Strategic Business Communication

The first book devoted to digital signage content, "Unleashing the Power of Digital Signage: Content Strategies for the 5th Screen," was launched recently at the Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas.  This is a great primer and resource for our industry, which continues to evolve its focus from technology to relevant messaging.  

To quote Bill Yackey, editor of DigitalSignageToday.com, "Good content is a large reason why digital signage networks are successful, but up until this point there has not been one comprehensive reference point on the subject. 'Unleashing the Power of Digital Signage' fills a much-needed gap in this industry."

The author of the book is Keith Kelsen, Founder and CEO of "The 5th Screen."

Keith's book helps you:

• create a strategic communications blueprint and style guide for your network
   
• keep content flowing automatically-and therefore remaining relevant
   
• use data on viewers and traffic to build a programming schedule
   
• legally acquire and repurpose content more accurately predict where the future of content will lead
  
  
  Keith at the Show with MediaTile customer, Greg Argyle from GoGo Cast
  
  Information is available at its companion website, www.5thscreen.info or you can grab yourself a copy at Amazon.com.
  
  Keith Kelsen has made an important and timely contribution to the industry with "The 5th Screen" It is well worth a read.
  
   

Here's an example of a digital signage promotional campaign gone awry at a local veterinary hospital:



Someone clearly spent some marketing budget on a digital sign that they intended to promote their product at the shelf for an up-sell opportunity in the waiting room. Naturally I am instinctively drawn to see what is being promoted by whom and how in a scene like this, but I was disappointed to find the unit powered off - you can see the rectangular supply laying atop the counter without a power cord.

While there are any number of plausible explanations for this scene, I was immediately stricken by some distinct possibilities that afflict other electronic sign options. The first (most obvious and common) was that the unit was unplugged by an employee of the facility or their cleaning service and it simply was not plugged back in. In truth it could be any reason, but regardless, it boils down to two questions: why was it unplugged, and why hasn't anyone noticed?

To the former, sometimes it's simply that the additional power outlet was needed for something else. But sometimes it's more sinister: employees are annoyed by the audio, or "feel bad" about leaving it running when they close up shop for the night. Through its native remote management and scheduling automation, the Mediacast System addresses these issues by permitting the display network operator to make adjustments to volume levels as well as to schedule operational hours so that the display visibly turns itself off, thus lessening the temptation for employees to pull the plug on the unit.

(As a side note, while the appropriateness of audio in content is always a consideration for effective business communication in any given deployment, if audio is necessary, it is best to follow-up with the employees at the establishment to ensure that it is not irritating which could leave a lasting, negative impression of your brand!)

Another possibility is that the content became out-dated - perhaps there was a recall on something being promoted, or the product was discontinued, or there was some other rights issue with the media... any of a dozen reasons that the media has to stop playing, and now. For other electronic sign platforms, there is no way to remotely manage the content at all; they require an operator to physically come to the site and change out a memory stick or disc, etc. So until they can come out to the site to change out the media, when it comes to issues like those mentioned, their only recourse is to pull the power.

From day one the Mediacast System has provided a purely remotely managed store-and-forward content distribution method with the assumption that our customers have better things to do than constantly visit their display locations to change media. Using the web-based Mediacast Digital Signage SaaS, you upload your content to the portal, then remotely distribute it to the Internet-connected display network - take control without stepping foot into the remote sites.

The other nagging question is why, after several months (and missed opportunities) of sitting like this, has nobody noticed that the display is offline? The answer in many cases is: because nobody is watching. The Mediacast system provides a flexible alert notification system that dispatches emails to selected individuals if a display goes offline. The idea is to dispatch a technician or other field representative to the site so as not to prolong a simple problem.

The automated monitoring also keeps an active status on the displays so that even if the email is missed initially, operators logging into the portal system on a regular basis as able to see displays that have a problem.

(As an annecdotal side bar, we once had a display go offline for a customer running a network in a major consumer electronics retailer at the end-cap of one of the aisles. The assigned technician phoned up the appropriate department and inquired about the unit; when the store employee checked on it, they found that another employee had disassembled the end-cap display and was preparing to install a different vendor's display in the same location. This turned out to be miscommunication internally on the part of the retailer and the end-cap was properly restored, but it shows the value of expedient response; had the materials been boxed up and sent off to the back of a warehouse in a busy environment like that, they might never have been located and recovered.)

