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!