European Communication Monitor Seminar with Ketchum Pleon

Ketchum Pleon are holding two free webinars for students on Wednesday October 17th to discuss the latest results of the European Communication Monitor, a Euprera project.  To book your place on the webinar email Alice Clarke.  The invitation is published below and I strongly recommend that you book your place today!

Invitation ECM Webinar

Shape the Future of PR

As students and practioners of PR and communications we are sure that you are interested in the future of our industry, particularly how social media and ethical matters take ever more prominence.

Join us for this unique, free Webinar that explores the findings of the recent European Communication Monitor (ECM) 2012 (the latest global survey of communications trends) and grow your understanding of your industry of choice.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Please choose the most convenient time:

Morning session: 10.00 to 10.45 am (UK time)

Evening session: 5.00 to 5.45 pm (UK time)

The ECM is the largest transnational survey on Public Relations and strategic communications worldwide with almost 2200 participants from 42 countries. Providing yearly data since 2007, the ECM aids better understanding of the professional practice of communications in Europe thus improving the quality of both in-house and consultancy work within a changing framework of our profession.

Ketchum Pleon is Europe’s leading communications consultancy with more than 900 employees in over 30 offices around Europe, integrated into Ketchum’s global operations.

Enjoy a presentation and join a vivid discussion between leading academics and industry leaders:

-      Prof. Ralph Tench (Professor of Communication Education, PR and Communication, University of Leeds, UK)

-       Prof. Dr. Ansgar Zerfass (Professor of Communication Management, University of Leipzig, Germany)

-       Mr. Joachim Klewes (Senior Partner at Ketchum Pleon Germany)

-       Mr. Rod Cartwright

(Director of Ketchum's Global Corporate Practice, based in London, UK)

If you would like to enroll onto this session please email

alice.clarke@ketchumpleon.com

Useful books for PR Students

The European Public Relations Education and Research Association, Euprera, has compiled a list of PR books written by its members.  The list contains useful texts for students of PR and communications, and is a useful starting point for undergraduates and postgraduates alike.  Take a look here.

(Post-graduate students will note that this is the book that I was talking about in class last week!)

Digital Marketing Insights at MMU

MMUPR students have the opportunity to attend a day of cutting-edge digital marketing seminars on Friday 26th October. The event, held at MMUBS, is organised by 'Digiterati' (the Econsultancy student society).


They have agreed to offer you this at the specially discounted rate of £20. Over the day you'll hear from four practitioners talking digital, digital PR, analytics and social business.

Simply click here and select the "Digiterati Member" option.

I cannot recommend these highly enough for anyone interested in digital marketing. It's also a great networking opportunity.
Sign up via eventbrite here to enjoy a day of fantastic digital marketing insight.

Academia versus Practice: what is the point of research?

I was lucky enough to attend the Euprera 2012 Annual Congress in Istanbul the other week, where there were many excellent papers delivered by respected academics and new researchers alike, but what was missing from this, as with many other PR conferences, was practitioner input.  There is a great deal of very good research being done by academics, in this country and across the world, into many different aspects of PR theory and practice but very little seems to make its mark on practice.

This is a lost opportunity for both academia and practice.  Practitioners could benefit from the findings of robust research projects, use the findings to guide their practice, even partner with academics to produce research that is pertinent to their specific operations.  Whereas academics can benefit from the first-hand experiences of practitioners and use practitioner networks to produce research that really reflects modern PR practice and captures and investigates the dilemmas and triumphs of the industry. 

So why isn't this happening?  The CIPR once ran an annual conference aimed at bringing academics and practitioners together but this has not run for a couple of years. It needn't be as grand as a conference but I think that together industry and academia should investigate fora for sharing research and ideas to develop and strengthen the industry. 

At a time when Lionel Zetter is calling for a strong, unified professional body to represent the industry, perhaps it is also time for PR academia and the PR industry to find ways to unite?

Job Opportunity with Tobacco Free Futures

Tobacco Free Futures is a highly effective partnership programme, which is funded by NHS Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in the North West. Its mission is to prevent tobacco related health inequalities and poverty, by breaking the cycle of addiction and exposure to tobacco in every community.

They are looking for a recent graduate, ideally with placement experience, to join them as a communications and project support officer on a full-time freelance basis starting as soon as possible until the end of March 2013. The placement will be subject to an initial eight-week trial period. The day rate for this role will broadly equate to around £100 per day.