As you can see, it is only a matter of time before this vendor's counter top becomes general purpose storage because the dead screen doesn't look like it needs to be visible. The only thing I'm left wondering is how much time is needed for the sorry thing to finally decompose and disappear like so much dust in this otherwise quiet and solemn environment.

I was thrilled to death with how well our first webinar went last week. But I know that not everybody who wanted to attend was able to. We had some great questions at the end from attendees on tips and techniques of implementing digital signage for employee communications. And though I was able to answer them on the call, I think they are important questions and answers to share here on the blog.

But before I get to those over the next few weeks, you can look glance through the webinar's presentation and see how Eli Lilly & Company uses signage to enhance their global business communication. It includes some great photos that demonstrate the variety of environments the displays are installed in, including shuttle buses. Very cool.

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Over the next week, you'll see quite a bit of extra traffic on the blog due to Digital Signage Expo. Should be an exciting time.

As a brief introduction, my involvement with MediaTile dates back to 2004 when I was working with founder Keith Kelsen on prototyping a content management system for a revolutionary digital signage platform based on cellular networking technology. Thus was born the term, Cellular Digital Signage. The concept was exciting, broke new ground, leveraged technology components that were at the time far from common - it was a great opportunity for me to exercise my strengths in mixed-platform systems engineering to integrate disparate and discreet technology components into a cohesive, working system, so how could I resist?

Today I am a Vice President of the company leading the product development group and we are still blazing new trails. MediaTile has been an influential industry leader when it comes to innovation and establishment of best practices in the technology and Software as a Service (SaaS) - this is the kind of momentum that we will continue to pursue as we strive to lead the way for excellence. I know that I am on the right path when the MediaCast System is relevant, simple, robust, secure, and flexible.

Now let's get on to the nuts and bolts, so to speak. It is my desire to demonstrate through this blog the countless ways that the MediaCast system can be configured and linked with other technology to produce an awesome array of capabilities that may not be self-evident at first glance. I have gone to great lengths to enable this "Swiss Army Knife" of digital signage platforms, and I'd like to show you just exactly how this tool can be put to work in the real world to meet your goals for effective business communication.

While it is true that the Digital-Sign-in-a-Box concept couldn't be simpler with respect to getting a basic digital sign up and running, there are possibilities that extend the content system out to the farthest reaches of the Internet and that extend the viewer (and management) experience to new heights for a comprehensive solution that bears both depth and bredth - technically speaking...

I'm not. But several other digital signage bloggers are commiserating over a recent study that reports on the alleged lack of impact digital signage is having on buyer awareness and behavior. The report (available as a PDF) cites what appears to be overall ineffectiveness for the technology.

Now much could be debated over whether it's the fault of the technology or the placement. Is it the content or the lack of coverage. It's tough to know without talking to the people in the survey at a greater depth, but many factors are at play to just simply label it as ineffective. I'm not a retail expert so I'll leave it to them continue on.

But I will tell you one area in retail where digital signage can have a tremendous impact: employee communications. I'm working with a very large national retailer to install digital signage to help them deliver timely communication to their dispersed retail employees.

Think about it. You have employees scattered about the country in malls and strip centers. They have no real connection to the corporate entity so engagement has to be a tremendous challenge. And since every one of the stores is in a different environment, finding one common communication vehicle can be tough. And when you're trying to cover coast to coast, going digital is a must.

Fortunately, digital signage has it covered. They will be able to inform and entertain from a distance. They can provide training tips, employee recognition opportunity as well as general corporate information. AND it can all be controlled from one central location, thus ensuring the integrity of the brand and the message.

Pretty powerful stuff. Consumers may not yet appreciate what the technology can do in retail but I guarantee you the employees will.

Later this week, I'll be trekking down to Cincinnati to attend the Digital Hub Initiative. It looks to be an event right up my alley because it's a smoothie of communications and technology. Local AMA, Ad Club, IABC, PRSA chapters are involved, as well as the Digital Signage Association.

It's refreshing to see the digital signage community get involved in a show like this one, and not just the likes of Digital Signage Expo and other industry-specific shows (nothing against those of course).

Labeled "all things digital," the two-day event (September 24-25) features a digital signage panel on Friday. I'm looking forward to the cast of characters appearing on the panel. Only one panelist appears to be a digital signage network operator, but we'll see where the discussion goes. Taking a glance at the full schedule shows off a diverse cast of speakers from a variety of fields.

I don't think it's too late to register if you're interested. Here's the event summary from the site:
Often times, conferences can be a letdown but I know some of the people organizing this one and I am expecting great things. Any conference that focuses on improving communication is always worth attending.

