This book proposes a model for directly aligning strategic communication with organisational business planning to enable effective management of mid- to long-term organisational issues. It argues that current conceptualisations of strategic communication need to be extended to locate it more precisely within definitions of strategy and as an essential element of mid- and long-term business planning. This approach re-positions strategic issues communication in a professional practice dimension that has a specific focus on issues that do not immediately impact on an organisation’s ability to achieve its day-to-day business goals. Full of contemporary examples from business, and including a thorough explanation of how the model can be applied in professional practice, the book will prove illuminating reading for scholars, students, and professionals alike.

Strategic communication comprises different forms of goal-oriented communication inside and between organizations, their stakeholders and the society. Strategic communication is an emerging practice and research field integrating established disciplines such as public relations, organizational communication and marketing communication into a holistic framework. The field is based on an awareness of the fundamental importance of communication for the existence and performance of all organizations. This textbook offers a broad insight into the field of strategic communication. The main aim of the book is to give a general overview of theories, concepts and methods in strategic communication. The book also aims to develop an understanding of different perspectives and the consequences each one has for practice. After reading the book the student or reader will be able to define and reflect upon strategic communication as an academic field and professional practice, describe relevant theories and apply these to communication problems. The authors apply a reflective and practice-oriented approach meaning earlier research or theories are not only described, but also discussed from different critical perspectives. A practice-oriented approach means, in this book, that the authors strongly emphasize the role of contexts and situations—where strategic communication actually happens. This book will help business and communications students to not only define and understand a variety of strategic communications theories, but to use those theories to generate communication strategy and solutions.

This textbook takes a refreshing approach to strategic corporate communication and provides students and practitioners with the tools needed to understand what make a successful communication strategy. It offers s a new way of understanding the way successful communication strategies are constructed and delivered. Using a unique 'reverse engineering' approach, it takes apart the components of corporate communication, examines the mechanics, then rebuilds the strategy for use by communication students and practitioners across a wide range of corporate entities including not-for-profit organisations. This textbook will be recommended reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying PR, corporate or strategic communications, either within a business school or media studies department. The book will also appeal to students studying related topics including international relations and media studies, especially those wishing to work in a communications role for a corporate or not-for-profit organisation after university.

This book examines the state of strategic communication as a discipline and how it has emerged as a unique area of scholarship in the beginning of the 21st century. Strategic communication encompasses all communication that is substantial for the survival and sustained success of entities like corporations, governments, non-profits, social movements, and celebrities. A major aspect of the field is the purposeful use of communication by an organization to engage in conversations of strategic significance to its goals. The contributions in this book provide unique insights, make compelling arguments, and highlight promising areas of scholarship in strategic communication. Presented in four parts, the chapters explore the emergence of strategic communication, its conceptual foundations, its expanding body of knowledge, and the foundation for further development and new directions in the field. Of interest to those studying communication from the perspectives of communication science, management theory, organizational studies, or business administration, this volume will also be useful for readers who are new to strategic communication, and who are interested in the field for its new avenues of research. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Strategic Communication.

Engaging Employees through Strategic Communication provides a detailed overview of employee communication and its evolution as a tool to drive employee engagement and successful change management. Approaching the subject with the philosophy that internal audiences are essential to the success of any strategic communication plan and business strategy—particularly as they relate to driving change—Mark Dollins and Jon Stemmle give readers a working knowledge of employee communication strategies, skills, and tactics in ways that prepare students for careers in this rapidly expanding field. Providing the tools necessary to evaluate the impact of successful employee communication campaigns, they put theory and cutting-edge research into action with practical examples and case studies sourced from award-winning entries judged as best-in-class by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), PRWeek, and PRNews. The book is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students in internal, corporate, or employee communication courses and will be a useful reference for practitioners who want to understand how to carry out effective employee communication engagement and change-management campaigns. Please visit www.engage-employees.com to learn more about the book and its applications.

Communication in the public sphere as well as within organizational contexts has attracted the interest of researchers over the past century. Current forms of citizen engagement and community development, partly enabled through digital communication, have further enhanced the visibility and relevance of non-profit communication. These are performed by the civil society, which is 'the organized expression of the values and interests of society' (Castells, 2008) in the public sphere. Non-profit communication feeds the public sphere as 'the discursive processes in a complex network of persons, institutionalized associations and organizations,' whereas those 'discourses are a civilized way of disagreeing openly about essential matters of common concern' (Jensen, 2002). Despite the relevance in the public sphere, non-profit communication was never properly defined within communication research. The aim of the present book is to offer an overview and report on Strategic Communication for Non-Profit-Organisations and the Challenges and Alternative Approaches. Considering the assumption that a key principle of strategic communication is the achievement of organisational goals, the majority of research developed in the field has used business environments to develop theories, models, empirical insights and case studies. Here, we take a step towards new approaches centred on the concept of non-profit in various dimensions and from various perspectives, showing the diversity and complexity around this subject and at the same time the need of further theoretical and empirical work that provides frameworks and also tools for further understanding of the phenomena.