How To Use New Social Media Technologies To Improve Your Internal Communications Susan Fraysse Russ Director Internal Communications April 11, 2007.

How To Use New Social Media Technologies To Improve Your

Internal Communications

Susan Fraysse RussDirector Internal Communications

April 11, 2007

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What we’ll cover

Brief Company OverviewGlobal Intranet TourTools & Interactive FeaturesGlobal Team MeetingQ&A

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1922: An Instant Sensation

Greenwich Village – where Reader’s Digest was born!

DeWitt & Lila Wallace – founders of

Reader’s Digest – circa 1930

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“We are a global publisher and direct marketer of products and services that inform, entertain, and inspire

people of all ages and cultures around the world. We create customer relationships and communities with

people of like minds and interests.”

Company Overview

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Company Overview: RDA Affinity Groups

Content Delivery Sales Channel Products

Magazines Direct mail

Books Digital

Online Direct selling

Card continuity Retail

Cooking Schools Display marketing

Events Youth fundraisers

Direct Holdings (DRTV)

Engagecustomers

through every

medium

Food Home and Garden

Health and Wellness Personal Inspiration and Education

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Special Interest Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

More than 20 special interest magazines focused in key affinities,

such as Food, Home & Garden, Country Living— Food: Taste of Home, Everyday with Rachael Ray, Light & Tasty,

Cooking for 2, Simple & Delicious— Home & Garden: The Family Handyman, American Woodworker,

Backyard Living, Birds and Bloom, New Homeowner, Casa— Country Living: Country, Country Women, Our Canada, Daheim

in Deutschland

Books & Home Entertainment

(BHE)

Books & Home Entertainment

(BHE)

Books (food, DIY, technology, health, children’s pub, trade), music, video

Continuity series products (i.e., Select Editions)

Local language publishing

Worldwide shared repository of content

Marketing of the Time Life business

Company Overview – Key Products/Services

Reader’s Digest Magazine

Reader’s Digest Magazine

World’s largest magazine franchise

19 million worldwide circulation, 80 million readers

50 Editions/21 Languages

Successful brand extensions - RD Large Print and RD Selecciones

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QSPQSP

A leading youth fund-raising organization in U.S. and Canada

One of the largest sellers of magazine subscriptions in industry

Raised over $2.5 billion for schools to date

Over 40,000 schools and youth organizations; 400 company sales reps

Books Are Fun

(BAF)

Books Are Fun

(BAF)

The leading display marketer of books and gifts in North America

Sells over 20 million books yearly through offices, schools, hospitals and day care centers

Over 60,000 schools; Over 15,000 Corporations, hospitals, and managed properties; Approximately 900 independent sales reps

WRC MediaWRC Media

Various educational and learning services and products

— Weekly Reader Magazine

— World Almanac

— Almanac for Kids

— CompassLearning

— Custom Publishing

Company Overview – Key Products/Services

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DigitalDigital

Various interactive & educational products and services:— RD.com— RachaelRay.com— QSP.com— ChangeOne.com— eFundraising.com— Taste of Home Recipe Finder— Change One Programs— Interactive Children’s Products (e.g., Book/DVD combos)— Super Word Power game

Company Overview – Key Products/Services

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Company Overview – Broad Global Presence

AfricaS. Africa (licensed)

EuropeUKGermanyFranceHollandBelgiumAustriaSwitzerlandSwedenSpainNorway (licensed)FinlandItaly* (licensed)RussiaPoland

Czech Rep.HungarySlovakiaPortugalRomaniaCroatiaSloveniaUkraineBosniaSerbiaBulgariaKazakhstanLithuaniaUAE

*Magazine distribution only

AmericasUSACanadaMexicoBrazilArgentinaPuerto RicoChile* Colombia*Peru* Venezuela*

Uruguay*Paraguay*Guatemala*El Salvador*Nicaragua*Panama*Costa Rica*

AsiaHong KongSingaporePhilippinesThailandMalaysiaTaiwanKorea (licensed)India (licensed)Indonesia (licensed)Japan (adv. only)

Australia/NZ

Reader’s Digest Global Intranet

Tour/Overview

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What is the Global Intranet?

