Companies spend significant investments in creating market differentiation through advertising, promotions and social media. However, most companies do not fully leverage their CEO as a persona for their brands, missing on an opportunity to provide a human touch to what has been traditionally a media driven approach
For more white papers and webinars, go to http://www.sldesignlounge.com
Or visit us at http://www.sld.com
PR secrets of Tesla, Slack, Uber, Facebook, Salesforce,... FINN
For years now, European media have reported breathlessly on every step of Silicon Valley tech giants like Uber, Tesla, Salesforce and Slack - and their founders Elon Musk, Travis Kalanick, Stewart Butterfield and Marc Benioff.
Why do they seem so endlessly fascinating to media - and what can we learn from them?
Whether you're the founder of a European scale up or a corporate communication manager trying to find new ways to increase the reputation of your executive team in your industry, this webinar is sure to inspire you with insights, strategies and tactics.
The YES Factor: How to persuade business buyers to say yes.Earnest
A new behavioural economics Slideshare from Earnest exploring why b2b buyers are less rational than you think - and why the micro-yesses matter more than ever. Get the Yes Factor.
PR secrets of Tesla, Slack, Uber, Facebook, Salesforce,... FINN
For years now, European media have reported breathlessly on every step of Silicon Valley tech giants like Uber, Tesla, Salesforce and Slack - and their founders Elon Musk, Travis Kalanick, Stewart Butterfield and Marc Benioff.
Why do they seem so endlessly fascinating to media - and what can we learn from them?
Whether you're the founder of a European scale up or a corporate communication manager trying to find new ways to increase the reputation of your executive team in your industry, this webinar is sure to inspire you with insights, strategies and tactics.
The YES Factor: How to persuade business buyers to say yes.Earnest
A new behavioural economics Slideshare from Earnest exploring why b2b buyers are less rational than you think - and why the micro-yesses matter more than ever. Get the Yes Factor.
Show Don't Tell - Creating Visually Useful Infographics For Your AudienceStrataBlue
"Show. Don't tell. Creating Visually Useful Infographics For Your Audience."
This was a presentation given by Suzanne McGill, the Senior Graphic Designer at StrataBlue -- a full-service digital marketing agency. The presentation was delivered at the National Association of Bar Executive's Conference in Indianapolis on October 2, 2014.
Infographics are very beneficial for many different reasons. They provide great brand recognition and SEO benefits.
Whether you’re a butcher, banker or beautician, your business can benefit from the power of infographics. Any company can use this visual tool on social media, and research indicates that infographics assist companies in increasing traffic 12% faster than organizations that don’t use them.
Embrace the Visual Marketing Era
We’ve learned through science that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual and is processed 60,000 times faster than text. (Maybe it’s time to revisit adding Pinterest, Instagram or Snapchat to your brand’s marketing strategy.) The daunting fact about creating infographics for many marketers is the time investment required.
A successful infographic does not exist without data. If it’s time you are worried about investing in an infographic, look back on your past blog posts, case studies or surveys to cut out a majority of the work! You’ve already put in hours, maybe even months’ worth of work, so repurpose the content to be more visually appealing on different platforms. If you are interested in which infographic will perform best with your target audience, try using Facebook Dark Posts to analyze which visual resonates best with your fans.
Or maybe you want to start an infographic from scratch, but need some assistance. Contact Josh Pyne, Director of Sales at StrataBlue, about having an infographic created and promoted to assist your brand's online marketing efforts.
CEO Branding: Why, When and How to Use the CEO in Corporate CommunicationFINN
Research shows that the impact of the CEO in internal and external communication can hardly be overestimated. For stakeholers, "his master's voice" is the most credible and reliable source to learn about a company's strategy, mission, values and culture.
And corporate communications teams are clearly taking note. As is evident from the way companies like Twitter, Square and Microsoft position their chief executives Jack Dorsey and Satya Nadella, companies are working hard to leverage the full star power of their CEOs to get their strategic messages out.
FINN presents its framework for using the CEO in corporate communication, along with practical tips to start creating a useful and compelling CEO brand that aligns with the overall corporate communication strategy.
CEO's see themselves as the stewards of reputation of the oganization - they want to turn it over to their successor in a better shape than they received it.
In this slideshow, we highlight research on CEOs and reputation management, pr, crisis communication, employer branding and much more.
A New Approach To Communication And Pastoral MinistryGarage Jescom
A presentation made by Fr. Jerry Martinson, S.J. at the EAPI's Social Communications in Pastoral Ministry workshops in 2009. Includes "The Church & Communications", "Mass Communication: Bringing God to Masses of People", "The New Areopagus", "Training for Ministry in the New Areopagus", etc.
A presentation given by Fr. Jerry Martinson, S.J. at the EAPI's Social Communications in Pastoral Ministry workshops in 2009. Includes "The Church vs. the Media", "Models of the Church", "The Church Speaks about Communication", etc.
