Also a good subject, brought by Crenguta Rosu of DC Communications - change management.
Change is indeed a very special moment when integrated communication can best be tested. Nonetheless, change has nowadays become a rule and efficiently communicating (throughout) change is clearly vital. It was really interesting to see how most of the audience appreciated the importance of a communication programme developed during a not so "glamourous" situation (the case study presented the relocating process of the Raiffeisen team and the internal communication issues raised). I couldn't help an inner smile while re memorizing the whole project, how it appeared to be a small deal during the "briefing" meeting and the challenges and satisfaction it brought during planning and implementation. That is when I learned the virtues of an Intranet and the importance of involving the CEO in the communication to the employees. I hope managers listened and paid close attention to the Raiffeisen example. And according to a Deloitte research, mentioned by Tereza Valcan of Cosmote, 95% of the CEOs seem to be aware of the fact that efficient internal communication is the most important ingredient for an organization's success
I liked the openness and courage of Dacia. Having to talk about crisis management, Silviu Sepciu, the media relations person at Dacia, came forward with a case study extracted from the company's recent history. I respect this type of transparency, especially if I think of all the dull, not-challenging, outdated, scholastic presentations/case studies generally delivered at this type of "communication industry" events. Companies tend to keep their projects secret, well hidden from those who could actually learn something out of them.
What I probably wouldn't have shown is the image of a Dacia Logan automobile on the verge of turning upside down at 65km/hour.
And I wouldn't agree either with Mr. Sepciu saying, in CAPS, that AN IMAGE CRISIS IS AUTOMATICALLY A MEDIA EVENT!!!
Anyway, during Mr. Sepciu's expose, it dawned upon me: I love crisis management !!... only watching the Dacia Logan crisis calendar felt like watching National geographic's "Seconds from disaster". Crisis comes first, before change, in a ranking of situations when communication/or its absence best shows its effects.
Later update - things I heard of at PRforum and one should keep an eye on:
NetClips, the first online media monitoring service (informally)announced by Manafu and Radu Ionescu
del.icio.us/relatiipublice
Definitely, I should forget the ostrich strategy. Enough hiding my head in the sand. Enaugh saying "it's virtual, it doesn't exist"
