Public Relations Society of America

Public Relations Society of America

September 5, 2001

Environmental Scan

Environmental Scan

• Discussion outline– Introduction

– Image value links• Research examples

– Planning model

– Research processes

– Resources

– Summary

– Conclusion

References• The late Pat Jackson, APR, Fellow-PRSA

• Fuld & Company

• University of Wisconsin Management Institute– Linda Gorchels

• Bonnie Hohhof, author and CI expert

• Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals

• Swedish Public Relations Association and Sveriges Informations förening

• College of Hard Knocks

PR can contribute

• Nine ways PR contributes to the bottom line– Awareness and Information

– Organizational Motivation

– Issues Anticipation

– Opportunity Identification

– Crisis Management

– Overcoming Executive Isolation

– Change Agentry

– Social Responsibility

– Influencing Public Policy

Source:

The late Pat Jackson, Senior Counsel, Jackson, Jackson & Wagner

The boss needs you

• Earning a seat at the boardroom table– Don’t wait to be asked

– Know what keeps the CEO up at night

– Analyze the big picture, not just the snapshot

– Get involved with the company’s policymaking process

– Lead the function of environmental scanning

– Serve as the conscience of the organization

– Develop & present action-oriented “decisionmaking” information

– Know everything you can about your organization’s operations

– Monitor the direct competition in the marketplace

– Focus all your PR activities

Source:

PR Reporter Dec. 1, 1977

from: Joe Curley, Curley & Pynn PR Management

A look back -- The beginningIf I could only

have one week go by without any problems…

A look back -- The beginningThe first activist

A look back -- The beginningThings aren’t

always what they seem to be

A look back -- 1340

• William of Occam lays foundation for separation of church and state

A look back -- 1340


• Bubonic Plague

A look back -- 1340


• Bubonic Plague

• Double-entry cost accounting invented

Double entry cost accounting • Seven key

ingredients– Private property

– Capital

– Commerce

– Credit

– Writing

– Money

– Arithmetic

The problem - accounting hasn’t changed • Equity based on

land ownership– Land for

agriculture and cattle

– Mines

– Forests Water

• Industrial period– Factories

– Machinery

– Similar equipment

The other problem

Who ultimately controls your PR Budgets?

The other problem

Who ultimately controls your PR Budgets?

Accountants!

Accounting impact on PR

• Results tied to the bottom line– Primary measure

• Sales and repeat sales

• Difficult to link “soft” contribution of public relations

Into the new millenium

• Stock analysts and investors increase in importance– Accounting is only one factor


• What counts?– Value of the “brand”

– Intellectual capital

– Research, development leadership

– Market position

– Social responsibility

– Regulatory• Environmental

• Safety

– Legal issues


“Past performance is no guarantee for future results.” – Analyst approach ideal for public

relations planning model

Value links

The environment in which we do business

Financial

Community Market

Employees

Company/organization

Build through Value Links:

• Structure

• Check list

• Performance measurements

Financial• Banks

• Investors• Owners/investors Financial analysts

• Ratings institutes

Community• National and Local Government• Opinion builders• Authorities• Politicians• Education

Market• Business and trade

organizations•Competitors

•Customers• Suppliers

Employees• Employees -- past and present• Potential employees• Trade unions• University students

Company/organization

• Top management• Visions

• Strategies • Goals

• Basic values

Value links

• Defines financially relevant goals

• Helps relate intangible assets to tangible performance

Financial• Share

price/Book value•Relative cost of

capital

Community• Freedom to act

Market• Market share

•Price level

Employees• Value added per employee

Company/organization• Supportive

behavior

Environmental scan

• What is going on, or likely to occur around us that will create barriers or affinities to meeting our organizational goals:– Politically

– Socially

– Economically

– Technically

– Organizationally

Goal

• Provide internal and external clients the information required to develop and implement competitive strategies successfully– Tactical: act on current events– Strategic: prepare for future

events

Environmental scan

What is the environment in which you do business?

Tactical vs. strategic

• Direct competitors in the same narrowly defined market

• Competitors in a more broadly defined market

• Indirect competitors that address the same need

• Potential future substitutes and industry or organizational issues

Tactical

Strategic

Requirements

• Know the environment in which you and your clients do business– Understand internal and external factors

that influence business decisions

– Avoid surprises

– Identify opportunities

– Identify threats

– Improve planning

– Decrease reaction time

Environmental scan


Organizational functions• Planning: assist in formal

planning process

• Decision-making: Contribute to operational and tactical decision making

• Legitimization: Justify proposals and recommended courses of action

Environmental scan


Organizational functions• Benchmarking: Provide specific

measures of performance

• Sensitization: Challenge existing assumptions about the business environment

• Inspiration: Identify trends; see what others are doing

Environmental scan


Meeting the Needs

• Strategy development, implementation

• Getting out in front

• Business environment

• Crisis, issues management

Environmental scan


Meeting the Needs

• Strategy development and implementation– Describe external and internal

business environment– Track changes in the business

environment– Describe competitive environment– Forecast the competitive

environment

Environmental scan


Meeting the Needs

• Strategy development and implementation (continued)– Challenge underlying assumptions