A communications and technology smoothie.

I'm out at MediaTile HQ in Scotts Valley, CA, this week so I'm a bit tied up in meetings. I thought it was a good time to pull together another list of my "clicks that click." These are a smattering of news items I've picked up over the last week or so that are related to communication in the workplace, social media AND/or digital signage.
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At last June's IABC World Conference, I was asked about the trends I was seeing in corporate communications and what did I see around the corner. My response was that eventually communications would switch into recovery mode and that companies would have to respond to keep employees around. With a nice Labor Day theme, Jeanette Paladino agrees that companies should be ratcheting up their communications. (She mentions intranets, newsletters and face-to-face, but not digital signage. I'm sure it's just oversight.) Jennifer Bull over at Good Company shares our sentiment.
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Global business communication is often a tough nut to crack, but Dave Meyer provides 10 tips for global communicators on his Communication Nation blog. All 10 are solid global communication tips, but I especially love #1 (get outside your fish bowl) and #6 (engage). I'm not sure if Dave did his graphics or not, but they are great.
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Though I'm headed to the circus this weekend, I'm not what you'd call a big fan of clowns. But allegedly you can use scary clowns to improve employee engagement. Go figure. I'd put up the photo but I'm going to stick with the fish.
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Has the employee-employer relationship permanently changed? Yes.
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Apparently, more and more companies and organizations are looking at Twitter to help during crisis communication. Communicating to employees during a crisis has long been a challenge. Digital signage can help on site, but Twitter could become a huge resource for those employees who are off-site or remote. All they'd have to do is follow the corporate account.

Social media has changed a lot of things, but look at what it has done for (and against) customer service. The options of angry customers used to be limited to letter writing and in-store temper tantrums. But not any more...

The most recent popular customer service story is told by Canadian musician Dave Carroll about what happened to his beloved Taylor guitar on a United Airlines flight. You can read the "short" version of his story, but I recommend watching the music video he created. Unfortunately for United Airlines, it's quite a catchy tune.


Dave Carroll seemed reasonable in his quest as a customer to get his guitar fixed. He followed the process United puts customers through. But United appeared to not take his request seriously. . . at least until he released the clever song on YouTube. United has changed their tune but it's a lot too late. Even Taylor Guitars got their two cents in.

Now everyone who watches will not associate United Airlines with the thousands of passengers and bags who arrive safely every day. Nope, instead they will now remember Dave Carroll and how "United breaks guitars."

When I visit companies and customers, I travel with one of our 19" Digital Signs in a Box. Because of the case's size, I have to check it with the regular baggage. I'm always concerned that something might happen to it en route to my destination but, knock on wood, I've dodged any disasters thus far. Plus, it weighs about 50 pounds so it's not so easy to toss around on the tarmac. . . I hope.

As a former customer of MediaTile, I know how important customer service is. And now that I'm an employee, I make customer service a priority. We've made every attempt to make our digital signage simple and easy to install and operate, but from time to time customers do have questions or issues. It could be concerns relating to digital signage content they are trying to upload or questions about how to get a schedule in place for effective business communication.

No matter what the inquiry is, we take it very seriously. I take it very seriously. But this is also isn't to suggest that United Airlines doesn't. I'm sure there are thousands of satisfied United customers, but it just takes one disappointed (and musically talented) customer to change the perception.

It cost Dave $1200 to fix his guitar. What has this video cost United Airlines? We'll see.

My background in internal communications has largely been in the manufacturing environment. When I would attend various corporate communication shows, i would be envious of several communicators. They would complain about why their employees wouldn't read emails.

I wish my coworkers even had email.

But this envy only lasted a few seconds. I enjoyed the challenge of not being able to rely on the easy communication methods. It's hard work reaching employees who don't live in Cubicle World (it's a real place - I've seen it). You can't shoot off an email and then cross your fingers they read it. There's no email address to send to.

This same situation applies at a lot of companies but one that completely escaped me until recently were retail employees. Duh. Here you have a workforce that's often far, far away from the corporate headquarters but their job is to stock shelves / racks and help with needy customers. They are constantly on the go.

Another challenge is that very few employees make a true career out of retail and others are strictly seasonal employees. They have no legitimate commitment or buy-in to the company. How does a communicator go about bridging the gap?