Setting company goals is something that every CEO does, but do your employees actually care? Goal setting is something that every organization needs to revisit and make sure that employees are aligned in achieving the corporate goals.
Understanding how to leverage the customers path to purchase as part of the ThinkBlink process. It can take merely seconds for a consumer to initiate a purchase decision, no matter how large or small they may be. Whether buying a house, a car, or a stick of gum at the grocery store, engaging the customer quickly and effectively can make the difference of whether or not they will buy a product.
Find out how your brand can create the right emotional connection for Millennials
Millennials are entering an important life stage for banks, as this segment of the population is starting to build wealth while driving potential sales growth in financial products and services. This segment tends to use more primary banking products than Baby Boomers and carry a higher minimum balance in their checking accounts. An additional reason for the increased focus on this segment is based on the rapid growth in size versus other cohorts such as Baby Boomers. This study will translate the many research documents into an ideal Millennial Experience (MX) for the banking industry through our Omni Experience Model and will help define the role of physical branches versus online. http://www.sld.com
Show Don't Tell - Creating Visually Useful Infographics For Your AudienceStrataBlue
"Show. Don't tell. Creating Visually Useful Infographics For Your Audience."
This was a presentation given by Suzanne McGill, the Senior Graphic Designer at StrataBlue -- a full-service digital marketing agency. The presentation was delivered at the National Association of Bar Executive's Conference in Indianapolis on October 2, 2014.
Infographics are very beneficial for many different reasons. They provide great brand recognition and SEO benefits.
Whether you’re a butcher, banker or beautician, your business can benefit from the power of infographics. Any company can use this visual tool on social media, and research indicates that infographics assist companies in increasing traffic 12% faster than organizations that don’t use them.
Embrace the Visual Marketing Era
We’ve learned through science that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual and is processed 60,000 times faster than text. (Maybe it’s time to revisit adding Pinterest, Instagram or Snapchat to your brand’s marketing strategy.) The daunting fact about creating infographics for many marketers is the time investment required.
A successful infographic does not exist without data. If it’s time you are worried about investing in an infographic, look back on your past blog posts, case studies or surveys to cut out a majority of the work! You’ve already put in hours, maybe even months’ worth of work, so repurpose the content to be more visually appealing on different platforms. If you are interested in which infographic will perform best with your target audience, try using Facebook Dark Posts to analyze which visual resonates best with your fans.
Or maybe you want to start an infographic from scratch, but need some assistance. Contact Josh Pyne, Director of Sales at StrataBlue, about having an infographic created and promoted to assist your brand's online marketing efforts.
CEO Branding: Why, When and How to Use the CEO in Corporate CommunicationFINN
Research shows that the impact of the CEO in internal and external communication can hardly be overestimated. For stakeholers, "his master's voice" is the most credible and reliable source to learn about a company's strategy, mission, values and culture.
And corporate communications teams are clearly taking note. As is evident from the way companies like Twitter, Square and Microsoft position their chief executives Jack Dorsey and Satya Nadella, companies are working hard to leverage the full star power of their CEOs to get their strategic messages out.
FINN presents its framework for using the CEO in corporate communication, along with practical tips to start creating a useful and compelling CEO brand that aligns with the overall corporate communication strategy.
CEO's see themselves as the stewards of reputation of the oganization - they want to turn it over to their successor in a better shape than they received it.
In this slideshow, we highlight research on CEOs and reputation management, pr, crisis communication, employer branding and much more.
A New Approach To Communication And Pastoral MinistryGarage Jescom
A presentation made by Fr. Jerry Martinson, S.J. at the EAPI's Social Communications in Pastoral Ministry workshops in 2009. Includes "The Church & Communications", "Mass Communication: Bringing God to Masses of People", "The New Areopagus", "Training for Ministry in the New Areopagus", etc.
A presentation given by Fr. Jerry Martinson, S.J. at the EAPI's Social Communications in Pastoral Ministry workshops in 2009. Includes "The Church vs. the Media", "Models of the Church", "The Church Speaks about Communication", etc.
Setting company goals is something that every CEO does, but do your employees actually care? Goal setting is something that every organization needs to revisit and make sure that employees are aligned in achieving the corporate goals.
Understanding how to leverage the customers path to purchase as part of the ThinkBlink process. It can take merely seconds for a consumer to initiate a purchase decision, no matter how large or small they may be. Whether buying a house, a car, or a stick of gum at the grocery store, engaging the customer quickly and effectively can make the difference of whether or not they will buy a product.
