Building a Global Internal Comms Team | Brad Kostka of Roopco and Tammy Zollner of RPM International

How do you build internal communications for a global company whose own employees may not know its name? Tammy Zollner, senior director of corporate communications at RPM International, and Brad Kostka, president of Roopco, join Abbie Fink and Dr. Adrian McIntyre to talk about how RPM built a corporate communications function from the ground up. 🌐 Season 6, Episode 5 • Originally published as an audio podcast on March 13, 2025. 💻 Show notes and transcript: https://prgnpodcast.com/episode/build... RPM is the parent company of brands like Rust-Oleum and DAP, and its decentralized structure meant that many associates had never heard of it. After 19 years in other roles at RPM, Tammy went from running the technology behind its internal meetings during the pandemic to leading its new communications team. With just four people, she reaches associates across more than 50 operating companies. She relies on a network of HR, marketing and communications contacts, translated emails, a global intranet and printed materials for those without company email. Brad describes how Roopco laid the foundation with pandemic-era newsletters and still extends her team. Tammy explains how her team uses Jasper and AI translation tools that legal and IT have approved, and why the CEO’s rule of focusing on three to five priorities keeps the work manageable. KEY TAKEAWAYS • Even a decentralized company needs central communications to help every associate understand its goals and values. • Reaching employees on the plant floor depends on a network of HR, marketing and communications contacts at each operating company. • Focus on three to five priorities at a time, or progress on all of them slows. • An external agency can extend a lean internal team with strategy, writing and design. • AI tools for drafting and translation can make a small team far more efficient once legal and IT have approved them. --------------------------------------- ABOUT THE GUESTS Tammy Zollner is senior director of corporate communications at RPM International Inc., a Fortune 500 company with 17,200 employees whose subsidiaries lead in specialty coatings, sealants and building materials, with brands including Rust-Oleum, DAP and Zinsser. She oversees internal and external communications and has been with the company for more than two decades. • Learn more: https://rpminc.com/ • Connect with Tammy:   / tammy-zollner-2950239   Brad Kostka is president of Roopco, a strategic marketing and PR agency in Cleveland, Ohio, that helps B2B companies amplify their communications with content that drives measurable business impact. He has provided strategic communication counsel for nearly three decades, and Roopco has worked with RPM for almost 30 years. • Learn more: https://prgn.com/agency/roopco/ • Connect with Brad:   / bradkostka   --------------------------------------- ABOUT THE HOSTS Abbie Fink is president of HMA Public Relations, the oldest continuously operating PR firm in Arizona and a founding member of PRGN. • Learn more: https://prgn.com/agency/hma-public-re... • Connect with Abbie:   / abbiesfink   Dr. Adrian McIntyre is an anthropologist and communications advisor specializing in the marketing and selling of expertise. He is a founding partner at Speed of Story, where he helps entrepreneurial experts and boutique firms clarify their positioning, package their intellectual property, market their premium services, and get paid for their thinking, not their time. • Learn more: https://adrianmcintyre.com/ • Connect with Adrian:   / adrianmcintyre   --------------------------------------- CHAPTERS 00:00 Podcast Intro 00:59 Meet Brad Kostka of Roopco and Tammy Zollner of RPM 01:41 From Corporate Roles to Leading Internal Communications 02:54 How Internal Communications Changed After the Pandemic 04:01 Reaching a Global Workforce With Focused Messages 05:58 Running a Lean Team Across Many Operating Companies 09:27 What an Internal Communications Survey Revealed 12:17 How an Agency Partner Supports Internal Communications 14:13 Using AI for Content and Translation 16:22 Compliance Rules for AI Tools 17:17 Other Tools for Running Internal Communications 19:16 Lessons for Building an Internal Communications Function 20:35 Podcast Outro --------------------------------------- 🌐 PRGN Presents features conversations with members of the Public Relations Global Network. No matter where you do business, there is a PRGN member agency in your region with the deep industry expertise, international experience, and local market knowledge you need to connect with your target audience and achieve your goals. Find a PR firm near you: https://prgn.com/pr-agencies/