and ask the right questions– Identify and compensate for

exposed weaknesses– Determine sustainability of

strategies– Identify opportunities

Environmental scan


Meeting the Needs

• Getting out in front– Trends

• Industry trends

• Industry-specific issues, trends, events, leaders

• Issues with broad implications to the industry or organization

• Issues impacting the organization, its constituents, customers

• Opportunities and threats

Environmental scan


Meeting the Needs

• Getting out in front (continued)– Scenarios

• Best through worst-case scenarios

• Impact of organizational change on scenario outcome

Environmental scan


Meeting the Needs

• Business environment– Competitive analysis

• Direct competitors

• Competitors in broadly defined market

• Indirect competitors/future substitutes

• Pricing

• Strategy, management, inputs, capabilities

• Competitor organizational change

Environmental scan


Meeting the Needs

• Business environment– Activists– Changing trends– Political, regulatory change– Internal factors– Media monitoring– Crisis potential

Environmental scan


Meeting the Needs

• Crisis/issues management– Issues/crisis anticipation– Identify vulnerabilities– Fact finding– Key players– Allies & enemies

Environmental scan


Potential products

• Strategic value– Special briefings, papers

• Situation analysis

• Competitive analysis

• Trends analysis

Environmental scan


Potential products

• Strategic/tactical value– Environmental scan

– Trends analysis

– Strategic impact worksheets

– Shadow marketing plan

Environmental scan


Potential products

• Strategic/tactical value– Issues reports

– Competitive analysis

– Impact summaries

– Campaign and program evaluation

Environmental scan


Potential products

• Tactical value– Competitor profiles

– News bulletins

– Fact-finding in support of client projects

Environmental scan


Additional services

• Tactical value– Data base development, acquisition,

support

– Negotiating with publications for merchandising, added value opportunities

– Locating trade, industry associations

– Lead tracking

Environmental scan


Strategic value Target audience

Senior managementStrategy committeeDivision managementMarketing managersPlanning managersFunctional managers

High strategic value

Some strategicvalue

Primarily tactical value

Marketing managersSales managers Field sales Functional mgt.

Special Intelligence

Briefings

MonthlyIntel Briefings

Situation AnalysisIssue Profiles

Strategic Impact Worksheets

Competitor Profiles

News Bulletins

Data Bases

Hierarchy of Hierarchy of InfoValueInfoValue

Getting information

• Where do I get information?– Continuous data collection– Periodic data collection– Project-based data collection

Continuous collection

• News clippings– News search engines

• Systematic data base searches• Input from employees• Trade shows• Price lists, catalogues, financial

reports• Competitor ads

Periodic collection

• Networking calls

• Routine patent, financial information searches and tech tracking

• Analysis of data

• Examine existing research sources

Project-based collection• Published sources

• Special online searches

• Phone surveys

• Online surveys

• Qualitative research

• Go shopping

Types of information

• Financial– SEC documents– Brokerage reports– Credit reports– Reference resources– News– Census– County business patterns– Financial


• Marketing – Market surveys– Market research reports– Brokerage reports– News– Reference resources– Census of buisness– County business patterns – SEC Reports


• Technical– Patent and Trademark Office– Scientific/technical literature– Market research reports– News– SEC Reports– News releases– Brokerage reports

Sources of information

• Get outside of the box– Go shopping, look around

– Brokerage reports

– Federal, state, local agencies/filings• SEC

• Census Bureau

• Departments of Ag, Commerce, FDA

– Credit reports

– Help wanted ads

– Blueprints

– Fun on the web

Go shopping

• Things to look at:– Products– Prices– Placement– Shoppers

• How they look, move, travel

– Customer service– The “feel” of the experience

Brokerage reports

• Investment banker firms– Very strong on B-2-B technology– Strong on data– Great access to CEOs and insiders

• Brokerage reports– If you’re a client, easy– After a period of time -

INVESTEXT

Brokerage reportsSalomon Smith Barney ~ August 27, 2001

Biopure Corporation (BPUR)#BPUR: Achieves Primary Safety Endpoint In US Pivotal 1S (Buy, Speculative)Study -- Very Good News Mkt Cap: $499.5 mil.

August 27, 2001 SUMMARY * Biopure said it achieved the primary safety endpointMEDICAL SUPPLIES & in the U.S. Phase III trial of Hemopure in 693 patientsTECHNOLOGY undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery. The primaryPhil Nalbone safety endpoint related to whether Hemopure had a worse overall safety profile compared with donated human red blood cell transfusions.Sam Chang * Biopure said statistical analysis of the trial data show that the overall medical risk to patients receiving Hemopure was no worse than the risk to patientsJenny Hsui receiving blood. * The attainment of the primary safety endpoint is the most important milestone to date in the development of Biopure. This news gives us renewed confidence that Hemopure has a rich medical and commercial future. * Hemopure appears to meet the two criteria for achieving regulatory approval -- both safety and efficacy. On May 8, Biopure reported that the product exceeded the primary efficacy endpoint.