If you would like to apply please send an up to date CV along with a short covering letter explaining why you would be suitable to Ian White on ian.white@tobaccofreefutures.org, or contact Sarah for more information.

MMUPR Film Club

The new academic year is almost upon us and there are a few new initiatives and developments that the MMUPR team has been working on over the summer.  As well as the introduction of exciting new units at levels 5 and 6, we will be launching a PR Film Club this year.

The club will meet on the first Wednesday of every month between 5 and 7 to watch PR related films and talk about the issues they raise.  As well as a chance to learn about PR in popular culture, it is also a chance for students from all years to socialise and network with each other over drinks and nibbles.  We also hope to get guest speakers in to talk to this group about the issues raised in the films that we watch. For a taste of some of the great films that will be shown read this excellent blogpost by the Action PR Group.

The schedule will be posted to moodle and Sarah's door (6.13) so come along to our first session on Wednesday 3 October and find out what it is all about!

MMUPR PR Skills and Careers Conference

If you haven't already, you should book your place for the PR skills and careers conference being hosted by MMUPR on May 8 and 9.  Places are limited for the 8th, in particular, so to reserve your place email Mel Powell on m.powell@mmu.ac.uk today!

Is it fair to charge agencies to pitch?

We may have gone back into recession but I was shocked to read last week that BAA was charging PR agencies to pitch for its business.  It is most certainly exploitation, as Francis Ingham noted in his statement to PR Week, but it is also arrogant behaviour. 

They may well incur overheads as a result of the pitching process but so do agencies.  In my time working in agencies it wasn’t unusual to start working on a pitch at 6.00pm in the evening after the days’ business was complete; staff gave up their personal time, agencies often stumped up for take-aways to sustain the team.  There were also the practical costs incurred in putting a presentation together, getting visuals or mock ups done.   

But aside from the financial investment agencies make in pitching to clients, there is an emotional one too.  In giving up their free time, PR people make an investment in the business they are bidding for and to charge them for the ‘privilege’ of working for free seems remarkably impertinent. 

But all is not lost, there are, in fact, organisations out there who will offer to pay for pitching work which is a refreshing and hopeful sign and one which should be promoted.  David Kuczora of Clive Reeves PR in Birmingham told me of a recent pitch where the agency was not only offered recompense for their travelling expenses (the pitch was in Brussels) but also offered a fee for completing it.  The agency declined the fee, but the gesture did not go unnoticed.

It seems that the discourse of corporate social responsibility, being a good and just corporate citizen, is lost on companies like BAA, who instead seek to justify unjustifiable actions. But rather than focus on the disappointing actions of one firm, the industry should continue to push for greater acknowledgement of the investment made by PR agencies in the pitch process.

Fancy a career in PR?

...then MMUPR has an event for you! The MMUPR team is set to hold its first PR Careers/ Skills Fair on May 8 and 9, 2012.  This free event is aimed at second and third year undergraduate students currently studying at MMUBS but is open to any student with an interest in PR.  The schedule is posted below; for more information, or to register for a place on either or both days, contact Mel Powell on m.powell@mmu.ac.uk or Sarah Williams on sarah.williams@mmu.ac.uk.

Programme

Day 1: Tuesday 8 May - Introduction to PR – PR Skills

a.m. Introduction to PR theory

10 – 10.30 What PR is and what it’s not – definitions and industry context

PR in practice – agency vs in-house, sectors and specialisms

10.30 – 11.30 Basic PR theory – one way/two way communication/stakeholders and publics/key PR models

11.30 – 12 noon Break

12 -1 PR and Marketing

p.m. Introduction to PR skills

2.00 p.m. PR skills workshop

Press release writing – practical session

What is a press pack?

Media relations – selling in, dealing with incoming media enquiries

4.00 p.m. finish

Day 2: Wednesday 9 May – Into PR – PR Careers

a.m. Working in PR

10.00 – 10.30 a.m. How an agency works/basic roles/PR/professional bodies CIPR/PRCA

10.30 – 11.30 Guest speakers – agency/in-house give insights into what a day’s work might involve

11.30 – 12 Break

12 -12.30 – What does it take to be a good PR practitioner? Skills and attributes needed and sought by recruiters

12.30 – 1.00 p.m. Alumni panel – MScIPR students to give their experiences of PR job search

p.m. Getting into PR

2.00 – 2.45 p.m. Lecture on PR recruitment, interviews and CV preparation

2.45 – 3.34 p.m. PR your CV – practical workshop session

3.45 – 4.00 p.m. Questions and final comments, including further PR qualifications and how they can help

A successful first year for BA Public Relations and Digital Communications at MMU!

