Does the CIPR need to be more representative?

CIPR presidential candidate, Rob Brown, has initiated an interesting discussion in his LinkedIn group about whether the CIPR needs to be more representative of people working in the industry since membership seems to be skewed towards London.

But a more fundamental question needs to be asked - has it ever been representative?  With fewer than 20% of practitioners choosing to be members (if the CIPR's figures estimating the size of the industry are to be believed), then can the CIPR ever claim to have been representative?

I think the real issue here is that too little is known about the nature and scope of the industry and without a clear idea of the scale of the industry in the UK, the CIPR can never hope to know what or who it is representing. Perhaps the presidential candidates need to be lobbying for a full scale survey of the PR industry in the UK?  And if the CIPR cares about this issue maybe funding could be found for a PhD studentship to conduct it?

Managing online reputation: Waitrose - crisis or no crisis?

I watched with interested yesterday (November 09, 2011) as the Twittersphere exploded with rumours about a crisis unfolding on Waitrose’s facebook page.  With reports of Waitrose heading for a ‘Nestle’ incident ringing in my ears, I immediately logged on to facebook to see what all the fuss was about.  At teatime yesterday, the outpouring of outrage on the page was threatening to take on a life of its own as people who had no knowledge of the interest chipped in with their twopenneth. 

At that point it did indeed look as if a crisis was unfolding before our very eyes, as any PR worth their salt knows, the media abhors a vacuum, and social media is no different.  Waitrose was notably absent from the discussions evolving online and, starved of facts, people made judgements based on assumption and rumour, with tensions running very high at one stage.

However, about an hour ago, Waitrose stepped in to fill the vacuum and provide a statement which, as I write, seems to have stopped the discussion in its tracks and satisfied the disgruntled posters.  So what can Waitrose, and the rest of us, learn about this incident?  The key to successfully managing an issue and ensuring that it doesn’t become a crisis is to keep communicating.  Keep on talking, explaining and reassuring people and you gain their trust.  Dialogue requires effort from both sides and it is only through dialogue that mutual understanding and goodwill can be attained.  So, even if the claims being made cannot be verified or are being exaggerated, continuing to engage with detractors on their terms is a sure fire way of keeping a lid on things until you can establish the facts.

  

As for Waitrose, it seems that a crisis has been averted and goodwill maintained. A happy ending?

Exposing dodgy PR practices or making the media communications process transparent?

Media awareness charity, the Media Standards Trust, has launched a new website, churnalism.com, which aims to enable media consumers to identify how much of the content in their favourite medium has been copied from press releases. Readers simply copy the article into its ‘churn engine’ to discover its source. So does the PR industry have anything to worry about?


Some PR commentators argue that the site will expose ‘an ugly PR truth’ and that unscrupulous operators may use the site to demonstrate the success of their campaigns, and while there is undoubtedly some truth in these warnings, the site presents an opportunity for the PR industry too.

Rather than ‘exposing’ dodgy PR practices, the site should be seen as an opportunity to make the whole media communications process more transparent, which as well as being good news for the reader, is also good news for PR and journalists. With both occupations suffering from low trust levels among the general public, it seems to me that churnalism.com presents an opportunity to tackle the problem head on. It is a chance for both parties to think more carefully about the needs of the audiences; PRO’s should think more carefully about the news value and purpose of the communications they issue, and journalists, editors and media owners should think more carefully about the value and impact of the stories they run. This can only improve trust levels.

The practice of churnalism is detrimental to the reputations of PR and journalism alike, so far from being bad news for PR and journalism, churnalism.com should be embraced as an opportunity to demonstrate the value and purpose of good media communications practices. Transparency is the key to building trust, so churnalism.com should be a welcome addition.

Is it ever OK to name and shame poor PR practitioners?

An online survey conducted by PR Week, has revealed that over 94% of PR practitioners don’t believe that sloppy PRO’s should be named and shamed. In a poll which asked visitors to prweek.com, ‘is it OK for journalists/ bloggers to name and shame persistent PR professionals?’, the majority of the 168 respondents thought not.


So what are the ethical issues involved in adopting a ‘name and shame’ approach? Should poor practice be exposed in this way? Does it really change the way people operate or would the industry and its less able practitioners be better served by promoting the benefits of an industry-appropriate education? Or is the high level of outrage at the practice yet another example of poor PR practice?

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the debate.

Product placement - is it really 'new'?

There is an interesting piece on the BBC features site at the moment discussing product placement on TV - you can read it here - BBC News - Will product placement change TV? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12449502.




The article compares the US and UK experiences and suggests the concept of product placement is new to UK screens, but is it? As a paid for advertising activity this may be true but PR has been making use of product placement on TV for decades. As a lowly PR account executive working for Stanley Tools in the 1990's I was tasked with ensuring that Stanley products were used exclusively on all home improvements shows on TV; LDV vans were regularly driven around Albert Square by key characters and shows like '60 minute makeover' wouldn't exist if it weren't for the support of organisations prepared to 'place' their goods and services.



So while product placement may be a relatively new 'above the line' activity in the UK, it has been going on 'below the line' for years!

EuroBlog Social Media Awards 2011

There are just 5 days to go until the deadline for entries to Euprera's EuroBlog Social Media Awards 2011.  These awards reward excellence in the use of social media and are open to students and faculty from across Europe.

There are three categories and the winner of each will receive 250 euros and a fully paid trip to Lisbon to present their campaigns to the Euprera Spring Symposium.

Here's the official blurb:

"We are going to make three awards in Lisbon, all to people who are engaged with the online community and see the opportunities offered by social media.

 

•  Most effective social media presence established by a communications/public relations student studying on undergraduate or post-graduate programme at a European university.

The judges will be looking for focus and vision, originality, creativity, style and insight.

 

• Most innovative use of social media techniques in a communications research project or investigation

The judges will be looking for originality of insights, thought, theoretical understanding, delivered with creativity, style, insight etc

 

•   Most valuable contribution to the academic understanding of the impact of social media on PR practice.

This may be a university lecturer but could also be a thought leader, post graduate researcher, author, or consultant. We welcome entries from individuals but also NOMINATIONS from others. If you are learning from someone, let us know.

 

How to Enter
Send an email with your name and the URL of your web presence to Philip Young (philip.young@sunderland.ac.uk) and you will be added to the Participants blogroll."

This is a great opportunity for social media pioneers to get rewarded for their efforts, so get your entry in now!