Associate Professor Gregg Feistman, STRC, recently gave a presentation on Reputation Management at the Insurance Marketing Communications Association’s annual conference in Toronto, Canada. Speaking before a room of marketing communications professionals, Feistman’s presentation, “Reputation Management: Building It, Maintaining It and What it Means for the Bottom Line,” is based on his reputation management class in the Strategic Communication Department’s M.S. program.

“Most people have a misconception of what reputation and reputation management is,” Feistman notes. “It’s not branding or advertising. It’s a very high-level strategic approach dealing with the expectations of an organization’s stakeholders. Whether it’s a Fortune 500 corporation, a non-profit organization or an educational institution, reputation is critical to sustained success. It’s very fragile, and understanding what makes up reputation and how it can be managed through effective communication is of vital importance to communicators and businesspeople in all organizations.”

Feistman’s message of aligning business strategy, marketing strategy, brand management and employee engagement was well received by those in attendance.

“Similar to what I discuss with my students, I tried to get the marketing communications professionals in the room to think about reputation in a definitive, measurable way, not just as some intangible concept. Reputation has real value, and a real impact on the bottom line, and professional communicators have a vital role in building and protecting it in any organization.”