Chapter 2

Corporate communication

2.1 Defining corporate communication

The word corporate originates from the Latin word corpus, meaning
“body”. Forming into a body means “corporate”. Corporate communica-
tion therefore means the perspective of the bodily organization as a whole.
It is about unified way of looking at internal and external communications.
Corporate communication aims to create, protect, or change an image of
an organization. It is to influence public opinion about an organization.
Corporate communication is the corporate behaviour of the organization in
its market spheres. It is a corporate identity turned into communication
practice.
Corporate communication is a communication that is implemented in a
long term with the aim to create, protect or change an image.
Corporate communication cannot be defined or understood without
defining public relations and without mentioning the two pioneers’ names –
Ivy Lee and Edward Berneys – who shaped communication between the
organization and the masses, on one hand, and with media, on the other.
The Public Relations Society of America defines the precursor of corpo-
rate communication, public relations (PR), as a “strategic communication
process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations
and their publics”. Ivy Lee and Edward Berneys are the two main exponents
of PR.

Case Study 2.1  Originators of public relations

Ivy Ledbetter Lee
Ivy Lee graduated with a degree in economics from Princeton
University. After graduation, he decided to try his hand at law
school but dropped out after the first semester. He then jumped into

DOI: 10.4324/9781003048596-3
 Corporate communication  33

the journalism arena and worked for three years for publications
such as the New York Journal, the New York Times, and the New
York World.
By 1903, Lee decided to change careers and entered the PR field. He
started by working for a group named the ‘Citizens Union’, whose
purpose was to monitor the actions of the various political parties. It
didn’t take Lee long to decide that there was a severe lack of commu-
nication and honesty between corporations and the public. Partnering
with a man by the name of George Parker, Lee opened the PR firm,
Parker and Lee. It was only the third PR firm to be opened in the
United States.
The firm operated on the ideals of accuracy, authenticity, and inter-
est. Accuracy meant that the information the firm provided was true
and honest. Authenticity meant that information given by the firm
was real and genuine. Interest meant that the firm worked to keep the
public intrigued by the information provided.
In an attempt to put his ideas of how PR should be handled in writ-
ing, Lee issued a statement to the media titled the “Declaration of
Principles”. This statement contained the basic obligations that PR
practitioners had to the media and the public. Of these, Lee empha-
sized the importance of a thorough explanation of an organization’s
activities to the media in hopes of improving the relationship between
the two. The “Declaration of Principles” was his most important con-
tribution to the development of modern-day PR and corporate
communication.
Lee’s ideas on the interaction among PR practitioners, the media,
and the public are best exemplified by the manner in which he han-
dled a fatal accident that occurred with the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Instead of agreeing with company executives to release no informa-
tion on the accident to the media, Lee convinced them to do things his
way. He issued a statement to the media, informing them of all infor-
mation he had concerning the accident. This statement is considered
the first-ever press release: a statement issued to the media giving fac-
tual details of an occurrence. Lee even went one step further in his
quest for complete openness, and he arranged transportation to the
wreck site for interested reporters so that they could see the wreckage
first-hand. Along with that, he also made sure that company execu-
tives were available to answer questions and speak to the media. This
may be termed as the first media briefing. The positive reaction from
the media and the public that Lee and the railroad received led other
companies to follow suit. This led to a much better understanding
with the media and, in turn, with the public.
34  Corporate communication

Edward Bernays
Edward Bernays contributed a great deal to the evolution of modern-
day PR and corporate communication. Bernays graduated from
Cornell University with a degree in agriculture. After graduation, he
took a job as a salesman for agriculture-related products. Quickly he
realized that it wasn’t the career for him and chose to enter the jour-
nalism field. Upon the start of World War I, Bernays volunteered to
work for the Committee on Public Information. His job there was to
gather public support for the war by using various propaganda tech-
niques, techniques that were designed to appeal to the emotion of
individuals and sway their opinion. He loved this type of work. After
the end of World War I, Bernays opened a PR firm with Doris
Fleischman, whom he married later.
He was the nephew of famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
Bernays was greatly influenced by Freud’s work, and this, in turn,
affected his beliefs and actions in PR. Berneys contributed signifi-
cantly when he worked for the American Tobacco Company. His
approach focused on advocacy and persuasion to change people’s
perceptions and behaviours. In the Torches for Freedom campaign, he
demonstrated how a simple publicity campaign could generate public
discussion about certain customs and taboos. Bernays defined public
relations as an applied social science in which a person could formu-
late campaigns and messages to change people’s thinking and behav-
iours. “Bernays viewed public relations as a two-way street that
adjusted to information and persuasion. He applied his famous
uncle’s, Sigmund Freud's, psychological theories to the systematic
alteration of public opinion” (Colf, 2007).

Corporate communication over time has emerged as a distinct field of study.

Some definitions by renowned authors follow.

Van Riel defines it as

Corporate Communication is an instrument of management by

means of which all consciously used forms of internal and external
communication are harmonized as effectively and as efficiently as
possible’, with the overall objective of creating a favourable basis
for relationships with groups upon which the company is
dependent.

