Media Relations

Hey Everyone! Last time I talked about “New Media” associated with Raytheon and what their website has to offer as far as, displaying press releases, podcasts, quarterly earnings etc… Today, I am going to talk to you all about “Media Relations” at Raytheon, and one specific corporate event that JUMPED out at me (not literally), while I was browsing their corporate website.

Back on February 13th, Raytheon celebrated the grand opening of The Family Technology Center at the “Shades of Green” Resort at Walt Disney World that they donated. At this new center, guests of the resort can relax in this lounging room on comfortable plush couches, with plasma screen televisions, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox, and desktop computers to keep occupied. Wow! Seems like quite the place to spend a few hours before checking into the hotel room, or possibly to miss the flight home. The “Shades of Green” Resort is a resort is leased by the Department of Defense, and is an Armed Forces Recreation Center for current or retired military personnel as well as their families.
http://www.raytheon.com/newsroom/feature/rtn09_shdgreen/index.html

The company seems to be very successful to not only be launching this new feature at the resort, but we can also tell that Raytheon has a solid, up and coming relationship with the Walt Disney World Inc. Raytheon is also sponsoring an exhibit at Epcot called, “The Sum of All Thrills,” which is a experience for children of all ages to, “instill a lifelong passion with math, science and technology.” Raytheon has done an excellent job bringing forth a new relationship with Walt Disney World Inc. to unleash these two new exhibits for the enjoyment of the Walt Disney World community and its guests. Their press releases online gave a great sense of what is expected with the new Tech Center that just opened up and the Math exhibit which plans to open in the fall.
http://www.raytheon.com/newsroom/feature/rtn09_disney/index.html

Even though Raytheon did a great job letting the public know about these events through press releases, I don’t really think there is much else they could have done better. The only thing that comes to mind is a video posting of CEO Bill Swanson cutting the ribbon for the unveiling of the new Family Tech Center as well as an interview prior to it. But once again Raytheon does it again! Who would have thought a company who produces missiles and rockets and other types of self defense mechanisms would be contributing to the nice, subtle fun at Walt Disney World. That’s why they are a success. Because they reach out to the community and give a positive image of the company that shows they are caring and willing to always give back. Gotta love those people in PR! Well, that about sums up “Media Relations” with Raytheon. Again stayed tuned, as next time I will be talking to you about “Corporate Brand and PR,” should be a dandy!

New Media

Ok, so the last time I left off, I introduced you all to Raytheon and who they are, what they specialize in, their history, yadda yadda yadda. Today, I am going to talk to you about Raytheon's impact with "New Media" on their corporate website.
As I have observed Raytheon's website over the past few weeks I have noticed tremendously that they keep a very up to date website as far as publishing their press releases, podcasts, as well as conference calls regarding quarterly earnings throughout the year. This is great way to keep the listeners interested or people who might have invested stocks with Raytheon to see what direction they are headed in. Especially with the way the economy is in today, it wouldn't be a bad idea for investors to take a few minutes to review the company's earnings for the quarter.
http://investor.raytheon.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=84193&p=irol-podcasts

Even though the company has some informative links on their website for viewers to keep on track with what's new with Raytheon, the company could be doing more as far as creating a Facebook profile that some company's do, to get their name out to the world. Even though their is obviously email, Facebook has become a good networking tool to keep employees in contact with each other. Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a virtual tour of the corporate headquarters of Raytheon. Unless the inside is absolutley boring and not worth posting a quick 5 minute video of the headquarters online, then they ought to consider. It might be informatve for someone considering looking for a job their and it adds a little in depth, and behind the scenes of what goes on inside.

If i were the Public Relations Practitioner for Raytheon, I would be putting these ideas to work, as far as a Facebook profile, and a virtual tour of the behind the scenes action at Raytheon's Headquarters. Another idea that could be put to good use is posting a blog on the website. Here, people can voice their thoughts about a daily topic posted on the website. It could be a good idea, but then in turn it might be a bad idea. I mean, we wouldn't want competitors talking down about Raytheon on their own website...

So, I hope you all have a better understanding on Raytheon's impact with "New Media." I mean its obviously working because they are a fortune 500 company. Next week i will talk about Media Relations with Raytheon, so stay tuned everyone...Peace!

Raytheon CEO William Swanson

Introduction to the Raytheon Company

Now I am sure most of you reading this have no idea who Raytheon is and what they do. Well, they specialize in defense technologies, homeland security and other government markets throughout the entire world. I chose Raytheon because not only are their corporate headquarters located in my hometown of Waltham, Massachusetts, but I feel that not a lot of people know who they are, what they do, and what they are famous for...Soooooo why not get their name out?

Raytheon was first discovered in 1922 in Cambridge, Massachusetts as the The American Appliance Company and have achieved much success in their near 90 year history. Some discoveries and inventions that Rayhteon is credited with include: Shipboard Radar, the discovery of microwave cooking as well as the first microwave, guided missiles, transitors and NASA communication systems.


Although Raytheon has had a successful corporation throughout its storied history, they have had to deal with some issues that have stood out regarding their reputation. The most recent incident which occurred almost 3 years ago in April of 2006 was when the current CEO of Raytheon Bill Swanson admitted to Plagiarism in his book, "Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management," which he wrote. as far as the public relations people and the board of trustees handling the situation, it was only a matter of days before they ordered that the book be not published anymore and they took the action of not giving CEO Swanson a raise for the following year. "I mean honestly...he's the C-E-O of RAYTHEON, i think he'll be alright without a raise." However, the people in PR as well as the board handled the situation perfectly. Two other incidents that involved contract disputes both occurred within a 13 month span of each other in October of 1993 and October of 1994 when Raytheon had to pay settlements to the U.S. Government and U.S. Defense Department involving an inflated defense contract for antimissile radar and overpriced labor costs involving the production of Patriot missiles.


In order to communicate to maintain a positive reputation, Raytheon has had a reputable stewardship which includes its involvement in the community, employee safety (because after all they are working with explosives, and chemicals and some high powered machinery), and appreciation for the environment as far the disposal of toxic waste and pollution.

Finally, as finishing this brief (or not brief...) introduction of Raytheon, the challenges and opportunities that exist for the people in public relations for improving the company's reputation will include mainly just getting the name out obviously in a positive way through promotions, the continuation of community involvement, and sponsorships for example, Raytheon just yesterday, released a statement that they will unveil the new interactive experience in Walt Disney World at Epcot's "Innoventions." The name of the attraction is "The Sum of All Thrills" that will be opening this fall. This is a subject that I will expand more upon later on for future blog postings. Now that you have an idea of who Raytheon is and what they do, stay tuned for upcoming posts on the company. Peace!

Corporate Headquaters in Waltham, MA


Sources:
http://www.raytheon.com/ourcompany/

http://www.raytheon.com/ourcompany/history/leadership/index.html

http://www.raytheon.com/stewardship/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raytheon#Corporate_stewardship