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Preece, C.N., Moodley, K. and Smith, A.M.

Blackwell Science, Oxford. ISBN 0-632-04906-5

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REVIEW

Public relations has been a neglected field in literature on contracting. Corporate Communications in Construction is therefore very timely. The preface opens with the statement:

The construction industry needs to communicate much better with the outside world.

The image of the industry is very poor and the fact that in recent years so many initiatives have been coming from the client body in efforts to improve its performance merely serves to demonstrate how much the poor image is of the industry’s own making. Of course stereotypical perceptions of construction does not help, derived from domestic experiences of:

• Trades taking ages to turn up
• Quite a lot of work being of questionable quality.

This book takes the professional approach to PR in construction. The book looks at PR as a management function and thus is addressed mainly to larger organisations, which can support that function. The text is a very good introduction for management, whose experience in PR has been limited to date. It is also useful for PR professionals in entering the sector for the first time. Students at undergraduate level will benefit also from reading the book. It would be a useful primer at masters level too.

The introductory chapter draws the reader into the nature of corporate communications. The need to manage relationships more effectively is set out in a dynamic business environment. The second chapter focuses on the various stakeholders – shareholders, suppliers, clients, consultants and employees. More could have been made of the role and influence of the design team at this point. They are key players in influencer markets or advocacy and referrals (Thompson, 1996). Chapter 2 looks at corporate identity from logos to branding. This chapter covers an area, which has been written about extensively, yet covers it succinctly.

Chapter 3 considers management objectives and skills for PR. Whilst it addresses current issues of whether PR should be a separate department, part of marketing or some other mix, it fails to really be penetrating. Many of the issues raised in the chapter, the majority of contractors would boldly assert that they have these skills and implement with sound management. I suspect there is a mismatch between the advocacy of the authors and everyday practice. Without adequate benchmarks, however, this would be difficult to pin down in discussion. The need for evaluation is asserted without stating how it should be conducted.

Chapter 4 embraces client care, integrating PR with partnering and relationship marketing. The promotional mix is unpacked, the components and techniques are set out with good illustrations from industry. Web enthusiasts will find some helpful pointers in the chapter. The remit of the book is tightly subscribed in this chapter, so future work will have to detail all the promotional strategies emanating from different mixes. Chapter 5 addresses the media channels and relations. Chapter 6 considers the growing demands of the financial community. Government is treated well in the next chapter, especially harnessing government publications for enhancing the industry messages to influence the political arena. An excellent checklist of what and who to address is provided. The European Union is also addressed, however, other global institutions would have made a welcome addition to the book.

Community involvement is the subject of chapter 8. There is some good material in the chapter on engaging with wider constituencies, such as schools and community groups, as well as handling the unexpected. The book then switches to internal concerns. First the overview is set out and then the project manager is the focus for chapter 10, followed by safety issues in chapter 11. Crisis management is well deliberated in chapter 12. The need for contingency planning is mapped out, looking at improved preparation, incident management, the fast changing nature of crises, and taking stock of these changes in a considered manner. The conclusion closes the book with some guidance on the importance of effective management.

The book is really excellent in stating what PR involves. Its primary drawback is that it gives very little guidance on how to do it, for example the size of budgets and how to estimate performance measure levels. The book could benefit from more construction examples, which would have helped provide more guidance on how. However, the first marketing texts achieved no more (Fisher, 1986; Pearce, 1992). These were good foundations for future work. This book does likewise and mirrors many of the basic PR texts for use in business schools, with the merit of applying itself to the particularities of construction.

The authors clearly have a sense of frustration in what can be achieved in this area and long to see this potential realised in the industry. The introductory chapter says the industry "needs" to do this or that 20 times in a mere 7 pages – all boiling down to normative desire for industry to take corporate communications seriously. The authors have set the agenda for future work: to set benchmarks of good practice and to guide others to adopt a creative approach to PR, which will serve individual organisations competitively and do the image of the whole industry a tremendous favour! Definitely recommended reading.

Dr Hedley Smyth
(then) Director, Centre for Construction Marketing

Oxford Brookes University
Please contact Brian Wood for current information on the Centre for Construction Marketing

Bookoffer
The publishers, Blackwell Science, are offering readers of this Journal the above book at a discounted price.
If you would like a copy at £28 inclusive of post and packing (£37.5 being the normal price including p & p), contact Sarah-Kate Powell on sarah.kate.powell@blacksci.co.uk

References

Fisher, N. (1986) Marketing for the Construction Industry: A Practical Handbook for Consultants and Other Professionals, Longman, Harlow.

Pearce, P. (1992) Construction Marketing: A Professional Approach, Thomas Telford, London.

Thompson, N. (1996) Relationship Marketing and Advocacy, Proceedings of the 1^st National Construction Marketing Conference, 4 July, The Centre for Construction Marketing in association with CIMCIG, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.