In this interconnected, increasingly transparent and dynamic context, customers demand that organisations understand how to build internally- driven authentic and ethical corporate brands. And these brands must embrace influence from stakeholders and co-creation. Students will learn how to lead the building process for a strong and enduring corporate brand that gives focus to the entire organisation, and aligns its diverse stakeholders towards sustained value creation.

1. Topic 4: Corporate Brand Identity and
Corporate Communications
VIMBISO IYANAYI R174888Y
ANTHONY T. SHANJI R133568V
OSWARD TIRIVAVI R228080P
FORTUNATE MASHOKO R104189V
DIDMAS CHIKARABWA R2210956P

2. Public relations
PUBLIC RELATIONS
 Public relations involve ‘information, activities, and policies by which
corporations and other organizations seek to create attitudes favorable to
themselves and their work, and to counter adverse attitudes.
 ’ The Institute of Public Relations (IPR), defines public relations as the
planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and
understanding between an organization and its publics.
 Cutlip and Centre (2001) define PR as the management function that
identifies, establishes and maintains a mutually beneficial relationship
between an organization and its public on whom its success or failure
depends.

3. Role and functions of public relations
practitioners
Role and functions of public relations
The major functions of a PR are briefly explained below:
1. Fact finding:
 The first task of a Public Relations team is to study the problems confronting
an organization so as to identify its strengths and weaknesses. These facts will
help the Public Relations team to work out the objectives, to locate target
audience and the right approach to be adopted in achieving the objectives.
2. Planning:

4. Planning cont.
 Planning is the determination of goals for an organization and outlining of the
means to achieve them. Planning would include the means of communication
to be adopted, an estimate of the cost and the requirement of the manpower.
3. Implementation:
 The plans should define the target audience, media and other means required
to influence the audience.
4. Evaluation:
 Every programme deserves and requires analysis. If planning is important so
is the evaluation of how the plan worked.

5. 5. Advisory role
 The PR team has an advisory role towards the top management about the
internal and external developments that are likely to affect the reputation of
the organization.
6. Conducting image surveys:
 The PR team should organize periodical image surveys within and outside the
organization to assess people’s attitude towards the organization.
7. Maintaining contacts:
 The PR team has to identify and establish contacts with a cross section of
important external public like decision makers, opinion leaders, media
personnel, consumer protection groups, politicians etc.

6. Cont.
8. Writing reports:
 PR team should write reports, news releases, booklets, magazine articles and
product information.
9. Editing:
 Big companies and organizations regularly bring out newsletters, employee’s
publications, share - holders’ reports etc. The PR team is entrusted with the
task of editing and publishing them.
10. Production of booklets, brochures:
 It is the duty of the Public Relations team to produce booklets, brochures and
other publication for general distribution.
11. Preparation of press releases:

7. Tools of PR
Tools of Public Relations
PR tools can be broadly classified into external and internal.
A. External tools
 The media most relevant to public relations include newspapers, magazines,
radio, television and, increasingly, the internet. Let us examine the media
options available to a Public Relations practitioner and how best they can use
them to achieve the various communication goals.
1) Press
 In the life of an organization the press plays a significant role. The print
media enable an organization to reach out to various categories of public. If
used well the press can play a

8. CONT.
 complementary role in creating a favorable image, but if mishandled it can
damage the image of an organization.
2) Television
 Television has immense scope as a publicity medium. With satellite and digital
communication possibilities, the impact of television has become more
powerful.
3) Radio
 Radio is a mass medium which possesses the qualities of a direct personal
medium. With the reach of radio in the country to over 95% of the population,
this medium has become an important tool for the PR practitioners.

9. CONT.
4) Films
 Films, documentaries and other promotional materials can be handy tools for
dissemination of information to the public. Films/documentaries make a
powerful impact on the audience because of their audio-visual qualities.
5) Outdoor media
 Billboards, hoarding and colorful posters on the street corners are powerful
means to convey messages to public.
6. Oral communications
 Oral communication is used as a medium chiefly in employee communication
for training or informing them about the company’s policies. Oral
communication may be carried out through meetings, telephone calls, public
address systems, panel discussions, counseling etc.

