Corporate communication and reputation management

Learning objectives

The student is able to understand the principles of reputation management and digital public relations, to teach them to colleagues in a team, to prepare an articulate reputation management plan and to put it into practice in practice.

Expected learning outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding: the student effectively understands the fundamental concepts and theories of reputation management and public relations on digital platforms. He/she is also capable of analysing and interpreting various reputational crisis contexts and knows the internal dynamics of how a crisis team functions.
Ability to Apply Knowledge and Understanding: the student applies the acquired theoretical knowledge to implement effective reputation management plans. He/she develops strategies to manage an organisation's digital reputation, assessing various scenarios and identifying opportunities for improvement, with a view to risk mitigation.
Judgment Skills: the student critically evaluates reputation management strategies, identifies the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and makes informed decisions based on complex scenarios and constantly changing data.
Communication Skills: the student communicates reputation management strategies and plans clearly and effectively to his/her team. They use various digital and traditional tools to reach different audiences, both internal and external to the organisation.
Learning Skills: the student has the ability to intercept content, trends and technologies useful for reputation management and is able to apply these tools in diverse professional contexts.

Course content

In one of his famous 'American lessons', 'Exactitude', Italo Calvino focuses on the 'power of the word' and the trivialisation of language in modern times: words are like a garment, which shapes our thoughts and allows us to decide how we wish to be perceived externally, by the public with whom we inevitably come into contact on a daily basis. The tools for constructing others' perception of us, however, go far beyond the correct use of words. We can all guess how important - and unfortunately often overlooked - the invaluable intangible asset of 'reputation' is today, which is capable of conditioning the purchasing behaviour - of products, but also services - on the part of customers. Not accompanying marketing projects with a genuine injection of awareness of the need to manage one's own reputational perimeter is what is least profitable for a company, a public institution, or a freelancer. Citizens feel increasingly free to express their opinion and are aware that they are 'part of the global equation': many organisations, on the other hand, insist on keeping them out of their decision-making dynamics. Keywords such as 'trust', 'reputation' and 'respect' are now an integral part of the value chain. In a hyper-connected world, search engines such as Google are among the most important reputation managers, rewarding or punishing behaviour with a ranking system that influences future searches on the organisation, and thus also the reputation of its products/services. Reputation Management also implies receiving comments in an open manner, and involving the various publics in improving their public perception of the organisation, and includes techniques for the correct preventive management of reputational crises, a fundamental tool to avoid that professionalism and dedication lavished over many years may be thwarted or called into question due to a badly managed reputational situation.

The topics of the lessons will be (in brief):
– General introduction and main definitions;
– The 4 types of exchange, the 4 communication models, Corporate Social Responsibility and Greenwashing;
– Case history: Adriano Olivetti;
– Tailored media, Lovemarks, the “Mario bar”;
– Lateral thinking and Italo Calvino’s “American lessons”;
– Storytelling;
– Stakeholder mapping – Social network analysis – Practical exercise in stakeholder mapping;
– Case study of reputation building: GUNA SpA;
– 15 rules for “CSR 2.0”;
– Nation branding, how to build reputation for entire nations;
– Case study: Italy's management of the Covid-19 pandemic emergency and its implications for the country's international reputation
– Case study: the reputation management of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata;
– Crisis communication: theory;
– Crisis communication: analysis of real cases;
– Analysis of the critical issues of the Church of Scientology “case” and practical exercise on the topic;
– Operational tools of conventional media relations;
– Unconventional communication (practical cases);
– Influencer: Social media at the service of reputation building

Prerequisites

Impeccable knowledge of the Italian language, knowledge of the general principles of Public Relations and good familiarity with the functioning of digital and social channels.

Bibliography

- Poma, L; “Il reputation management spiegato semplice”, Ed. CELID, 2021
- Poma L., Grandoni G., Toselli L.; “#Influencer”, Ed. Lupetti, 2022
- Poma L.; “Apri la tua mente”, Edizioni Libreria Universitaria, 2020
- Poma, L; “Il sex appeal dei Corpi Digitali”, Franco Angeli, 2016
- Poma, L; Vecchiato, G; “Crisis management: come comunicare le crisi”, Ed. Il Sole 24 Ore (cartaceo esaurito, disponibile in eBook)
- Deruda, A; “Diplomazia Digitale”, Apogeo
- Poma, L; Terzi di Sant’Agata, GM; “Caro Ministro”, ed. Ministero degli Affari Esteri (eBook)

Teaching methods and tools

Lectures with video clips and practical simulations. Meetings with professionals and experts in the field. Work groups (3/4 persons per group, or collective class group) with cross-comparison of results. Analysis of case studies and return analysis by students either one-on-one with the lecturer or in groups.

Assessment methods and criteria

papers (2) that the lecturer will assign to the students + group work on concrete cases with comparison of the results in the classroom.