Find out how your brand can create the right emotional connection for Millennials
Millennials are entering an important life stage for banks, as this segment of the population is starting to build wealth while driving potential sales growth in financial products and services. This segment tends to use more primary banking products than Baby Boomers and carry a higher minimum balance in their checking accounts. An additional reason for the increased focus on this segment is based on the rapid growth in size versus other cohorts such as Baby Boomers. This study will translate the many research documents into an ideal Millennial Experience (MX) for the banking industry through our Omni Experience Model and will help define the role of physical branches versus online. http://www.sld.com
Branding evolved from the focus on the visual design, logos, symbols, colours and fonts to a broader concept, where strategy plays a fundamental role. Brands became the drivers of differentiation and reputation and a key action tool.
Brands are essential for establishing relations between companies and their stakeholders. They generate links and create connections, which enable companies to obtain support, trust and cooperation of their stakeholders and thus create value and become the cornerstones of the business strategy.
The need to develop a clearly defined MOT is emerging as a key competitive advantage for marketers wanting to gain strong customer loyalty and a clear point of difference in the marketplace by converting customers to advocates for the brand. With the advent of the web and the shift of control from the marketer and retailer to the consumer, this need to clearly map out and manage the entire customer relationship at all touch-points has become paramount.
For more white papers and webinars, go to http://www.sldesignlounge.com
Or visit us at http://www.sld.com
Have you ever stopped to consider why some brands have cult following while others competing in the same segment have none? Why are Starbucks and Krispy Kreme brands gaining such strong consumer preference while others competing in the same category foster very little consumer loyalty? Do you ever wonder why such brands such as Tide and Tetley dominate their respective categories, year over year, irrespective of the competitive environment? It is important now more than ever to develop an integrated brand strategy, i.e., a clear brand identity that is consistent across all consumer touch-points.
For more white papers and webinars, go to http://www.sldesignlounge.com
Or visit us at http://www.sld.com
With the growth of brands and the complexity of choice facing consumers, brands are challenged to effectively stand out and engage customers in the split- second it takes to make a buying decision. The Blink Factor is a process of better understanding how consumers connect with brands and which elements of your package design should be better leveraged.
For more white papers and webinars, go to http://www.sldesignlounge.com
Or visit us at http://www.sld.com
The recent market meltdown that has seen the elimination of 50% of the wealth and value of corporations shows no sign of significant improvement. Most analysts warn that the market is in a very precarious position and could easily regress to its original dangerous state. At the same time, the US government intervention and
involvement as investor and regulator is challenging the level of freedom of corporations – the foundation of its global market dominance. Adversity in the capital markets has identified the vulnerability of the current business approaches of some of the largest Fortune 500 corporations, leading to the demise of well-established brands and organizations.
For more white papers and webinars, go to http://www.sldesignlounge.com
Or visit us at http://www.sld.com
At the same time that brand marketers have been investing to make their retail relationships more strategic and collaborative, retailers have been investing in Private Brands which directly compete with national brands, and realizing tremendous success with them. This white paper explores the issues and opportunities associated with these complex relationships, and identifies ways to generate mutual gains
Check out this interesting white paper by Willard Bishop on how national brands and private label in non-competing categories can collaboratively cross-merchandise for a win-win situation.
Banks have used automation to remove friction points for customers to great success. However, automation cannot replicate human interaction, which is more important when it comes to making big financial decisions. Banks have addressed convenience and are working on trust, building customers’ confidence comes next. This will require highly-skilled humans, with automation supporting them behind the scenes.
In this session, you will learn:
The importance of emotionally connecting with customers
The role the branch can play in creating these connections
The new tools available to respond to the fast pace changes in the marketplace
Advanced self-service capabilities and innovative new business processes are fine and good, but if your employees aren’t buying the concept of tech-driven service delivery, you can be sure they’re not selling it, either. Some never will, but others just need effective tools and training to come up to speed.
In this session, you’ll learn how the most successful branch transformations have turned tentative employees into enthusiastic tech ambassadors.
Join Jean-Pierre Lacroix, President of SLDNXT, for this insightful panel discussion on engaging employees in your branch transformation.
How to write a successful retail rollout design brief
The foundation of any design project is the design brief. The two major facets included in effective design briefs are the landlord/base building requirements and the client requirements. The information below briefly outlines the key elements required to rollout an existing retail design concept into a new or existing space.
What Makes a Successful Retail Rollout Design Brief?
A thorough design brief should provide the design team with all of the information required to execute the task as well as outline the full scope of the project including client expectations. The design brief should be focused on exactly what you want to achieve before any work on the project is started. http://www.sld.com
Recently, there have been a number of announcements in the world of food nutrition and product labelling in an attempt to better inform consumers about what they are eating. Updates to the Nutrition Facts U.S. Table. UK Traffic Light Labelling System. Google’s Nutrition Check Feature.
