.jpg)
CHALLENGE/OPPORTUNITY
The hurdles were twofold: 1) reputation and 2) relationships. In addition to aligning its image with the reality of its high technology and customer-centered business strategies and offerings, Emerson needed to break through its reputation of being a quiet company that shied away from exposure. As a result of the company’s former approach, senior management was not accustomed to dealing with the media proactively, and it had few existing reporter relationships from which to build. The upside for Emerson was tremendous. Its business strategy was producing great results, which provided a solid base from which to build a media relations program.
PLANNING AND OBJECTIVES
Incorporating its branding research input from customers, employees, analysts, and other core audiences — including MBA students from top-tier universities — Emerson developed strategies and messages to explain the significance of its repositioning and how it affected customers. Then, Emerson’s story was given a focal point by highlighting two of its most successful and timely initiatives: network power and
e-business. Emerson Network Power provides reliable power solutions from grid to chip for vital telecommunications, Internet, and data-based businesses. And the list of Emerson’s leading-edge e-business successes was growing daily, helping the company improve customer relationships, strengthen its supply chain management, and increase productivity. Based on these initiatives, reporters from financial, business, and technology print media were identified.
The media relations objectives were to: 1) Raise Emerson’s corporate profile as a technology-oriented, customer-focused, forward-looking company. 2) Broaden the financial community’s understanding of Emerson’s capabilities and the benefits of investing in a successful company that is repositioning itself for faster growth.
STRATEGIC APPROACH
- Reach out to print media by conducting desk-side briefings and strategic pitching. Focus on top-tier national and international business print media whose readers influence Emerson’s reputation, share price, sales, and recruitment.
· Nurture relationships with key reporters whose assignments correspond with the most technologically sophisticated industries in which Emerson products are at work, especially network power. · Produce a steady drumbeat of positive news about Emerson and its divisions, brands, and products. EXECUTION Throughout the media relations campaign, Emerson leveraged every timely story or company announcement to broaden coverage. To launch the outreach, Emerson continued the momentum generated by its highly successful analyst meeting at New York’s Digital Sandbox, where it first unveiled the totality of its Network Power offerings, by proactively pitching targeted telecommunications, technology, and Internet reporters who would understand the importance of network power. As the stock price inched up, curiosity about the once-quiet company peaked at The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, USA Today, The New York Times, and other top business publications. While the Network Power story was still going strong, Emerson continued to release news about its other businesses and divisions and began pitching the e-business story. In November, Emerson’s RESULTS Emerson’s stock hit a 52-week high of $79.75 on Dec. 8, 2000. Media and analysts began to tout the company as a good investment opportunity. SmartMoney named Emerson as one of its “Six Stocks Ready to Rally” and Better Investing featured Emerson as an undervalued stock. IndustryWeek named Emerson to its list of “The World’s 100 Best-Managed Companies.” Emerson posted record sales in 2000, totaling $15.5 billion. It also marked Emerson’s 43rd consecutive year of increased earning and earnings per share and 44th consecutive year of increased dividends per share — a record unmatched by any other public company. Media coverage of Emerson was greater than any previous year in its history. Research showed there was a significant increase of key message pull-through in 2000. The results of the improved communications were felt throughout the company. A sample of coverage includes: Print Publication Article USA Today Uninterrupted Power is a Top Priority to E-World The New York Times Digital Economy’s Demand for Steady Power Strains Utilities The Wall Street Journal Emerson Electric Hopes to Fill Need of Online Economy for Reliable Power Better Investing Undervalued Prospect is Plugged in to Higher Growth BusinessWeek Emerson Electric Jump-Starts Itself Smart Money Six Stocks Ready to Rally Industry Week The World’s 100 Best-Managed Companies The Wall Street Journal Emerson Moves Into Growing Businesses and Gets Second Look from Wall Street InformationWeek Playing for Keeps: Innovation 100 Companies Use IT to Deepen Customer Ties Fortune The B2B Tool That Really is Changing the World Barron’s Energized! More Than Just a New Face at Emerson Electric TheStreet.com Slow and Steady Emerson is Adding a Little Juice to Its Growth Engine Forbes The A List: The Art of Reinvention Broadcast Coverage CNBC KMOX (St. Louis) Bloomberg TV KTRS (St. Louis) Reuters WIL (St. Louis) KTVI (St. Louis) WBZ-AM (Boston) NPR
long-time chief executive officer stepped down, opening another opportunity to weave in the key messages. And in December, e-business and network power were strong proof points behind Emerson’s launch of a new brand strategy, where broadcast coverage came into play for the first time in Emerson’s history.
.tmb-135x100.jpg)
