CEO's Message
Since 1989, Ben and Jerry’s have reported on their social performance through Social & Environmental Assessment Reports (SEAR). These reports, starting from 2006, are publicly available on their website under the “About Us” tab on their search bar. Ben and Jerry’s communications is inherently activist, and this can be seen in their social mission: “To operate the Company in a way that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally, and internationally”. These “innovative ways to improve the quality of life…” start with activism through strategic corporate communications. Ben and Jerry’s use their SEAR documents to showcase their activism efforts blending the domains of public relations, activism, and corporate communications.
Summary
This genre analysis will look at Ben and Jerry’s “Letter from the CEO,'' contained within their SEAR reports, as a corporate communications genre. Genre analysis is based on the study of communicative purposes in different and specific situations. Some genre theorists refer to this as a recurring situation, and it can also be described as exigence. Although the “Letter from the CEO'' genre is not unique to Ben and Jerry’s SEAR reports, it offers insights into how this genre of communication changed synchronically and diachronically over the years, based on the company’s priorities and goals.
In the following video, Yuwai (Brian) Wong analyses how Ben and Jerry’s “Letter from the CEO” has evolved in the past 16 years.