Only 1 in 5 CEOs report satisfaction with their strategies in 2020, According to Study by (X)

SAN DIEGO; Nov. 23, 2020 — COVID-19 made 2020 the year of the strategy pivot, and independent San Diego State University survey research commissioned by (X) shows how enterprise leaders are evaluating their pivots and providing lessons for improved strategy performance in 2021.

Data collected from more than 100 U.S. CEOs and other corner suite leaders from a cross-section of industries showed how they feel about their enterprise strategy execution:

  • Only 22% of C-level executives felt their enterprises were doing a good job with their strategic initiatives.
  • The majority (66%) said that the biggest obstacle to successful strategy execution was a lack of employee engagement, even though 79% said that employee engagement was a big driver of their internal communication program. 
  • More than half reported that strong communication strategies played a role in their enterprise’s success in 2020. However, 39% reported their internal communication was also strained by COVID-19. 
  • The degree to which strong communication helped enterprises succeed in 2020 correlated significantly with whether an enterprise used consultants: 68% of CEOs who reported using consultants attributed strong communication to their success compared to 50% who don’t use consultants. 

 “Strategy is crafted by few and implemented by many. Getting and keeping employees more engaged through supporting communication could go a long way in helping the 78% of CEOs who aren’t feeling good about their strategic initiatives,” said (W)right On Communications CEO Grant Wright. “This is why we partnered with Excelerate to create (X), a solution to help organizations wring more shareholder ROI out of their initiatives. Senior leaders know strategy implementation and internal and external communication need to be tightly linked, but our research also revealed some gaps, fragmentation and resource issues, with COVID-19 also creating a strain.”

The survey was conducted by the Broom Center at San Diego State University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies and sponsored by (X), an enterprise strategy execution and communication consultancy formed by partners (W)right On Communications and Excelerate. 

“Execution of key strategies is always difficult,” said Jana De Anda, president of Excelerate. “The realities businesses faced in 2020 drove even more complexity in getting key initiatives to the finish line. And with the majority of CEOs reporting that their employee engagement is such a big obstacle to their success, it illustrates the importance of connecting strategic planning and implementation with excellent internal communication just as much as external.”

(X) leaders Julie Wright and Jana De Anda are presenting the survey’s findings in a webinar on Dec. 3 from noon to 1 p.m. PST. The webinar will go deeper into the survey results and share tips on how enterprises can better align strategy and communication to more successfully achieve strategic goals. 

Register for the “Pivoting in 2021: Pitfalls to Avoid” webinar at bit.ly/2021pivotpitfalls. 

About the Study

SDSU’s survey, conducted from Oct. 6 to Oct. 27, examined the strategic planning and implementation and communication practices of enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic. Talking to leaders at the highest level, CEOs (87%) made up a majority of the 136 respondents.  These leaders direct companies with annual revenue between $50M to $250M (54%) and more than $250M (46%). The survey gauged CEOs’ communication alignment with their business strategy. The data suggests best practices for upcoming communication strategy for Q1 of 2021. 

About (X) 

Combining the considerable capabilities and reputations of (W)right On Communications and Excelerate, (X) is a joint venture service offering that better connects strategic planning and operational implementation with integrated strategic communications for faster and more impactful results. From offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland and Vancouver, BC and with client partners coast to coast, (X) streamlines multiple agency engagements thereby reducing costs and decreasing redundancy while strengthening outcomes at a faster rate that is essential for organizations to successfully navigate unprecedented change and new opportunities.

For more, see PivotWithX.com or email AskUs@PivotWithX.com

Forbes Names (W)right On Communications to 2021 Best PR Agencies List

SAN DIEGO; Oct. 30, 2020 —  (W)right On Communications, Inc. a leading public relations agency headquartered in California, has been named to Forbes’ Best PR Agencies of 2021 list.

From among about 12,000 PR firms across the nation of which 5,000 were nominated, (W)right On was named among the Top 200. Of these, (W)right On is one of only 20 firms based in California that was rated with five of five stars according to Forbes research and analysis.

