MUMBAI: The corp com frat had an evening worth going some distance for Friday as they listened to presentations made by communications gurus Prof. Paul Argenti and Prof Mary Munter.

The two distinguished speakers (a formidable husband and wife team) were offering their wisdom acquired over 25+ years at a symposium organised by The Advertising Club of Bombay in association with Rai University under the title "Rethinking Communications".

The formal talk was preceded by the Ad Clubs announcements of their forthcoming events; those are The Annual Review which will be held at the Nehru Auditorium on 16 Feb, 2004. and then on 20 Mar,2004 by The Abby Awards at the Tulip Star Hotel Juhu.
Then the Speakers were given the momentos for their Special talk for the evening.

Speaking first, Prof Munter explained how a strategic corporate communication plan can be made. Her presentation emphasised on issues of not only the message, audience and response but also on credibility of the communicator.

Analysing the culture and sending the message accordingly also plays an important role in corporate communications, Prof Munter pointed out. Culture not only of the country or region but also the work culture, the company culture, the industry culture, she stressed.

Prof Argenti explained how to use corporate communications to enhance brand value by changing the environment for business and strategic approaches for communications. The talk also briefly touched upon social and corporate responsibility. He expounded on his theory using examples like Ford, Apple, Microsoft, and Wal-Mart.

Professor Argenti has provided consulting and training in management and corporate communications in both the United States and abroad. Among his published works are The Power of Corporate Communications (Co-authored with UCLA's Janis Forman), The Fast Forward MBA Pocket Reference (Second Edition), Corporate Communication (Third Edition) 75 Case Studies and various articles for both academic and managerial journals such as the Harvard Business Review. Prof Argenti is the editor of the best selling The Portable MBA Desk Reference. He currently serves as associate editor for the Journal of Business Communication and is also associate editor of Corporate Communication Review.

Prof Mary Munter teaches management communication at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. Her undergraduate and graduate work at Stanford University saw her earning various scholarships and honours, including the Phi Beta Kappa. She taught for seven years at the Stanford Gradute School of Business, where she founded and directed the Stanford Communications Skills Program before joining the Tuck faculty in 1983. Since 1983 she has also been visiting Professor for several terms at both the International University of Japan and the Helsinki School of Economics.