And this gap applies at high-end retail stores all the way to your local grocer. No matter how large or small, I firmly believe digital signage is a solution. With the proper network, a corporate HQ could broadcast out the key messages and even use the signage for training. At the same time, local managers could access the screen to inform on store performance numbers or do some employee recognition.

I only worked in retail once, in high school at a local grocery store. Frankly, I don't remember any communicating going on at all. But I'd like to hear from any of you who have worked in retail and can speak on the sort of corporate communication that occurs.

We'll then know if there's any communication clean up needed on aisle 5.

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Photo credit, Untitled blue

Growing up, I couldn't tell you how many times I heard that when I was a kid. AND it was always an annoyance because it seemed interrupt my GI Joe cartoons. And thankfully, it always only seemed to be a test. But the Emergency Broadcast System was in place a valuable crisis communication tool, giving the government the ability to alert communities if there was a crisis at hand.

We are now giving that same ability to MediaTile digital signage network operators. Just announced last week, users can now implement what's called an Emergency Media Trigger (EMT), allowing them to interrupt their normal broadcast with an emergency message to be played on the screens. It's designed to integrate within existing emergency notification systems and control centers on college campuses and at corporations.


The EMT feature will enable network operators to use an external triggering mechanism, such as email, to interrupt a regularly scheduled program while automatically triggering an emergency message to play across a digital signage network.  A second "all clear" external trigger will reset the network to its previously scheduled programming.

It is scheduled for release late summer, and will be supported on all installed MediaTile displays and networks.

Think about how important this could be for your crisis communication planning at your company or college campus. It's comforting to know that you would now have the ability to interrupt you normal messaging to convert your network into a vital communication tool during a crisis.

Though it's probably something you never hope you have to use, it's nice to know you'll have it if you need it.

Quite a busy week of blogging. Here's this week's rundown in case you missed anything...

There's typically not much one can learn from prime television (especially with Fear Factor off of the air) but the season finale of The Office provided one doozy of an employee communication tip. Here it is: Never announce a branch closing at the company picnic when no one (or you think no one) knows about it.

Tuesday, June 2
3 for us is 4 for the other guys
When I talk to communicators about the technology, I talk about digital signage hardware, software and connectivity. 1, 2, 3. So what could a fourth be?

Wednesday, June 3
IABC World Conference less than a week away
I'm really looking forward to heading out to San Francisco next week to attend the IABC 2009 World Conference. As an exhibitor, the show will give MediaTile a chance to show off what our digital signage technology can do for corporate communication professionals.

Thursday, June 4
Your corporate communication must be message-driven
For those in internal communications, you know you have a fickle audience. You may have recently completed an employee engagement survey that said your employees like to read X message in Y vehicle. But that's just what they say. Is it actually what they do?

Friday, June 5
What do you think determines the value of internal communications?
I love it when posts on other blogs ask simple questions that frankly I've never really considered. Today I read this post that pins the value of internal communications to the quality of people representing them. For the most part, I agree with this statement but there are quite a few holes in such a general statement, with the biggest being who represents internal communications

Find MediaTile at Booth #18 at the 2009 IABC World Conference
You can check out MediaTile in Booth #18 at next week's IABC World Conference. We're next to the Wi-Fi Lounge. I'll be there along with Scott Campagnolo to answer any questions you might have about how our digital signage solution can enhance your employee communications.


And here's a few other items from my week's reading that caught my eye...

• Can't make it to SF? You can still follow the excitement (IABC)
   
• A four-step strategic communication planning process
   
• Internal communication: 12 essential elements
   
• Five ways to better communicate at work
   
• 10 ways to motivate employees
   
• Employee engagement and the magic of remembering

There's typically not much one can learn from prime television (especially with Fear Factor off of the air) but the season finale of The Office provided one doozy of an employee communication tip.

Here it is: Never announce a branch closing at the company picnic when no one (or you think no one) knows about it.

Sounds simple enough, yes? There's no way something like this would happen in the real word right? You'd be amazed at the stories I've heard over the years of how companies have announced or shared bad news.

This just goes to show that if you put together a great communication plan involving the right messages with the right internal communication vehicles (town halls, newsletters, digital signage, etc.), someone could spout off at any time. . . like at a company picnic.

But even though a skit at a company picnic might not be the best method to choose, it certainly was a form of effective business communication. Watch the clip and you can see the effect it had.



Enter crisis communication stage left.

As I have mentioned on this blog several times and other digital signage enthusiasts continue to enforce, digital signage content will ultimately determine the success of your network.

