The autumn season is in full swing and people are pulling out their favorite cozy sweaters, watching the leaves change colors and sipping on spiced, warm beverages. The team over at Kimball Hughes Public Relations is enjoying the season change and getting outside as much as possible before the winter cold rolls in. Here’s a little insight into a few of our favorite things about fall:
Rod: Playtime in the yard with Theodore Rex (Teddy). He loves to search for his ball in the leaves, and I think he likes to blend in with the scenery trying to hide from the humans.
Eileen: Pumpkin-flavored coffee. I’m not hooked on the fancy pumpkin-spiced lattes, but a little pumpkin flavor is nice, particularly with a view of the changing leaves.
James: Hoodie season. There is nothing better than going outside, feeling the cool air, and watching my dog Zeus run through the leaves.
Cassidy: The foliage. New England, where I am based, is one of the most beautiful places to be in the fall. The vibrant reds, oranges and yellows make for the perfect backdrop for apple picking, football games and hiking.
Hari: Taking long walks. I love walking around seeing how beautiful Philadelphia looks in the fall while it’s still warm enough outside to walk comfortably.
Kate: Halloween decorations. My neighborhood goes all out for Halloween. My partner and I like to walk around to see everything lit up and check out the spooky displays. Most of them have themes they switch up each year, and taking the time to appreciate those setups has become an annual tradition that we look forward to.
Liz: The cooler weather and enjoying the outdoors! All the beautiful colors of the leaves changing on the trees and the mums that are everywhere.
Corporate speak is an unfortunate consequence of attempts to develop relatable messaging that can remain relevant and least likely to offend mass audiences. In a professional setting, people don’t say “I’ll get back to you later.” Instead, they say “Let’s circle back on that ahead of our next call,” as if the idea of walking in an ideological circle is somehow easier to understand. But we all use it, and many business owners have fully embraced corporate speak in their company culture without considering the impact its wanton use could have on their business.
In the end, this language transcends the office environment and can contribute to stakeholders’ and the public’s general perception of your company’s image. And corporate speak that may have once resonated with employees, prospective employees and customers, may no longer be connecting with millennials and Gen Z.
PR Newswire recently listed some of corporate America’s go-to terms of today, as reported by Adweek. They found the use of the word “thrilled” in press releases has increased 61% since 2017, “passion” increased by 54%, “industry-leading” by 98% and “pioneering” by 151% – that’s a lot of new pioneers in a 7-year span. From the outside, it may look like there are more pioneers than new lands to explore.
Those entering the workforce recognize repetitive and often redundant corporate speak as overused and ridiculous. Many are already fluent in the intent behind the general messaging. For example, they know that “Per the above message” in an email thread means “Please actually read my last email.” They are digital natives and speak the language. As Business Insider reports, they are tired of unnecessary and indirect words.
Recruiting is easier when everyone speaks the same language
There are likely hundreds of articles published in the past year discussing the complicated current state of recruiting and attracting talent, both for job seekers and creators. As businesses seek to attract top talent by positioning their companies as great places to work, words like “family atmosphere” and “work hard, play hard” begin to creep into job descriptions. The overused terms convey a vagueness that can create an atmosphere of distrust. This can actively discourage candidates from applying for or accepting your job offer.
Instead, when recruiting, business leaders should consider a more direct approach – outside their comfort zone perhaps. Often, the first step is to take a long look in the mirror. Do you really think your company with thousands of employees is a family? Likely not. So instead of positioning your company like a family, share details on how teams are structured, provide insights into how a new hire would function as a part of that team and share how that team supports the company’s goals. By avoiding indirect and flowery language, it is more likely a candidate will approach your job offer with genuine interest and enthusiasm.
Corporate speak may be damaging reputations
The damage of overutilized corporate speak goes beyond recruiting. It can make its way into external communications and shape customer perceptions of your brand. Think about the last time you were told the price of a good or service was increasing and how that felt. Probably not a great feeling? The first instinct for anyone delivering bad news to their customers is to find a way to soften the blow. They’ll often put together softer language for communications highlighting premium features and promises of a better customer experience.
In practice, this frustrates audiences. At best, it is viewed as a halfhearted attempt to spin bad news into something positive. At worst, it is viewed as dishonest. This can create additional communications challenges a company could have avoided if it had delivered the bad news plainly and clearly.
How do we overcome corporate speak?
While most industries are inundated with corporate speak that will likely never be fully extracted, there is something business leaders can do to overcome some of the problems this jargon creates.
When developing messaging, ask yourself the following questions:
Is what I am saying making sense?
Do my words convey real and relevant information?
Will this message resonate with my audience?
Am I avoiding corporate buzz words, like those mentioned above, that audiences have learned to gloss over?
Am I talking down to my audience??
Leaders across the company from the c-suite to HR and marcomm may find they do not like the answers to the above questions. This may warrant a change in communications – internal, external, casual and formal. However, by being aware of corporate speak and the damage its overuse can cause, leaders can better position their teams to deliver more effective messages that are not only heard, but more positively received.
As many businesses and non-profits begin to turn their attention to 2025 planning, one component that should not be overlooked as part of a success strategy for the new year is communication or comms planning. An effective public relations campaign can prove to be both an affordable investment in growing your organization as well as in deepening important reputational relationships that can help sustain for- and non-profit organizations in troubled times.
