• Modern employees can’t be led by rules – they have to follow the
corporate values and targets drive by their own motivation like many little
entrepreneurs
• (Modern) people aren’t always willing to submit themselves under a
corporate identity
There is a permanent conflict between corporate identity and personal
individuality

3 historical phases in CI development
• yesterday – the syntactic phase: Colours, logos, typefonts etc.
• today – the semantic phase: Key Visuals, key messages
• tomorrow – the pragmatic phase: Interpretations

Semiotic insights
and semiotic tools

Identity is a tricky concept
Environment
Identity

Activ or passiv concept?
Environment Environment
Different social
target groups Social groups
and roles
Identity Identity

Identity, personality, and individuality
Indiv2
Indiv1
Identity
Indiv3
Indiv4
Personality

Identity: from one to many
Emergence of common understanding as communication process
Consensus (R) (R)
public media R M
(R) (R)
about
Add-on to K.Merten (1999)
know-
event C A A
ledge A A
and values
personal C C
(C) (C)
Web 2.0 (C)
(C) (C)

Identity: from immediate to final
Corporate Semiosis
O°
R e.g. broschures I°
Z°
S Distracting sign processes
I
O R e.g. corp. internet O* R°e.g. employees personal clothes
I*
I Neutral sign processes
S Z*
R e.g. ads
I R* e.g. employees tweets
O S I
Representamen R Communication Means
Objekt
S
O Corporate
Interpretant Interpretation
O Company

Companies: applied semiotics
The continuum of corporate communication
•Screening  signs
•Interpretating  meaning
•Scoring  means +Media
Public topics Corporate Environment
•Influencing  people + interpretation
Corporate Products
•Evaluating Personal Media
potentials (of means +
Social Media topics) Corporate Media Corporate Tool Personal Tools
•Designing  processes
virtual controllable physical
Letters Blue collar
Blogs Press Releases Hardware
Twitter Manuals tools
Speeches Plants Clothing
Communities Advertising Engines
Software
Services Uniform White collar
Brochures Vehicles tools

Companies: applied semiotics
• Vision: the corporate identity as vivid interpretation
– a corporate identity is in contrast to a human being‘s identity
not a given
– It‘s a multiple personality per se
– therapy is the demanded perscription
• Means: an activ and monitored communication culture
• Leadership: deciding about the right among of tolerance and diversity
according to the identity
• Semio-Technique: screening and evaluation and moderation

Semiotic Scoring
syntactic Visability pragmatic syntactic Visability pragmatic
silent communicativ uniformity personality
Single utterance Single utterance
Specific mean Spefic mean
Importance Importance Importance
of interpretation of interpretation of interpretation
Corporate Corporate
Culture Culture
consent controverse identity diversity
semantic Visability sigmatic? semantic sigmatic?
Visability
(pragmatic) (pragmatic)

Conflict measurements
• Mean – culture • Syntatic measurements – formal
• Utterance – culture • Semantic measurements – literal
• • Sigmatic measurements – referential
Utterance – identity
• Pragmatic measurements – habitual
• Culture - identity

For example
• Corporate culture: we communicate active
and via multiple channels within and outside
the company
• Corporate identity: we are a highly
innovative IT company
• Twitter is a fitting mean
• „…“ is a syntactic
non fitting utterance but harmless
• „We released an awesome gadget“ is
a well fitting utterance in all aspects
• „the guys here code only bullsh…“
is a semantic and pragmatic
non fitting utterance but
culturally okay

For example
• Corporate culture: we dress professional
and conservative
• Corporate identity: we are modern and
innovative finance service provider
• An individual business dress
(not a uniform) is a fitting outfit
• Plaid stockings, heels, lace-up shoes,
and a brown dress are syntactic fitting
elements for an utterance
• The combination might be a semantic
non fitting utterance as to sexy
• Pragmatic it could fit or it could definitely
not fit depending on the woman’s
attitude

Consequences:
Corporate challenges
• Define corporate communication culture
• Define corporate messages, identity, and behavior
• Score and evaluate means according communication culture
• Reduce corporate communication means to a manageable amount
• Evaluate utterances
• Interpret and re-interpret utterance
• Regulate utterances in syntactic and semantic means
• Integrate, teach, and influence communicators in pragmatic relevant means
virtual controllable physical
Letters Blue collar
Blogs Press Releases Hardware
Twitter Manuals tools
Speeches Plants Clothing
Communitys Advertising Engines
Software
Services Uniform White collar
Broschures Vehicels tools

Consequences:
Semiotics challenges
• Corporate semiosis is very promising field for semiotics
– Knowledge wise
– Income wise
• Semiotics have to focus on the ongoing sign process,
not on the exegesis of single dead materials like ads
• Semiotics have to set up a model integrating the interacting factors of:
– Sign material used in companies
– Communication processes between employers and employees,
companies and costumers and among entrepreneurs and costumers
– Socialization of employer, employees, and costumers as individuals and
members of social groups

Semiotics can make you fly not only tweet
“Semiotic management corporate values ltd.”
• Semiotic management tools
• Semiotics speaking the language of the management
• Not only market research
• But also active impact, as:
– Semiotic scorecard
– Symbolic values dashboard
– communication initiatives with semiotic controlling
– Sign setting
– Media and mean controlling

Questions
Doubts
Comments
Additions
Improvements
Discussion!

Thank you very much,
and hope to see you soon:
www.kommunikation-kmb.de!

KMB|We are looking forward to you
Service offering Contact details
• Concept: Development of all future activities in KMB | Dr. Klaus M. Bernsau
consideration of all relevant and promising instruments Konzept | Management | Beratung für
and media (effect full, networked, intermedia,
contemporary) Unternehmenskommunikation
Hessenring 8
• Management: Taking over of the communication D-65205 Wiesbaden / Germany
projects as virtual "full-service-agency" via the KMB
network of competent service providers; management Phone +49-6122-704324
of the tasks with corporate intern resources and with Fax +49-6122-704378
existing extern partners of the client (e.g. temporary Mobil +49-178-2376728 (+49-178-Bernsau)
management of advertising or projects); accompanying
project leader (quick, flexible, good value, E-mail kmb@kommunikation-kmb.de
experienced) Web www.kommunikation-kmb.de
• Consulting: Analysis of weakness in existing concepts,
activities, structures and teams; optimization consulting,
goal development incl. buildup of quality- and
controlling-processes; accompanying consulting of all
relevant steps in corporate communication activities
(open in results, critical, competent, goal-
orientated)