Capitalism and the corporate life of the logo
Published in Arena, New Series, no. 23, 2005, pp. 147-159.
This paper examines the corporate logo as a signifier within formations of capitalism and the discourses of power that... more This paper examines the corporate logo as a signifier within formations of capitalism and the discourses of power that shape human desire. It traces the logo to the corporatisation of capital and analyses the semiotic logic at work in the way the logo becomes a form of sign-life for communities of worker-consumers. The paper employs a range of theorists, including Foucault (his discussion of the calligram in Magritte's painting This is Not a Pipe), Deleuze and Guattari's employment of Hjelmslev's theory of semiotics.
Corporate Sustainability Survey 2011
Sustainability paradox has become a debate of our time; adding to this predicament is sometimes the questionable... more Sustainability paradox has become a debate of our time; adding to this predicament is sometimes the questionable behaviors of the corporations. This detrimental demeanor is counterproductive, as it for the entity so do for our common goods. The issue of sustainability is a dilemma of our which many scholars pondered over last decades, yet despite their efforts, the message is somewhat convoluted through a plethora of conflicting strategies, definitions, mandates and regulatory measures. The obfuscation has created deviation in the discourse of “sustainability” measures without addressing systemic discord with sustainability challenges at organizational and societal level, and societal and ecological level. This survey examines presence and absence of a particular behavioral dimension in global corporations and corollary effect of it. In addition, this global survey unveils previously unknown data depicting correlation between certain behavioral dimension at workplace and other corporate level factors including profitability, innovation and market leadership. This global survey serves as the basis for further research to find a common ground that brings institutional integration to sustainability conjectures.
BBDO and US Steel on Radio and Television, 1948-53: The Problems of Sponsorship, New Media, and the Communist Threat
Conference paper presented at On, Archives! Conference, 9 July 2010, Madison, WI
Using archival sources, this paper analyzes how an ad agency worked with a major corporate client on a radio &... more Using archival sources, this paper analyzes how an ad agency worked with a major corporate client on a radio & television program. Because the program, based on theatrical plays, was designed to promote the corporate image of US Steel, the agency actively blacklisted talent to protect that image.
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Seen by:Understanding University Image: A Structural Equation Model Approach
by Paulo Duarte
Co-authored with Helena B. Alves and Mário B. Raposo
INTERNATIONAL REVIEW ON PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT MARKETING
Volume 7, Number 1, 21-36, DOI: 10.1007/s12208-009-0042-9
Over the last years, institutional image management has become a critical element to the competitiveness of higher... more
Over the last years, institutional image management has become a critical element to the competitiveness of higher education institutions.
The aims of this study are to review the organizational image construct; explore the process of image formation and analyze the impact of the different source factors on university’s image.
A sample of 1024 university student was surveyed to test a conceptualmodel of university image formation
trough structural equations.
The results show that, nevertheless all factors being significant to image formation, the university social life atmosphere and employment opportunities are the most important predictors.
As a result, this study is important for researchers and practitioners, as it presents a different approach to image measurement, it provides a new framework to assess university image formation and, at the same time, helps managers to understand that educational related factors aren’t the only ones where they should focus to successful differentiate their institutions and remain competitive
La creación de imagen de marca a través de los servicios informativos: claroscuros en los noticiarios españoles
Vicente Mariño, Miguel y Monclús Blanco, Belén (2009). “La creación de imagen de marca a través de los servicios informativos: claroscuros en los noticiarios españoles”. En Javier Marzal, Andreu Casero y Francisco J. Gómez (2009), Tendencias del periodismo audiovisual en la era del espectáculo, pp. 207-215. ISBN: 978-84-692-2179-2.
SPANISH (English version below)
Los noticiarios televisivos son uno de los principales activos al alcance de las... more
SPANISH (English version below)
Los noticiarios televisivos son uno de los principales activos al alcance de las cadenas generalistas de televisión para gestionar su imagen corporativa. Sobre estos espacios se sostiene, en gran medida, el prestigio de cualquier operador y, en consecuencia, justifican una inversión económica continuada. En un contexto audiovisual presidido por la fugaz desaparición de cualquier fórmula incapaz de alcanzar sus objetivos de audiencia en un margen de tiempo muy reducido, los noticiarios se presentan como un oasis en el que la persistencia en la programación parece no estar sometida a los criterios del mercado dominantes. La inflexibilidad del audímetro encuentra en la información televisiva una excepción que, en parte, sirve para confirmar la regla. Y si el dictamen de la audiencia no resulta tan determinante, entonces deben existir otros motivos que justifiquen no sólo el mantenimiento en la parrilla de estos formatos sino también la creciente oferta al alcance de los telespectadores.
