On September 15, 2005, Ray Kotcher, Ketchum CEO, and Kenneth Chu, Ketchum Greater China CEO, visited the China International Public Relations Association and met with President Li Daoyu and Deputy President Zheng Yannong. An interview with Kotcher was published in February 2006 in volume seven of CIPRA's publication -- PR Magazine. The translated article is reproduced here in its entirety with the express approval of CIPRA.
In 2000, Ray Kotcher was appointed as CEO of Ketchum and for the past six years has helped lead the agency to new milestones through a focus on international expansion, services specialization and industry achievement. Among these milestones has been the growth of Ketchum Newscan, the agency’s Chinese division, which added new offices in 2003 and 2005 to bring its total to seven offices across Greater China. A member of Ketchum since 1983, Mr. Kotcher has brought a long history in communications and a diversity of disciplines to his Ketchum leadership post. In the profile below, Ketchum’s chief executive discusses his career at the agency, Ketchum’s most important accomplishments during the past few years, and his outlook for Ketchum’s growth and role in the rapidly expanding Chinese marketplace.
Ketchum builds great prosperity with flourishing growth
Newscan creates new legends with vision and strategy
When you step into Ray Kotcher’s office in Ketchum’s New York headquarters, one of the first things to greet your eyes is the above couplet. The couplet, presented in traditional Chinese calligraphy, was a present from Ketchum Newscan’s staff on the 25th anniversary of Ketchum Newscan.
Mr. Kotcher was presented with the couplet – a traditional Chinese gift – when he attended Ketchum Newscan’s 25th anniversary celebration in Beijing last September. Employees were then surprised and delighted when Mr. Kotcher returned the good wishes by presenting Ketchum Newscan with a crystal rooster – a particularly appropriate gift since 2005 was the year of rooster according to the Chinese lunar calendar.
On the morning of the same day, Mr. Kotcher had participated in the “Guangming Daily CSR Awards Ceremony for Multinational Corporations” and, along with Ketchum Newscan CEO Kenneth Chu, visited Ambassador Li Daoyu, President of the China International Public Relations Association. The meeting provided an opportunity for both parties to exchange ideas and opinions about developments and trends in the domestic and international public relations markets.
Li invited both of them to attend the 7th Public Relations Conference that will be held by the association in 2006. Mr. Kotcher accepted the invitation and observed that, not only would he be happy to address the conference, but he would also make a commitment to come to China at least once a year. The commitment reflects Mr. Kotcher’s high expectations for the China and Asia Pacific market and his belief in making personal visits to support what he feels is Ketchum’s most valuable asset – its people.
“Ketchum’s people have defined the agency since the beginning and they will continue to be the most important part of the company. Ketchum is highly regarded for its unique employee culture, commitment to creativity and focus on quality,” Mr. Kotcher explained proudly. “Ketchum is passionate about its people and clients, and it is committed to creating an environment where ‘best teams’ work together in an integrated global community to provide a consistent approach for clients. Ketchum wants to be the agency that invests more in its people than any other – valuing them for who they are and helping them grow in new directions.”
According to Mr. Kotcher, this investment in people has yielded award-winning returns and a reputation as one of the most creative agencies around. Recently, Ketchum was selected to be on the short list of agencies vying for PRWeek’s 2005 Agency of the Year award, and not for the first time. Ketchum was named PRWeek’s 2002 Agency of the Year and Inside PR’s Agency of the Year three times. What’s more, Ketchum holds the record as the PR agency with the most Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil awards. Locally, Ketchum Newscan’s honors include a record five Shanghai Public Relations Association awards for excellence in 2005, with a special award for excellence going to Ketchum Newscan CEO Kenneth Chu. Ketchum Newscan also has won several gold and silver awards from CIPRA in 2004, 2002, and 2000; a gold award and best creativity award from the Shanghai Public Relations Society in 2003; and a gold award from the Asia-Pacific division of PRWeek in 2001.
Specializing in Services
Over the last six years, Mr. Kotcher has helped lead Ketchum in rolling out a number of innovations that relate to the delivery of superior client strategies and service as well as to internal methodologies and resources.
“One of our most exciting new innovations recently has been Ketchum Personalized Media -- a global service that advises organizations on how, why and when to integrate the growing roster of online and wireless media – from podcasts to mobile marketing – into their overall communications strategy,” Mr. Kotcher said.
Ketchum Personalized Media initially covers five new media: blogs, podcasts, RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, search engine optimization, and mobile marketing.
Ketchum’s Women 25to54 communication offering is another specialty that the agency recently launched. It represents a first-of-its-kind, four-phase program that fulfills an unmet need in the marketplace to reach one of today’s super consumer segments. It is designed to identify, create and deliver credible messaging that connects quickly and completely to 25-to-54-year-old women.
