LONDON: Three out of four corporate communications executives in Europe expect corporate image budgets to increase over the next two years, with Internet branding initiatives responsible for much of the boost.
LONDON: Three out of four corporate communications executives in
Europe expect corporate image budgets to increase over the next two
years, with Internet branding initiatives responsible for much of the
boost.
That finding highlighted a survey conducted at The Conference Board’s
1999 Corporate Image Conference, held in London last month. About 120
conference delegates from companies such as General Motors and Michelin
took part in the survey.
A majority of respondents (58%) said they planned to change their
corporate image within the next year, although the survey did not offer
room to elaborate on how they might do so.
But program director Lee Hornick said the results, while not especially
detailed, were telling: ’People really believe that corporate image is
extremely important - it’s not just pretty pictures anymore. And without
sound PR, none of this will work.’
Asked to name their company’s major challenges over the next five years,
respondents cited global corporate image strategy as the number-one
concern, followed by improving employee relationships. The respondents
listed ’communications clutter’ as the biggest obstacle to improving
corporate image.
Three out of four delegates (73%) said that much of the increase in
corporate image budgets would come from Internet PR strategies.
The conference attendees said that besides quality products and
services, a good brand relationship with customers was seen as a key
factor for brand growth. ’The buzz in the marketplace is ’humanizing’
the brand,’ Hornick added.