The debut year of the PR and Digital Communications degree at MMU has ended with a bang as the course notched up three nominations at this year’s MMUnion Teaching Awards. Course tutors Brendan Keegan and Sarah Williams have been nominated along with course student representative Josie Campbell.  Brendan has been nominated for Best Personal Tutor, Sarah for Best Teacher and Josie for Best Course Rep.  The winners will be announced at a plush awards ceremony in May; good luck to all!

We are all delighted to have been nominated and our thanks go to students and staff alike for a fantastic and productive year.  Looking forward to continuing the good work in September!

The permeable boundaries of PR

Leading law firm, Mischon de Reya, has announced a 'reputation' service for its clients.  While the idea of law firms, advertising agencies and even accountants offering communciation services is nothing new, this announcement once again highlights the problem that public relations has with jurisdiction.

PR suffers from permeable boundaries; with no solid, compulsory education base to delineate what is and what is not the remit of PR, the field is always going to be open to encroachment on its territory by other disciplines.  Until the industry can precisely define its territory, it cannot hope to defend it.  And as we have seen with recent industry debates on definitions, this isn't likely to happen any time soon.

This has implications for the discourse of professionalism which dominates the sector, with industry bodies, such as the CIPR, describing the industry as a profession as a default descriptor, without explaining nor defining the term.  Along with ethics, which was discussed in a previous post, jurisdiction over a privileged body of knowledge is another of the key tenets of a profession.  Without barriers to entry there is nothing stopping anyone, even a high profile law firm, from setting up in the reputation business, and whether we like it or not, this has an impact on the reputation of the PR industry itself.  If, as the CIPR claims, public relations is 'about reputation', and if, as Mischon seems to be suggesting, clients can't trust PR firms to look after their reputation, then what is the point of the PR industry?

To avert this existential crisis, it seems to me that the industry needs to get back to basics and rather than simply employing the discourse of professionalism with no regard for its meaning, it needs to debate what this actually means for PR and how we go about putting substance behind the rhetoric.

Lord Bell claims that the Independent sting has had no impact

In a report in PR Week this week, Lord Bell, chairman of Chime Communications, the group that owns Bell Pottinger, claimed that questions about the conduct of the company’s PR division have had no effect on trading.

Bell Pottinger were last year subject to a sting operation, carried out by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and published by the Independent, in which senior members of the firm were caught boasting about their influence in Westminster.

Bell claims, in the interview with PR Week, that the negative press ‘had no effect whatsoever.  The phone never stops ringing – we’re pitching all the time and continuing to win business.’  I think that Lord Bell has rather missed the point here, to claim that the affair had ‘no effect whatsoever’ shows astonishing arrogance and disregard for basic ethics and the impact that this scandal has on the wider PR community.

This is not simply a trading issue and I would hope that rather than having no effect at all, the rather distasteful affair has had the effect of causing Bell Pottinger to take a long hard look at its business practices and consider the ethics of its actions.  

New Definition of PR Rejected

Interesting article in PR Week this week reporting on the rejection of a new definition of public relations created by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and based on the views of nearly 1,500 comms people from around the world, including the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

The new definition goes like this:

‘PR is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and their bodies’.

Fairly brief. And rejected by the UK’s Public Relations Consultancy Association (PRCA) with 61% of 108 surveyed PR bosses disagreeing with the statement.

Worth reading the article – and especially the follow-up comments from PRCA chief executive Francis Ingham criticizing the statement, and Keith Trivitt, Associate Director of PRSA who defends their stance across the water.   

Not sure this definition moves us on much further than previous definitions, or helps improve everyone’s understanding of what public relations professionals actually DO - something that remains woefully lacking. Does it encapsulate what public relations strives to achieve? Does it go far enough? And who exactly are the 'bodies'? Sounds rather ominous in a CSI way. Do they mean stakeholders? 

Would you accept this as a good working definition along with the Americans and their experts from around the world, or reject it in line with the PRCA and UK PR bosses? Perhaps this disagreement really just highlights the cultural differences in how PR is perceived and practiced in different corners of the globe.

