A communicator’s guide to mitigating the risk of greenwashing

Angela Barter, CPRP, a sustainable communication strategist based in South Africa, drew from her presentation at the Global Alliance’s World PR Forum (May 2016, Toronto) when writing A communicator’s guide to mitigating the risk of greenwashing This is the first in a series of original, but WPRF2016-related, posts by presenters (from different countries) on PR Conversations Over the past decade, the media and the internet have helped create global awareness about key environmental issues, creating a shift in attitude and...

Who talks to (and about) colleagues like that?

What qualities do you most dislike in a PR practitioner? “Being absorbed with ‘The Message’ and forgetting all about the specific context of the communication that is needed.” Gregor Halff’s response to Q8 of the PRoust Questionnaire I have long been a believer that “language shapes consciousness,” primarily in regards to deliberate words chosen, particularly when reasonable, more-inclusive and dynamic terms exist. For example, mindfully using gender-neutral titles, such as chair rather than chairman or firefighter...

Double-dipping exposes reputation risk in blurred boundaries of PR and journalism

When it comes to reputation, there is little distinction between a real conflict and a perceived one Op-Ed by Daniel Tisch, APR, FCPRS As media scandals go, it was a big one for Canada: The revelation that for the past two years one of the nation’s better-known TV news anchors was a part owner of a small public relations firm. Even more unnerving was that the anchor—and, on occasion, other journalists affiliated with the TV...

Exposing PR's weaknesses

I’m concerned about public relations. In the way that the Texas mother who created the Ignore No More app was concerned by her son ignoring her mobile phone calls.  PR – why are you ignoring all the good advice that’s around you? Even more concerning, why are PR practitioners ignorant of the weakness of a discipline that relies on anecdote, criticism and personal opinion, rather than robust evidence, substantiated thinking and considered arguments? We see...

Public Relations Practitioners, Artists formerly known as Invisibles

A practitioner’s musing about balancing the visible and invisible work in 21st-century PR By Bob Geller I read a review in the Wall Street Journal of what looks to be an interesting book, The Invisibles: The Power of Anonymous Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion, by David Zweig. His book chronicles the work of those who toil quietly in the trenches. The results of their work are all that matters, and while we might...

Should sisters PR it for themselves?

The winner of the Baileys Women’s Prize for fiction has just been announced. The proud boast of this prize is that it is the “UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman” and it is judged by a panel of women, so luminary that they need an apostrophe when their names are listed. The award was previously known as the Orange Prize for Fiction – but now is titled after an cream...

Honestly, PR is dishonest

Symmetry and storytelling are fine but only if they improve competitive advantage Op-Ed by Alan Kelly, MA Bored of the alchemy of reputation metrics, the insincerity of authenticity and other communication terms du jour, I am often entertained at public relations conferences by counting the utterances of words like compete, rival or opposition. Never have I needed more than the fingers on one hand. And so I’ve come to the conclusion that the field we...

Stakeholder Expectations Roundtable: A tale of two books

Where does public relations fit into the organization? How should we update our practices to meet the needs of today and tomorrow? What are our responsibilities to the organizations we serve—and how can we communicate with, and address concerns of, stakeholders? By Bob Geller The above questions were some of the topics covered in a session I attended in New York in late February 2014, the Director Roundtable on Stakeholder Expectations and the 21st Century...

Dissent and protest – new directions for public relations

It has never been easier for people to protest or express dissent. But there’s actually a long tradition of public action, supported by organised campaigns. Rather than positioning such activities as dissent or protest public relations within the “field’s fuzzy and continually gerrymandered boundaries” (to cite Cropp and Pincus 2001), they have generally been viewed as threats or challenges to those working within or for organisations, and counter to the dominant viewpoint that public relations...

Influence behaviours: create social business guidelines valued as an employee resource

What are the advantages of making something a collaborative effort and promoting the terminology of “resource?” External and internal communication specialists in a communicative organization understand the significance and impact of the name given to a document. Even more important than its title, who holds accountability for its creation and how many areas have input and influence on resulting internal behaviours and external outcomes. Ask any corporate communicator: Collaborative efforts are always more valued by...