"Strategic Communication: A Concept at the Center of Applied Communications?" An ICA Preconference

by Derina Holtzhausen, Oklahoma State U and Ansgar Zerfass, Leipzig U

"Strategic Communication: A Concept at the Center of Applied Communications?" An ICA Preconference

Time: Thursday 26 May 8:30 - 17:00
Limit: 80 persons
Cost: $100.00USD

(Includes morning and afternoon refreshments, lunch on your own)

Strategic is a much contested, albeit neglected, concept in communication studies. One of the reasons for this neglect is that strategic communication may be associated with persuasion in its most negative sense. However, other argue that strategic intent is inherent in all communication. From this perspective strategic communication extends well beyond its practical application in various fields of practice. In particular, thinking about communication at the center of society requires reflections on the frameworks of power and interests in which communication is enacted.

The focus of this preconference will be on the philosophical, theoretical, and applied nature of strategic communication. For the purposes of this conference strategic communication is defined as "the purposeful use of communication by an organization to fulfill its mission ... It further implies that people will be engaged in deliberate communication practice on behalf of organizations, causes, and social movements" (Hallahan, Holtzhausen, Van Ruler, Ver?i?, & Sriramesh, 2007, p. 3-4). Organizations refer to corporations, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, activist groups, nongovernmental organizations, organizations promotion various forms of social change, political parties or movements, and government organizations. It also includes communicative entities such as entertainers, performers, sports personalities, and others who form part of the pastiche of popular culture.

The conference will address some of the following questions:

• Which concepts of strategy are inherent in communication science and which can be transferred from other disciplines such as philosophy and management science?
• How is the strategic dimension of communication reflected in fields such as political communication, health communication, organizational communication, public relations, advertising, and popular culture?
• How is it possible to identify strategic and nonstrategic approaches in message design, use of online media, and other forms of communication?
• Are there new approaches to strategic communication when the paradigms of rational planning are challenged by participative cultures driven by the social web?
• What do we know about empirical insights in strategic communication in different regions of the world?

Participation will be broad; members from 17 countries across the world and several ICA Divisions will present 35 papers chosen in a review process from an excellent range of submissions.

8.30 - 9.15 Opening Plenary, Room I
Strategic Communication: Outline of the Concept and the Conference
Derina A. Holtzhausen & Ansgar Zerfass

9.25-10.40 Conceptual Foundations for Strategic Communication, Room I
Chair: Ansgar Zerfass

• Communication Strategy and its Parallels with Military Strategy
  Howard Nothhaft, Lund U, Sweden
  Hagen Schoelzel, U of Leipzig, Germany
• Strategic as an Institutionalized Myth
  Magnus Fredriksson, U of Gothenburg, Sweden
  Josef Pallas, Uppsala U, Sweden
• The Strategic Turn: The Broadening of the Strategy Concept in Communication
  Simon Torp, U of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
• Is Improvisation a Strategy? Strategic Crisis Communication in a Digital Age
  Mats Eriksson, Örebro U, Sweden

9.25-10.40 Strategic Communication as Discursive Construct, Room II
Chair: Derina Holtzhausen

• Strategic Communication in Management Teams: The Role of Polyphony Helle Kryger Aggerholm, U of Aarhus, Denmark
  Christa Thomsen, U of Aarhus, Denmark
• Strategy as Communication Practice
  Marlene Marchiori, U Estadual de Londrina, Brazil
  Sérgio Bulgacov, U Federal do Paraná, Brazil
• Good Governance Through Strategic Communication: A CCO Approach Patricia Riley, U of Southern California, USA
  Rebecca Weintraub, U of Southern California, USA
  Allie Noyes, U of Southern California, USA
  Gail Thomas, Naval Postgraduate School, USA
• Culturally Derived Strategic Communication: Implications for Communication Management
  James L. Everett, Queensland U of Technology, Australia
  Kim A. Johnston, Queensland U of Technology, Australia

10.50-12.00 The Institutionalization of Strategic Communication, Room I
Chair: Ansgar Zerfass

• Development and Testing of a Strategic Communication Instrument to Assess Organizations' Use of Strategic Communication
  Melinda R. Weathers, George Mason U, USA
  Paula K. Baldwin, George Mason U, USA
  Carl Botan, George Mason U, USA
  Joseph Graf, George Mason U, USA
  Edward Maibach, George Mason U, USA
  Justin Rolfe-Redding, George Mason U, USA
  Jagadish Thaker, George Mason U, USA
  Kristina Ticknor, George Mason U, USA
• Institutionalization in Public Relations: Another Step in Examining Its Place in Strategic Communication
  Robert I. Wakefield, Brigham Young U, USA
  Kennth D. Plowman, Brigham Young U, USA
  Alex Curry, Brigham Young U, USA
• The Role, Identity and Interaction of Communication Executives Engaged in Strategy and Strategizing
  Finn Frandsen, Aarhus U, Denmark
  Winni Johansen, Aarhus U, Denmark
• Doing Strategy in Advertisin
  Guido Zurstiege, U of Tuebingen, Germany
  Tino G.K. Meitz, U of Tuebingen, Germany

10.50-12.00 The Contribution of Domains of Practice to Theory Development in Strategic Communication, Room II
Chair: Derina Holtzhausen