“It’s an honor receiving this national recognition, particularly since it’s driven by what client partners say about us”, said Grant Wright, CEO of (W)right On Communications. “PR takes a lot of strategy, experience and creativity to execute well, and credit goes to Julie for never wavering from the high standards she set when founding the agency 23 years ago, the terrific (W)right On team members for their savvy, progressive nature and relentless effort to achieve results, and our wonderful client partners it’s a privilege to support.”

Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista for its inaugural ranking of America’s Best PR Agencies 2021. To develop the list, Statista surveyed more than 12,700 experts and 20,500 customers who made the nominations. Participants were asked to indicate how likely they were to nominate a particular agency on a scale of zero (very unlikely) to 10 (very likely). Statista then narrowed the list to the Top 200 and gave those that received at least the median score a four-star rating and those that exceeded the median score a five-star rating.

With a mission to elevate the agency experience for its team members, client partners and industry, (W)right On Communications delivers world-class results from a team of award-winning communicators. The agency’s investment in comprehensive capabilities including data collection and analysis, certification by the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communications (AMEC), and remaining on the industry forefront of integrated PR and marketing approaches has helped it successfully navigate the ever-evolving world of information and influence. Coupled with its steadfast commitment to operating in accordance with its Core Values, this approach has led to a growing list of diversified client partners in technology, hospitality, healthcare, education, cleantech, food and entertainment, life science, energy, manufacturing, government and not-for-profit sectors among others.

About (W)right On Communications

Founded in 1998 with client partners coast to coast, (W)right On Communications is an award-winning integrated strategic communications firm with offices in San Diego, Los Angeles and Vancouver, B.C. With a mission to elevate the agency experience for its client partners, employees and the industry plus a focus on creative and measurable results, (W)right On Communications serves organizations in complex and unpredictable business environments working with business innovators, hospitality and tourism leaders and the not-for-profit and public sector. (W)right On is also a parent company of subsidiary brand (X) that seamlessly blends strategic planning, analysis and implementation with unparalleled strategic communications for exceptional results.

(X) Blends Business and Communications Consulting Services to Speed Clients’ Post-Pandemic Recoveries

(W)right On Communications and Excelerate join forces to bring business leaders a turnkey team of cross-functional experts to plan and implement their 2020 and 2021 priorities

SAN DIEGO; June 2, 2020 — San Diego-based (W)right On Communications, Inc. and Excelerate, LLC have created a joint venture, (X), to help organizations navigate the new normal emerging from the worldwide pandemic faster and more successfully. Created by one of California’s premier communication agencies in partnership with one of the West Coast’s best management consulting firms, (X) provides seamless integration of business strategy implementation with supporting complex communications.

“Business and communication strategies are two sides of the same coin. When one is overlooked or shortchanged, the other can’t succeed,” says Grant Wright, CEO of (W)right On Communications. “Many CEOs are making abrupt pivots, evaluating new business strategies and struggling to keep stakeholders and customers engaged and informed. (X) provides a streamlined resource to achieve faster planning and successful implementation for better outcomes.”

“With (X), we are filling a market need for speed that is informed by data-driven insights, which has always been a key part of Excelerate’s mission and client value,” says Jana De Anda, President of Excelerate. “Together with (W)right On, we can help organizations rethink their business models, operational plans and communication strategies to protect and grow their business or market share.”

Wright and De Anda will co-lead (X) supported by their respective teams, combined resources and offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland and Vancouver, B.C.

The two firms both have client partners coast to coast and share deep expertise working with retail, conservation, financial services, energy and water utilities, cleantech innovators, tourism and hospitality leaders, higher education institutions, not-for-profits, land developers, healthcare centers, manufacturers, regional and city governments and numerous other industries.