The study brings new insights on the steps that senior financial executives need to take
to enhance their career and how CFOs themselves can bridge their current position with one that reflects their evolving value and clearly features their potential to organizations to finally become trusted strategic advisors. Branding the CFO confirms the findings of the 2011 CFERF study Beyond the Numbers that the value of CFOs in interpreting and anticipating risk, being an objective advocate and understanding the greater business context were seen as critical to ensuring the success of businesses.
Did you know that companies with well-established loyalty programs have a healthier bottom line?
Are you looking for ways to establish or enhance your company’s loyalty program?
Strong loyalty programs move beyond points or rewards. A well-designed loyalty program results in incremental gains, turning a customer who spends $X, into a customer who spends $X plus Y% more.
In this webinar, you will learn:
• The 6 Cs of loyalty,
• The steps required to promote and market a loyalty program,
• How to avoid making the biggest mistakes when introducing a loyalty program,
• How branding can make a loyalty program more successful.
to enhance their career and how CFOs themselves can bridge their current position with one that reflects their evolving value and clearly features their potential to organizations to finally become trusted strategic advisors. Branding the CFO confirms the findings of the 2011 CFERF study Beyond the Numbers that the value of CFOs in interpreting and anticipating risk, being an objective advocate and understanding the greater business context were seen as critical to ensuring the success of businesses.
The Blink Factor is the ability to stand out and effectively communicate a meaningful and differentiated offering,
and must be present during the at-purchase moment to ensure maximum impact. Visual Communication in Branding. t is vitally important that consumers notice your brand, which can be difficult when surrounded by competitors and other visual stimuli.
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to ma...Lviv Startup Club
Kseniya Leshchenko: Shared development support service model as the way to make small projects with small budgets profitable for the company (UA)
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𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐬 (𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬) is a professional event agency that includes experts in the event-organizing market in Vietnam, Korea, and ASEAN countries. We provide unlimited types of events from Music concerts, Fan meetings, and Culture festivals to Corporate events, Internal company events, Golf tournaments, MICE events, and Exhibitions.
𝐓𝐉 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐬 provides unlimited package services including such as Event organizing, Event planning, Event production, Manpower, PR marketing, Design 2D/3D, VIP protocols, Interpreter agency, etc.
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"𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬."
Cracking the Workplace Discipline Code Main.pptxWorkforce Group
Cultivating and maintaining discipline within teams is a critical differentiator for successful organisations.
Forward-thinking leaders and business managers understand the impact that discipline has on organisational success. A disciplined workforce operates with clarity, focus, and a shared understanding of expectations, ultimately driving better results, optimising productivity, and facilitating seamless collaboration.
Although discipline is not a one-size-fits-all approach, it can help create a work environment that encourages personal growth and accountability rather than solely relying on punitive measures.
In this deck, you will learn the significance of workplace discipline for organisational success. You’ll also learn
• Four (4) workplace discipline methods you should consider
• The best and most practical approach to implementing workplace discipline.
• Three (3) key tips to maintain a disciplined workplace.
Improving profitability for small businessBen Wann
In this comprehensive presentation, we will explore strategies and practical tips for enhancing profitability in small businesses. Tailored to meet the unique challenges faced by small enterprises, this session covers various aspects that directly impact the bottom line. Attendees will learn how to optimize operational efficiency, manage expenses, and increase revenue through innovative marketing and customer engagement techniques.
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As an Army veteran dedicated to lifelong learning, I bring a disciplined, strategic mindset to my pursuits. I am constantly expanding my knowledge to innovate and lead effectively. My journey is driven by a commitment to excellence, and to make a meaningful impact in the world.
3.0 Project 2_ Developing My Brand Identity Kit.pptxtanyjahb
A personal brand exploration presentation summarizes an individual's unique qualities and goals, covering strengths, values, passions, and target audience. It helps individuals understand what makes them stand out, their desired image, and how they aim to achieve it.
Event Report - SAP Sapphire 2024 Orlando - lots of innovation and old challengesHolger Mueller
Holger Mueller of Constellation Research shares his key takeaways from SAP's Sapphire confernece, held in Orlando, June 3rd till 5th 2024, in the Orange Convention Center.
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Building Your Employer Brand with Social MediaLuanWise
Presented at The Global HR Summit, 6th June 2024
In this keynote, Luan Wise will provide invaluable insights to elevate your employer brand on social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. You'll learn how compelling content can authentically showcase your company culture, values, and employee experiences to support your talent acquisition and retention objectives. Additionally, you'll understand the power of employee advocacy to amplify reach and engagement – helping to position your organization as an employer of choice in today's competitive talent landscape.
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CEO Is The Brand
1. White paper |February 2010
The CEO is the Brand
The power of executive communications
2. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 1
Shikatani Lacroix is a leading branding and design firm located in
Toronto, Canada. The company commission assignments from all
around the world, across CPG, retail and service industries, helping
clients achieve success within their operating markets. It does this
by enabling its clients’ brands to better connect with their
consumers through a variety of core services including corporate
identity and communication, brand experience design, packaging,
naming and product design.
