Welcome to Corporate Reputation Management Unit Leader: Dr Jane Tonge j.tonge@mmu.ac.uk Unit Tutor: Michelle Gledhill m.gledhill@mmu.ac.uk Corporate Reputation Management

Welcome to the Corporate Reputation Management unit The Unit Leader is Dr Jane Tonge The Unit Tutor is Michelle Gledhill. This is a popular unit and we have about 100 students taking it. Lectures and tutorials are usually on a Monday afternoon. Lectures are every week and tutorials are every two weeks.

Who should take this unit? To take the unit, we ask that most students have a marketing background. You can still take the unit if you don’t have this, but a marketing background is better. Most students taking this course are studying on the Marketing Management programme or the Retail Marketing programme, or on some of the business programmes. For the BA Honours Advertising Management and Brand Management programme, this is a core unit.

So what does the unit cover? Topics include: the strategic role and structures of public relations, which includes definitions, its evolution and its changing role corporate communications in different contexts stakeholder theory and identifying target publics the range of communications tools available for practitioners planning and evaluating corporate and public relations campaigns corporate image and identity communications management media relations employee relations public affairs So it’s a really interesting and varied unit.

Assessment - two parts 1. Coursework – Campaign Assignment (40%) Students work in pairs to analyse and research an organisation and identify an issue it is facing. You choose who to work with and which company to focus on. You then prepare a corporate communications plan involving detailed analysis, target publics, public relations tactics and creative ideas and evaluation to deal with the issues the company faces and enhance its corporate reputation.   2. Open Book Exam (60%) This means you can take anything into the exam. Students are provided with a case study well beforehand to work on, and then bring in two pages of analysis which is part of the exam and which we also mark. There are also essay questions in the exam.

Why choose Corporate Reputation Management? There are a number of reasons:   Understanding of public relations It will give you a thorough understanding of public relations, corporate communications and reputation management. Understanding their importance is a key skill for managers, to appreciate how their decisions may affect the overall perceptions and reputation of their organisation and so is essential for anyone wanting to work in the communications industry, in whatever discipline. Public relations techniques It will introduce you to a range of management and public relations techniques which practitioners use, including media relations, which often dovetail with other parts of the communications mix.

Why choose the Corporate Reputation Management? Campaign planning You will learn how to develop, plan, implement and evaluate a successful communications campaign, and have the experience of writing an actual plan for an organisation of your choice. Practical tutorials We have practical fortnightly tutorials which give you experience of campaign planning so you are well prepared for the assignment and exam.   Additional student support in the form of: Creative meetings with a practitioner from a PR agency A dedicated GroupSite where you can post questions, receive quick answers from tutors and discuss the assignment 1-2-1 tutor meetings to gain assignment help and guidance

Why choose the Corporate Reputation Management? Industry Guest Speakers We invite industry speakers to give guest lectures which help make the unit very relevant and up-to-date for anyone wanting a career in the communications industry. Last year’s speakers included practitioners from leading PR consultancies – Andy Poole from Weber Shandwick talking about the latest in digital communications; Sue Souter, Director of Souter PR discussing corporate reputation and risk; and Kevin McKay, Sports Marketing Director at McCann Erikson which holds the marketing communications account for the 2012 London Olympics & Adidas.   Tutor Business Experience Both tutors on the unit are former practitioners in the industry and can share their knowledge of real business practices with the latest examples and case studies.

Is this for you? If you are considering Corporate Reputation Management as an elective, it is an enjoyable and interactive unit but you need to be prepared to attend the lectures and take part in the active tutorials and support activities (creative PR meetings, GroupSite, tutor meetings) to get the most out of it.   To be honest, if you are the type of student who does not attend lectures and tutorials and tries to ‘wing it’ or relies on others in a larger group to do their work for them, then don’t choose this unit as you will struggle with the assignment and exam. Those who do attend and actively get involved, take advantage of all the extra help, the guest lectures and the tutorial activities do really enjoy it. You’ll learn about corporate reputation management, public relations and campaign planning. Most students who do this usually achieve good pass rates.