Corporate communication, thus involves a whole range “managerial”

activity, such as planning, coordinating, and counselling the CEO
 Corporate communication  35

and senior managers in the organization as well as ‘tactical’ skills

involved in producing and disseminating messages to relevant
stakeholders.
Joep Cornellisen, in his book Corporate Communications, Theory and
Practice, defines

[c]orporate communication [as] a management function that offers

a framework for the effective coordination of all internal and exter-
nal communication with the overall purpose of establishing and
maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder groups upon
which the organization is dependent.

Peter Jackson in 1987 defined corporate communication as “the total

communication activity generated by a company to achieve its planned
objectives”.
Corporate communication is the message issued by a corporate
organization/a body/an institute to its publics. “Publics” can be both
internal (e.g., employees) and external (e.g., media, investors, govern-
ment etc.).

2.2 Concept of corporate communication

Corporate communication is used for promotion, publicity and mainly
engaging in the affairs of the organization’s internal and external publics,
that is all the stakeholders, namely investors, media, and the society. It
involves a holistic approach applied to communication by the organization
which works in the interest of the organization. It is all about managing the
affairs of the organization.
Corporate communication is generally acknowledged as the best possible
method of building a long-term corporate identity. A well-articulated and
consistent corporate communication strategy, along with larger advertising
and PR campaigns, reinforces a positive image of a company.
This practice has helped businesses, corporations, and even start-ups to
develop and sustain corporate brand identities. Well-strategized and timely
corporate communication initiatives help companies to limit negative fall-
outs, crisis scenarios, or controversial statements by business executives.
Corporate communication creates corporate identity, which is related
efficiency of corporate behaviour in all internal and external areas of com-
munication. The spheres of communication such as advertisement, public
relations, sales development, public opinion, research, and internal com-
munication remain in focus. The aim is to form institution esteem by devel-
oping an institution’s image with a target audience by generating public
opinion. Another aim is to create and develop attitude changes in the target
audience.
36  Corporate communication

2.2.1 Basic functions of corporate communication

To support internal and external activities (organization function)
To develop the identity of institution and product management (persua-
sion function)
To inform internal and external target audiences (informing function)
To socialize individuals as good citizens of the institution (integration
function)

2.2.2 Responsibilities of corporate communication

The responsibilities of corporate communication are the following:

• To flesh out the profile of the “company behind the brand” (corporate
branding)
• To minimize discrepancies between the company’s desired identity and
brand features
• To delegate tasks in communication
• To formulate and execute effective procedures to make decisions on
communication matters
• To mobilize internal and external support for corporate objectives
• To coordinate with international business firms

Corporate communication is all about building, sustaining, and harnessing

relations with diverse stakeholders. They strive to communicate and main-
tain relations, namely media relations, employee communication, corporate
image management, government relations, corporate advertising, corporate
PR, and brand promotion, namely events and sponsorships, with a view
towards eliciting the desired response from stakeholders in pursing the ful-
filment of corporate goals.
To achieve the goals, the corporate communication practitioner needs to
work on the Trinity or troika – namely, audience, message, and medium – to
achieve the targets.
The corporate communication function serves as a link between the
management and its different stakeholders; hence, it must ensure responsi-
bility and responsiveness to the best interests of the organization and the
stakeholders.

2.3 Evolution of corporate communication

2.3.1 Shift from PR to corporate communication
The communication industry landscape has undergone a major shift over
the last few years. Traditionally, the work of PR agencies has been to
draft and execute media releases, client management, and media relations.
 Corporate communication  37

But now they are increasingly being used for customer relations, strate-
gic  communication, crisis management, and brand building, thereby
evolving into a high-level management profession called corporate
communication.
The corporate communication environment mainly came into force over
the last 150 years ago when industrialization happened and mass produc-
tion and mass consumption started. It was then that the need to publicize
the product in order to sell was started. Also, it was then that the competi-
tion in the market came into existence. The organizations started catering
to the stakeholders.
With these developments, the need for professional communication offi-
cers/managers also emerged, who could handle, manage/look after publicity
and promotions of their products and their organizations.
Until 1900, the industrial corporations hired publicists, press agents,
and propagandists for communication promotions. Such agents often
exaggerated or even lied when doing publicity and promotions. It is
because of this that they were termed as liaising agents, and PR as such got
a negative connotation. Such exaggerations of false publicities in those
periods happened because the organizations were not answerable to any-
one. In lieu of the lack of any control, rules, or regulations, the famous
remark which can be recalled is that of William Henry Vanderbilt, head of
New York Central Railroad; when he wanted to expand his operations
and people cautioned him against the uproars by the public, he remarked,
“The public be damned”.
By the 1920s, the organizations started advertising agents for these pur-
poses. They slowly started controlling internal as well as external commu-
nication matters of the organizations. Particular positions for handling
communication were created in the organizations. In contemporary envi-
ronments, they can be called as communication executives, human resources
executives, or public relations officers.
Over time, disciplined marketing and PR fields emerged because organi-
zations had ascertained that issues of public concern could not be ignored
or sidelined. Corporate communication covers the concepts of both market-
ing and PR. Corporate communications describes all those activities that
corporations undertake to build mutually beneficial relationships with the
public. As a result, communication affairs, such as media relations, issue
management, advertising, and marketing, came into existence. They are
now put under integrated marketing communications.
PR is the predecessor of corporate communication, which grew out of
necessity. Over time, corporates have had diversified stakeholders and mul-
tiple levels and channels of communication. These developments required
the companies to communicate in many situations at multiple levels which
they had not confronted earlier. The constant need to respond needed a
dedicated resource who could manage the flow of communication to and
from the organization.
38  Corporate communication

