Positioning the CEO & Other Key Spokespersons
Philosophy VIII

 


This area of focused public relations / media relations revolves around the individual. Faceless corporate monoliths come alive in the eye of the media and general public when a flesh and blood individual is successfully positioned as a positive and pro-active person or symbol for the company, its goals; aspirations and strategies.

In the past it has often been hired-gun "spokespersons", middle management rank "press officers" and corporate communications executives who were the focal point for not just logistical media contact and inter-face, but also as the flag-bearer for the company from shareholder meetings to press-conferences.

In recent years, the dynamic CEO has emerged from behind corporate barricades to assume visibility and public focus. From IBM's Louis Gestner and Microsoft's Bill Gates to Apple's Steve Jobs and Fed Ex's Fred Smith, it is now politically correct in the corporate corridors of power for a CEO, Chairperson or President to assume and maintain general media visibility. It wasn't always that way. In the past, the top guys rarely exposed themselves, leaving it to pitchman personalities like Ronald Reagan for GE and Bess Meyerson for Westinghouse to represent the corporate "human identity" factor. Outside of showbiz, the idea of a "publicist" within the framework of PR disciplines was unheard of. Today the positioning of senior and even middle management on an individual focused basis is very much part of our range of deliverables / services. The strategies driving these actions are manifold with the key reasons being.

1. We establish the senior executive as an authority on the industries he / she represents.

2. We solidify the executive's press relationships, as a quickly accessible and trustworthy source.

3. We apply a softer more human spin to a faceless company's public image.

We support these positioning / staging actions with a full basket of services from media action workshops to key CEO formal speeches, presentations, panel participation casual hospitality / hosted gatherings and receptions.

 

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