OPINION Biopure Corp. announced today that it achieved the primary safety endpoint in the pivotal U.S. Phase III clinical trial of its oxygen therapeutic, Hemopure. The pivotal study evaluated 693 patients undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery. The patients were randomized to treatment with either Hemopure or donated human red blood cells. In our opinion, this is the most significant milestone to date in the development of Hemopure. We now know that Hemopure appears to meet the two criteria necessary to achieve regulatory approval -- both safety and efficacy. Biopure said on May 8 that Hemopure exceeded the primary efficacy endpoint in the pivotal trial. Together, these two elements give us confidence that Hemopure has a promising medical and commercial future, particularly as the worldwide shortage of donor blood becomes more severe. We are reiterating

our 1S (Buy, Speculative) rating on Biopure.

SEC Filings

• 10K– Comprehensive overview, filed

within 90 days of the close of a fiscal year

• Description of business• Properties• Legal proceedings• Selected financial data• Management discussion and analysis of financial

condition• Financial footnotes• Subsidiaries

SEC Filings

• 10Q– Quarterly -- abbreviated 10K

• 8K– Unscheduled material or corporate

event

SEC filings - 8K

Outback enters the seafood businessTampa, FL -- August 27, 2001 -- Outback Steakhouse, Inc. (NYSE - OSI) which operates 819 casual and upscale casual restaurants internationally, and Bonefish Grill Restaurants which operates two casual restaurants in the Tampa Bay area co- announced today that they have entered into an agreement in principle to co-develop future Bonefish Grills. Founded in January of 2000 in St. Petersburg, Florida by veteran restaurateurs Tim Curci and Chris Parker, Bonefish Grill features a stellar collection of finfish -- cooked over an oak- burning grill -- hand-cut beef, and pasta and chicken dishes each with its own enhanced flavors. Outback Steakhouse, Inc. operates 708 Outback Steakhouses, 93 Carrabba's Italian Grills, seven Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bars, eight Roy's and one Lee Roy Selmon's in 49 states and 19 countries internationally.

Ford -- implications of recall … We have preliminarily agreed to bear a portion of the costs of Firestone's recall. In addition, we have suspended production of Explorer, Mountaineer, Ranger and B Series models for the two-week period beginning August 28, 2000, which will allow us to divert about 70,000 replacement tires for use in the recall. Although we expect these actions to reduce revenues and increase costs, it is too early to assess their overall financial impact in the second half of 2000. At this point, neither Ford nor Firestone has determined the root cause of any defect in the affected tires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") is investigating this matter and could conclude that the recall should be expanded to include other Firestone tires. On September 1, 2000, NHTSA released a Consumer Advisory, suggesting the scope of the recall could be expanded and recommending that owners of vehicles with certain models and sizes of Firestone tires not already being recalled take a number of actions to enhance their safety.

Dept. of Commerce• Census data

– Construction

– Finance, insurance, real estate

– Manufacturing

– Retail trade

– Service industry

– Transportation, communications and utilities

– Wholesale trade

– Survey of manufacturing

– Industrial reports

– County business patterns

Credit reports

• D&B Reports– Competitor financial condition

• May show problem areas

– Identifies competitor suppliers and creditors

Little-used sources

• Blueprints– Indicates capacity for production,

distribution

• Want ads– Can predict:

• Future research, development efforts

• Marketing direction

• New product launches

• Sales expansion

Some online hot spots

• Environmental Defense Fund– www.scorecard.com

• Enter the zip codes of your facilities

• Look around -- search for your company name; for competitors

• Does your company have the worst-case scenario filed with EPA, and have you done the required public education program?

WWW.wassup.com

• Try these web strategies– Monitor activist groups

• Anticipate press conferences, actions

– Regular searches for your company, competitor names

• Also names of key people

– Ongoing tracking of key words, issues– Look for discussion groups with your

name on them

Try this:

• If your web address is:– www.whoeveryouare.etc.

then try: – www.whoeveryouaresucks.etc. – www.whoeveryouare.theotheretc.

• whitehouse.gov (the Whitehouse)– www.whitehouse.com (Porn site)

• www.ibm.com (Corporate site)– then try: www.ibmsucks.com (Protester)

– Look up your company on 500sucks.com

Get out in front

• Check Web sites for– Research companies– American Demographics– “Think tanks” – Futurists– Business consulting firms– Competitive intelligence firms

In summary

• Environmental scanning:– Adds value to your organization– Enhances PR’s value to your

management– Aids your planning process– Can be a fun part of your PR mix

Parting thoughts

"Prophesy is a good line of business, but it is full of risks."

Mark Twain in Following the Equator

"To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect."

Oscar Wilde

Documents

Public Relations Society of America