Overview by Ketchum CEO Ray Kotcher

Academics and practitioners specializing in corporate reputation offer insights on the topic of "Thinking Through Reputation Management"

Viewpoints II

Three professionals involved in high-profile corporate reputation campaigns share their points of view on "Reputation Management in Action"

Roundtable

Senior Ketchum counselors from around the globe answer the question "What is the most important lesson you've learned about helping corporations protect or improve their reputations?"

Reflections on Reputation

Marketing directors, independent reputation consultants and Ketchum counselors give thoughts on managing corporate reputation

Q&A

Co-editors of the book Reputation Capital: Building and Maintaining Trust in the 21st Century discuss the book's key takeaways for corporate communicators

Street Smarts

Five findings that point to the heightened need for reputation management

Introduction

What is the value of a company's reputation? How can companies manage risks to reputation? And how can a corporation build a reputation of trustworthiness in an environment where trust has been waning?

Almost every major company is seeking to either establish a reputation of trust or to maintain its reputation through a crisis, and these are some of the questions Ketchum counselors are addressing with clients around the world. As an extension of those ongoing conversations, we thought it would be fitting to share highlights from an international symposium series on "reputation capital" that also is addressing key questions on reputation. The European Centre for Reputation Studies, a cooperative among representatives of Ketchum Pleon and research institutes at the Universities of Munich and Zurich, conducted the most recent symposium, titled Reputation Capital, in Munich at the end of last year.

In this "Extra" issue of Perspectives, we've divided "Viewpoints" into two sections to summarize six compelling presentations from that event, including the latest thinking on reputation from our university partners and case studies of ongoing reputation management campaigns from global corporations such as Dow Chemical Company and Siemens AG.

In "Reflections on Reputation," we share quotes from symposium attendees that provide a glimpse into how communications professionals at corporations, independent reputation consultancies and our own agency assess the importance of reputation management. We also tapped our senior Corporate Practice counselors in Argentina, Canada, China, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. for a "Roundtable" to share lessons they've learned from helping clients manage reputation in today's media environment.

Finally, we offer key insights from the new book that this issue borrowed its title from: Reputation Capital: Building and Maintaining Trust in the 21st Century. Joachim Klewes and Robert Wreschniok, Ketchum Pleon counselors and co-editors of the book, talk about the factors that led to compiling the book and share key takeaways, including their "10 Golden Rules of Reputation Management." Our "Street Smarts" section highlights five research findings cited in the book.

As always, I welcome your feedback on Perspectives. E-mail me at ray.kotcher@ketchum.com to let me know what you think.

Best regards,

Ray Kotcher
Senior Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Ketchum

Introduction

Perspectives Staff