istorically, IT professionals have had little need to collaborate with the public relations and communications professionals in their companies. But thanks to the rapid evolution of Web tools and applications, IT and PR are now jointly trying to figure out why, when, and how to speak directly with customers, investors, and business partners.
Specifically, they are learning that a corporate Web site can reinforce the traditional relationship between a company and
the news media-or redefine that relationship. Consider three recent examples: Digital, Intel, and IBM.
On May 15, a newsflash on Digital's home page described why Digital was suing Intel. This page linked to a full press release and to a "Greeting" from CEO Robert Palmer, which was very similar to the full-page advertisement then running in The Wall Street Journal. For this story, Digital essentially reinforced its traditional relationship with the media.
Intel's home page on May 15 made no mention of Digital's lawsuit. However, a click on "Press Room" yielded a short statement with links to other press releases and to instructions on how to contact Intel's PR manager. Intel also reinforced its traditional relationship with the press.
Another May 15 link from Intel's home page, titled "Update on Pentium Pro Processor and Pentium II Processor Flag Erratum," led to a detailed technical explanation, vendor comments on how the flaw does or does not affect their software, and other items. Intel appear
ed to redefine its relationship with the media by providing extensive in-depth information that augmented the traditional press releases-thereby conveying a more complete and balanced story than would normally have gone out to the media.
IBM also appears to have used the Web to redefine its relationship with the media. Two years ago, before its acquisition of Lotus Development was consummated, a letter from IBM CEO Lou Gerstner to Lotus CEO Jim Manzi was posted on IBM's home page. Numerous Lotus employees read it, leading many to become convinced that the acquisition was a good idea. IBM frequently uses its Web site to more fully convey its views on various topics.
For example, during last summer's Olympic Games, the press skewered IBM for glitches in its score-reporting system. Meanwhile, IBM's Web pages discussed the company's many significant technical accomplishments during the Games. Its version of these stories is still accessible on IBM's Web site.
In May, IBM gained significant publicity
from the Kasparov-Deep Blue chess match. IBM's Web pages provided chess trivia and commentary, as well as reminders that, in IBM's words, "the underlying RS/6000 technology is being used to tackle complex real-world problems, like cleaning up toxic waste sites and forecasting the weather." For this story, IBM got the best of both worlds: loads of conventional press coverage-and loads of hits on its Web pages.
While the media primarily conveyed the chess match story to technically unsophisticated readers, IBM augmented that story with messages targeted at constituencies representing a broad spectrum of technical sophistication and interest in IBM products.
Although I have not systematically followed these companies through the life of their Web sites, it seems to me that in the above examples, Intel and IBM appear to have discovered how to use the Web to redefine their dealings with the news media. In the new relationships between IT and a company's PR and communications professionals, all parties must
work together and take a close look at when and how to update traditional media relations.
James I. Cash Jr. is the James E. Robison professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. He can be contacted at
jcash@hbs.edu
.
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istorically, IT professionals have had little need to collaborate with the public relations and communications professionals in their companies. But thanks to the rapid evolution of Web tools and applications, IT and PR are now jointly trying to figure out why, when, and how to speak directly with customers, investors, and business partners.
