Goldman Sach's Brand Name

I think that Goldman Sach's has a very strong, globalizing kind of personality that much of the public may agree with. The website's home page has recently been changed to include a graphic of a view from upbove of an urban area, expanding across the page, with the words "we see opportunity" going across it. Immediately, the viewer of the website gets the impression that the company is a huge, globalizing, well known, growing and expanding company. The company has mostly been known for its trading and investment banking, but it has been trying more recently to increase its international private banking business aspect. It was reported by Douglas C. Grip, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, that the company has plans to more than double the amount of private client investment managers existing outside of the U.S. He said that, "We’re looking to grow dramatically over the next five years." However, this worldwide firm can come into some problems if its expansion and "globalization" becomes too much of a focus because the public might start seeing the firm as being very greedy.

Although this may be the case for some of the public, if research is conducted enough and people try to find out what Goldman Sachs is really about, they will really find a company who cares about their employees, their shareholders, investors, and has a philanthropic mission that it takes very seriously. Goldman Sachs can be seen as a company that values their relationship with its employees by addressing on the website, "“It all comes back to the team. Even when you’re making decisions that can affect the entire world, you always have people backing you up.” This quote taken directly from the website, also goes along with the idea of Goldman Sachs being all over the world. Goldman Sach's can rely on their reputation to get them investors and customers, and they stand in competition with other investing firms or banks, such as Swiss Bank.

I personally think that the globalization of the firm will only further enhance their reputation as it continuously works towards engaging more customers and creating a more diverse audience. Money and investing is always seen as such a serious and important aspect of business, which is should be, and even though some people may see the firm as being too involved in making money and about themselves, when it comes to the actual investors who are putting their money in the firm and essentially giving them business, this way of working and thinking is exactly what will make those people content and satisfied with the services. However, Goldman Sachs does do more than just worry about their financial business because of their philanthropic aspirations and actions as well as through campaigns that are dedicated towards helping others or the world. Perhaps, the public relations people could do a little more advertising and promoting of the good, charitable things that the firm has done and is doing so that less of the public will associate Goldman Sachs with greed.

Insider Trading Scandal

In 2006, it was reported that an Goldman Sachs employee, Eugene Plotkin (shown below), made $6.7 million through insider trading by employing an analyst who shared with them inside deals on Wall Street, which was the first home of the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Plotkin was sentenced to 2 years and 2 months in jail for his crime.

Another analyst accused was employeed by Merrill Lynch. Goldman Sach's insider trading scandal involved many details and even includes accusations that the employees of Goldman Sach's hired strippers to try to get investment bankers to provide stock tips and inside information on potential mergers, which of course all is information that should not be disclosed. Following the report of this insider trading occurance, the corporate scandal and the company name was all over headlines in newspapers across the U.S. The company made statements that they were cooperating with the proper authorities and a spokesperson for the company said: ''We have fully cooperated with the authorities and their investigation." This is a positive statement to make and shows that the company is taking corporate responsibility by complying with legal requirements. However, they need to do more to go beyond the legal compliance such as offering statements about their ethics that will try to get the public to trust them again. I think that they have included in their comment something like "We're sorry this disloyal incident occured, however it doesn't reflect Goldman Sachs as a whole because we pride ourselves in our ethical standards so that incidents such as this one never occurs." Because insider trading has occured many times in financial sectors of business I think the public was not very shocked that it happened at Goldman Sachs. I got the impression after researching into the incident that Goldman Sachs did not want to offer a long comment because they didn't want more attention for what happened so perhaps they were trying to take the spotlight off them by not getting so involved.

Insider trading refers "to buying or selling a security, in breach of a fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust and confidence, while in possession of material, nonpublic information about the security," which essentially is getting information before the public gets it and acting on it, usually making a big profit. Because the insider trading scandal threatened investors and shareholder's confidence in Goldman Sachs, they needed to really work on getting back their trustworthy and loyal reputation.

The Investor Relations of Goldman Sachs

I was very impressed by Goldman Sach's Annual Report because of the web designs they used to really engage the audience. They allow you to either download a version or look into the online version, which they enhanced to really get the full attention of whoever is interesed in learning more. Goldman Sachs' takes the time to actually divide the annual report into sections with seperate links, so that it is much easier to find exactly what you may be looking for. The 2007 Annual Report is divided into an introduction, letter to shareholders, financial highlights, we see opportunity, the face of, core businesses, business principles, & financials & downloads. I think that the company did a fantastic job in making an Annual Report, which may not be so enthralling or interesting for everybody to read, into something that actually gets people to want to read more because it is so easy to follow and understand. Because of this I would say that the online version of the Annual Report would be more of a marketing piece because of its draw and attention. However, if you are simply looking for facts and numbers, then the downloadable Annual Report would be for you, so this is the economical side of it. Goldman Sachs' covers both sides of covering an Annual Report and this is why they are such a respected financial firm.

