Genasi, Chris 1962-

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GENASI, Chris 1962-

PERSONAL:

Born 1962.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Institute of Public Relations, The Old Trading House, 15 Northburgh St., London EC1V 0PR, England.

CAREER:

Author and public relations consultant. European Corporate Practice, chief executive; Weber Shandwick International, chief executive corporate division; Eloqui Public Relations, chief executive. Institute of Public Relations, director.

WRITINGS:

Winning Reputations: How to Be Your Own Spin Doctor, Houndsmill, Basingstoke, Hampshire (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Tim Bills) Creative Business: Achieving Your Goals through Creative Thinking and Action, Houndsmill, Basingstoke, Hampshire (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Author and public relations consultant Chris Genasi's debut book, Winning Reputations: How to Be Your Own Spin Doctor, examines the strategies that companies can employ to enhance their public image. While writing the book, Genasi leaned heavily upon his experiences as a chief executive for Weber Shandwick, which is one of the largest public relations firms in the world. Genasi's expertise is in managing corporate reputation, and he has been a consultant to a number of prominent multinational corporations. The message he attempts to get across in his book is that companies need to focus on the image they present to the public. This is especially the case in a world where consumers have the ability to access great amounts of information due to the fact that there are so many media outlets available to them. "There is a burgeoning, insatiable, world-wide demand for organizations to behave themselves and promote their activities in a transparent, engaging way," Genasi declares in the book. To this end, Genasi offers a number of strategies that companies can employ to promote themselves. One of these is to find an effective public relations firm, and Genasi describes how each company can find one that is the right fit. Genasi also describes how companies can develop a user-friendly Web site, which he believes can be a great promotional tool. He also offers advice on what companies can do to combat public relations dilemmas, such as using the media. Throughout the book, Genasi provides real case studies of major companies to back up his points. he also offers an easy-to-use toolkit for developing public relations strategies.

The book won praise from other public relations professionals, as well as literary critics. Peter Hehir, a former official with the public relations firm Porter Novelli International, called the book a "comprehensive and persuasive tour of the issues facing communications professionals in the new era." Similarly, a contributor for Publishers Weekly referred to the work as "a good introduction for new public relations managers or entrepreneurs."