When Nebraska was added to the Big Ten and people were talking about changing the name, our first thought was: “What about the brand?” Big Ten is much, much more than just a name. It is part of a 100-year-old brand, a tradition, a tone and (in this part of the country) a way of life. To change the name now, in our opinion, would be a mistake.
Here are four reasons why:
(1) Brand equity. The Big Ten Conference is the oldest Division I college athletic conference in the United States. It was founded in 1895, was first nicknamed the Big Ten in 1917 and has used that name consistently since 1949. The Big Ten excels in every aspect of brand equity: awareness, loyalty and perceived quality and the innumerable memories and other associations that generations of Big Ten alumni and fans (football or not) hold precious.
(2) Brand confusion. The Big Ten now has 12 schools, the Big 12 has 10 and the Pac-10 has 12. Nebraska is leaving the Big 12 to join the Big Ten, and the Cornhuskers are not pushing for a name change. Imagine the confusion that would result if the conferences changed their name to reflect the number of teams.
(3) Precedent. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney told Stu Durando of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he assumed the Big Ten would change its name in 1990 when the addition of Penn State brought the number of teams to 11. “I was going on that presumption and found out quickly the Big Ten was a name that carried a lot of meaning to a lot of people,” Delaney said. The fact that the conference has had 11 teams for the past decade is proof that the essence of the Big Ten brand has transcended the number of schools involved.
(4) Better options. The Big Ten opted in 1990 to refresh its brand image but not replace it. Al Grivetti, who was a graduate student at Northern Illinois, incorporated the No. 11 into the logo design. It would be quite easy to refresh the logo again with the numeral 12.
Delaney can be commended for a willingness to hear all sides on the issue, but he will ultimately be swayed by what he already knows to be true: the Big Ten Conference is the most powerful brand in collegiate sports, and there would be far more to lose than gain by changing the name.
Paul Werth Associates is bringing its senior-level consulting and integrated marketing communications services to the “Second City” — Chicago.
Senior Vice President and Chicago insider David O’Dowd heads up the new office, located in the world’s largest commercial building and Chicago landmark, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza.
“We are very excited about our continued growth and the addition of our Chicago office,” says Sandra Harbrecht, President and CEO. “We are seeing strong demand for our results-oriented communications in this vibrant market and plan to build on our strong ties and relationships within the business community to further expand our services and client roster.” Harbrecht plans to make monthly visits to the new office to meet with clients and prospects.
In Chicago as in Columbus, Werth provides a full range of communications services to drive client success:
Public relations, including strategic planning, thought leadership, crisis communications, reputation management, change management, media relations, social media programs, blogger outreach, spokesperson training, message development, trade show support and community relations.
Public Affairs, including government relations, lobbying, grassroots communications and engagement, ballot issue campaign management and research.
Advertising, including creative strategy, brand strategy, corporate identity, advertising campaigns, video production, marketing collateral, direct marketing and word of mouth and viral marketing.
Interactive Marketing, including analytics-based digital strategy, website/intranet development, microsites, e-commerce solutions, e-mail marketing, SEO, SEM, social media integration, online reputation audits, viral marketing, digital content creation and usability studies.
Research, including needs assessments, strategy development, creative custom research design, communications audits, market potential/opportunity studies, brand positioning/image studies, advertising and communications testing, customer satisfaction studies, executive interviews and public opinion polling.
We welcome visitors to our new office! Call or e-mail David O’Dowd at dodowd@paulwerth.com or 312-297-1416 or Sandy Harbrecht swh@paulwerth.com or 614-224-8114.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Health care organizations need to understand how the instant online spread of information factors into a developing crisis. To help, Paul Werth Associates is presenting an hour-long Webinar at 2 p.m. Nov. 17: “Health Care Rx: A Social Media Prescription to Prevent and Treat Crises.”
“Getting out the right message can literally make the difference between life and death,” said Sandra Harbrecht, Werth president and CEO. “While an organizational health care crisis can take many forms, getting the right message heard at the right time is most critical during a public health threat. We want to help health care communicators understand the social media culture and tools available to do the best job possible during a crisis.”
Werth Webinar instructors Kristin Mack Deuber and Kim Ratcliff, both vice presidents with the firm, will be joined by the internal communications and marketing director at the one of nation’s largest medical complexes, Julie Scott with The Ohio State University Medical Center.
The panel will discuss effective ways to integrate social media strategy into existing crisis plans. Webinar topics will also include tools available to detect crisis situations and what to do when one hits.
Werth’s Webinar will be hosted by online meeting service InstantPresenter. You can test your system for compatibility by clicking here. For more information about the presentation, e-mail contact@paulwerth.com.
About Paul Werth Associates
Founded in 1963, Paul Werth Associates is a full-service public relations, marketing and public affairs firm counseling clients throughout the United States. The firm has offices in Columbus, Ohio and Washington, D.C.
Paul Werth Associates has previously received nine Silver Anvils, which is the highest level of recognition in the public relations industry. The Silver Anvil Award recognizes complete programs incorporating sound research, planning, execution and evaluation. They must meet the highest standards of performance in the profession.
On Tuesday, November 17, Werth will hold a Webinar on managing a digital crisis in a health care environment. Even a scattering of Tweets or comments in a blog can create a huge problem for any health care organization. Social media will be an essential part of any crisis response.
Kim Ratcliff, Werth vice president, and Julie Scott, director of internal communications and marketing at The Ohio State University Medical Center, will join me as we share our perspectives on the increasing impact of social media on crisis management in the health care industry.
Participants will learn how to integrate social media into their crisis plans. We also will review some of the social media tools available to detect crisis situations and what to do when one hits.
