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Part Five Developing the Integrated Marketing Communications Program
Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
Exhibit 17-3 An example
of a newsletter used for
internal communication
Exhibit 17-4 Annual
reports serve a variety of
purposes
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
17. Public Relations,
Publicity, and Corporate
Advertising
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
It may be necessary to communicate with these groups on an
ongoing basis for a variety of reasons, ranging from ensuring goodwill
to introducing new policies, procedures, or even products. A few
examples may help.
Employees of the Firm Maintaining morale and showcasing the
results of employees’ efforts are often prime objectives of the public
relations program. Organizational newsletters, notices on bulletin
boards, paycheck envelope stuffers, direct mail, and annual reports
are some of the methods used to communicate with these groups.
Exhibit 17-3 shows one such internal communication used by the
Business School at San Diego State University.
Personal methods of communicating may be as formal as an established
grievance committee or as informal as an office Christmas
party. Other social events, such as corporate bowling teams or picnics,
are also used to create goodwill.
Stockholders and Investors You may think an annual report like
the one in Exhibit 17-4 just provides stockholders and investors with
financial information regarding the firm. While this is one purpose,
annual reports are also a communications channel for informing this
audience about why the firm is or is not doing well, future plans, and
other information that goes beyond numbers.
For example, McDonald’s has successfully used annual reports to fend off potential
PR problems. One year the report described McDonald’s recycling efforts to alleviate
consumers’ concerns about waste; another report included a 12-page spread on food
and nutrition. Other companies use similar strategies, employing shareholders’ meetings,
video presentations, and other forms of direct mail. General Motors’ annual public
interest report is sent to shareholders and community members to detail the
company’s high standards of corporate responsibility. GM also produces a sustainability
report to update interested parties on its progress. Companies have used these
approaches to generate additional investments, to bring more of their stocks “back
home” (i.e., become more locally controlled and managed), and to produce funding to
solve specific problems, as well as to promote goodwill.
Community Members People who live and work in the community where a firm is
located or doing business are often the target of public relations efforts. Such efforts
may involve ads informing the community of activities that the organization is