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20 novembre 2008

Echo clients continue run of top global awards

Leading reputation analysts Echo Research have once more gained the highest distinctions at the industry's awards for communications research and evaluation.

Given by the international Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), the top Platinum award, two Golds, four Silvers and one Bronze medal were presented to Echo at the 2008 Communication Effectiveness Awards ceremony last night.

Since the awards scheme began (2002), Echo has won 54 awards, including 20 Golds, and three prestigious Platinum awards. This well exceeds the record of any company in the sector, both in degree and quantity. As leaders in the world of evaluation, Echo believe in the independent validation of the quality of its work as the only fair and genuine hallmark of excellence.

Echo Group CEO Sandra Macleod said: "Success in these awards is very important to our clients and to our teams. It proves that innovation, quality and the determination to excel go hand in hand. Independent, professional validation of our approach to research and evaluation gives Echo clients confidence that their needs come first".

The awards, now in their seventh year, recognise and promote best practice in communication planning, research and evaluation. The 2008 programme enjoyed the largest number of AMEC members entering, with a 7.5% increase in the number of entries compared with last year.

The entries were judged by a panel of senior communications professionals chaired by Dr Tom Watson, Deputy Dean (Education) & Reader in Communications at Bournemouth University. The winners were announced at an Awards Ceremony and Dinner at the Cumberland Hotel, London, yesterday (Wednesday 19 November 2008).

Overview of Echo's Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communications awards:

The Judges' Top Award: Echo Research for Special Adviser to the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Platinum)
Best Use of Integrated Media Evaluation/Research: Echo Research for SeverStal (Gold)
Best Use of Media Evaluation - International Single-Market Activity: Echo Research for Special Adviser to the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Gold) and Echo Research for European Foundation for Democracy (Silver)
Best Use of Digital Media Measurement, including Social Media: Echo Research for EADS / European Aeronautics Defence and Space Company (Silver)
Best Use of Measurement for a Single Event: Echo Research for Airbus SAS (Silver)
Best Use of Media Evaluation - International Multi-Market Activity: Echo Research for Unisys (Silver)
Best Use of Media Evaluation - Business to Business: Echo Research for British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (Bronze).

US praise

Echo has also been given international praise by the American Institute of Public Relations (IPR). It has been awarded a Golden Ruler Certificate of Merit for its work with SeverStal, Russia's largest steel producer. The project, to improve performance by aligning identity and image, was heralded as "a terrific example of effective reputation research" by the IPR.

Case study: Echo helps market value of Russia's largest steel producer to rise more than two-fold
Facing challenging reputational issues as a Russian company and as a steel producer, further complicated by a recent IPO and a prospective high-profile merger with the Arcelor steel group, SeverStal commissioned Echo to deliver specific recommendations on reputational opportunities across its key US and European markets.

Initial discussions with SeverStal's senior team suggested a gap between how the company was perceived by its own executives (its identity) and its reputation among external stakeholders (its image), especially outside Russia. A key objective of the research was to analyse the nature, extent and causes of this 'perception gap', and to identify strategies to align perceptions. The research also investigated the critical role and impact of the international media as well as proposing concrete benchmarks of performance in reputation management and communications, to drive ongoing improvement.

These strategic objectives were met through an integrated, multi-stage research approach, which included in-depth interviews with key company executives, a wider programme of external stakeholder interviews and evaluation of media coverage and market sentiment. All interviews were conducted 'in language', adding a further layer of logistical and analytic complexity.

The concluding report made specific recommendations for managing SeverStal's clear reputational assets, such as financial performance and assertive corporate strategy; and risks, which included corporate social responsibility profile and lack of transparency in corporate governance.

Ms Natalya Prokopenko, Head of the Information Department at SeverStal, said: "The reputation research conducted by Echo revealed the company's weak points in its positioning in the global market, and important strengths it should reinforce.

"Having thoroughly studied the research's results, SeverStal adopted and carried out a range of measures, which allowed us to improve significantly the perception of the company's transparency, corporate governance and social responsibility by our key audiences. In 2007 the company issued its first Social Responsibility Report and arranged special meetings with the investor community to present its vision of further increasing the company's market value. As a result, SeverStal's market value rose more than two-fold in 2007."

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