Uno de estos factores, y quizás el principal, es la imagen pública de las cadenas. La carta de presentación de la mayoría de empresas de televisión generalista está íntimamente ligada a su servicio informativo. Este fenómeno no es, ni mucho menos, una novedad, ya que los conductores de noticiarios han sido siempre presentados como el símbolo del rigor informativo y las cadenas han intentando utilizar este valor para contagiar al conjunto de la empresa. Sin embargo, y como resultado de la creciente profesionalización del sector, estas estrategias se han ido multiplicando en los últimos años, diversificándose los intentos de presentarse ante el público con una imagen corporativa sólida.
Esta comunicación parte de un estudio longitudinal de los noticiarios televisivos en España durante las dos últimas décadas. Durante los últimos años, los usos y las técnicas de imagen corporativa aplicadas en y por los noticiarios han sido diversos, casi tanto como los resultados obtenidos. A la luz del éxito o del fracaso de estas tentativas, se completa un estudio de caso de tres de ellas.
Primero, estudiamos la función del conductor de un noticiario como elemento de imagen del conjunto de la cadena, como un referente que condensa el conjunto de los valores que ese operador audiovisual desea transmitir a la sociedad. La historia de la televisión española ofrece figuras interesantes, como José María Carrascal, Iñaki Gabilondo, Rosa María Mateo, Lorenzo Milá, Matías Prats o Olga Viza. Segundo, profundizamos en los virajes editoriales con fines de redireccionamiento de la imagen de la cadena, centrándose en la transformación experimentada por Informativos Telecinco a raíz de la cobertura realizada sobre la crisis del Prestige. Los episodios críticos se presentan, en consecuencia, como una oportunidad de cambio que, utilizada con astucia, puede reportar beneficios tanto en audiencia como en prestigio. Y finalmente, reflexionamos sobre la opción de plantear un noticiario alternativo como un refuerzo de una cadena que se plantea, desde su inicio, como un fenómeno minoritario. La 2 Noticias se presenta como una propuesta complementaria que renuncia a la competencia directa, acaparando un escaso público pero un gran reconocimiento.
ENGLISH
TV newscasts are one of the main resources available for TV channels to control their corporate image. These programs are the ones that give social prestige to any channel, justifying the economic inversion devoted to them. In an audiovisual context where the expected life for any TV product is reduced in case of not achieving really fast the required audience goals, newscasts could be seen as an oasis, as its persistence on the schedules seems to stay away from the dominant market trends. Audience ratings are inflexible, but TV news are an exception that, to some extent, confirm the rigid TV rules. And if the audience result is not considered as the only criteria to keep or to delete a program, then there must be other reasons to explain not only why these formats survive on any schedule but also to justify the increasing available offer.
One of the keys –and maybe the main one- is the public image of the channels. Most of these companies present themselves to the world by means of their news section. This reality is far from being anything new, as the anchormen have always been the symbol of the journalistic rigour and channels have tried to promote this value to the whole company. However, and as a result of the growing professionalisation of this field, these strategies have been multiplied and diversified during the last years, according to the objective of strengthen the public image of the channels.
This paper displays a longitudinal study of Spanish newscasts during the last two decades. Since the eighties, corporate image uses and strategies applied in and by the newscasts have been as diverse as their results. By exploring the success or the failure of these attempts, a case of study is focused on three of them.
First, the role of the anchorman/anchorwoman is on the analytical focus as an element of the external image of any channels, as a referent concentrating most of the values that those companies would like to transmit to the society. Spanish TV history counts with some good examples, with professionals like José María Carrascal, Iñaki Gabilondo, Rosa María Mateo, Lorenzo Milá, Matías Prats or Olga Viza. Second, shifts of editorial line with a goal of re-addressing the channel’s image, taking the change completed by Telecinco during the coverage of an environmental crisis. This kind of critical episodes are presented as an important opportunity to modify the position of any channel. And to conclude, it is detailed the strategy of a minority channel that can use its newscast as an alternative point of view. All the news selection and the exposition of the agenda appeals to another way of understanding the daily news. By means of not competing directly with the main channels, La 2 Noticias has established a small but trustful community of viewers, and a popular recognition as well.