Internal website that is accessible by every office and all employees worldwide

An information-driven employee siteA global collaborative work environment

with global and local workgroupsA tool to build a global culture using 23

local homepages under one banner

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What can it do?

Provide global and local content on each homepage

Deliver consistent and timely global messages

Support translation: 9 languagesShare resources and web-based systems

across offices

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Global Communications Network

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23 Local Sites

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Homepage Layout

Standard Left-Navigation Bar for all homepages with common links

Local Links Section for specialized informationGraphic Feature SectionText Feature Section (for multimedia, special

features, etc.)Current News Section

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Sample Homepage

Features

Left-hand nav.

Current News

Local links

Feature

graphics

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Global Universal bannerdesign accommodates

each local office.

Global

Global

Globe iconindicates

globalcurrent news

coverage

Local

Local

Local

Local

Global + Local Content

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Canadian Homepage

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German Homepage

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Brazilian Homepage

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INTRANET 2.0 | Sample Home Page - Pleasantville

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INTRANET 2.0 | Sample Home Page - Pleasantville

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INTRANET 2.0 | Sample Sub-page - Tools & Resources main landing page

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INTRANET 2.0 | Sample Sub-page - Tools & Resources second level page

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INTRANET 2.0 | Sample Search page

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INTRANET 2.0 | Sample Search Results page

Tools & Features

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Tools & FeaturesTemplatesSurveysContestsStatisticsMultimediaGlobal Team MeetingBlogsPodcastsLive ChatsBusiness Forum

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Newsletter Templates

Easy-to-use template brings production in-

house to deliver news faster and at a

lower cost while ensuring consistency

of messages

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Surveys

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Contests

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Contests

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Measuring & Evaluating

The intranet measures and evaluates

communications using surveys, quick polls

and statistics

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Unique Visitors

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Multimedia Communications

Stream corporate videos, showcase products, replay news coverage

Global Team Meeting

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Live Global Team Meeting

Leverage Global Intranet for live global video stream

Take questions live from around the worldUse designated e-mail box for follow-up

questionsProvide access to archived video streamSurvey attendees for feedback

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Global Team Meeting Goals/Objectives

Communicate the new CEO’s goals for the company

Increase understanding of the company’s strategy

Provide thorough, yet cost-effective communications

Deliver a Global Team Meeting format that engages employees

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How it works…

The Global Team Meeting can be accessed:In person at headquartersVia video-stream on the Global IntranetVia conference call

Questions can be asked:Before the event via e-mail to Global Team

[email protected] during the event in person or via phoneAfter the event via e-mail or Global Business Forum

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How it works…

Global offices coordinate local setupContacts let HQ know how they plan to participateSametime Instant Messaging/Meeting and in-

house Global Intranet technology enables reduction of technical costs by leveraging our existing capabilities at no additional cost (satellite broadcast would have cost $10,000 per location)

2-3 video stream tests prior to event

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Town Hall Intranet Page

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How it works…

Transcript of Global Team Meeting is distributed after event

Event is archived on the intranet and videos sent to offices upon request

Additional questions are answered in writing via the Business Forum

Surveys are conducted to assess participation and satisfaction

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Measurement/Evaluation

Participation – 100%!!—82% Live videostream—12% Audio only— 6% Archived videostream

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Measurement/Evaluation

Did you like the Global Team Meeting format ?—90% yes—10% somewhat

Help you understand Mary Berner’s vision?— 89% yes— 8% somewhat— 3% no

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Measurement/Evaluation

Help you understand the culture RDA is championing?—91% yes—7% somewhat—2 % no

Were the questions on your mind addressed?—58% yes—35% somewhat—7 % no

Blogs

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Blogs

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Blogs

RD Podcasts

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Podcasts

Live Chats

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Live Chats

Business Forum

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Business Forum

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Positive feedback across the organization

Full support of senior managementAnnual employee survey results showed

improved communication effectivenessGold Quill, IRIS, ACE, Silver Quill,

Clarion, Big Apple Awards

How are we doing?

Q & [email protected]