I think that the actual purpose of the Annual Report (online version) is to get the audience to have a feel for the people who work for Goldman Sachs as well as getting across the point that they put their clients first. They also use this time to tell of all their unique opportunities they have had and what they are doing in other parts of the world. They use the Annual Report as a way to tell the public all that is going on in the company, as well as what strategic workers they have and what Goldman Sachs is really all about, which I think makes the Annual Report more interesting to read. Goldman Sachs focuses on the "culture" of their employees which "reflects 158 nationalities and 106 languages" among their employees.


In the "Letter to the Shareholders" from CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, the letter starts out discussing the "turbulence across global markets" in the past year, but even though these hard conditions existed, Goldman Sachs was able to stay strong. They discuss the strength of their "client franchise," which involves clients seeking advice and counsel from the firm, and sometimes partnering up with them. However, the letter seemed to what to get across the message that Goldman Sachs employees are what really makes the firm what it is. The letter stresses positive aspects of the over 30,000 employees such as teamwork, skills & expertise, and being results driven. It describes this as the "culture" of the firm and it is this culture that makes the firm different from others. Because the firm focuses so much on its employees, it also discusses the recruiting the firm does and how more than 80% of job offers made last year were accepted. The firm wants its shareholders to know that Goldman Sachs believes in giving back and has created new philanthropic services, in which the firm's partners will contribute to charitable organizations and it will eventually reach to $1 billion donated to charitable funds. Lastly, the letter ends with "looking ahead" so that the shareholder knows that the firm is always thinking about the future. I think investors will certainly feel as though they have invested in a firm that not only cares about business and making money, but also one that truly is concerned about the people that they employee. This is seen in the tone of the whole letter because it is very optimistic yet shows that the company is serious about what it does, which makes it come across as even more credible.

The last news release that the company posted on its website was entitled, "Goldman Sachs reports first quarter earnings per common share of $3.23." I think that this press release could be considered "reader friendly" because it actually highlights in bullet form what they call "business highlights," making it much easier and quicker to find out facts. The press release consists of 10 pages, but is broken up throughout by various subtitles, which also works to make it more effeciently read. The CEO is quoted at the bottom of the first place and talks about despite the difficult conditions, Goldman Sachs stays strong and that although "the market conditions present challenges at the moment, they also offer considerable opportunities." I think that this quote is a good one because it shows that the CEO is looking to take a bad situation (the economy) and try to turn it into something good for the company, which is what shareholders and people interested in Goldman Sachs are going to want to be told. Because I do not find the financial world to be that interesting and I was able to actually read the annual report, news release and letter to the shareholder, I think that the company does an excellent job of taking that "boring" aspect out of it.

Goldman Sachs' Corporate Responsibility

Two years ago the company was reported to employee over 26,000 people across the world. Because the company has been on Fortunes 100 Best Companies to Work For since 1998, the company has a good standing reputation that they must uphold. I really do not think that enough statements were issued on behalf of what Goldman Sach's is exactly doing to gain trust back into the company.

The company website dedicates a link to Corporate Responsibility and states that they want people to, "Learn how the role of corporate citizenship is evolving, and how corporate values are being applied to address some of society's most complex problems." However, the last news release that is posted next to this statement is from 1992, so I think they need to update this section and involve more recent issues. They also have a link that has citizenship as the title and this includes links to their policies involving promoting a healthy environment, community giving, and sponsorships they offer. Goldman Sachs provides a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that it abides by and promotes strongly.

While searching the web I discovered that Goldman Sach's environmental crusade it was seemed to get the most media attention.
Taken directly from the company's framework, Goldman Sachs will:

1) disclose the greenhouse gas emissions of all its operations;
2) make $1 billion available for investments in renewable energy;
3) set up a think tank to identify other lucrative green markets;
4) work on public policy measures relating to climate change;
5) conduct more rigorous assessments of its new projects' impacts on the environment and on indigenous people;
6) refuse to finance extractive projects in World Heritage sites or any projects that violate the environmental laws of the host country.