The complexity of structures which evolved outside agencies helped

companies meet the communication demands. It started with experts like
Ivy Lee, Edward Berneys, and Daniel Edelman, to name a few, who were
also responsible for formulating declarations and ethical guidelines for the
profession, thereby helping in establishing a positive space for PR as a
profession.
PR agencies thereafter came into being for handling accounts of corpo-
rate organizations and started charging hefty fees for the shielding the work
they did for the organizations. These professionals came to be called “spin
doctors”. This era was termed the “Flak Era”.
However, these agencies could handle only part of the communication of
an organization. They could not take care of their day-to-day activities of
smooth flows of communication between an organization and its constitu-
encies. Therefore, in-house communication teams were needed to work
with the agencies. The task of managing communications between an orga-
nization, on one hand, and the public and stakeholders, on the other, in the
20th century was defined by PR and marketing functions.
By the 1970s, the business environment required skilled professionals to
handle even the internal PR functions supplemented by outside consultants/
agencies. Furthermore, the rise of special interest groups and environmen-
tally oriented groups forced companies to increase their communication
expertise within and outside.
Many organizations around the world experienced a shift from being in
markets characterized by rigid systems of mass production and consump-
tion to more flexible and increasingly competitive marketplaces. This,
together with a greater call from society for “corporate citizenship”,
pushed many organizations into stakeholder management functions and
strategies.
With growing technology and crises and with multiple numbers of stake-
holders, removing the ever-rising doubts and misconceptions among stake-
holders became important. For example,

[o]ne of such case of misconception occurred during the ‘Arab Oil

Boycott & Embargo’ in 1970s when the entire oil industry came under
fire as consumers had to face long hours in queues for gasoline.
Consumers had started feeling that the company is making huge prof-
its. To remove the misunderstandings, Mobil oil developed its own PR
department under Herb Schnertz, who revolutionized the field by solv-
ing communication problems with strategies that no one had thought
of before. He made use of the print media available and filled the spaces
in New York Times and the Wall Street Journal once or twice a week,
attacking the misconceptions among people. He also put out advertise-
ments explaining the reasons for boycott and embargo,

thereby resulting in organizations’ profit.

 Corporate communication  39

Case Study 2.2  Arab oil embargo, 1973

Arab oil embargo, temporary cessation of oil shipments from the Middle
East to the United States and the Netherlands, imposed by oil-producing Arab
countries in 1973 in retaliation for U.S. and Dutch support of Israel during the
Yom Kippur War.The Arab oil embargo was the first oil-supply disruption to
lead to major price increases and a worldwide energy crisis. The embargo
caused the United States and western European countries to reassess their
dependence upon Middle Eastern oil. It also led to far-reaching changes in
domestic energy policy, including increased domestic oil production in the
United States and a greater emphasis on improving energy efficiency.
On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack against
Israel on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. Egyptian and Syrian forces
made early gains across the Suez Canal and Golan Heights, but Israel
quickly turned the tide, and within a few weeks Israeli troops had pushed
forward into Egyptian and Syrian territory. In an attempt to pressure
Western countries to force Israel to withdraw from seized lands, Arab
members of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
announced sharp production cuts and then banned the sale of oil to the
United States and the Netherlands. Until that time, OPEC, which was
formed in 1960, had kept a relatively low profile, mainly negotiating with
international oil companies for better terms for member countries.
Enmity toward the United States among OPEC members had risen in
the years preceding the embargo as a result of actions taken by U.S.
President Richard M. Nixon to boost the sluggish American economy. For
example, Nixon ordered the release of the dollar from the gold standard,
which had been in place since the end of World War II. The resulting
devaluation of the currency led to financial losses on the part of oil-pro-
ducing countries, whose revenues consisted largely of U.S. dollars.
Enormous increases in Western oil consumption – more than doubling
over approximately the preceding 25 years – also contributed to the
severity of the crisis, as people in the developed world had become accus-
tomed to cheap gasoline and relatively stable prices.
After the imposition of the embargo, the price of a barrel of oil qua-
drupled by 1974. As a result, the United States experienced its first fuel
shortage and first significant increase in gasoline prices since World War
II. In response to the embargo, the U.S. government imposed fuel rationing
and lowered speed limits to reduce consumption. Nixon seriously consid-
ered military action to seize oil fields in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Abu
Dhabi as a last resort. However, negotiations in Washington, D.C., led to
the lifting of the embargo in March 1974.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-oil-embargo
40  Corporate communication

