Corporate Information System (BrandControl)

1. Definition
The Corporate Information System (C.I.S.) is a system for the planning, performance and implementation of integrated communication. The focus is on orienting all communication goals toward developing the corporate brand. The Communication Strength Indicator (C.S.I.) is used to review and document the current status of communication channels. A Communication Strategy Card (C.S.C.) defines goals for target groups and individual channels and renders them verifiable through the use of indicators.

2. Applications
The objectives of C.I.S. are to achieve the orchestration/integration of individual communication activities and investigate the success of individual communication measures among the various stakeholders through the various channels of communication. This enables measures to be planned more efficiently and facilitates the preferential use of communication channels that promise the greatest success with the respective groups targeted.

3. Conduct
C.I.S. involves a number of steps and analyzes:

1. Communication activities and content (content analysis)
2. Use of content by gatekeepers (e.g. content management/editorial teams), quantitative and qualitative media response analysis
3. Success of individual communication channels among the respective target groups. Surveys show which channels (e.g. ads, newspaper articles) communicated messages remembered by the respondents, and how the respondents rated them.

A Communication Strategy Card (CSC) is drawn up as a basis for planning integrated communication measures: all those in charge of communications in the company jointly decide which goals they are going to set themselves, the deadlines for achieving those goals, and the persons responsible for conducting individual measures. This enables continuous monitoring of individual projects.Evaluation of the overall process is in two steps. After specific measures, it is determined whether the set communication targets were achieved. The second step is to establish the effects of communication among the individual target groups and hence obtain robust information on the success of the communication channels employed. Surveys are used to investigate modification of attitudes and behaviors (e.g. heard of the company, positive or negative perceptions, items perceived as purely factual information). This information is used to generate index values that show the success or failure of the performed measures for each target group and each channel of communication.

4. Indicators

5. Service providers in Germany
BrandControl GmbH, Frankfurt am Main

6. Links

7. Futher reading

8. Case studies