Very recently, the company has launched a 10,000 Women program which will increase the number of women getting a business and management related education and which will also improve the "quality and capacity of business and management education around the world."

This campaign shows that Goldman Sachs has a global way of thinking and making a difference in the improving the business education of women who face prejudices and injustices. I think that Goldman Sachs touches on very important public issues and is very involved in their citizenship and corporate responsiblity. Dealing with a scandal as large as the one they had to deal with is hard, perhaps their tactic was to not comment on it as much because they obviously were in the wrong; however, I think more statements regarding their ethical codes and standards could have been made.

To learn more about the new 10,000 Women initiative go to http://www.10000women.org/. While at the site, you can download and watch a video of the launching of the program at Columbia University. Goldman Sach's own CEO gives a speech and addresses the audience. He is dressed professionally and I think does a good speaking job, which is good media relations tactics.

In my opinion, the various ways that Goldman Sachs has worked to increase their corporate responsibilty and take action in making their philanthropy become a reality, outweigh the insider scandal and place Goldman Sachs in a positive light.

From a Media Relations Viewpoint

Media relations is very important to any company because often the news media is what can affect the company's reputation in a positive or negative way. Essentially, media relations is the many ways that a company communicates to the public through utiliziation of news media. The company should not let just anyone be their spokesperson or talk to the media because the spokesperson needs to hold a respectable, important position within the company. The person should also be media trained, focus on three to five key messages that the company wishes to enforce to the public, should have practiced with possible questions and therefore knows the right ways to respond to what can be tough questions for anyone to answer.

Because Goldman Sachs prides itself in taking action to better the environment and encourages changes to be made regarding this, they dedicate a section of their website to "Citizenship." Under this heading, you can find subheadings such as the environment, community giving, and philanthropy. Just this past January, Goldman Sachs held a day long conference event that was entitled, "Assessing U.S. Climate Policy Options," which aimed to get business, investment and NGO leaders together to discuss the U.S. legislation policies regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Goldman Sachs teamed up with an organization called Resources for the Future for this event. It was reported that senior leaders from both organizations spoke of possible options, weaknesses, and strengths of the current federal climate policy. Since the event was only open to various business leaders, I would imagine that all attendees received invitations to this event. I think that Goldman Sachs does a good job in offering the information from this event to the public because all of the numerous slides from the conference are available to look at it. For further in-depth information, the public can even download the lenghty report that they created. The conference was centered around a slideshow presentation, where there was use of graphs and visuals that could grab the attention of the attendees. In the beginning of the conference, there was a breakfast and registration which I thought was a good idea because this would give a chance for socialization and allow people to talk and get to know each other a little more. Networking is key to these events and by allowing for a breakfast break, this is made easier.

In 2005, Goldman Sachs made the annoucement that they were going to manifest an environmental policy, where they would try to influence public policy makers regarding the issue of carbon green house emissions. They released a statement reporting that they are going to fund a Center for Environmental Markets, which will "engage in research to develop public policy options for establishing markets around climate change, biodiversity conversation and ecosystem services. Recognizing that climate change cannot successfully be addressed through voluntary action alone, the firm has also committed to promoting regulatory solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions." The company reported that they would begin to encourage their employees to practice eco-friendly ways of living on a daily basis. Also, they said that they would not finance any company that did not meet their environment friendly standards. The company was able to get alot of good media attention for their policies promoting global change and since 1999, has donated $94 million dollars in grants that are directed towards educating the youth. Last November, the company created "Goldman Sachs Gives," which donates to various charities.

I think that overall the company did a decent job from a public relations standpoint because while I was searching the internet I came across many articles that were reporting of this "going green" action for Goldman Sachs. It is important to have newspaper articles and clippings because people view this source of information as more credible, since they often contain 3rd party testimonies. Also, since Goldman Sachs was trying to motivate their own employees to make changes that would better the environment, I think that the need for strong employee communication is essential to make further progress.

To further increase the awareness of Goldman Sachs "going green" I would have developed a catchy tagline like "Goldman Sachs Carbon Green House Emissions," where Sachs would stand for "sacks" in this case because the company is trying to eliminate the harmful effects of green house gases to the environment. It would also be a good idea to encourage paper items in the cafeteria of the Goldman Sachs building as well as enforcing the need to recycle by placing recycle bins in and around the building.

