Who’s winning the digital communications race?

by Stratton Craig

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Last month, Communicate Magazine (@communicatemag) highlighted the 2012 Financial Times Bowen Craggs Index research. The research assessed nearly 81 of the largest companies in the Financial Times Global 500, and found that digital communication is a troublesome area for many of them.
Ironically, the report found that the IT sector was among the worst performing. Big brands such as Apple, Google and HP were named among others for dysfunctional strategies that fail to transfer consumer technology expertise into effective digital communication.
The report found that companies from the energy, pharma, tobacco, and mining sectors made up half of the top 20, perhaps indicating an effective response to increasing public scrutiny in areas such as sustainability and health. At the top of the table was Shell with excellent content and social media integration, and BP gained second place for their website (despite it being 10 years old!).
As Marie Myles states, consumers are becoming increasingly ‘channel-savvy’ and brands must evolve to avoid losing them. The Bowen Craggs Index shows a clear need for digital development amongst the FT Global 500 – with Marie Myles reporting that 84% of consumers said they would step away from a brand that they felt was irrelevant, it’s important that these companies step up their game in providing relevant content in relevant places.