The whole process led to the creation of first corporate communication

department. The rest of the organizations followed suit. Since then, corpo-
rate communication functions have continued to evolve and meet the emerg-
ing demands of business, regulatory bodies, and social environments.
Going through socio-economic developments, and the practical require-
ments to coordinate and draw communications disciplines together; previ-
ously falling under marketing and PR headings were increasingly integrated
into the corporate communications function. Corporate communication is
the management function that has come to function in the stakeholder era
and catered for the need to build and manage relationships with stake-
holder groups on which the organization is economically and socially
dependent.
The shift from PR to corporate communication is evident when we see
the PR which was related only to media relations and client management is
not much relevant when we have the organizations having multi-pronged
approach to deal and indulge in increasingly complicate market-oriented
strategies, namely customer relations, crisis management, employee rela-
tions, brand building, or preserving the culture and the core values of the
organization. It is corporate communication which is playing a robust role
in such environments.
So there has been a strategic shift in the way things are to be dealt with.
Also, various scams, scandals, and crises in organizations have led these
companies to evolve and follow well-laid-out strategic plans in their various
communication fronts. They also need to have full disclosures, transpar-
ency, and exhibit corporate responsibility.
Furthermore, the technology has forced them to proliferate online com-
munication vehicles having web portals, instant messaging services,
Facebook pages, blogs, and Twitter accounts. Integrated communication
techniques are at the base of any communication in an organization today.
Digital mediums have added to the comprehensive environment for those
in Gen X, Y, and Z who use social media platforms to voice their opinions
in their own different perspectives. Brands today need to constantly engage
with stakeholders. The role of social influencers, for example bloggers, ana-
lysts, specialists, experts, and stakeholders who hold high positions and are
held in esteem, cannot be ignored. Brand messages today need to be far
subtler and yet compelling. No one strategy or line of thought can be
applied for long. It has to constantly be innovative and creative. The num-
bers of likes and shares on social media play the marketing game.
Another important aspect is the speed with which you need to engage
with the audience and stakeholders not only at the time of crisis but 24/7 as
well. These developments have brought organizations closer to and more
approachable by the masses. They engage with their audience in real time
without any filters as the environments become much more transparent.
The shift from PR to corporate communication is therefore complex,
competitive, creative, strategic, engaging, and exciting.
 Corporate communication  41

Table 2.1  Difference Between Public Relations and Corporate Communication

S No Public Relations Corporate Communication

1 Older responsible sister Younger free-spirited sister
2 Directed towards media Directed towards publics
3 Crafts stories Tells stories
4 Promotes the image Protects the image
5 Related to external Related to internal and external
communication communication

2.3.2 Differentiating PR and corporate communication

Coming from common origins, PR and corporate communication have
overlapping functions. No doubt they are referred to as “Kissing Cousins of
Communication”. However, some differences between the two may be dis-
tinguished as shown in Table 2.1.
In corporate communications, the thrust is on building a unified and dis-
tinct image of the corporate as a whole. Corporate communication is all
about “telling the organization’s story”. It entails the responsibility to the
business, to its employees, to its shareholders and to its customers. Corporate
communication roles span brand awareness, as well as sales growth, to
effectively market companies. To succeed, they must be more focused on
delivering multimedia content and creating integrated campaigns.

2.4 Evolution of the concept of corporate

communication

Between 1800 and 2000, the concept of corporate communication

developed and evolved out of contextual frameworks which shaped it
into its current form:

Societal Evolution: Feudal Society > Capitalist Society > Democratic

Society
Environmental Evolution: Industrialization > Market Forces >
Competitive Choices > Open Trade > Marketing Tactics > Public
Opinion > Public Relations > Corporate Communication
Evolution of Thought: Public Be Damned > Public Not to Be
Ignored> Public to Be Informed > Public Be Influenced/Mutual
Understanding > Public Be Accommodated/Mutual Adjustment
> Public Be Engaged
Evolution of Concept: Liaising > Press Agentry > Publicists > Public
Relations > Corporate Communication
42  Corporate communication

Evolution of Phases: Publicity Phase (creating awareness, building

recognition of the organization) > Explanatory Phase (more com-
petitive information, action, and policy) > Mutual Satisfaction
Phase (both are benefitted)
Public Communication: Propaganda > Publicity and Media Relations
> Publicity, Media Relations, Employee Communication, Investor
Relations, Governmental Relations
Corporate Communication: Organizations asked: How we say/
communicate (e.g. positively) > What should we say (e.g. high-
lights projected about what they are)? > What should we do
(e.g. performance, data, what they are doing)? > How should we
do (how you get noticed, e.g., corporate social responsibility
[CSR])
Evolution of the Message: Truth Not Important > Highlight Truth
> Highlight Untruth > Manipulate Truth
Evolution of the Media Tools: Press Releases > Press Releases,
Media Briefings, Use of Radio and TV Features, Social Media
Content: Blogs, Vlogs, Twitter, Instagram