10. B Internal media
B. Internal media
 Internal communication is basically addressed to the employees within an
organization. The following are some of the important tools to communicate
to the employees within an organization, its internal public.
1) Printed literature
 The basic objective of print literature is to inform or persuade target
audience about a product, service or idea.
2) Annual reports
 The annual report of an organization is usually drafted by the PR department.
This report is accorded publicity and coverage in the media.

11. Cont.
3) Direct mail
 Literature can be directly mailed by post or e-mail to this select group of
important public.
4) Films
 Films, documentaries and other promotional materials can be handy tools for
dissemination of information to the public. Films/documentaries make a powerful
impact on the audience because of their audio-visual qualities.
5) Outdoor media Billboards, hoarding and colorful posters on the street corners are
powerful means to convey messages to public.
 6) Meetings
It could be just a meeting of two department heads, a small group meeting,
committee meetings to large meetings to resolve conflicts, brief employees, solve
problems, obtain reactions to a new scheme etc.

12. cont
7) Speeches
 Formal speeches are the quickest way of conveying information. Preparation
of speeches and sometimes delivering the speech are jobs of the Public
Relations department.

13. Corporate communication (PR and Ad-
like communication activities)
 According to Jackson(1986),corporate communication is an integrated
approach to all communication produced by an organization to all the
targeted groups.
 Stobierski (2019), also defined Corporate communications as the way in which
businesses and organizations communicate with internal and external various
audiences.

14. Roles of Corporate communication
1.To create and sustain powerful corporate branding
2. To develop initiatives that minimizes discrepancies between the company’ s
desired identity and brand features.
3.To indicate workers role in the communication process.
4.To formulate effective procedures in design making.
5. To mobilize internal and external support.

15. Branches of corporate communication
1. Management communication
2. Marketing communication
3. Organizational communication.

16. Types of corporate communication
1. Internal communication,
2. External communication.
Tools of corporate communication,
1.Traditional tools,
2. Mass media,
3. spoken word, 4. Written communication 5. photographs 6. exhibitions and
fairs. 7. Audio visual media, 8. media conference, 9.newsletters 10. journals, 11.
brochures.
Digital tools include all online technologies

17. Relationship Between Public Relations and Corporate
Communications.
 Corporate communication and public relations is the managing of
relationships with public groups.
 It is all about managing relationships by informing, persuading,
dialogue, and negotiating and is considered as an important tool of the
organizational management.
 It is done to influence the behaviour of parts of the important
relationships. Communication is the most important mean of public
relations and relationships are the outcome of it.
 The Institute of Public Relations states that the corporate
communication is the ears, eyes and voice of the organization. It is
crucial to match corporate strategy with corporate communication
policy and practice.

18. Continue….
 Functions of corporate communication and public relations
 The important functions of corporate communication and public relations include
 (i) dealing with crisis control,
 (ii) enabling sophisticated approaches to global communications, and
 (iii) comprehension and utilization of complicated communication tools and
technologies. The functions also include the following.

19. Continue……
 Functions of corporate communication and public relations are comparatively
the same, though the objectives and tactics of both are different and even
conflicting.
 While corporate communication adheres to the complicated by-laws of
compliance in both internal and external communication, promoting the
integrity of the organization with very little room for creativity, public
relations, on the other hand, creatively promotes the favourable image of the
organization to the public.
 Further, while they are very different, both types of communication play
pivotal role in the success of the organization.

20. BRAND COMMUNICATION EFFECT
 The effect of brand communication includes:
- Brand awareness - Attract top talents
- Employee engagement - transparency
- Innovation - Avoid miscommunication
- Employee productivity - Maintain strong brand image
- Enhance customer service - Build strong brand trust

21. 1. brand awareness
 Primarily advertising was used to promote brand awareness but its
effectiveness in promoting brand awareness has been shrinking over the past
years.
 Eg. Millenials largely ignore ads since they do not want to be sold but rather
prefer to educate themselves and make informed decisions (Banerjea, 2022).
 Milienial learn thru- Social media, Google, Amazon, Retail websites, Radio,
TV, friends and relatives.