• The Role of Strategy in Risk Communication
  Juliana Raupp, Free U of Berlin, Germany
• Mapping Strategic Communication Approaches Across Different Domains of Crisis
  Kimberly Meltzer, Georgetown U, USA
• Government to Citizen Communication in a Networked World: Integrating Network and Communication Theories to Inform Strategic Communication
  Lindsay Young, Northwestern U, USA
  Willem Pieterson, U of Twente, The Netherlands
• Communicating Strategically in Government: Pitfalls and Successes in Recent Examples From Canada
  Kirsten Kozolanka, Carleton U, Canada

12.00-1.00 Lunch break

1.00-02.15 Theories of Strategic Message Design, Room I
Chair: Ansgar Zerfass

• Strategic Communication Messaging: A Review of a Program of Research
  Kelly Page Werder, U of South Florida, USA
• The Rhetoric of Complexity: Scientific Knowledge 'Translation' Strategies in Two Israeli Governmental Agencies and Top Daily Newspapers
  Daniela Korbas-Magal, Ben-Gurion U of the Negev, Israel
• Strategic Use of Attribute Framing and Goal Framing in Political Advertising
  Kenneth E. Kim, Oklahoma State U, USA
  Jin Seong Park, U of Tennessee, USA
• Strategic Campaign Development. Identifying Effective Messages for the Promotion of Physical Activity in Germany
  Constanze Rossmann, U of Munich, Germany
  Hans-Bernd Brosius, U of Munich, Germany

1.00-2.15 The 'Accidental' Communication Strategist: Strategic Communication in Noninstitutional Environments, Room II
Chair: Derina Holtzhausen

• The Arts of Indigenous Online Activism: Strategic Communication and the Online Mediation of Indigenous Dissent
  Cheryll Soriano, National U of Singapore, Singapore
• Applying Strategic Communication Incidentally: The Bauhaus as a Nonprofit Organization Acting in the Public Sphere
  Patrick Roessler, U of Erfurt, Germany
• Terrorism as Strategic Communication
  Liane Rothenberger, Ilmenau U of Technology, Germany
• How International NGOs Organize Strategic Communication: Advocacy Between Global Integration and Local Responsiveness
  Alexander Fritsch, Ilmenau U of Technology, Germany
  Andreas Schwarz, Ilmenau U of Technology, Germany

2.30-3.45 "Doing Strategy": Theoretical Perspectives on the Practice of Strategic Communication, Room I
Chair: Ansgar Zerfass

• Communication in a 'Multichange Situation': A Struggle Between Organizational Renewal and Change Fatique
  Rita Järventie-Thesleff, Aalto U, Helsinki, Finland
  Mikko Villi, Aalto U, Helsinki, Finland
  Johanna Moisander, Aalto U, Helsinki, Finland
• Strategy, Identity, and Decision-Making: Negotiating Public and Private Agendas in the Food Industry
  Alison Henderson, U of Waikato, New Zealand
• Strategies or Structures? Measuring the Impact of European Parliamentary Electoral Communications in Austria, Germany, Finland and Sweden 2009
  Jens Tenscher, U of Innsbruck, Austria
  Tom Moring, U of Helsinki, Finland
  Juri Mykkänen, U of Helsinki, Finland
  Lars Nord, Mid Sweden U, Sweden
  Marie Grusell, U of Gothenburg, Sweden
• Participatory Strategic Communication. From One-Way and Two-Way Communication to Participatory Communication Through Social Media
  Jens Falkheimer, Malmö U, Sweden
  Mats Heide, Lund U, Sweden

2.30-3.45 Theoretical Perspectives on Strategic Communication Tactics, Room II
Chair: Derina Holtzhausen

• Identifying and Deconstructing the Strategic Communication of Nation Branding in Abu Dhabi
  Janis Teruggi Page, Zayed U, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Blitzkrieg as a Communication Strategy: The Case of the Russian-Georgian War
  Vladimir Suchan, Russian Academy of National Economy, Moscow, Russia
• Strategic Communication With the Media in Crisis Periods: A Study On Turkey's Most Favorite Twenty Organizations and Biggest Twenty Organizations' Media Reflection and How They Use Communication on Their Websites
  Aydemir Okay, Istanbul U, Turkey
  Ayla Okay, Istanbul U, Turkey
• WikiLeaks' Disclosure as Strategic Communication: Rule of Law in a Digital Democracy
  Nikhil Moro, U of North Texas, USA
  Debashis Aikat, U of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

4.00-5.00 Best Papers Session & Closing Plenary, Room I
Chair: Ansgar Zerfass & Derina Holtzhausen

• Adopting an Entrepreneurial Perspective to the Study of Strategic Communication
  Emanuel Invernizzi, IULM U, Milano, Italy
  Stefania Romenti, IULM U, Milano, Italy
• How "Strategic" is Public Diplomacy? Theoretical Consideration and Empirical Findings
  Martin Loeffelholz, Ilmenau U of Technology, Germany
  Claudia Auer, Ilmenau U of Technology, Germany
  Sylvia Krichbaum, Frankfurt, Germany
  Alice Srugies, Ilmenau U of Technology, Germany
• Contextual Distortion: Strategic Communication vs. the Networked Nature of Nearly Everything
  Pricscilla Murphy, Temple U, USA

Conference wrap-up