It’s always much easier to criticize something than create it yourself. Maybe the PRSA should be congratulated for trying to position (and justify) public relations in a competitive world where communications budgets are shrinking... but it does feel like more of the same, and rather a disappointing outcome from 1,500 comms experts. 

What do YOU think?

Read all about it...news etiquette

MMUPR students were yesterday treated to a talk on media relations by leading financial PR, Jenny Challenor. Her main argument was that media relations is not dead but the rules of the game have changed and if future PR's are going to develop meaningful relationships with journalists then they need to learn the rules, and be ready to apply them.

Hospitality and lavish gifts are out, grabbing a quick coffee with at least three solid story ideas to offer is in.  Bribery legislation is making journalists more wary of accepting gifts and hospitality so PR practitioners must be able to demonstrate a real understanding of what journalists want and need.

Jenny demonstrated how twitter is growing in importance as a communication tool for journalists and PRO's but she cautioned students on knowing twitter etiquette and understanding its limitations.

But the key to establishing good relationships with journalists, argued Challenor, is reading the papers and keeping abreast of what the key issues are and what has previously been covered on a subject.  In a snap poll only 2 out of the audience of 50 students admitted to reading an actual newspaper, most saying that they read online editions of papers alone; this is not good enough for PRO's, she argued, as online editions don't reflect the full offline content.

Jenny's key tips for good media relations:

- read the papers and watch the news; good PR's keep abreast of the news and can spot good angles and opportunities
- understand how the papers' operate; know deadlines, lead times, preferred contact methods
- don't bombard journalists with press releases or meaningless gifts; untargeted releases and random freebies just undermine your credibility in the long term
- finally, if you don't know what a journalist does, just ask! You might learn something new ;)

Self-governance in a digital age

The discussion that arose from my post on managing your online reputation on Thursday has prompted me to think about the dangers of over-editing, or over-censoring your profile. It is, of course, right to argue that if everyone were to adopt a safe, corporate approach to their online interactions then social media would be a more boring place for all, and would undoubtedly lose its appeal for many, but I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon.

What interests me more about this idea of self-censorship, and I am guilty of it too, is the way it can be related to the Foucauldian concept of governmentality. Michel Foucault was a Twentieth century French philosopher and social theorist who, among his many works, developed the concept of governmentality in his later life. One of the key tenets of this theory was that governments like to produce citizens that self-govern, it makes their life easier after all, and that discourses arise in society to pursue that aim; we might consider recent discourses of 'modernity' and 'continuous professional development' in these terms too (I have written papers on these discourses, so ask in class if you would like to read them!).

My argument about monitoring your online profile could also be said to be such a discourse. In encouraging you to curate your own profiles and think about how you present yourself online, I am guilty of encouraging self-governance. Nonetheless, I remain resolute about the need to think carefully about how much you share online. Social media is pervasive and hard to avoid in our society and so I remain convinced that it is important to curate your online presence in some way, but certainly not in a way that leaves you looking devoid of personality, interests and passion. Any profile which focuses entirely on promoting your corporate skills and competences is to be avoided, especially in the creative industries which thrive on people and ideas rather than skills and competencies alone.

Ultimately it is your choice to get involved in social media networks and you do have the freedom to decide for yourself what, how much and how frequently you share information about your life, but projecting an image you are comfortable with and understanding your audience's perceptions of that image, are good, basic PR skills too. Remember perception is the reality.

Fresh from the industry awards...

I was lucky enough last night to be sat with the young PR who was named Young Practitioner of the year at last night's Fresh PR Awards in central Manchester, David Kuczora; many of you will also know him as he came to talk to the level 4 students a few weeks ago. He was up against stiff competition and, in fact, won jointly with young woman from de Winter.  David is a worthy winner in my opinion, he is, as you would expect more than competent at his job, he behaves professionally and gets good results for his clients, but most of all he loves his job.  Absolutely loves it.  And it is his passion that drives him. So well done, David, and keep having fun!

Managing your own reputation online

The one thing that employers at the PRCA Careers Day agreed on is the need to look after and nurture your online presence. It isn't enought to simply be present on social media, you also need to be active, but exactly how much sharing should you do? More and more employers are looking at online profiles as part of the recruitment process, as this bbc news programme confirms, so how do you ensure that you are safeguarding your reputation online?