22. Cont.
 Employee advocacy can be employed to promote brand awareness.
 The company might encourage their staff to build personal brands on social
media.
 Many people, especially Millenials trust individuals rather than companies i.e
they can believe a tweet by an employee rather than from official company
handle.
 Employees become brand ambassadors.
 Corporate brand communication has a clear and direct impact on your
company’s “financial growth”

23. 2. Employee engagement
 Corporate communication promotes employee engagement (participation and
involvement.
 Corporate communications can boost employee engagement thru
- communicating company vision and goals.
- encourage dialogue and opinions i.e quality circles
- Boost employee advocacy- they can showcase the company’s culture i.e sharing
videos of team-building events, birthday celebrations, CSR initiatives e.t.c.
 Opus Kinetic (2020) recently highlighted a review by Deloitte showed that 90% of the
executive leaders believe that employee engagement is a vital element of business
success.

24. 3. Innovation
 Internal communication can spark innovation through:
- knowledge sharing- providing about internal company updates, external
industry
dynamics and economic developments to promote innovation.
- inter-departmental collaboration- truly profitable ideas and execution
requires
inputs from across departments.

25. 4. Employee productivity
 Employee engagement motivates employees leading to increased efficiency,
hence productivity would rise
 Increased productivity would reduce average costs of production which can be
source of competitive advantage
 Innovation may also lead to increased productivity.
 Internal communication develop problem solving culture

26. 5. Attracting top talent
 Effective corporate communication is instrumental or pivotal in attracting the
best talents for any organization.
 Not only is the company able to attract highly qualified employees, but it will
be able to retain its top talents.
 Media relations, brand ambassadors showcasing company culture and referrals
from engaged employees enables the business to harness top talents.

27. 6. Transparency
 Successful corporate communication will enhance the overall transparency of
the firm.
 If employees are informed of the company’s culture and goals, they are more
willing to exert their best.

28. 7. Enhanced customer service
 The employee should be equipped enough to solve all the issues and satisfy the
customer in terms of the product or service.
 Bhasin (2021) underscored the need for employees to be worthy enough to solve all the
issues and satisfy the customer about their product or service.

29. 8. Avoid miscommunication
• Corporate communications ensure that the company
makes sure the company runs smoothly (Bhasin,
2021)
 Any mistake can prove to be disastrous for the
organization.
 Mistakes may tarnish the reputation of the
business.

30. 9. Maintaining a strong brand image
 corporate communications in brand communication is vital for ensuring a
cohesive company image.
 it helps to share the brand vision with customers, prospects and external
stakeholders like partners, pressure groups, government e.t.c
 diffuse negative publicity by highlighting the unique and beneficial aspects of
their brand to distract negative publicity.
 According to Harappa (2021), corporate communication can also help to
improve and maintain an organization’s reputation and brand image.

31. 10. Building strong brand trust
 Brand trust can be established both amongst inside and outside of the organization.
 It enables employees to confidently assume the role of being a brand ambassador.
 Building a strong brand trust towards employees benefits the company due to referrals
amongst customers –customers can only recommend the brand they trust
 The corporate brand is viewed more trustworthy and interesting when actual employees
of all different departments are discussing and sharing company consent (Kunsman,
2020).

32. Challenges of corporate communication.
1.Attempting to build a presence on every online platform
 This may not be the bet way to increase visibility – improvements in technology and
development of new social media platforms has led to PR services wanting to establish
their presence on each of them.
 Organizations must rethink their strategies and identify which platforms suit them best

33. 2. reduced budgets
 PR department is likely to experience reduced budgets especially in this period of
Covid 19.
 Companies would prioritise their resources based on what will give them the best
results.

34. 3.Email overload
 It is important to know which information:
- actually needs to be shared.
- when it must be send.
- where it needs to go.
 It is therefore important to create different groups, both closed and open
one, so as to communicate specific information on specific channels. However
too much filtering may also create a problem.

35. 4. lack of mutual respect
 Groups employees working together come from diverse background and this can lead to
disagreement of misunderstandings especially if employees do not fully respect each
other.

36. 5. Lack of balance
 Communication requires a balanced approach.
 In most organisations, the common challenge everyone faces is either there is too much
or too little internal communication happening VP Ledacies (2020).
 Not every piece of information is relevant to all employees.


37. Behavioural Framework of Corporate
Communication
 As a practical approach, it enables corporate communication executives and
professionals to operate under the burden of contradictory and often inconsistent
expectations coming from diverse constituencies.

38. - Responding to these expectations is vital for building a strong identity and sustaining a
credible organizational image.
- The CVFCC brings the whole (corporate communication) and parts (marketing
communication, financial communication, organizational communication,
management communication) into a more sophisticated theoretical treatment of
corporate communication that goes beyond merely discussing "best practices."

