March 22, 2016

Circle of Fellows #7: Communications and CSR

1 hour 1 minute

What is the role of public relations and other organizational communication functions in a company’s or client’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts? In this episode of Circle of Fellows, IABC Fellows John Deveney, Tamara Gills, Amanda Hamilton-Attwell, and Mary Ann McCauley join host Shel Holtz to tackle the issues, including…

How communicators can help organizations embrace appropriate CSR activities

How employees play an important role in CSR

Whether CSR should be confined to sustainability efforts or expanded to other ways to make the world a better place, including social justice issues

How to demonstrate the value of CSR efforts that produce no traditional return on investment

The benefits of baking CSR into products or brands (as Unilever does with its Real Beauty theme)

How best to tell the company’s CSR stories

Links referenced in today’s episode include the following:

Sea World’s decision, after six years, to end its killer whale breeding program

The 61% increase in just four years among S&P 500 Index companies that produce sustainability reports

General Mills’ campaign to draw attention to declining bee populations

The 6th Annual Social Media Sustainability Index

About today’s panel:

John Deveney — In 1996, while on the fast track to a partnership in a growing PR agency, John opted to strike out on his own and form Deveney, a process and a practice that embraces the soundest principles, the newest media, and the most innovative technologies. Based in New Orleans, Deveney is particularly strong in the areas of crisis, healthcare, tourism, and hospitality. (After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, John led the only on-site communication operation and media center for both the City of New Orleans and the Louisiana Office of Tourism.) See John’s LinkedIn profile.

Tamara Gillis — Tamara Gillis, Ed.D., ABC, straddles the worlds of academia and communication practice. As a tenured professor at Elizabethtown College, she is preparing tomorrow’s corporate communicators. As an author and communications consultant, she continues to influence the practice of communications and change management. Dr. Gillis’s research interests have been recognized on the regional, national and international level by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, International Communication Association and IABC. Gillis was the first educator to serve as chairman of the IABC Research Foundation. See Tamara’s LinkedIn Profile

Dr. Amanda Hamilton-Attwell is accredited by both IABC and PRSA. She is managing Director of Business DNA, based on South Africa, which provides strategic research and consulting, including communication audits, customer service and other focused research and training in communication skills. Her career has also included a 15-year stint as a research manager for the National Productivity Institute. See Amanda’s LinkedIn Profile

Mary Ann McCauley — Mary Ann is committed to ensuring people communicate more effectively about their organizations’ products and services. With a specialty practice in crisis management, Mary Ann addresses sensitive issues with timeliness, dignity, and minimal backlash. “Managing communication during a crisis requires common sense folded into a structured process,” she says. See Mary Ann’s LinkedIn profile.

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