At the PRCA Careers Day Waggener Edstrom handed out fliers to participants warning them of the dangers of over-sharing; they offer the following tips to, in their words, 'pimp your social media presence':

- tread carefully posting pictures: embarrassing pics of a night out might look funny to you and your mates but HR will worry about repeat performances
- "got home at 3am, work tomorrow; eek!": burning the candle at both ends may seem cool but HR will see this as being tired and hungover at work
- "can't wait to hit @nandos_official tonight": this might be interesting to you but make sure that your content reflects your passions and not just your diary
- "find me on Facebook, twitter, blogger, MySpace, pinterest, bebo...": just joining sites is not enough. rove how digitally-savvy you really are by being active on all.

So review your online presence and ask yourself, is this how I would want employers to see me? Am I happy that I'm developing the right online reputation? Showing your bubbly, outgoing personality is fine, but if you tweet more about your pizza than your passions, start making some changes now!

Meeting the PR high fliers of tomorrow

MMUPR spent the day at the PRCA careers day at the Natural History Museum in London today. Over one hundred students from a wide range of backgrounds converged on London to find out more about working in public relations. The packed programme included sessions on working in-house versus agency, digital PR and the topic everyone had come to hear about, breaking into PR.

A number of companies were present advertising their internship opportunities and graduate schemes, each swamped with the high-fliers of tomorrow! Cohn & Wolfe tempted conference-goers with a stand laden with well-known brands and products, and as if this weren't tempting enough, they offer a great paid internship programme and graduate scheme; log on to cohnwolfe.com or email greatcareers@cohnwolfe.com for more information. Bite Communications, voted one of the Sunday Times top 100 companies to work for, offers a great graduate scheme for those interested in the growing digital sector; email rowan.mckinlay@bitecommunications.com for more information. Waggener Edstrom are one of the world's largest independent integrated communications agencies. With over 850 people in 19 offices across the world, Waggener Edstrom specialises in technology, healthcare and energy sectors and with has a specialist digital team, Studio D, making it a great fit for MMUBS PR & Digital Comms students! They have a variety of schemes and are always on the look out for graduates and interns so for more information email paulag@wagged.com or follow them on twitter, @WaggedHR_UK

If a graduate scheme doesn't appeal, then new venture, PR Apprenticeships, developed in conjunction with PRCA might be of interest. The scheme is a level 4 programme which combines 4 days in work with one day's training per week and has been developed to meet the needs of industry. The scheme will be running a series of events throughout the year, including one in Manchester, so check out the website for more details: www.prapprenticeships.com.

As for MMUPR, the MSc in International Public Relations attracted a lot of interest from humanities undergraduates looking to specialise and develop their PR skills after graduation, so hopefully we will have an ingesting cohort next year! All in all an interesting day and a packed programme, so MMUPR, do try and get along to the next one!

PRCA Career's Day

The PRCA is holding a Career's Day on March 1st at the Natural History Museum in London.  MMUPR students are being offered a fantastic price of just £15 to attend this all day event.  Interested students should email Sarah for details.

MMUPR will also be exhibiting at the event to showcase its Masters in International Public Relations; teaching staff will be on hand to talk about the course and answer any queries you may have so come along and say 'hi', we're a friendly bunch!

Bridging the PR skills gap at MMUPR

PR news site, theprmoment.com, today highlighted research into core skills needed by every PR practitioner.  The key skills cited included:

• Knowledge of journalistic and business practices.



• The ability to think critically and strategically.


• Good skills in written and spoken communication.


• Competences in MS Office software.


• Savvy use of new media.


• Ability to manage time and resources productively.


• A positive attitude to work (and a thick skin).


• Hands-on experience in developing campaigns.


The article noted that many practitioners are deficient in one or more of these key skills.  An MSc in International Public Relations at Manchester Metropolitan University offers both new and experienced practitioners alike the chance to bridge the skills gap and ensure they have the key skills required for a career in PR.  The course blends critical engagement with PR and communications theory with hands-on experience of working with clients to develop PR campaigns; while experts in everything from digital communications and SEO, to advertising and the media are on hand to share their wisdom.

Anyone interested in a career in public relations should be getting themselves along to the PRCA's Career's Day at the Natural History Museum next Thursday 1st March where representatives from MMUPR will be on hand to talk about the MSc in International PR and offer advice about how to apply.