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Operating under the microscope
Corporate reputation has never been as important or as scrutinized as it is today. Empowered by the Internet, an interrelated network of stakeholders is keenly focused on the corporations behind the products and services they buy. Customers, employees, regulators, community leaders, investors and the media watch closely, criticize ruthlessly and ask tough questions:

The answers can determine how a company fares in the stock market, in the regulatory arena and in the quest for top talent. Yet, in the current climate of skepticism—fueled by corporate scandal, criminal trials and earnings restatements – few corporations have the credibility to unilaterally declare themselves "trustworthy."

The end of silos?
The corporate communications model has traditionally managed outreach to stakeholder groups through a series of silos: media relations, investor relations, human resources, issues and crisis management, government relations and so on. Acting independently, these specialists often lack consistency in messaging across different stakeholders.

The problem? The stakeholders talk to each other. With Regulation FD, for example, a securities analyst can no longer rely on investor relations for insight into a company's business strategy and results. That analyst now contacts major customers, regulators and even employees to learn what's going on "inside the fence." Most corporations are not taking ownership of these conversations, often to their detriment.

Ogilvy PR's Corporate Practice delivers a new model for managing corporate reputation. Our model unites traditional disciplines into an integrated, coordinated outreach effort tailored to today's evolved stakeholder universe.

The power of influence
If corporations have lost any credibility to speak for themselves on vital reputation issues, they must leverage the credibility of others. Ogilvy PR puts these wheels in motion.

Through a process called 360-Degree Influencer Management™, we identify and activate a relatively small group (rarely exceeding 100 people) of influential third parties who can tell a company's story with more credibility. We create "concentric circles of awareness" of the company and its mission, strategies and results.

360-Degree Influencer Management™ can work for the overall reputation of a company or specific reputation attributes, such as corporate governance and workplace quality.

This process has proven to foster dramatic shifts in the general perceptions of a company at a pace that traditional corporate media relations or investor outreach cannot match. In one case, a company transformed its perception and doubled its share price—all in the six months it would have taken to generate one major business profile.

Enhancing and protecting the corporate brand
Your company cannot afford to operate without anticipating and preparing for the issues and crises that could impair your ability to conduct business or shut you down. How—and how quickly—you respond to a crisis can be more important to your future than the crisis itself. Often, you are either a winner or loser within the first 24 hours.

Just as Ogilvy PR focuses on enhancing corporate brands, we are equally committed to protecting them. We have developed a systematic approach for identifying and prioritizing potential issues and crises for your company, then preparing you to deal with them as they arise.

Ready to mobilize
The global Corporate Practice, headquartered in New York, is represented throughout the Ogilvy PR network. With seasoned professionals in every discipline of reputation management, we are prepared to serve clients in all corners of the world. Whether you need crisis management, investor relations, media relations, workplace communications or an integrated solution incorporating all of these disciplines, we will put the right team in place to deliver outstanding insights and results.

Case Study: Jackson Hewitt Jackson Hewitt is building the nation's second largest brand in the tax preparation service and one of the country's fastest growing franchise businesses. View >

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