2.5 Overlap among PR, corporate communication, and

marketing communication
To marketing practitioners and academics, PR is one of the four Ps – prod-
uct, place, price, and promotion – which make up a successful marketing
campaign. The use of public relations to promote goods and services is
sometimes called marketing public relations (MPR). MPR helps create
awareness of a product – especially new technological developments,
whereby a consumer needs to know the technicalities of a product before
they can distinguish between various bands and make a purchase. In order
to educate a customer, often PR activities may be the right way for creating
new leads. In competitive fields, such as FMCG, publicity can be crucial to
success (Table 2.2).
Public relations activities support marketing efforts by creating leads
through gaining editorial coverage in trade and consumer media and pro-
ducing sales brochures. While the marketing team may create special offers
and sales promotions, the publicity team will be seeking media coverage and
arranging launch events. Together, they can create worldwide successes.
Recent forms of marketing, such as cause-related marketing and relation-
ship marketing, which are similar to elements of PR, are blurring the dis-
tinctions. Marketing is defined as the management process responsible for
identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer requirements profitably.
The two central words which need to be understood are consumer and
Table 2.2  Evolution of the concept of corporate communication

Areas of Evolution 1800–1899 1900–1940 1940–1990 1990–2019

Societal evolution Domination of church Capitalist: industrialists Democratic: elected Digital
feudal: landlords and and labour class representative
peasants governments
Environmental Industrialization Market forces leading Marketing tactics, Public relations and corporate
evolution to competition public opinion communication
generation
Evolution of Public be damned Public not to be Public to be Public be influenced/mutual
thought ignored informed understanding, and public be
accommodated > public be
engaged
Evolution of Liaising Press agentry Publicists Public relations and corporate
concept communication
Evolution of phases Publicity Phase Explanatory phase Mutual satisfaction Mutual adjustment phase
phase
Public Propaganda Publicity Media relations Stakeholder communication,
communication public affairs

Corporate communication  43
Corporate How we say What we say What should we do How should we do
communication
Evolution of Truth not important Highlight the truth Highlight truth and Manipulate and spin, fake
message untruth, spin information
Evolution of media Print media: press Radio bulletins, Use of radio and TV Social media sites: blogs, vlogs,
tools releases, press features Twitter, Instagram
briefings, feature
articles, etc.
44  Corporate communication

profit. Understanding the consumer and producing products or services that

will satisfy the consumer’s needs to the profit of the supplier is the tradi-
tional arena of marketing. There is a clear exchange of money for goods or
services. It is easily measured. However, PR campaigns are often harder to
quantify.
Many organizations, such as the armed services, charities, and local and
central governments, do not have goods or services to sell. But they do have
messages to communicate and deliver. They need to maintain relationships
with all those who may work for them, give time or money, raise com-
plaints, or vote for or against them. These relationships are too complex to
be covered by marketing. This is why commercial companies, who do have
things to sell, also have PR departments.
Kitchen (1997: 28) explains that PR and marketing are two major man-
agement functions within an organization, but how they are organized
depends on managerial perceptions, organizational culture, and historical
precedent. He goes on to say,

“Marketing is concerned with an organisation’s exchange relationships

with customers in which quid pro quo transactions occur. On the other
hand, PR deals with a broader range of publics involved with or affected
by the organization. … Both marketing and PR functions are important
to an organisation. Subsuming PR into marketing delimits organisational
ability to function successfully in highly competitive environments.”
(Kitchen, as quoted in Theaker, 2004, p. 9)

Organizations dealing with FMCGs are more likely than not to have a large
marketing department containing a PR function.
Kotler and Mindak (quoted by Joep Cornellison, 2004, p. 38) articulated
this traditional position by saying that “marketing exists to sense, serve,
and satisfy customer needs a profit”, while ‘public relations exists to pro-
duce goodwill with the company’s various publics so that these publics do
not interfere in the firm’s profit-making ability’. In the 1990s, the discussion
gave rise to the concept of integrated marketing communications, which
suggested that companies could better meet their objectives by combining
the various communication elements. This was defined as “building a syn-
chronised multichannel communication strategy that reaches every market
segment with a single unified message” (Schultz et al. 1992 cited in Kitchen
1997: 231). In theory, all the elements – public relations, advertising, mar-
keting, direct mail, and sales promotion – work best when they are pulling
in the same direction rather than contradicting each other with inconsistent
messages. The concept was given momentum by the downsizing of organi-
zations so that departments were forced to merge and operate under tighter
budgets. Many PR techniques, including media coverage, have far lower
costs than traditional marketing techniques. There was also a convergence
of corporate PR and brand marketing, where it was seen as vital to promote
 Corporate communication  45