The hardware is important, but even the most expensive network will die out if the content stinks. You absolutely must capture your audience's attention and/or be a network they rely on for information. Plus, if your content appears out of date, it sends a bad message to the very groups you're reaching out to.

This is one of the reasons MediaTile created Media-Moments. Media-Moments are a collection of high quality, pre-packaged flash and video treatments that provide viewers with entertaining content relevant to upcoming holidays, events, and seasons.

Each piece of Media-Moments content should be relevant no matter the purpose of your network, whether you use it for employee communications, retail, banking or even in schools and universities. The content provides a nice break from your traditional business communications that you're running.

Below is a video our Creative Services team created in advance of Easter. You can also check out other sample videos on MediaTile's YouTube channel.

Here's the rundown for this week...

Monday, March 30
aka.tv weights in on MediaTile's ROM
When we launched our Return on Message (ROM) Methodology back in February at Digital Signage Expo, we knew we were on to something big. And it's exciting when a third party, aka.tv in this case, weighs in with their own comments.

Tuesday, March 31
Digital signage content you don't have to worry about
For those looking to operate your own digital signage network, planning and creating content is probably not the only thing you're doing. And if you're in internal communications, you're working to keep your intranet current, publish that newsletter and get town halls scheduled (along with many other tasks I'm sure).

Wednesday, April 1
IABC/Mercer survey reveals interesting employee communications numbers
Last night I caught up on the March-April 2009 issue of IABC's Communication World. There was some interesting info in this issue. IABC, in conjunction with Mercer Consulting, gobbled up feedback from the worldwide membership to better understand how the economic downtown is affecting corporate communication professionals.

Thursday, April 2
Don't hit any speed bumps with your internal communications
I think back to my days of being a journalism student, learning that news must be timely and relevant. This doesn't change when it comes to employee communications. There are speed bumps everywhere.

Friday, April 3
The role of digital signage in crisis communication
Every corporate communications department has (or at least should have) a crisis communication plan. And when I talk to customers, they ask me about to incorporate their digital signage network into the crisis planning. My answer is simple. Do it on the front end.

Every corporate communications department has (or at least should have) a crisis communication plan. For those who have gone through various business continuity exercises or emergency drills, you now how important these plans are.

And when I talk to customers, they ask me about how to incorporate their digital signage network into the crisis planning. My answer is simple. Do it on the front end. A plan is only as good as the people who know about it and are prepared to execute it.

If a plan exists and no one knows about it or isn't aware of what steps should be taken, then it will be chaos when put into action.

I think the major strength of digital signage in crisis planning is on the training side. Create messages for various scenarios or did-you-knows so that your workforce is prepared should a real crisis hit.

I've been through my fair share of drills throughout my career. Tornadoes. Exploding tanker trucks. Fuel spills. I've seen them all. And yes, if there's some sort of evacuation as part of the plan, digital signage can only tell your employees to get out.

But if it's a "seek shelter" message, you could embed screens in those shelter areas and communicate updates to the groups held up in those designated locations. Sometimes a lack of information is worse than bad information.

With MediaTile's solution, you could preload all of your signage with a batch of pre-determined messages. The messages could be called up in an instant and delivered out to your workforce instead of someone (likely you) trying to create one on the fly while the crisis is underway.
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Photo credit, karlfrankowski

I read this week on Melcrum's Internal Comms Hub that a workplace communication gap between line managers and employees is widening. Of the employee respondents to a Threshold Communications survey, only a frightening 29% feel their line manager takes time to talk through company plans with them. This means that seven out of 10 employees who rely on managers do not feel they are getting the information they need.


Much of my experience in internal communications has been working with line managers on their communication skills and giving them the right tools to be successful. But at the end of the day, unfortunately communicating to their workers can easily fall to the bottom of the to-do list. This is no fault of their own, but demonstrates how demanding their job is every single day. And many simply haven't been trained on how important employee communication is.

You need a reliable consisent vehicle that can delivery dynamic messaging right where your employees work and meet. This is what digital signage can do for you and your employees. You can be confident in knowing that your message is being delivered.
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Photo credit, CarbonNYC

Much like when employees are unfortunately the last to know information, employee communications is always on the chopping block come budget trimming time. I've always been puzzled by this.

This is why I really like this blog post from 1to1Media: Investing in employees equals investing in customers. We are all employees (hopefully) of some company or organization AND we are also customers. We know both sides of the equations.