On October 20, Paul Werth Associates is pleased to partner with the Columbus office of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey on a presentation discussing how social media impacts brand reputation and how important it is for the communications and legal teams to coordinate efforts. This pre-registration only event will take place 3-7 pm close to the OSU campus.
The presenters, including myself; Susan DiMickele, a partner at Squire Sanders; Traci Martinez, an associate at Squire Sanders; and Kim Ratcliff, a vice president at Werth, recently sat down to provide a sneak peak of the insights to be shared during this complimentary workshop.
If you’re interested in registering, click here or please contact Adla Blackwell at (614) 365.2319.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Paul Werth Associates’ August Webinar on social media strategy attracted public relations and marketing professionals from across the country to learn about managing a crisis in the digital era.
Werth crisis communications experts guided an hour-long discussion on social media strategy illustrated by real-world corporate examples of effective – and less-than-effective – crisis management in the digital space.
“Our participants share with us they ‘get it’ after sitting down with Werth to learn what’s happening with social media strategy and digital crisis management,” said Sandra Harbrecht, Werth president and CEO. “Keeping up with social media strategy can be overwhelming. By presenting it in the framework of time-tested crisis communications practices everyone can understand, Werth has been able to engage our clients and other professionals in recognizing the importance of social media as another component of the communications toolkit.”
Webinar participants said they walked away with a greater understanding of the next steps necessary to improve digital crisis preparedness within their organizations.
“Werth’s Webinar provided good, solid advice for any communicator, and a good reminder that we need to be updating our crisis plans on a regular basis,” said Susan Shafer, director of Standard and Poor’s School Evaluation Services.
“Participating in this Webinar provided an important insight into the rapid changes in the world and the need to update our plans accordingly to incorporate the latest in social media,” said Sharron Kornegay, public affairs manager of Abbott Nutrition.
Stay tuned for more Werth Webinar presentations - Werth in November will present a health care crisis communications Webinar and is developing presentations for additional industries to share in the months to come.
About Paul Werth Associates‘
Founded in 1963, Paul Werth Associates is a full-service public relations, marketing and public affairs firm counseling clients throughout the United States. The firm has offices in Columbus, Ohio and Washington, D.C.
Paul Werth Associates has previously received nine Silver Anvils, which is the highest level of recognition in the public relations industry. The Silver Anvil Award recognizes complete programs incorporating sound research, planning, execution and evaluation. They must meet the highest standards of performance in the profession.
Nearly 100 of Werth’s friends and clients gathered at OSU Longaberger Alumni House last week to think about the worst things that could happen to them. Crisis communications, an essential aspect of public relations, has gotten even more challenging in the digital age.
We no longer control the flow of information about our organizations, and it’s hard to make sure that it’s even accurate today. And that’s on a good day! When things go wrong, the damage spreads like wildfire. Oxford-Metrica reports, “During the next five years, 83 percent of companies will face a crisis that, …as a result of the way it was managed…, will negatively impact share price between 20 and 30 percent.”
As we told our friends at last week’s workshop, Werth has many decades of experience in crisis communications and is actively working in the digital environment to prevent and mitigate reputation problems for our clients nearly every day. Here are some rules that work:
Listen to both what is said and who is saying it. Just as one journalist can trigger a global story, just one relevant blogger can generate a crisis.
Insert yourself into conversations when you have something positive to contribute.
Take the time to do a thorough, easy-to-use crisis plan and train your spokespeople. Then help the C-suite to become smart about social media.
Create a big digital footprint so you own your Google and other search engine results and your brand name on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Assume others know more about the crisis than you do. It’s OK to say, “I don’t know, but I will find out.”
Get templates of statements approved before the crisis begins.
Spread the truth faster than the rumors, responding in one hour or less. Get your message into the conversation before the story hardens.
Address the crowd where it gathers. If the flashpoint for digital crisis is YouTube, respond using that communications vehicle.
Notify employees and media at the same time.
Show you care. Tone and demeanor are important.
Werth will be hosting a Webinar next month to review these rules and other essentials for digital crisis communications. In addition, we will soon release a white paper that explores the detail from our workshop. We will share more information as the dates approach.
In the meantime, have you updated your crisis plan with a digital component? If you haven’t, you’re not ready for the worst. You’re welcome to contact me at ktwinem@paulwerth.com or 614.224.8114 to talk about the best ways to get started. Remember: Time is not on your side in the era of digital crisis, but Werth can make sure that you are protected.
Virtually all business leaders think about the reputation of their organizations at least once a day … with good reason. They are in high-risk situations, guiding the organizations through the economic chaos at the same time that digital media is exploding, making the task of maintaining and enhancing reputation especially difficult.
As reputation management has become the No. 1 communication priority, more top communications officers are reporting directly to the CEO to allow quick reaction to emerging crises. A May 2009 survey by Weber Shandwick found that 58 percent of chief communications officers now report directly to their CEOs, as opposed to 48 percent a year ago.
They are dealing with a new world: Bloggers post rumors as facts. Everyone with a cell phone is a cameraman. A single video posted by a low-level employee can cause vast damage to a company’s reputation.
In this world, chief communicators may already be in a crisis they don’t recognize if they have not completely updated their crisis monitoring and response programs for the digital world.
To help our clients and friends, Werth is offering a complimentary workshop on “Crisis Communications in the Age of the Internet,” scheduled for 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 18, at the Longaberger Alumni House, 2200 Olentangy River Road, Columbus. A continental breakfast will be served and there will be opportunity for networking beginning at 8:00 a.m.
We encourage everyone to take this step toward preventing online reputation damage. For more information, call 614.224.8114 or visit www.paulwerth.com/trouble