Ketchum Influencer Relationship Management offers another example of a new agency service. This program identifies and reaches that select group of people who, for each company or organization, inform the attitudes and opinions of customers and decision-makers. It features a customized Web-based portal to manage and measure relationships with these influencers and includes a seven-step process and proprietary technology infrastructure.
Another important offering is housed within Ketchum's Global Research Network. This offering – Ketchum ROI Lab – enables clients to see the link between public relations results and business results through four proprietary tools that measure the return-on-investment of public relations activities.
Absolutely, Positively Delivering a New FedEx
This history of innovative services specialization has helped Ketchum attract a stellar roster of clients, including FedEx, IBM, Kodak, Procter & Gamble, and Nokia, among many others, and build a distinguished portfolio of achievements with some of the world’s largest corporations.
Its successful work for FedEx is one of the best examples of these achievements. In January 2000, FedEx Corporation launched a sweeping rebranding initiative and new go-to-market strategy. The company decided it was time to extend the FedEx brand across all of its operating units, a portfolio of transportation companies that operated separately under distinct brands. Critics predicted a diluted FedEx brand, while media and analysts derided the independent operating model. Employees continued to function in silos and were unclear about the role they could play in realizing the new FedEx vision. To address these concerns, FedEx, working with Ketchum, embarked on a workplace-to-marketplace campaign to validate the new FedEx business model and extend the success of FedEx Express across the corporation’s entire portfolio.
To accomplish this, FedEx and Ketchum undertook four key actions. First, they constructed an internal corporate foundation by implementing a broad corporate-messaging platform, launching a new intranet, and revamping FedEx.com, among other initiatives. Second, they educated media by identifying a media “inner circle,” allocating staff to conduct briefings with target media. Third, they built a web of influencers by increasing external visibility of FedEx executives. Fourth, they capitalized on blockbuster announcements by increasing external outreach and FedEx portfolio messaging in announcements.
As a result of these efforts, FedEx was successful in securing media coverage that demonstrated support for the FedEx vision, with influential journalists and media outlets issuing reports with distinct reversals in position surrounding FedEx. The company also increased its market position overall and its customer behavior reinforced its business model potency. Volumes and revenue at FedEx Ground increased by 33% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2002, and FedEx Home Delivery grew consistently by triple digits on a quarterly basis. Finally, FedEx positioning in influential corporate-reputation, brand and service rankings greatly improved, including in Fortune magazine, which noted this in its March 4, 2002, “Most Admired” rankings: “Being most admired is all about delivering what you promise to multiple audiences, and that's something No. 8 FedEx has down pat.”
Growing Through Acquisitions and Internal Ventures
During Mr. Kotcher’s tenure, Ketchum had made a number of strategic acquisitions that have enhanced the depth and breadth of its core communication services. Three examples of companies in the U.S. that Ketchum has acquired include The Washington Group, Stromberg Consulting and Corporate Technology Communications, which have enhanced the company’s expertise in government relations, internal behavioral change and technology communications.
The Washington Group, which Ketchum acquired in 2001, combines skill in political issues and government relations with a proven track record in working across all levels of government. Headed by former Congresswoman Susan Molinari, The Washington Group has developed networks of contacts on both Capitol Hill and in the Bush administration, enabling it to provide clients with such services as advising on political positioning, conducting legislative tracking and analysis, writing legislative and regulatory documents, and preparing congressional testimony.
Stromberg Consulting, another recent addition, specializes in helping companies deliver on their customer and marketplace strategies by influencing employee attitude, behavior and performance positively. Among its wide range of consulting services for organizational change are defining and employing new organizational strategies, connecting employees to a brand, and conducting organizational audits for internal and external brand strategies.
The third big acquisition, Corporate Technology Communications, added significantly to Ketchum’s Global Technology Practice.
At the same time, Ketchum has also incubated two successful businesses internally: Ketchum Entertainment Marketing and Concentric Communications. Ketchum Entertainment Marketing is a creative “shop within a shop” that helps companies leverage entertainment properties to support their corporate- and brand-communication efforts. Concentric Communications specializes in sales-force communications and events with an emphasis on motivational meetings and training.
In tandem with Ketchum’s overall growth, Ketchum Newscan has grown from one office established in Hong Kong in 1980 to a network of offices in China that now includes offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taipei, Shenzhen and Chengdu.
Mr. Kotcher’s increasing presence in China, leadership of the development of the agency’s specialized services, and history of award-winning work with top-tier corporations underscore his commitment to support Ketchum Newscan’s growth and leading role in this critical marketplace.
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