Follow (X) on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

About (X)
Combining the considerable capabilities and reputations of (W)right On Communications and Excelerate, (X) is a joint venture service offering that better connects strategic planning and operational implementation with integrated strategic communications for faster and more impactful results. From offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland and Vancouver, BC, and with client partners coast to coast, (X) streamlines multiple agency engagements thereby reducing costs and decreasing redundancy while strengthening outcomes at a faster rate that is essential for organizations to successfully navigate unprecedented change and new opportunities. For more, see www.PivotWithX.com 

About (W)right On Communications
Founded in 1998 with client partners coast to coast, (W)right On Communications is an award-winning integrated strategic communications firm with offices in San Diego, Los Angeles and Vancouver, B.C. With a mission to elevate the agency experience for its client partners, employees and the industry plus a focus on creative and measurable results, (W)right On Communications serves organizations in complex and unpredictable business environments working with business innovators, hospitality and tourism leaders and the not-for-profit and public sector. For more, see www.wrightoncomm.com.

About Excelerate
Excelerate is a strategy implementation firm that delivers high value consulting across a variety of practice areas (customer & employee experience optimization, process improvement, digital transformation and operational design). With a maniacal focus on the belief that there is no ROI until a project is live, it uses a facilitative consulting style that engages stakeholders in the process to ensure high levels of buy-in and adoption. Excelerate’s motto is to help companies “go faster” by being the force multiplier to deliver solutions for how to achieve business goals and execution of those initiatives. With a west coast focus and San Diego HQ, Excelerate is a trusted advisor to many brands across retail, manufacturing, conservation, financial services and healthcare. For more, see www.Exceleratellc.com.

Marketing Meets Dating

By Ronda Williams—Marketing and Administrative Coordinator

Twitter: @R_Williams11

Let’s cut to the chase and dive into the juicy stuff! If you haven’t noticed, dating and marketing have a lot of similarities. The two worlds could almost be walking hand-and-hand. Let’s see why marketing and dating make a great pair.

Marketing meets Dating…

When you think of that first date, what comes to mind? When you think about marketing for a new client or company, what comes to mind? You guessed it, branding!

Branding… funny mad men advertising social marketing GIF

Business Dictionary defines branding as, “The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers’ mind.” 

You must first know your brand before developing a strategy. Identifying who and what the brand is in your market should be a key component. Your brand while dating is crucial as well! “First impressions are everything,” is what you should think about when preparing for that first date or new business venture.

eharmony advises these three basics to make a first good impression:

  1. Dress well (Custom brand design)
  2. Personal grooming (Choosing your target audience)
  3. Arrive early or on time (Timing the brand launch perfectly)

Strategy…Image result for strategy

According to the
book, “Marketing Insights from A to Z” strategy is, “the glue that aims to build and deliver a consistent and distinctive value proposition to your target.”

Developing a marketing strategy that is customized and unique is a goal that we strive to achieve for our client partners. As a marketing expert, you not only want to deliver wins for your client but you also want to create a trusting relationship with their audience.

Dating is all about finding a winning strategy to land that special man or woman! Playing hard to get might be a part of your strategy or waiting two days before calling. Whatever your strategy is while dating I’m sure you have one.

Physical Attraction…

When making the decision about who to date, most people encounter the question of, “is there attraction present?”

Madeleine A Fugère Ph.D. says, “Physical attractiveness may serve as a gatekeeper directing us toward partners who are healthy and age appropriate.”

With that said, dating someone that you have no attraction to is not a good idea.G1ft3d art glitch glitch art g1ft3d GIF

Physical attraction in marketing is being able to develop content that will attract your target audience for that brand of interest.

Darren Pitt, a Social Media Lead Generation Specialist for LinkedIn says, “an effective attraction marketing system requires you as an internet marketer to offer information that will attract potential customers with an aim of establishing your expertise in a particular niche.”

Now that you have a little taste of how marketing and dating make a great pair, I hope you will be incorporating these into your next marketing opportunity or that spring fling!

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me via email at: Twilliams@wrightoncomm.com or (858) 755-5411. Happy relations!

To follow (W)right On Communications click below!