the organization as a brand, not only its products. The way in which oil
companies have promoted themselves as environmentally friendly might be
an example of this.
MPR, because it is focused on the marketing of a company’s products
and services, is distinct from “corporate” activities within PR. These corpo-
rate activities, which are sometimes labelled as ‘corporate public relations’
(CPR), involve communication with investors, communities, employees, the
media, and the government.
Marketing involves a range of activities such as distribution, logistics,
pricing, and new-product development besides marketing communications.
Marketing communications involves corporate advertising and mass media
advertising, direct marketing and sales promotion, and product publicity
and sponsorship two of these activities, corporate advertising and product
publicity and sponsorship overlap with public relations. Corporate adver-
tising involves the use of radio, television, cinema, poster, or internet adver-
tising to create or maintain a favourable image of the company and its
management. Although it is a form of advertising, it deals with the “corpo-
rate” image of the company and, as such, is distinct from mass media adver-
tising, which is focused on the company’s products or services to increase
awareness or sales. Product publicity and sponsorship involve activities that
aim to promote and market the company’s products and services. Both sets
of activities draw on techniques and expertise from public relations.
Publicity, in particular, is often achieved through coverage in the news
media. Sponsorship of a cause or an event may also serve both marketing
and corporate objectives. It can not only be tied into promotional pro-
grammes around products and services but can also be used to improve the
company’s image as a whole.
The overlap and complementarity between marketing and PR suggest to
an organization that aligning both disciplines is useful. However, corporate
communication and marketing communication can be distinguished as
noted in Table 2.3.

Table 2.3  D ifference between corporate communication and marketing

communication

S No Corporate Communication Marketing Communication

1 Has multiple stakeholders It has customers
2 Has multiple channels It has defined channels
3 Has variety of types of It has controlled
communication communication
4 It positions an entire It positions a product or a
organization service
5 It has less room for creativity It has room for creativity
6 Needs to be consistent with Needs to be consistent with
corporate identity product attributes
46  Corporate communication

2.5.1 Overlapping activities of marketing and PR

1 Corporate advertising (advertising by a firm in which the company,
rather than its products or services, is emphasized)
2 Direct marketing (direct communication via post, telephone, or email
to customers and prospects) and sales promotions (tactics to engage the
customer, including discounting, coupons, guarantees, free gifts, com-
petitions, vouchers, demonstrations, and bonus commission)
3 Distribution and logistics, pricing, and the development of products
4 CPR (public relations activities towards “corporate” stakeholders,
which excludes customers and prospects in a market) includes issues
management, community relations, investor relations, media relations,
internal communication, and public affairs
5 MPR (the use of what are traditionally seen as PR tools within market-
ing programmes) includes product publicity and sponsorship
6 Mass media advertising (advertising aimed at increasing awareness,
favour, or sales of a company’s products or services)

Case Study 2.3  Marketing Public Relations: ITC Case

Studies

ITC Chaupals

Indian conglomerate ITC Ltd. has five main segments of business: FMCGs,
hotels, paperboards and packaging, agribusiness, and information technol-
ogy. ITC was eatables in 1910 as the Imperial Tobacco of India Company
Limited. It was renamed Indian Tobacco Company Limited in 1970, and
furthermore, in 2001, it became ITC Ltd. It sells 80% of cigarettes in India,
where 275 million people use tobacco products and the total cigarette
market is worth close to US$6 billion (about Rs. 65,000 crores).
As a PR exercise, ITC launched e-chaupal through which computers
and internet access were provided to villagers to learn about better ways
and innovate in the field of irrigation and related areas.
ITC Chaupals enables farmers to directly negotiate the sale of their
product with ITC Limited.
Online access enables farmers to obtain information on mandi prices
and good farming practices and to place orders for agricultural inputs like
seeds and fertilisers. Which helps farmers get better-quality produce and
prices.
There are nearly 6,500 e-chappals in 40,000 villages in 10 states of
India, empowering around 4 million famers.
Source: http://ecoursesonline.iasri.res.in/mod/page/view.php?id=118216
 Corporate communication  47

Sundrop Oil
In 1989, ITC planned to launch cooking oil made of sunflower seeds. ITC
planted PR stories about the potential of sunflower seed oil as a cooking oil
when most of the people were used to only Vanaspati, peanut, or mustard oil.
An environment was created to inform and educate people about the benefits
of oil from sunflower seeds. Business India carried a cover story on the issue,
with articles quoted oil technologists, dieticians, and scientists. Once the stage
was set, a multimedia campaign was launched to introduce “Sundrop” cooking
oil by ITC.