Here are five critical tactics for B2B organizations to consider when developing 2025 comms strategies.
Highlight Industry Expertise. In the world of B2B marketing and communications, clients and partners look for actionable, tested expertise. By positioning your subject matter experts as thought leaders through authoritative content, you position your brand as a potential resource for your target audiences while demonstrating your deep understanding of, and vision for, the industry you’re in. That content can include contributed articles to respected trade outlets, white papers, industry reports, owned video content and feature-length broadcast interviews on hot topics or industry trends.
Develop Authentic Messaging. Whether your audience is business or consumer, the public at large is tired of being sold to or fed boilerplate marketing messaging. Don’t sell. Instead, tell stories to highlight the purpose and values of your brand that address the concerns of your audience. No one looks for a sales pitch; they look for anecdotes, reviews and stories in which they recognize themselves or their priorities. Your audiences are more likely to turn to the sources of those stories or analogies when seeking solutions and opportunities.
Focus on Data-driven Solutions. B2B audiences look for track records of success supported by hard data. Highlighting successful partnerships or projects supported by numbers and real-world outcomes creates a point of distinction and gives trade journalists something to work with when telling stories that can shine a light on your brand. This can also include information on lessons-learned and client testimonials.
Be Prepared for Crisis Scenarios. From online review sites to social media platforms, the public-at-large can rapidly shape public perception of your brand in minutes or hours. By preparing for likely crisis scenarios and developing actionable protocols to deploy your response messaging, your organization stands a better chance in weathering whatever storms may come. Paramount to protecting your brand in a crisis scenario is developing messaging that is honest, authentic, empathetic and deployed with thoughtful speed.
Pursue a Broadening Media Landscape. While rumors regarding the demise of journalism have been abundant in the past decade or more, the reality is the media landscape has broadened considerably. Where there once existed only print, broadcast and online, there are now podcasts, streaming platforms, vlogs, subscription-based email newsletters, audio-based social channels and even industry-specific Slack communities. The options are seemingly endless. Start by understanding the audiences you hope to reach and how they consume media. Then, plan accordingly.
If your 2025 marketing or business development plan lacks a clearly defined comms strategy, you are missing countless opportunities to convert the work you’re already doing into compelling storytelling that can move the needle for your brand. What’s worse, you may also be completely unprepared to defend your reputation if you find yourself facing a communications crisis. Make sure you have a 2025 comms strategy ready to go before January 1, 2025. And if you need help, Kimball Hughes Public Relations has nearly 30 years of expertise to help you make the most of the year ahead.
It’s conference season and this week I was fortunate to attend an industry event with a global draw – without hopping on a plane or train – in my hometown of Philadelphia. Insurance carriers, brokers, cyber risk assessment, breach recovery experts, legal, security, privacy professionals and more traveled to the City of Brotherly Love for three days of discussions on cyber risk hosted by NetDiligence®. For me, the event provided a valuable opportunity to learn about trends and challenges in the ever-evolving cyber space, to connect with clients, make new connections and of course check in with and coordinate meetings with trade reporters and editors on site.
As a public relations professional who has spent years working closely with the insurance industry, I know enough about cyber risk and cyber insurance to be dangerous. However, the speakers at the conference offered eye-opening insights on challenges in the cyber risk space, emerging risks including artificial intelligence, new technology and best practices for risk mitigation. Now, I know enough to keep me up at night.
For example, top cyber scams noted by Experian Head of Global Data Breach Resolution Michael Bruemmer included those related to fake news (particularly bad during election season), natural disasters, charities, sextortion (which can even include a photo of the recipient or their house) and QR codes. What I learned about QR codes maybe should have been obvious – it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between a legitimate and illegitimate QR code with the naked eye.
For businesses, the top risk, according to NetDiligence, remains business email compromise. As to why the risk remains so high despite corporate teams working diligently to implement safety measures and train teams to spot these emails, Bruemmer said it’s the smart pitches from the criminals that appeal to human weakness. They just keep getting more creative.
Outside the sessions, I spent time roaming the exhibit hall and making new connections. Representatives were on site to talk about their cyber risk technology, mitigation services, cyber data mining services, e-discovery and more. While the usual water bottles, pens, mints and cozies adorned the tables, a robot, like a modern version of Rosey from the old Jetsons’ cartoon, roamed the floor proffering champagne from exhibitor KYND for attendees.
Additionally, I had the opportunity to connect a few clients with attending media for background conversations. At Kimball Hughes PR, we encourage our clients to leverage their attendance at conferences like this for potential media introductions or onsite interviews. Not only can conferences bring value in terms of continuing education credit, new business meetings and client relationship building, meeting with media members, who are often on-site at these events, can pay dividends in establishing you as a trusted source for future articles or even in a conference wrap-up piece.
We often suggest our clients bring us along to conferences where media is attending for boots-on-the-ground support. This way, we can coordinate additional on-site meetings, assist in fielding questions, assist in bringing trending conference topics to the conversation and seek out opportunities to comment on articles currently in the works.
While I’ll be happy to trade my dress shoes for sneakers in the days ahead, this industry conference, like so many others, was a fantastic opportunity to learn, further relationships and build new connections.
Stay tuned for more conference round-ups as members of the Kimball Hughes PR team continue to round the conference circuit throughout the month.
PR Matters 