Boeing’s Corporate Communications Audit.
Assignment Description In this assignment, you will select a public company to study and analyze which is Boeing. Your objective is to demonstrate your ability to properly examine a company’s public relations function and activities. You will seek to analyze and assess the company’s public relations and communication structure, and related PR activities, during March 13 (FAA announcing an emergency order to ground 737 MAX to May 29 ( CEO of Boeing gives his first interview and acknowledges they clearly fell short) While you will use the internet for a significant portion of your research, you likely will need to employ other research tools to gain insights into your selected company’s PR efforts and objectively analyze its communication strengths and weaknesses. Keep in mind that the company you select may use both an internal team and one or more external public relations or communications firm(s). (Don’t forget your library — and librarian — resources!) Research Following are a few research suggestions: Visit the company’s website to review news releases posted in its news/media room, and to see what other tools and information it provides visitors. Does it provide photos, images, logos, video b-roll, etc.? How effective is its newsroom? Does it make it easy for journalists to find information? Does it list one or more individuals who can be contacted for more information? Similarly, investigate to determine if the company has a separate site or page dedicated to investor relations or shareholder communications. Sign up for the company’s RSS feeds or newsletters. Follow it on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. Review news coverage using Google Alerts and news searches. (You can use the Tools function under Google News to narrow the time period being analyzed). Investigate SeekingAlpha.com and other specialized sites for finance-related news. If you have access to a news media monitoring services (e.g., Cision, Meltwater), take advantage of it. Other ways to find news coverage and other information is via Leatherby Library resource. (Don’t hesitate to request help from a librarian). Consider using online measurement sites such Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or Buzzsumo to capture content and sentiment of social media buzz. (There are a variety of other of other social monitoring tools that you are welcomed to investigate.) Don’t forget YouTube, Vimeo and Google video search, as well as the archives at major news sites. Remember: The more information you collect, the better your ability to analyze and evaluate the company’s efforts. You will be examining both investor relations and traditional PR-related activities. Investor Relations Analysis Investigate to determine whether the company has a separate website or page dedicated to investor relations or financial communications. Consider the following questions: • Where does its stock trade (i.e., what exchange or exchanges is it on)? • What is its trading symbol? • What does the company include on its IR site (or IR information on its main news site, if there is not a separate IR site)? • What kinds of information or material does the company provide for current or potential investors? • How well has the company performed during the period under examination? (Since earnings are reported some time after the quarter is completed, you can examine and assess how the company reported its performance from the most recent quarter). • How has the company communicated its financial performance to shareholders? • How has the stock performed during the period in question? Have there been any noteworthy issues that have influenced the stock price, either positively or negatively? • Does the company use social media to communicate shareholder or financial information? Is this separate from its other uses of social media? • Can you identify any primary (institutional) shareholders? Can you identify any analysts or financial firms that are following the company?