Shell ‘most digitally connected’ in FTSE 100

The  oil giant’s fully optimised mobile site and its “immersive” and “intuitive” YouTube channel helped put it top of communication consultant Radley Yeldar’s analysis of the UK’s biggest companies’ corporate digital strategies.

Shell was also praised for offering timely and regular content, which is both text-based and multimedia across its all its digital channels.

The study uses an extensive scoring system, taking into account parent company websites, presence on social media and how the companies optimise their sites on smart phones to rank how well brands are telling their corporate story across digital channels.

Other brands scoring highly include SABMiller, Aviva, Kingfisher and Unilever.

Keith Weed, Unilever’s chief marketing officer, told Marketing Week: “The reason it’s important to talk more about the corporate brand is because of digital. People are getting much more interested in finding out about the brand behind the brand and have the tools to go online and find out more.”

The majority of the FTSE 100, however, are failing to use digital, social and mobile channels effectively to talk about their corporate brands, the report says.

Failings include one in five (22%) companies failing to introduce “their story” on their homepage, only 22 of the FTSE 100 offering mobile-optimised sites and just 17 having mobile apps.

Companies ranking the lowest for their joined up corporate communications digital strategies include Prudential, Burberry, International Airlines Group and Admiral.

Radley Yeldar director Richard Coope says: “They feel a bit overwhelmed by the pace of change. The technology can be a bit bewildering. Trying to get your head round whether you should have a mobile website or a mobile app can take time to work out. Also, people do end up focusing on the technology rather than what it is trying to do from a communications perspective.”

He adds that companies need to have a more “sophisticated” view of the channels their audiences use and adapt their strategies accordingly. He gives the example of FTSE 100 company using its Twitter feed to reach journalists with news updates, while its Facebook page could be directed at prospective employees.

Read the full cover feature on the Radley Yeldar study in this week’s magazine (10 May), or online, later this week.