Olay
Campaign Name – Oil of Olay
Campaign Strategy – The ad campaign, the retail outlet promotion, and
PR mileage through its brand ambassador Sushmita Sen.
Campaign Tagline – “Spa in a bottle”
PR Approach – The Times of India carried a story on Sushmita Sen in
August 2008, and she was quoted as saying, “Being an actor, I use a
lot of make-up. Face tons of harsh lights and outdoor activities. I am
impatient and couldn’t be bothered with layers of treatment for my
skin. I am lucky to have this ‘spa in a bottle’, which takes just about
five minutes”.
(Source: https://www.indianmediastudies.com/tag/pr-case-study)

“Support My School” campaign by Coca Cola India Pvt. Ltd

Genesis of “Support My School”

India has been grappling with severe issues of retention of children in
school. In rural India, a child is subjected to tremendous social pressures
like early marriage, early childbirth, and taking care of siblings, among
others. When a child struggles through these issues and still manages to
come to school, the unwelcoming state of school discourages them to
attend. This exacerbated the already grim situation for children.
Several studies have revealed that a lack of basic amenities such as
toilets, access to water, and basic infrastructure create an unwelcom-
ing and non-conducive environment in schools, leading to high rates
of absenteeism which finally result in children dropping out of school
completely.
And among children, girl children are affected more by the lack of
such infrastructure. The lack of sanitation, especially for girl children,
in school has been known to be seen as affront to their dignity and
48  Corporate communication

safety and is rated as one of the biggest deterrents for child to come to
school. This is further complicated when girls reach puberty.
An Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) report in 2011 esti-
mated that more than 50% of rural and semi-urban schools in India
have non-functional or no toilets. It is specially an issue for girl chil-
dren as they enter adolescence as they, at many times, involuntarily sit
at home just because there are no proper, separate toilets for girls in
rural schools. Such unwelcoming situations lead to accelerated drop-
out in schools.
Taking off from this unhappy situation, Coca-Cola India,
UN-Habitat, and NDTV along with partners launched Support My
School (SMS) campaign.
The campaign tackles this really grim situation by revitalizing
neglected schools. The interventions have halted this decline to an
extent. Several schools have shown a reversal of numbers, with more
and more students coming back to school.
The Supreme Court of India and several leaders have raised a call
out to help correct this shameful situation.

Campaign Impact Elements

Following are the five key impact areas that the campaign addresses
based on the needs at schools:

Access to toilets for students, especially girls

Access to water
Access to sports
Library/rainwater harvesting
Environmental upkeep

Additional impact elements were added with help of partners

Impact Till Date

600 schools already revitalized
More than 198,000 children receive access to better sanitation,
water, and play and other facilities
Panchayat district education officers, local elected officials,
teachers, parents, and community members engaged across the
country.
Thousands of individual donors, more than 50 corporate
donors, and bottlers have contributed to and joined SMS. We
invite everyone to join the Power of Partnerships and make a
difference together.
(Source: https://www.ndtv.com/supportmyschool/campaign)
 Corporate communication  49

Ariel India
Ariel India struck a chord last year with its #SharetheLoad campaign,
which quickly became a movement. It launched a poignant video in
January 2019 which showed a harassed mom cleaning up after her
son, who learnt that her daughter wanted to quit her job because her
husband was incapable of helping her with household chores. The
lady then realized that she was making the same mistake with her son
and proceeded to teach him how to do his laundry.
The video received more than 9 million views and an outstanding
response from all over the country. Ariel, too, got a large number of
celebrities and influencers to take part in its campaign such as Shifa
Merchant, Rajkumar Rao, and many others. That’s a multichannel
marketing campaign if there ever was one!
Looking at data from the last year, we can see that the campaign
spread far and wide, and not only that, it was widely spoken about by
both women and men as can be seen and is particularly popular
among Gen Y and Gen Z. Hopefully this means that future genera-
tions will see a rise in all genders sharing the load.

Swiggy
Swiggy had an outstanding year with a multitude of marketing cam-
paigns that rocked its social media handles. The one that stands out
the most is the #SwiggyVoiceofHunger campaign, which it launched
in association with Dentsu Webchutney. The campaign was primarily
focused on Instagram. Last year, Instagram launched a feature in
which you could send voice notes on direct messaging (DMs), and
Swiggy capitalized on it. Participants were invited to send Swiggy a
voice note via DM wherein the shape of the soundwave they created
while sending the voice note had to resemble the shape of a dish that
Swiggy posted that day. They had five such dishes/challenges:

1 Kebab skewer
2 Shawarma
3 Fish
4 Nacho
5 21 Stack Pancake

Winners were entitled to get Swiggy vouchers for (wait for it) an
entire year!
Needless to say, Swiggy saw an outstanding response with 1.5 lakh
DMs in just 10 days! They also brought in influencers like Srishti
Dixit, Rohan Joshi, and others to participate in this challenge, which
greatly boosted its campaign and overall brand awareness.
50  Corporate communication

Although the campaign was focused on Instagram, I did some dig-

ging on Quick Search, which looks at data on other platforms, and
found a lot of interesting hashtags associated with the campaign. Apart
from the official campaign hashtag – #SwiggyVoiceofHunger – it raised
awareness about #FoodSafety and #FoodSecurity. It was also a reflec-
tion of Dentsu’s clean sweep at the Cannes Lions last year. #CannesLions,
#RoadToCannes and #casestudy are the three hashtags that reflect this.

