Corporate Advocacy: A Strategic Communications Approach

Providing a foundational look at corporate advocacy from the perspective of strategic communications, this book develops strategies for authentic and meaningful ways companies can engage in advocating for social issues in order to have the strongest and most positive impact on society and their business. Customers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders increasingly expect companies to address complex, and sometimes divisive, sociopolitical issues. Communications professionals must determine how best to engage with those issues, both internally and externally, while considering a variety of operational and reputational factors. This text prepares readers to incorporate corporate advocacy into future communications roles in ethical, thoughtful, and strategic ways. It starts by providing a contextual and theoretical foundation for the topic, continues with an exploration of the perspectives of various stakeholder groups, and then focuses on the most ethical practices for communicating and acting on a company’s advocacy stance. Ideal as a primary text at the advanced undergraduate or master's level in a corporate advocacy course or a supplementary text in a corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication, public relations (PR), strategic communication, or marketing course, this text is also well suited to new professional communicators. An instructor’s manual with suggestions for in-class exercises and assignments and links to further resources is available at www.routledge.com/9781032595542.