1.
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Corporate communication is the practice
of developing, cultivating and maintaining
a corporate identity or brand image.

2.
Unit 1
 Corporate Communication: Scope and Relevance Introduction, Meaning, Scope, Corporate
Communication in India, Need/ Relevance of Corporate Communication in Contemporary
Scenario
 Keys concept in Corporate Communication Corporate Identity: Meaning and Features,
Corporate Image: Meaning, Factors Influencing Corporate Image, Corporate Reputation:
Meaning, Advantages of Good Corporate Reputation
 Ethics and Law in Corporate Communication Importance of Ethics in Corporate
Communication, Corporate Communication and Professional Code of Ethics, Mass Media Laws:
Defamation, Invasion of Privacy, Copyright Act, Digital Piracy, RTI

3.
Scope and Relevance of Corporate Communication
 Create an identity: – The success of many companies in India like Reliance industries, Tata,
Kirloskar group of companies portray that all these companies have created their identity as an
organization which is for their people.
 Build a brand: – Corporates in their day to day affairs interacts with two kinds of an audiences,
internal and external. The internal audience who may be in form of shareholders, stakeholders or
employee of the company carry the pride of association with an organization wherein the external
audience are crucial for the future growth of a brand. To balance both the audiences, corporate
communication practitioner need to follow the simple approach in mind.
 Manage the reputation: The corporate communicate practitioner manage the task of building the
organization reputation and keep its prestige intact.
 Develop a communication model: – No organization will make a progress in their isolation
approach. It is crucial to communicate with their people on a timely basis. An effective
communication model will help an organization to build a strategy which will be beneficial for
them in a long run.

4.
Corporate Communication in India
 The journey of corporate communication has been changed from time to time.
 In the 1950s, when industrialization just commenced, the focus was more on production and
need-based but this concept has kept on changing from time to time and today, the corporate
communication is all about corporate branding and reputation management
 . India, as a country is a brand driven consumer markets. Each phase of industrialization has come
up with a new medium of communication and vision as well.
 The objective of the company moved from attention seeking to relational capital (reputation +
bonding).
 Today, every corporate wants to manage their stakeholders through various medium of
communications.
 Today, the company wants to control and manipulate public opinion to build trust and reputation
through digital media.
 Corporate communication has quite advanced today over the course of more than a century.
 Be it political, social, economic, legal, business, no one can deny its importance and relevance
today in the context of India.

5.
Relevance of Corporate Communication in
Contemporary Scenario
 The world economy has opened its doors to the global market. This demands an
organization strong in foundation, leadership, clear business focus with strategies,
motivated skill-sets and adaptable management.
 But in such multi-cultural and global competition, communication plays a vital role,
connector for bridging all conceivable gaps everywhere
 . Organizations must realise that ineffective communication is a liability and it costs
money.
 If communicated well internally, the outside world would be a smooth sailing.
 Explaining well to the outside and projecting a healthy organization would ensure
business for the Corporate.

6.
Corporate Identity
 Corporate identity is the “persona” of a corporation which is designed to facilitate the
business objectives. It connects with the audience and makes them aware of it. The
corporate title, logo, colors develop a sense of belongingness.
 E.g. Google always changes its shape and color because it wants to portray as a modern
company. MacDonald’s has “M” logo and the color combination of yellow and red
appears consistently through its packaging and advertising. The puppy dogs in
Vodafone advertisement is consistent throughout its launch and it talks about
connecting people with a red background.
 Thus, the visual identity is crucial to known because it talks about the ambition of an
organization, its business and characteristics.

7.
Why Corporate Identity is important?
 It provides visibility and recognition to brand
 It provides support role to corporate reputation
 It gives corporate visual identity structure
 It relates organization as a whole.

8.
Corporate Image
 Corporate Image is the perception held by an organization by the various stakeholders
in the company (like investors, customers, vendors & government), public and the
society at large.
 It need not reflect the actual position but rather it is a view that the society has about
the company. It is simply the impression that comes to the mind when one comes across
the name of the company.
 The company can form their impression either by branding promotion, launching
advertisement campaigns, interaction with media, communication with customers at
different levels etc.
 E.g. ITC which attempts to build an image of being a socially responsible
company. Through its various initiatives like solid waste management, using energy
from renewable sources, getting their hotels to be LEED® certified etc.