Five lies about PR measurement that can sink your strategy and career

By Julie Wright—President and Founder

Twitter: @JulieWright

Last month I attended the Ragan PR Daily PR measurement conference in Miami. The two-day event was crammed with hot tips and excellent case studies on PR measurement–how to design measurable campaigns, incorporate analytics, conduct surveys and develop metrics that matter.

Businessman pointing graphs and symbols Free PhotoIt is increasingly clear to anyone in the public relations profession that PR measurement is something our industry needs to embrace. With marketing budgets and margins under constant pressure, companies are looking to optimize their investments across paid, earned, shared and owned strategies. Not only does PR need to stack up against highly measurable digital strategies, it also needs to take digital paid, shared and owned tactics under its wing to produce more integrated, measurable campaigns.

After two full days of discussion in Miami, I was even more convinced of these truths and returned to San Diego fired up to confront some of the biggest whoppers about PR measurement head on. So here are my top five falsehoods. I’d love to hear your take on this list and maybe together we can all help move the PR field in the right direction.

LIE #1: PR just isn’t measurable.

If you are in PR and truly believe this, you’re toast. Sure, PR is not as easy to measure as digital marketing, but it is far from impossible to measure!

It requires a little more legwork and setting aside some campaign resources to do it well. But, keep in mind, the gold standard for PR excellence has always started with research and ended with evaluation—a.k.a. measurement.

Don’t believe the lie that PR isn’t measurable. Instead, refresh yourself on best practices in PR research and evaluation.  

  • Read “Public Relations Research for Planning and Evaluation” by Walter K. Lindenmann on the Institute for Public Relations’ website.
  • Check out the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation in Communications and their Integrated Evaluation Framework. AMEC has developed an interactive online tool that walks you through each step in the PR planning and evaluation process. The tool is designed to help support campaign evaluation; however, you can just as easily use it to guide campaign development to ensure you’re creating measurable campaigns from the start.
  • Read how others have designed measurable campaigns. AMEC has an annual awards program and shares case studies about the winning campaigns.
  • Check out the measurement resources provided by the Public Relations Society of America. It has collected all the measurement resources and links you could wish for in one place.

LIE #2: Our campaign goal is to raise awareness.

This is also a lie. As Joseph Ogden, BYU public relations professor, threw down in Miami, “If anyone tells you their only goal is awareness, they’re lying.” No one wants their PR campaign to simply raise awareness. They want their campaign to drive people to take some measurable behavior—to buy a product, drink less soda, visit a destination, attend an event, enroll in a course, submit their email, visit the website, vote, download the white paper or make a donation.

Hold yourself to a higher standard and help your client or boss understand that you do more than just “create buzz.” (Eye roll.)

It’s easier if you start by developing an objective that clearly states the behavior you want your stakeholders to take, by when and how often. Once you know your behavioral objective, work backwards and think about your informational objective–the message or knowledge your stakeholders need to receive and internalize—and the motivational objective—the emotional connection they need to make—to drive them to take the desired behavior.

Once you’ve set your intention from awareness through motivation and behavior, you can start to research your stakeholders to find out what their level of awareness and knowledge is and what motivates them so you can develop your strategy.

LIE #3: PR people aren’t numbers people.

That’s B.S. Don’t be boxed in by this lie. Good PR people are good storytellers, and one of the most powerful storytelling elements available to you in 2017 is data. Don’t shy away from it.

IBM Digital Experience Manager Brandi Boatner put it another way during the Miami conference: “Congrats, you’re all data scientists.”

Boatner pointed out the many data streams at our disposal today. There are internal sources that are coming from your advertising, website and internal processes. Analyze them as well as external streams you can study such as news trends, social media trends and competitive intelligence.

Google’s Louis Gray pointed conference attendees to Google Trends, a site where you can see in real-time what the world or the U.S.A. is searching, what news stories are trending and find interesting reports on search behaviors.