About the Author
James Bailey, is a highly experienced executive
communications consultant as well as principal of Broadgate
Communications in Toronto. He was worked with the CEOs and
senior executives of dozens of corporations, including Hewlett-
Packard, NatWest Bank Group, Nortel and CIBC. He has also
supported political leaders, including the Attorney General and
Ministers of Education and Labour of Ontario.
Jim has earned an LL.B. from the University of London, England and
a BA in French from the University of Western Ontario.
Other Articles and Books
In addition to numerous executive speeches, annual reports and
other corporate communications projects, Jim has written The Law
Enforcement Handbook, now in its fourth edition. This handbook is
used as a standard reference by police officers across the U.S. and
Canada and is listed on Amazon.ca. He has also written many
newspaper and magazine articles that have appeared in national
media under his own name or those of his clients.
3. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 2
A Fortune magazine editor once observed that “if you
Nothing a CEO want to analyze a corporation, read its financial
says or does is statements. If you want to plumb its soul, talk to its chief
executive.”
personal—it’s all
Taking the argument further, if the brand is intended to
part of the brand present the company’s soul to the world, it can be argued
that the CEO is the brand, or, at the very least, a critical
component in its creation and management. In today’s
crisis-prone environment, the CEO and senior executive
team are personally responsible for the brand, not just in
selecting and managing the people who develop and
protect it, but also by their own behavior and personal
standards.
In many ways, the CEO, whether past and present,
personifies the corporation and presents its values to the
world. When people think about Microsoft, they think of Bill
Gates; Apple is Stephen Jobs; Berkshire Hathaway is
Warren Buffett; Oracle is Larry Ellison; Sun Microsystems is
Scott McNealy, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is still
Branding helps Martha Stewart, despite a few months’ absence from her
customers to executive responsibilities at government request.
make buying “Everything a CEO says and does is no longer personal. It is
attributed to the company,” says Shelly Lazarus, Ogilvy &
decisions without Mather chair and former CEO.
doing extensive Customers
research As a result, fairly or not, many potential customers and
investors feel about these companies the same way they
feel about their founders and senior executives, whatever
their current earnings or product initiatives. And, as the
Martha Stewart example proves, a strong brand image can,
4. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 3
over the longer term, trump even the direst personal
Customers’ circumstances, up to and including incarceration.
feelings about a In a period of increasingly Internet-driven price
competition and product commoditization, the executive
company are
brand can only get more important as a way of bridging
strongly the growing disconnect between consumers and the
corporations trying to win their business.
influenced by
One of the key benefits of branding is that it assists the
their view of the consumer to draw positive conclusions about a company
person in charge and its products or services without having to do the
extensive research necessary to make an informed
decision. In most cases, potential customers do not have
the means or expertise to understand the technical or
quality claims of a particular brand.
But even in the earliest stages of the buying process, they
can narrow their range of choices by brand: if they’re
looking for a very high quality pen, they’ll immediately
think of a Montblanc or Monte Cristo, without any
knowledge of either’s current product offerings; if they’re
looking for a reliable passenger car, they’ll often trot off to
the nearest Honda dealership as their first order of
business; if a devoted husband wants to buy his wife
jewelry for their anniversary, Tiffany’s is likely one of the
first retailers he’ll visit.
These brands attract immediate interest because of
costumer perceptions that have been assiduously
developed and managed over years, if not decades. It’s not
the specific product or service that is the motivator, it’s the
customer’s feelings about the company that launch the
buying process and influence the ultimate decision. Those
feelings are significantly affected by the buyer’s perception
of the man or woman who’s running the company.
5. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 4
“Despite the size and complexity of modern corporations,
the person in charge still sets the tone, defines the style,
becomes the company’s public face,” says Fortune
magazine.
Perhaps the most obvious example of this simple truth is
Martha Stewart. Her phenomenal success has been built on
The CEO’s marketing her own (alleged) lifestyle as a brand. She’s
convinced millions of consumers that sharing some small
reputation affects
facet of her daily existence by using the products she
stock market markets or recommends is the path to happiness. CEO
branding can’t get much more personal than that.
performance
Investors
Executive branding offers an opportunity to humanize the
face of the corporation, not only to existing and potential
customers, but also to such critical stakeholders as
employees and investors.
In some respects, capital markets behave in much the same
way as consumer markets, because both involve making
buying decisions. Surveys have repeatedly shown that
companies that have a CEO at the helm who is well known
and highly regarded tend to perform better in the stock
markets of the world.
David Larcker, professor of accounting at the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania, has calculated
that a 10% positive change in a CEO’s reputation results in
a 24% increase in the company’s market capitalization.