9.
Factors which play a crucial role to build the
corporate image
 Quality and Price of the products – e.g. Wrangler, Spykar jeans, Basmati Rice, Tanishq Jewellery.
 Safety of the product: – Bosch, Led bulbs, Schlender Electricals products.
 Dealer relationship and the attitude of dealer towards the company e.g. Maruti Suzuki’s dealer Sai
Service prompt to remind customers about their due, maintenance etc.
 Discounts, Credit facilities and after sales – Eureka Forbes, Reliance Jio’s mobile phones
 Advertising and Ad companies and the logo used – tagline of different products also create the image of a
company like Cadbury – Is Deewali Khushiyan Le Chelo”, Domino’s Pizza – Apne bola aur humne
banaya”, “Tata Namak – Desh ka Namak” etc.
 Press Publicity of any product eg. Maggi’s PR Exercise to bring back its image
 Discharging of social responsibility E.g. P& G, Ariel, Surg, Johnson & Johnson and Patanjali.
 Consumer service and people welfare
 Company contribution in regard to rural development and ecology balance
 Attitude towards people and masses E.G. Uber, HDFC bank seva for senior citizens
 The financial position of the company management practice and social economic objectives of the
company.

10.
Corporate Reputation
 A corporate reputation is a collective representation …It gauges a Firm’s relative
standing both internally with employees and externally with its stakeholders …
 Thus, in the above light of definition, the corporate reputation is based on 3 areas i.e.
reputation of awareness of the product, a reputation of the product on the basis of public
opinion and surveys and the opinion of consumers about the product and its utility to
build the capital for an organization.

11.
Advantage of good Corporate Reputation
 A company which has a good value and reputation always being preferred by their
consumers like Mahindra & Mahindra, HUL, Patanjali, Dabur, Tata and many more.
 It helps a company to improve their financial performance and good returns.
 It connects with masses and earns public sympathy and attention..
 It builds the confidence of masses on companies and helps them to get longer tenure.

12.
Importance of Ethics in Communication
 Conveying the point without offending the audience:While communicating with the audience,
expressing the desired message to them in a significant manner is of primary importance. For
instance, the employees in a company can be asked to increase their efficiency in a demanding
manner whereas managers and executives will feel offended if the same tone is used on them.
There are different ways to explain the exact things to them in a much smoother manner.
 Maintain a relationship with the audience:Maintaining the same wavelength with the audience
is very important for a communicator to ensure the audiences feel at home. Experienced
communicators immediately build a relationship based on trust with the audience as soon as they
start speaking. Great orators such as Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi always were able to
maintain a relationship with their audience because they were masters at striking the same
wavelength of the audience.
 Avoid withholding crucial information:In the modern era, information is vital for all decisions.
Hence, it is essential for any organization to be cautious when communicating with tvitalic. The
related information should be absolute, and all crucial information must be conveyed
appropriately. Purposely withholding crucial information might result in the public conceiving a
bad image.[5]

13.
 Well organized value system:In order to ensure that this concept is successfully practiced and
understood in an organization, a well-organized value system must be established throughout the
organization by the top management. If an organization functions on the base of value systems
common to both the top management and the employees, mutual respect between them will be
present. A sound and healthy value system can make way for ethical communication.[6]
 Accuracy of information is necessary:Any information that is to be passed on must be true and
accurate. Communicating without checking the truth of the information can be highly dangerous
for the organization. Identification of the source and testing the information is necessary before
communicating it.