Goldman Sach's Use of Media

It seems that such a large, universal company would utilize some of the latest media tools and technology on the internet, such as RSS feeds, blogs, podcasting, and comment sections, but Goldman Sachs really isn't. However, they do have a feedback link, immediately displaying an email, which allows anyone to send inquiries to Goldman Sachs. Because the website allows for a LoginIn, in which you have to be either alumni, administration or have some kind of tie to the company, it makes me wonder if once you are properly logged in if the site becomes more personable in making an attempt to get feedback and thoughts from people.

Something that I think will get people to stay at the site for at least a few minutes is that they use a very engaging and interesting virtual video with a voice over, informing the audience of the story of Goldman Sachs and everything the company stands for. They actually got many of their photos from the New-York Historical Society, the Museum of the City of New York, Fortune, Getty Images, and The New York Times, which makes for an array of wonderful pictures throughout the years. Another thing that will hook people on the site is the videos of actual employees, who are sharing their experience at Goldman Sachs and what it is like working there.

A plus to the website is the actual structure, formatting and color, which make it more modern and up to date looking. When navigating to different parts of the site the whole backdrop of the screen shades to darker while what you are actually looking at becomes brighter. This makes it easier to browse the site because things are actually standing out.

I'm sure that a big part of what brings traffic to the website is that when you type "Goldman Sachs" into the Google search engine, the official website is the first one that shows up.


I think the website needs to be revamped so that it can generate more interest, clients and gain more feedback in general. By making their website more "new media" oriented, I believe this could surely happen. If I were the Public Relations person for the site I would encourage the use of new media techniques. News releases can get pretty dry and boring, so by enhancing the forms of media communication, people can become more engaged in learning about what is happening within the company. I would urge the company to use Webinars or various other techniques so that they can keep up with the technological crazed generation. By doing this, also hopefulyl competition will decrease and Goldman Sachs will draw much more people to their website.

Meet Goldman Sachs

Most likely you are already familiar with one of the world's top investment banking, securities and investment management firms, The Goldman Sachs Group or just Goldman Sachs. Even if you're not quite sure of what they do exactly, I'm sure you've heard of them. Headquartered in Manhattan, they have been refered to as "Wall Street's Secret Society," they offer services to an extensive range of clients, such as corporations and governments. Since the creation of the renown Fortune list, Goldman Sachs has held a respectable ranking every year, this year ranking #9 on the “100 Best Companies to Work For."

I have chosen to blog about this company because over the past summer I interned in Manhattan at an investment real estate and management firm. I found the work and environment to be very exciting and challenging. However, I noticed that they lack a Public Relations/Communications function within the firm. I thought that it would be interesting to look into how similiar firms utilize the media and press and hopefully, discover if they are effective or not, while also offering my critiques and own opinions. My blog will concentrate on various ways Goldman Sachs uses the media or any medium of communication to inform the public of happenings within the company.

Goldman Sach's focuses on advising, financing, investing, securities and researching for their clients. Their website is well equipt with information regarding the history and progress of the firm throughout the years. There is a slideshow that I found to be very interesting and helpful in researching the company because it features real employees of the firm offering their insights and thoughts on what they do. The visuals are very effective and creatively used. One employee described his job as "making things happen," which I thought was a good description because it would be somewhat complicated to explain his job to an outsider. There is also timelines available as well. You can really see that the firm believes in keeping their reputation high standing and that they have a strong sense of corporate responsibility to their community. They take their philanthropy seriously and this is something I find to be very admirable. Goldman Sachs stresses in the slideshow their dedication to the community and public service, which really credits their reputation and makes it much stronger. Also, because the company is global, they are represented by 6 public relations agencies throughout the world and have 14 telephone contacts in different countries for the media.

To keep the public aware of what is going on, there are current as well as archived press releases, dating back to 2000, available on their website. However, an issue could be that the most current one is dated January 29, almost 6 days ago so they should probably have a more recent one posted. The website does a good job of showing the positive business principles of the company and the "Our Story" slideshow depicts a positive, generous and respectable company. Also, in 2007 there was a scandal involving an employee, who was involved in insider trading and accused of making $6.7 million dollars. It will be interesting to research this scandal of which I am not familiar with and see how the public still feels regarding the company and what they are doing to build their loyalty and trust with clients. This is a real ethical and moral situation that the company was faced with and I'm curious as to what comments were made by Goldman Sachs.

Also, does the public feel that the company is out just to make big profits? Has this damaged their reputation forever? Will this crisis morph into an opportunity for Goldman Sach's public relations professionals?

The investigation will continue.

Until next time,
Check out the website: http://www.goldmansachs.com/ to further introduce yourself to the company.