February 2, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE

RELEASE

A Study Done On Press Sites of Fortune 500 Companies Finds the Good the Bad, and the Ugly

Kennesaw, GA - The Institute for the Study of Corporate Communication (ISCC)

conducted a recent study that investigated how easy select Fortune 500 companies have made
it for the media to contact representatives and request information, with interesting results.

Varying results were pulled from multiple companies, revealing that hierarchy on the Fortune
500 list doesn’t mean the company has a developed newsroom and media relations page.
Leaders on the list, Lowes and Royal Dutch Shell, ranked the lowest in this study when it came
to an adequate media contact page. Where are they hiding? Only 45% of companies studied
showed quality results, with multiple contacts and a clear-cut page that wasn't hiding in an
obscure tab or in the corner at the very bottom of the page.

Delta Airlines is an example of a company that did average in the study. Delta is one of the top
airlines in the country and ranks 303 on the Fortune 500 list. What they lack in a media relations
page, they make up for in an impressive newsroom. Most companies as big as Delta have a
large customer base, and an influx of communication could be deadly. That would explain the
lack of contact information on their page. They make do with a simple form that may take 3-5
business days to get back to you. It seems to be a standard for larger companies to do this, but
not all.

Volkswagen went up and beyond with its media contacts page. For one, it’s effortless to find
the contacts page and there are multiple options. Each person on the page has a phone number
and an email address as well as a formal title. This sets the bar for companies. Accessible, easy-
to-find media.

To view the Fortune 500 list, go to the CNN Fortune 500 website. For further information on this
study, please visit http://www.iscc.kennesaw.edu.

About ISCC
The Institute for the Study of Corporate Communication was started in 2023 by Dr. Justin
Pettigrew at Kennesaw State University as a way to learn more about how corporations
communicate with their various publics. The institute has already researched and published
several professional and academic articles. The Institute is funded by a generous grant from
Shell Oil, Inc. For more information, please visit http://www.iscc.kennesaw.edu.

###

Contact Website: http://www.iscc.kennesaw.edu.

Name: Catherine Barkes Socials: @ISCCStudies
Phone: 404-263-9505
Email: catherine@barkes.org