In his book CEO Capital: A Guide to Building CEO
Reputation and Company Success, Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross
said that the business decision-makers he interviewed
“reported that nearly fifty percent of a company's
reputation is attributable to a CEO's reputation. This is not
6. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 5
strictly an American phenomenon. In both Europe and Asia,
we found that CEO reputation plays a large role in how
companies are perceived.
“Stakeholders are paying more attention to the comings
and goings of CEOs than ever before. For better or worse,
A media interview people view the chief executive as a company surrogate
and as the embodiment of the company's soul.” Again, like
is an Fortune, Gaines-Ross considers the behavior of the CEO to
opportunity—not offer insights into a company’s soul.
a threat Reaching out
That perception can offer an enormous competitive
advantage to those business leaders who choose to seize
it. But many executives don’t take advantage of the low-
cost, high-yield opportunity that executive
communications offers to enhance their brands. For
example, a study showed that Canadian CEOs regarded
the news media as the greatest threat to a company's
reputation. This attitude ignores the simple truth that the
media can do a great deal to enhance their reputations if
their media relations activities are managed strategically
within a comprehensive executive communications plan.
Too often, however, executives make excuses for not
reaching out to, or at the very least, responding with
sensitivity to media requests. Some cite time constraints,
others take the defeatist view that the outcome will
inevitably be negative so “Why bother?” There are even a
few who argue that handling the media is the exclusive
responsibility of their PR, IR or corporate communications
staffers, declaring “That’s what I’m paying them for.”
Unfortunately, whether these leaders like it or not, if they’re
senior executives of public companies they are, by
7. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 6
definition, “public figures”, with all that phrase implies. Just
as Brangelina, Tom and Britney are closely watched
everyday by the entertainment media, today’s CEOs—their
public performances at AGMs, their presentations to
analysts, their interviews on Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN and
BNN—are all grist for the mill of 24/7 media coverage.
Fears and doubts sometimes arise because senior
executives simply don’t understand how the media work.
Being granted the Certainly, there are a few journalists around who are
resentful of successful business leaders and, at heart, anti-
opportunity to capitalist, but the vast majority, particularly in the business
state your case media, are looking not only for a good story today, but for
an enduring relationship that will deliver a steady flow of
publicly is a gift publishable material. That’s what gets them regular bylines
and good story placement, or, in the case of broadcasters,
frequent airtime. Since reporters don’t have subpoena
powers to force you to submit to their questions, on
balance they need you more than you need them. And they
know it.
But they won’t be sloughed off to subordinates. They want
to hear it from the CEO personally. To them, a story has
much more weight—and impresses their bosses in the
newsroom far more—if it quotes the CEO rather than the
Manager, Media Relations or the Director, Corporate
Communications. Having apparent easy access to the CEO
of a major corporation increases their brand value to their
editors. As a result, unless the CEO has dumped tons of
toxic waste into the local water supply or been caught
cavorting lasciviously with an admin assistant on YouTube,
most of the interview questions will be "softballs," such as
"How did you achieve such encouraging growth despite
the economic slowdown?”
8. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 7
Correcting misinformation
You might even get a chance to answer any criticisms
based on misinformation that have entered the public
Unless you’ve domain: “Some people say that you didn’t move quickly
doing the perp enough to deal with [the crisis du jour, in the eyes of the
media]. How do you respond to those people?”
walk, business Opportunities like this to state your case to a national
media coverage is audience should be seen for what they are: gifts.
But what happens if you are faced with the kinds of tough
likely to be questions that keep CEOs awake at night? With some
positive careful planning and review, virtually all of them can be
anticipated and answered satisfactorily, particularly when,
as often happens, they are grounded in misunderstanding
or ignorance. The key is to encourage your subordinates to
come up in advance with the worst questions that anyone
might ask and then craft careful but honest answers that
emphasize the positive things you’re doing. For example, if
you know you’re going to get media calls or interview
requests about a product recall, call in your lawyers and
communications staffers ahead of time to draft an apology
to customers and a detailed statement of all the actions
you’re taking to remedy the situation. People understand
that even major corporations can have problems every
now and then; what they can’t forgive is evasion, arrogance
and insensitivity.
And, I would argue, despite the appearances to the
contrary inspired by memories of Jeff Skilling of Enron and
Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco doing the perp walk, the
overwhelming amount of business coverage is positive, or
at least neutral. Certainly, if a CEO is taken away in
handcuffs, that’s hardly a plus for the company that
employs him or her. But it’s the kind of media event that
9. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 8
sticks in the memory for years; most executives forget how
often, for example, Steve Jobs generates hundreds of
millions of dollars worth of free publicity every time Apple
holds a major product launch—the iPad being the most
recent example. And his company’s stock price usually
takes huge jump in the post-launch days as well.
