It’s actually quite simple: companies pursue a communication strategy and want to implement it as efficiently as possible. In reality, this sometimes works better and sometimes worse. After all, any strategy is only as good as its implementation. So how do you implement an ingenious and creative strategy in such a way that all stakeholders are well informed and become advocates for the company? The unsurprising answer is that it largely has to do with efficient processes.

At Grayling, we are passionate advocates of the corporate newsroom to organise these processes.

A question of definition

A brief explanation at this point: Of course, a corporate newsroom can also be a location or a software solution. But we see it primarily as an organisational structure with clearly defined roles and processes, as a platform for strategic communications management. Target group-orientated. Active and with one voice. If all roles work in one and the same ‘room’, this creates tangible advantages; if all processes are mapped in a newsroom software, this also helps. Neither is absolutely necessary for a corporate newsroom.

Focus on target groups instead of topics

Quite the opposite of what makes a corporate newsroom what it is: the organisation of processes along topics and not target groups is crucial. This creates what I like to call the superpower of the corporate newsroom – the model’s ability to be connected to strategic frameworks or other management projects in the department.

Organising the processes along topics makes it possible to work efficiently with models such as the PESO model (‘paid’, ‘earned’, ‘shared’ and ‘owned’) or a message house without major frictional losses. The corporate newsroom also offers ideal starting points for measuring success according to the AMEC framework.

Initial spark for a reorganisation

The digitalisation of processes and the organisation of these according to the corporate newsroom principle have mutually beneficial effects. Most newsroom solutions are designed in such a way that they are automatically structured according to topics. For communications teams, this means that they have to adapt their processes accordingly when introducing software. This can be a good thing under certain circumstances. At the same time, the introduction of corporate newsroom software to map existing processes can also be the starting signal for the digitalisation of the department.

The situation is similar when companies want to make their communications department more agile. Many of the roles of the corporate newsroom, as we understand it, can also be found in agile frameworks.

At Grayling, we specialise in guiding companies through their journey to establishing a corporate newsroom. Whether you’re looking for short-term support or a long-term partnership, we’re here to help you revolutionise your communications. Get in touch if you’d like to speak with our specialist teams.

This article was written by Christian Dingler, Director Corporate & Digital, Grayling Frankfurt.