If you’d like to dig deeper into your audience’s awareness, beliefs or behaviors, check out Google Survey. Use this tool to cost-effectively add your questions to consumer surveys pushed out to targeted demographic groups via a network of publishers.Image result for PR measurement memes

Or if you have data of your own that you’d like to put into an impressive visualization, Gray pointed to Google Public, a data visualization tool. And don’t forget plain old Microsoft Excel. It will recommend the optimal charts and graphs for you based on your spreadsheet data.

It’s a data-rich world. Your company and clients are collecting data all the time. Extract that data to find amazing trends or to dispute conventional wisdom. Maybe there’s a surprising correlation between weather patterns and shopping behaviors, or day of the week and donations. The point is, you won’t know if you don’t look. And you won’t look if you think it’s outside of your skillset.

So, call a meeting with your company’s data guru and start spit balling with your new best friends in I.T.

LIE #4: More data is the answer.

It’s not about metrics. It’s about insights. And it’s not about the quantity of data points. It’s about their relevance to your goal.

Over a third of social marketers reported recently that they struggle to “distill data into insights and actions.” And it’s no wonder. Facebook and Google Analytics are just two sources that can generate a massive amount of data on your target audiences’ behavior.

Going back to your informational and behavioral objectives, it’s important to pinpoint a handful of key performance indicators to show that your message is reaching your target audience and that they are taking the behaviors that your client or boss really cares about.

You don’t need to track them all. You just need to focus on the metrics that matter and then go beyond tracking to analysis.

LIE #5: Setting measurable PR objectives sets you up to fail.

The old saying applies here: you can’t improve what you don’t measure.

It is not a failure to set measurable objectives and then fall short of them.

The failure is in not understanding why you didn’t meet your objectives. Were they not SMART enough–specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time dimensioned? Was your strategy missing an element? Was your target getting the information but not motivated sufficiently or too inconvenienced to take action?

If you’ve set measurable goals, you are forced to ask yourself these questions and better understand your successes and challenges, which will make you better.

The only real failure that should scare you is the failure to even try. Or as another old saying goes, no one plans to fail, they just fail to plan.

Let us know what you think. How has your experience with PR measurement been? What tips or tools have you discovered? What obstacles have you encountered with your team, boss, budgets or clients? We’re all in this together and I’d love to hear what you think. Tweet me at @juliewright or @wrightoncomm.

How to Strengthen your Business with Diversity

By Ronda Williams—Marketing & Administrative Coordinator

Twitter: @R_Williams11

Diversity is defined as…

“an instance of being composed of differing elements or qualities.

(W)OC has a diverse team of experts in various fields including communications, social media, public relations, graphic design, videography, and more. Not only is our team diverse but the industries we cover are also; this makes for a complementary partnership. Who says you can’t be an expert in more than one field?

The Facts about Diversity:

According to the Harvard School of Law, “the presence of an industry expert independent director is associated with an increase of 4.6% in firm value.”

Whether it be a firm, agency, or business having an industry expert will add to the value of your company.

Another fact  says, “40% of respondents in a recent survey of S&P 500 firms identified industry expertise as a desired background.”

We all could learn a thing-or-two from the business strategies of the S&P 500 firms.

Diversity in a Contagious Atmosphere:

At (W)OC we have a positive atmosphere that makes for less stress and allows us to GSD (Get Stuff Done).  Everyone here works together in  the benefit of achieving the tasks at hand.

Mark Nadler says, “You want people who understand the business and the industry that you’re in so they can think strategically.”

Having a team that is comprised of a diverse background makes for a winning team that can strategize together for the big win.

To put it simply, “a diverse team makes for a strong team!”

He goes on to say, “the roles of the individual board member, the outside person, is to pull the two sides together, to create a link and to bridge different opinions and different points of view.”  Again, backing up the concept of,

A diverse team = A strong team!

At (W)OC we help strengthen each other with our expertise. We’re always lending advice and coming together for a team huddle to create winning strategies for our client partner’s. Having that one team member that is an expert in such industries can be helpful to bring together both sides of a vision.

To learn more about the diverse industries that we cover please visit, www.WrightOnComm.com or give us a call at (858) 755-5411 and let us help bring your visions to life!