In times of crisis, In addition, of course, the directors and shareholders want
to see the CEO aggressively promoting the organization at
credibility is
every opportunity to increase the long-term value of their
everything holdings.
Perhaps even more important, a CEO’s good personal
reputation and strong brand can be money in the bank of
media goodwill when a crisis hits, particularly when it
involves significant property damage, personal injury or
even death. When a credible CEO says the company is
doing everything it can to mitigate the consequences of
the catastrophe, he or she is believed by the media and the
public. Whatever steps are being taken will be reported in
a positive way as a sincere effort to make things right. A
CEO with a dodgy reputation uttering exactly the same
words can expect to be greeted with suspicion and
disbelief, and any remedial measures he announces will be
deemed unresponsive and insufficient.
Employees
But the CEO needs to have a strong personal brand for
more reasons than supporting stock prices and managing
occasional crises. On a day-to-day basis, employees want
to work for a boss who is universally respected and who is
out there telling the world that they’re part of a great
company. “The biggest single influence on a culture is the
company’s boss,” says The Economist. “Employees set
their behavior by the pole star at the top.”
10. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 9
"I'm the airline's most visible employee, and its most
powerful,” Gordon Bethune, the former CEO of Continental
Airlines, once said. “When something goes right—or
wrong—the employees and the customers know exactly
where to look for an explanation."
The CEO brand The CEO brand not only communicates what the company
encourages stands for to shareholders and customers but it is also a
way to inspire employees to do their jobs in ways that
employees to live advance the corporate agenda.
the corporate Awareness of purposeful, credible and moral behavior on
the part of the CEO will foster the same kind of behavior
brand from employees; anything less will lead to a steady erosion
of values and job performance. The CEO brand encourages
employees to live and expand the broader corporate
brand.
"Thousands of employees know me only by reputation, so
in a real sense, my reputation is everything," says David
Pottruck, former CEO of Charles Schwab
As Wal-Mart’s executive team has learned, it’s also
important that the CEO present the same face to
employees as he or she does to the public. For years, the
company has been subject to allegations in the media and
the blogosphere that it hires illegal aliens, mistreats
cleaning workers, offers substandard employee benefits,
and ignores community concerns about the impact of new
stores on local businesses. A few years ago, Wal-Mart’s
image improved considerably when then-CEO Lee Scott
strove to project an image of Wal-Mart as fair-minded and
sensitive to the communities in which it operated. And--for
a while--it worked.
11. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 10
Show everyone But then, as Wikipedia reports, “on February 17, 2006, a
headline in the business section of the New York Times
the same side— reported a leak of Scott's internal website, "Lee's Garage".
particularly The site had started as a means of communicating with his
far-flung managers but was now accessible by all
employees employees. A disgruntled manager allegedly disclosed the
site to the Wal-Mart Watch website, which reprinted the
article. The article portrays a side of Scott different from
what he conveys in public. He apparently was sarcastic
toward managers who questioned the company's benefits
and other policies, labeling them as disloyal.” Scott’s image
never fully recovered and he eventually gave up the CEO
role.
Claiming Control
ownership of an One way to launch an executive communications strategy
is to focus your initial branding efforts on controlled
issue
environments that allow you to enhance your profile and
develop your messages in relatively comfortable settings.
This might involve setting up a series of monthly or
quarterly coffee talks and town hall meetings with
employees to build the personal brand internally.
Externally, it might be useful to arrange for a series of
between four and six public appearances annually before
receptive audiences such as the Executives’ Club of
Chicago, the Detroit Economic Club, The Conference
Board, and Town Hall Los Angeles in the United States or,
in Canada, the Economic Club and the Canadian Club of
Toronto.
12. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 11
At their events, these organizations treat their guest
speakers well, attract influential business and political
leaders whom you want to know, and can be helpful in
securing local or even national media coverage if that is
desired. In addition, being acknowledged as someone
worth listening to by such prestigious organizations
supports the quality of the CEO brand itself.
Of course, this also means that the CEO speaker must have
something to say that is interesting and insightful. Such
speaking engagements are not opportunities to launch new
products or brag about your latest financial results. The
CEO needs to work with communications staffers or
external consultants to develop a theme and prepared a
You can’t shut well-researched and -reasoned argument that deals with an
interesting issue that not only contributes to public debate
down the
but also advances the corporate interest in some way.
conversation Examples might be the need for less (or more) government
regulation in the CEO’s industry; less (or more) support for
about your existing training programs to address skills shortages; less
company in (or more) reliance on H1-B visa workers; less (or more)
government involvement in private-sector export
blogosphere—but initiatives, etc.
you can The Conversation
participate In addition to media relations and public appearances, a
whole new element in executive communications grown
virtually exponentially in recent years: social media.
