Communicate Company Values
Implementing company values may prove a tedious task for an organization, yet it is essential for generating brand recognition among staff and customers. Since 25 years AOK grows a set of formalized values which have been carefully mirrored and developed. Corporate branding updates these by exemplifying behaviour, setting standards, and honouring staff members in internal AOK media.
At times values are discussed as a rather fluid construct, impalpable for empirical instruments. Nevertheless we demonstrate here that it is possible to monitor various value types and their frequency in corporate communication, e.g. in the jubilee magazine issue “25 Years Health Insurance”. In addition, we provide a glimpse on cooperation of actors from AOK and its media agency KomPart behind the curtain of polished articles. A poster, conference presentation and published book chapter are available from external sources. A three-page summary can be downloaded below. Project duration: 2014-2015
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Jublilee Magazine Title © AOK / KomPart
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Interfaces of Political Communication
Federal Press Conference, Berlin © Peter von Bechen / PIXELIO
A first poster has been presented on the annual INSNA Sunbelt Conference in Brighton, UK.
Project duration: 2014-2017 |
When preparing this endeavour, I had to spend some thoughts on how to come by an exact research field. I came across Norman Long's definition of 'social interface' (Long 2001: Development Sociology: Actor Perspectives); basically he thought of it as an intersection, a place of social friction or transformation.
I decided to investigate the working world overlap of political journalists and spokesmen / press relation officers in Berlin. A further focus was achieved by selecting key topics / events during the upcoming months, a mininum enculturalisation frame - two years of press work in the capital, and a strong docking to ministerial issues as a precondition. The overall research question is: what information practices, resources and strategies are used among Berlin’s political journalists and political spokes(wo)men – how are they enacted and perceived in times of mediatisation? Next to interviews I also think a combination with a concise textual corpus (content analysis) to be promising. |
About Practice, Plurals & Variant Spelling
Public Relation is managing strategic relationships and communicating organizational interests - then why is it not also 'reaching out' for relevant several publics [sic!]? In times of pluralisation and diversification PR is challenged by several dimensions of publics: Federal branches of a company, media channels, 'seperated' audiences, dissimilar perceptions of cultural symbols within different countries. And it is all about one's professional network: the trusted journalists, informants among a set of customers, or the partnering companies' valued staff. PR workflow runs along these linked nodes within this net. It is truly made up of publics and relations.
A new book project collects the experience from PR practitioners from various realms. They all contribute to the problematisation of publics in Public Relations: how to relate to them, how to bring them together, how to manage content with regard to their issues. By doing this the project also achieves a new actor-oriented, theoretical understanding of the field. It is no longer biased by a systemic view but open to find new dramatis personæ: stakeholders, market researchers, story tellers, brands, online fora...
A conception has already been drafted with four major sections: "Basics" covers classic PR processes and tools, "Transformations" applies to recent changes in the field, "Reach out" is about how to reach relevant and desired actors, and finally, "Sustainability" asks for the long-term social impact of PR work.
A new book project collects the experience from PR practitioners from various realms. They all contribute to the problematisation of publics in Public Relations: how to relate to them, how to bring them together, how to manage content with regard to their issues. By doing this the project also achieves a new actor-oriented, theoretical understanding of the field. It is no longer biased by a systemic view but open to find new dramatis personæ: stakeholders, market researchers, story tellers, brands, online fora...
A conception has already been drafted with four major sections: "Basics" covers classic PR processes and tools, "Transformations" applies to recent changes in the field, "Reach out" is about how to reach relevant and desired actors, and finally, "Sustainability" asks for the long-term social impact of PR work.