Business, brand and product literacy represent fertile ground for internal communicators. Increasingly, employees know their own jobs and the products on which they work, but aren’t well-versed in other parts of the company or products they don’t work on.

In an effort to improve product literacy – which arose mainly from employees’ own requests – Frito-Lay communicators Michael Karle and Joe Flowers developed a website that provides all the information employees could ever need about the company’s wide array of products and brands (which include the likes of Cheetos, Doritos and Sun Chips).

In this interview, FIR co-host Shel Holtz talks with Karle and Flowers about the impetus for the site, why it was housed on the public web and how it was constructed with employee interests in mind.

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About our Conversation Partners

Michael Karle is the Internal Communications Manager for Frito-Lay North America. In this role, Michael publishes a daily newsletter highlighting company news and events, manages several internal websites and supports a number of Frito-Lay teams and programs. He currently resides in Plano, Texas, with his wife and two children.

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.

Joe Flowers is the Senior Communications Specialist for Frito-Lay North America. He supports a variety of internal and external communications programs with a heavy focus on digital performance and social media activities such as the Frito-Lay Facebook page, Twitter handle and Snack Chat blog. He is a runner and blogger, and is active in the local social media scene.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn or on Twitter at @unhatched.

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This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

Podsafe music – On A Podcast Instrumental Mix (MP3, 5Mb) by Cruisebox.

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel’s and my podcast blog.)