14.
Mass Media Laws
 The brief history of mass media laws: – In India, the concept of mass media laws were enacted
during the British Raj.
 In 1799, Lord Wellesley promulgated the Press Regulations and imposed the censorship on
newspaper for publishing any information against the government.
 The passed act of 1835 was repressive in nature and imposed restrictions on the printing industry.
In 1857, Government passed the “Gagging Act” which had the rule to have compulsory licensing
for the owning or running of printing presses and gave multiple rights to government to suppress
the freedom of the press. In 1867, the ‘Press and Registration of Books Act” 1867 came.
 The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was also repressive in nature. After that, there were various acts
introduced by British governor which curbed the freedom of the press.

But after independence, The Indian constitution has signified the “Freedom of Press” and
empowered press to disseminate knowledge to the masses and the Constituent Assembly and in
Article 19 (1) (a) enumerated certain rights regarding individual freedom of speech and
expression.

15.
Invasion of Privacy
 Invasion of privacy is the unjustifiable intrusion into the personal life of another without consent.
 However, invasion of privacy is not a tort on its own; rather it generally consists of four distinct
causes of action. The four most common types of invasion of privacy torts are as follows:
 Appropriation of Name or Likeness:Appropriation of a person’s name or likeness for
commercial or trade purpose without any permission is an invasion of privacy. Use of an
individual’s photograph, a sketch of the person’s nickname or any other names is all considered
use of a name or likeness.
 Intrusion Upon Seclusion: Intruding someone’s private affairs, physically or otherwise, is subject
to liability if the other person finds it offensive and unacceptable.
 False Light: This includes the disclosure of information that may be true but is nonetheless
misleading or damaging. For example, it may be an invasion of privacy if a caption published with
a photograph in a news article about a protest describes a person as a participant, when in fact, the
person was only observing the protest
 Public Disclosure of Private Facts: : the media tries to cover all the irrelevant personal
information about the public figure which is not of much concern

16.
COPYRIGHT ACT
 Copyright protects the original work of artists in the area of literature, dramatics,
music, artistic works, anonymous and pseudonymous works, posthumous works,
cinematograph films, sound records, government work, public undertaking,
international agencies a photograph.
 Copyright guidelines:-
 It is essential for a corporate communicator to copyright all the literature,
brochures or relevant documents deal with company information to protect legally.
 No download/upload other person’s work without having proper information about
its protected rights.
 Always seek permission for materials used for sale.
 All celebrity letters, photographers to be protected.
 Government documents are not copyrighted but avoid implying government
endorsements.

17.
Right to Information Act
 Right to Information (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament of India to provide for setting out the
practical regime of right to information for citizens and replaces the erstwhile Freedom of
information Act, 2002.
 Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen of India may request information from a “public
authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to reply
expeditiously or within thirty days.
 The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination
and to proactively certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to
request for information formally.
 The Law came into force on 13 October 2005. However, under this act, the private bodies are not
covered directly but information that can be accessed under any other law in force by a public
authority can get access.

18.
Digital piracy
 Digital piracy is a form of online piracy and includes the unauthorized online distribution of
electronic copies of copyrighted material such as software, movies, and music
 Though it has many advantages to businesses and consumers alike, there are many challenges
have also been emerged such as:-
 Availability of lots of unauthorized sites: – such websites allow web users to download the
media content for free and it is pirated and make it widely available for users.
 High-Speed Internet: – Today, the high-speed technology and availability of many apps through
which we can share the large MB data in few seconds capitalize the high traffic by selling the
advertising space of their webpage to advertisers to reach the target audience. Such promotional
tactics help them to generate revenue through digital advertising. Such advertisers may be harmful
to all people who get associated with it. It might get indulge in illegal activity.
 Unsafe digital environment: – the sites on which digital advertising is shown might be
interpreted by consumers that it is a well-known brand but it might not be the case in reality.

19.
Professional Code of Ethics
 International Code of Ethics adopted in All India Public Relations Conference
in 1968 states that United Nations Organizations have agreed to abide by its
charters reaffirms” its faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and
worth of the human person” and that having regard to the very nature of their
profession, Public Relations practitioners in these countries should undertake
to ascertain and observe the principles set out.
 This code of ethics highlight the important aspects of Public Relations
practitioners such as Honesty, Advocacy, Expertise, Independence, Loyalty,
and Fairness.