39. cont.
- The competing values framework describes four types of
organizations or culture that indicate how a company operates,
what is its culture, and how do the employees collaborate.
- The four types of culture are as shown on the diagram below:

40. Behavioural framework of corporate communication

41. The clan culture
- Is like an extended family, this type of organization emphasizes teamwork, employee
involvement, empowerment, cohesion, participation, corporate commitment to employees,
and self-managed work teams.
- It is held together by loyalty and tradition.
- In this context, leaders are thought of as mentors or parent figures. Their main
responsibilities are to empower employees, and facilitate their participation,
commitment, and loyalty (Cameron & Quinn, 2006).

42. The adhocracy culture:
• is a dynamic, entrepreneurial, and creative organization.
• This organization thrives in an uncertain, ambiguous, and turbulent
environment.
• The common values are innovation, flexibility, adaptability, risk taking,
experimentation, and taking initiative.

43. The hierarchy culture
 Is a formalized and structured bureaucracy.
 This culture values efficiency, reliability, predictability, and standardization.
 Fast and smooth operations are maintained by strict adherence to the
numerous rules, policies, and procedures.
 Employees throughout the multiple hierarchical levels have almost no
discretion.
 Leaders in this organization are expected to be good organizers and
coordinators, and minimize costs.
 The market culture is fiercely competitive and goal oriented.

44. The market
• They focus on productivity, profitability, market share and penetration, and winning.
• Leaders in this culture are expected to be hard driving, tough, and demanding
competitors (Cameron & Quinn, 2006).
• One culture is not necessarily better than the others. The proper culture for each
organization depends on the organization’s industry and strategy.
• For example, Gregory, Harris, Armenakis, and Shook (2009) found a positive
relationship between clan cultures and patient satisfaction in healthcare facilities.

45. Choice of the best corporate communication
tool
Corporate communication tools connect with various internal and external audiences, such as
employees, customers, investors, suppliers, etc.
- The channel in which companies communicate with these audiences depends on who they’re aiming
to reach.
 Here are a few examples of corporate communication channels:
1. Company website
2. Internal intranet
3. Emails, newsletters, and bulletin boards
4. Blog posts

46. 5. Emails, newsletters, and bulletin boards
6. Press releases
7. Town halls
8. Mobile employee communication apps

47. What to consider when choosing the best
corporate communication tool:
 Corporate communication tools connect with various internal and external audiences,
such as employees, customers, investors, suppliers, etc. The channel in which
companies communicate with these audiences depends on who they’re aiming to reach.

48. Control over message delivery
 It is important that you are able to control the message and minimization of
any noise that can distort the message to deliver to the receiver.
 As comparing PR with other tools, there is little control with regards to PR
because of a number of factors and the factors includes that PR depends on
the goodwill of other stakeholders.

49. Cost effectiveness
 An organisation must have a financial power to enable it to have control over
its messages,
 If using agency for the design of advertising messages, then it is important
that there are enough financial resources to sustain design efforts.
Credibility
• With PR, the chances of allowing the third parties to speak about an offer is
very high. Therefore the market regard this information as credible as its
intensions are hidden ( ZRCS’s use of Macheso as brand ambassador), whilst
Ad-like corporate communication activities such as advertising are less
credible.

50. Size and geographical dispersion of the
audience
 The size and the location of the targeted audience matter when it comes to
the choice of the best corporate communication tool.
 When targeting a global market, we can use social media advertising, or even
pop up adverts in order to reach the targeted audience. If targeting national
audience, we can also use advertising , online direct marketing because it has
a wide reach

51. Marketing objectives
 The marketing objectives would influence the choice of the best promotional
tool to employ
 For instance, the business may pursue sales revenue maximization, increased
market share, customer retention e.t.c

52. Effectiveness of the media
 Washing powder, milk products and tea can be best promoted using television
because it provides an opportunity for demonstration to be done.
 Technical good such as tractors, combine harvesters, computers and
excavators can be best promoted using trade journals and other forms of print
media which allows for the provision of detailed information.

53. Flexibility of the media
 Whether the media allows for repeat exposure.
 Television, radio, newspapers and magazines allows for repeat exposure