Handbook of Corporate Communication and Public ... - Blogs Unpad

• Advertising, marketing and promotions:
43 per cent
• Government affairs: 35 per cent
• Customer service: 11 per cent
Global corporate communication
budget (US$ equivalent):
• Less than $1 million: 25 per cent
• Greater than $1 million, but less than $5
million: 39 per cent
• Greater than $5 million, but less than $10
million: 11 per cent
• Greater than $11 million, but less than
$15 million: 4 per cent
• Greater than $20 million: 15 per cent
It is customary for most companies to draw a
clear line between communication in the
‘home country’ of operations and in international
operations, with one person assigned
to be responsible for management of communication
in non-domestic markets.
There are good practical reasons why the
separate role of the international PR manager
within corporations continues to exist: most
companies have a long history in their own
communities and know their way around the
local and national media, the influential
groups important for the business, their political
representatives and their customers. They
are less certain of themselves in their overseas
markets, which vary widely in almost every
respect. An international PR manager who
makes it his business to be knowledgeable
about these markets and can manage a network
of widely dispersed PR representatives is
worth his weight in gold.
In a more recent survey among corporations
in the United States, Europe, Asia and
Latin America, conducted for Edelman by
Professor Rob Wakefield, the PR activities and
procedures of respondents were measured
against a list of criteria. These criteria were
chosen to determine the degree of sophistication,
or development, of the firm’s public
relations. The results showed that it was not
the very largest firms that were ‘best in class’.
This honour went to medium-to-large organizations
with a headquarters in Europe.
The Wakefield evolution model
• Early evolution: Few resources, little interaction
between HQ and local units.
• Moderate evolution: Growing resources,
incomplete local staff, little or no HQ
authority.
• Advanced evolution: Almost complete
resources, better trained PR personnel,
incomplete HQ – local units co-ordination.
• Complete evolution: Full staff, trained PR
officers in every unit; interaction for
mutual goals (Figure 26.4).
The qualifications of the international PR
manager might be quite different from those
of an executive who needs only to operate in
the home market. Some of these qualities are
described in Chapter 1.
Briefly, he will need to be culturally aware,
patient, open-minded and inquisitive about
alien customs and government procedures,
with the ability to work with people from a
variety of nations. At the same time, the international
executive must never become detached
from the ‘mother company’ and
totally concentrate on the non-domestic operations.
One vital role is to act as a bridge
to the PR staff overseas who need and rely
on him to be their link to headquarters, the
conduit of policies and news. Never underestimate
how most employees who work a
© 2004 Sandra Oliver for editorial matter and selection;
individual chapters, the contributors