Spotify
Spotify’s Diwali campaign last year – featuring Anil Kapoor and
Ishaan Khattar – was a big success, garnering more than 50 mil-
lion views on YouTube.
Because Spotify entered the Indian market in only 2019, this
campaign is more of an awareness campaign for the company: to
show people that it has more than 50 million songs that listeners
can choose from.
“Diwali is all about chores, family time, get-togethers with
friends, and new beginnings. We wanted our playlists and cam-
paign to be as fresh and fun as what this festive season brings. It’s
also a huge festival for our diaspora audiences and our playlists
have been created keeping those users in mind as well. This is
perhaps one of the most important cultural moments for our
users and we want to ensure we are a part of all that they cele-
brate”, said Amarjit Batra, Managing Director for Spotify India.
(Source: Social Samosa)

2.6 Scope of corporate communication

The scope of corporate communication is immense and wide ranging, from
its functions within the organization to the external publics depending on
the type of organization or institution.
Today the organizations are under tremendous stress due to the following:

• Challenges of global economy

• Various attacks on big businesses due to omissions and commission
• Convergence of products and markets
• Growing exposure to information through various media
•
Networking of people cutting across barriers of geography, caste,
colour, and creed due to digital platforms
• Issues of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility

Therefore, corporate communication has scope in the tasks such as com-

munity relations and marketing communications dealing with an organiza-
tion’s reputations and service to clients.
 Corporate communication  51

In non-profit agencies, the options may range from membership organi-

zations to social and cultural groups, hospitals, and health care agencies
offer PR opportunities when fundraising is always involved.
In entertainment, sports, and travel, communicators are usually con-
cerned with press agentry and the promotion of events. Publicity is an
important part of practitioner duties here.
Higher education opportunities cover relationships with alumni, faculty,
administration, and students and the public promoting the college image,
recruiting students, and raising funds.
In government and military, communicators focus promoting practical
issues, lobbying, disseminating information about governmental activities
to citizens, and distributing information.
Internationally, instantaneous global communications have opened
intriguing new areas. These areas are particularly desirable of bilingual or
multilingual practitioners who are familiar with many cultures.
Digital platforms have also enhanced the scope of corporate communica-
tions immensely. Corporate communication in market economies and dem-
ocratic set-ups has huge and unlimited possible avenues to be explored.
Corporate communication helps an organization and its publics to adapt
mutually to each other. In earlier times, companies had simple structures,
and they produced one product or provided one type of service. They main-
tained relationships with their limited stakeholders. Industrialization and
market economy gave rise to multiple products and multiple stakeholders.
Earlier, the tools of communication were also limited to one point
exchange of information, whether it was between internal publics and man-
agement or with external publics. For example, in media relations, it was a
press release, a press note, a press briefing, or a press conference, which was
enough to exchange the information. In the global market economy, the
environment today has changed and undergone tremendous transformation
in wake of new media technologies.

2.6.1 Changing scope of corporate communications

The changes in corporate communications can be discussed as follows:
• In terms of size of organizations: Organizations have grown bigger, big-
ger, and bigger, multiplying the size of earlier times in terms of expanse,
products, services, employees, departments, segregation and specializa-
tion of works, skills, and targets.
• In terms of production in corporate organizations: Multiple prod-

ucts, multiple services, multifaceted jobs, diversifications and changing
natures of work profiles can be seen.
In terms of internal structural specifications: Multiple layers of salary
•
structures, multiple hierarchies, and multiple cultural arrangements
result in multiple strategic approaches.
• In terms of communication: More evolved, 24/7 communication mod-
els, all-time engagement platforms with stakeholders online, and social
52  Corporate communication

media, namely websites, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, blogs, vlogs,

and the like are non-stop communication tools which constantly keep
clarifying the communication environments, removing all doubts, help-
ing maintain trust, and keeping the brand image and reputation intact.

All this is important because it is important that stakeholders are kept

informed without letting the misconceptions creeping in. They need to be
kept engaged, interested, and loyal by always assessing their need and
requirement and luring them through discounts, freebies, vouchers, launch-
ing of new schemes, new-product changes, transfers of management, moti-
vational benefits, and CSR initiatives.
It is important for organizations to take stands and be responsible, stand
right, and project big. Image building today is a continuous process.
Reputation of the organization is at risk every moment. Audiences want
quick responses to any situation; therefore, it is responsibility of the organi-
zation to share the right information along with facts and with shared feel-
ings and emotions. Personalized touch is important all these new media
personal forums. The policy or strategies are to be made to cater to each
individual rather than as a whole audience.
Communication is one of the fundamental elements of the business.
Customers, partners, and remote employees are exactly the people you
should be able to stay in touch 24/7.

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Kitchen, P.J. (1997). Quoted in Alison Theaker; Public Relations Handbook,
Routledge, Taylor & Francis, London, 2004, p. 384.
Kotler, P. and W. Mindak. (1978). Marketing and public relations: Should they be
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