And Starbucks had everything to gain. They are fighting tooth and nail with competitors to earn the consumer dollar. Here was an employee clearly engaged in the business, promoted the new drink and made the customer comfortable with the choice. A disengaged worker would not have offered or, if they had, it wouldn't have the same effect.

Investing in employee communications pays off in the long run. A healthy and robust internal communications plan to engage workers will strengthen customer relationships. However, it can be tricky to communicate in a timely manner to retail workers. This is where digital signage comes into play. From a seat at corporate, an internal communications professional can spread the word to coworkers around the world.

These positive customers experiences weigh heavily on consumers. You never know; they may even write about it in their blog one day. And for the record, Starbucks is not a MediaTile client, nor did I get a free drink for this blog post. . . yet.

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Photo credit, poolie

We have some exciting news to announce at MediaTile. And for us, this is HUGE!

Yesterday, a communication went out to all of MediaTile's customers about the release of Mediacast 4.0, MediaTile's fourth generation of our award-winning Broadcast Portal (our SaaS-based digital signage software).

The official public announcement doesn't take place until later, but I wanted to provide my blog readers a sneak peek to a brief video demonstration of the new Mediacast system.

This new version is a huge step for us and our customers across all vertical markets will appreciate the new features. I'll spend future blog posts going through the various key features that will help you in your internal communications efforts, but let's get to the basics first.

The Mediacast System is a complete digital signage platform that gives you ultimate control and flexibility over the media and messages delivered across your network. With it you can deliver your message where and when it matters most, quickly, easily, and securely. Mediacast is a mature, robust platform that is field-tested and running hundreds of digital signage networks every day.
 
Mediacast 4.0 new feature highlights:

• Simplified Visual User Interface – delivers more power to all users, from beginner to expert
• Enhanced Navigation and Tools – simplified channel structure with menu bars and associated tools
• Drag and Drop Playlist Editor – simplifies the creation of playlists and multi-zone playlists
• Online Playlist Previewer – view playlists in a browser window that are display-specific
• Visual Schedule Manager – simplifies the creation and viewing of scheduled activities
• Search Tool – makes finding media, dynamic content and playlists easier
• Help System – delivers contextual help and built-in video training  for every channel

So please check out the video. If you don't have time for that, here's a screenshot below of what the new user interface looks like. It's a big change from our classic interface. I know we're super excited. I hope you and our customers are, too.

MediaTile is not one of those companies who goes around giving itself pats on the back very often. But the news announced this morning deserves some horn tooting. Break out the instruments!

We are proud to announce that for the third consecutive year, our revenues have doubled as the demand for our solution continues to grow. You can read the official announcement, but we attribute the success to three factors:

1. The overall simplicity and ease of operation of MediaTile cellular digital signage solutions
2. The lower total cost of ownership through the unique combination of all-in-one displays, SaaS-based control, and integrated cellular networks
3. Improved ROI by enabling customers to deliver messages with greater impact, influence and reach

This sort of success is the reason I left my "cushy" corporate internal communications job to help spread the word of how digital signage can positively impact your business, whether you're in employee communications, marketing communications or any other market for that matter.

In corporate communications, ROI can be tough to measure. We've talked about it before on this blog. But any tool that has the ability to reach employees with messaging now matter where they are in the world can provide an impressive return.

And these days, a positive return is exactly what's needed.

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Photo credit: 2 by pulguita on Flickr.

 

Throughout December, I was working my way through the 8 Rules of Innovation when I started to see the word more and more. In blogs I followed or articles I read. The word "innovate" is now being pounded into people's heads. And there's nothing like trying to be be innovative with executives peering over your shoulder.

Over the holidays, I received the latest edition of IABC's CW. There's a solid article in there titled, "New year, new you," by Sue Khodarami. (I would link directly to the story but you have to be an IABC member to read it.)

The article models itself after the hundreds of thousands of other "New Year's resolution" stories out there but Sue outlines seven things that all communicators, whether you're in internal communications, public relations, or marketing communications, should try to do in 2009.

1. Learn something new (like maybe digital signage?)
2. Delegate
3. Rethink your schedule
4. Take a fresh look at your projects (like maybe digital signage?)
5. Set goals
6. Reward yourself
7. Push your limits

Now I would argue that nothing on this list should strike anyone as surprising, but given the current economic times, I think the list is poignantly relevant. Corporate communicators are under the gun in 2009 to improve employee communications and engagement at their organizations.

Review the list above and count the number of items that apply to you. Something is wrong if your count isn't seven.