This development has put an end to any hope that a
corporation might have had of “controlling the brand.”
13. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 12
There are millions of conversations going on in the
blogosphere at any given moment, and hundreds, if not
thousands, might well be about you or your corporation.
You have two choices: to take part in the conversation or
to stay away. If you choose to stay away, however, don’t
imagine for a moment that you’ve shut down the
conversation. It’s still going on without you, whether you
like it or not.
Says social media expert Joel Postman, author of
SocialCorp: “Companies with CEO bloggers are very well
respected in the blogosphere. Having a CEO blogger
positions the company as progressive and genuinely
interested in the voice of the marketplace and can
Manage your contribute to a perception of the CEO as someone who is
truly engaged and willing to speak directly to influencers.”
investment in
The trick, however, is to include social media as part of the
CEO branding broader executive communications plan. It is not enough to
through open a Twitter or Facebook account and post occasionally
when the mood strikes. How the executive blog should be
diversification used must be the subject of careful consideration with
input from all the internal stakeholders, including
marketing, legal, IR, PR, HR and others. If you’re going to
join the conversation you’ve got to know what you want to
say, what you can say and, most importantly, why you
want to say it.
Balance
When you accept that the CEO is a brand, the question
then becomes “What balance must be struck to ensure that
the company benefits from having a well-regarded public
figure at the helm, without creating an over-reliance which
could lead to new challenges when the CEO inevitably
departs from the scene in a few years’ time. The answer is
14. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 13
to manage the company’s investment in the CEO brand like
you would any prudent investment portfolio: through
diversification.
Assuming that you have an effective corporate succession
plan in place, ensure that all of the likely contenders begin
to develop their own brands well in advance of any
anticipated leadership change. Establish an internal
speakers’ bureau if you haven’t got one already, to channel
the speaking invitations that come into the CEO to
executives who might one day take over the top chair. Not
only will this give them solid experience in taking on public
engagements, but it will also help them to develop
relationships with influencers in many different areas that
Personality is could be important in future.
important to the Personality
brand—but There was a time in the not-too-distant past when simply
being the CEO was enough to guarantee that the holder of
customer that august office was honest, credible and deserving of
knowledge is the confidence of his or her shareholders, customers and
the public at large. In the wake of the many scandals and
critical crises of recent years, the fallibility of CEOs has been well-
established and their integrity increasingly called into
question. The title no longer carries with it instant
credibility and universal respect.
On the other hands, leaders like Jobs, Branson, Stewart,
Chambers, McNealy and many others have influenced the
fates of their corporations through the sheer force of their
individual personalities.
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Does this mean a CEO must rely on personality to create
an effective brand?
A few years ago, William J. Holstein, then Editor in Chief of
Chief Executive Magazine, considered that very question in
a survey he commissioned.
His conclusion?
"In the cases of Steve Jobs and certainly Richard Branson,
it works fabulously well for them. But the majority of CEOs
rely on teams and processes and are reluctant to inject
their own personalities. The common thread is that … top
brand leaders have a knack for what the customer wants,
sometimes even before the customer knows it.
That instinct may ultimately be more important than
whether they choose to use their own personalities or not.”
The lesson here is that just because a CEO’s personality is
not as extroverted as Jobs’ or Branson’s, that doesn’t mean
that he needs to try to become something that he is not in
order to achieve success for his corporation. At the end of
the day, it’s still all about the customers—what they want
and how to give it to them profitably.
But it does suggest that those executives who make the
effort to, in Holstein’s words, “inject their own
personalities” into the leadership process will do much to
create and sustain their personal brand.
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Conclusion
To sum up, in today’s intense business environment, CEOs
have brands that must be managed as carefully as other
corporate assets. For this reason, they need to build their
personal brands by implementing executive
communications programs that enhance their own profiles
while at the same time supporting their corporate brands
in the eyes of customers, investors, employees and other
stakeholders. Depending on time constraints and individual
circumstances, these programs could include internal and
external speaking engagements, pro-active media and
analyst relations plans, executive blogs and other social
media initiatives, article placements in selected media, and
many other activities.
Through such efforts, already successful CEOs with insight
and vision can do even more to provide the leadership
needed to maintain and enhance the growth and
profitability for their companies. And those still on the path
to ultimate success for their companies can take steps now
that will enable them to reach their destinations much
sooner.
17. White paper | January 2010 | CEO is the Brand | 16
For more information, contact:
James Bailey, Principal
Broadgate Communications
305 Ridgewood Road
Toronto, Ontario
M1C 2X3
Telephone: 416.505.5617
Email: jgbailey@rogers.com
www.linkedin.com/in/jgbailey100
or
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, President
Shikatani Lacroix
387 Richmond Street East
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 1P6
Telephone: 416-367-1999
Email: jplacroix@sld.com
www.sld.com