Comments on: Alan Chumley opines on “the current state of the art (science?) of measurement in Canada”

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate Program at the University of St. Thomas.

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:11:55 +0000

I agree that “I don’t imagine there’s much in the way of Market Mix Modeling or Six Sigma (specific to a communications context) going on in Canada”. It depends on what is being measured and how it is being measured. Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate Programa> at the University of St. Thomas located at their Minneapolis campus.

By: Alan Chumley

Alan Chumley — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 20:16:22 +0000

Quasi-live blogging from Canada’s Measurement Event?

http://alanchumley.wordpress.com/2007/09/07/quasi-live-blogging-from-torontos-measurement-event/

By: duh Fraser Likely

duh Fraser Likely — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 17:06:28 +0000

Thank you for those dates, João. Now more choice! Benita is right. I trust that this London conference can fill the “big shoes” that Toni wore with the Trieste conference in 2005 – and that if we are going to institutionalize anything, it’s the partying ability of the South Africans!

Toni, I agree with you on the questions you have concerning the background/role of the Head of PR/C. Should the head be staffed by the CEO/Chairman’s personal choice (someone brought in from the outside; some one who has reported to the CEO in previous organizations; someone with existing chemistry)? Should the head be staffed by a “career” PR expert (someone who has worked their way up the ranks, in this organization; in others)? Should PR be seen as short-term stepping stone (for someone on the executive fast track)? Should there be a strategic head (personal advisor to the CEO) and an operational head (runs the shop)?

I’ve seen all, and various hybrids. Sometimes a particular model will work; sometimes the same model won’t. What we should keep in mind is that the same models apply to other corporate functions. Besides research on our own function, we should be looking at the others as well.

By: João Duarte

João Duarte — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:36:05 +0000

I didn't mention it, but the Festival and Conference for Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management will take place in London, England next June.

By: João Duarte

João Duarte — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:29:50 +0000

May I suggest that you to consider also the 5th Edition of the World Public Relations Festival between 23-24 June 2008. Next year this gathering promoted by the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management member associations will be organized by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and will be discussing "The Public Benefit of Public Relations".

By: Benita Steyn

Benita Steyn — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:30:26 +0000

I’m sure it is not that Fraser can’t make up his mind. I think it is that he doesn’t want to make up his mind–he wants to attend them both! And so do I–but for us intercontinentals from the Third World the exchange rate is a killer.

I remember 2002 when Bled and Euprera were together. What a wonderful conference it was. And how much you made us from faraway places feel at home–although some of us came with strange ideas. And 2005 when the 2nd World PR Festival was back-to-back with Bled. We came in droves. And taught the Europeans how to party, now didn’t we Fraser?

It is obviously less than ideal for the Europeans to have the conferences close together. But what about say once in 3 years to assist us ‘financially disadvantaged’ ones. (It doesn’t need to be Bled and Euprera each time. There are also other conferences to back up to. For instance, the Corporate Communication Institute’s conference takes place just one month before Bled in the UK. So close and yet so far). But then, we all have a wishlist, don’t we……

By: Toni Muzi Falconi

Toni Muzi Falconi — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:55:08 +0000

Euprera, as you know, has always been involved in the Bled Symposium and I know they were well aware of the Milano Congress theme, which they selected about eight months ago, when the Bled theme was decided…. Maybe it is good that similar themes are discussed at three months distance…also, the institutionalization has many other facets beyond involvement in corporate processes and relationships with other management functions (for example, how institutionalized is a function when the director of communications leaves his corporate post as the CEO changes job?..or how institutionalized is a function when all the organization really wants from its pr director is facilitated access to specific political or media circles?…or how institutionalized is a function when personal influence and good networking is most of what a director of communication has to offer? Is the institutionalization process going to freeze the development of the profession through red tape? Is the institutionalization process the beginning of the end of a profession and the pure consolidation of a management role?
As for Bled, personally I understand the theme to be more like: let us revise the stereotype that public relations belongs to marketing and at the same time carefully monitor marketing’s increasing advances towards public relations…I sense that the reference to the other managerial functions was a post thought to discourage what could easily become a ping pong game between the two disciplines… But I agree, similar things happen often amongst associations who do not speak to each other. In this case however Bled is a private organization and not an associations, has a great reputation, and will certainly not change its mind simply because there might be some overlap… Besides….the more the issue is discussed the better and Milano will have the benefit of leveraging the contents discussed in Bled…

By: De Fraser Likely

De Fraser Likely — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:20:18 +0000

Toni, so much to chose from …

Bled, Slovenia early July 2008 with the theme: “Public Relations and Marketing: A Relationship for Re-examination? Public Relations Among the Functions of Management.” I assume the “Public Relations Among the Functions of Management” will draw considerable interest.

Then there is Euprera in Milan, Italy in October 2008 with the theme: Institutionalizing Public Relations and Corporate Communication.” I assume “institutionalization” includes involvement in corporate processes such as strategic management as well as relationships among other management functions.

Very similar themes! Same neighbourhood of northern Italy! A conference goer/tourist could beneift from two great events as well as take in the magic of northern Italy in a few weeks time.

Except, they are 3 months apart!

Too much choice …

Fraser

By: Toni Muzi Falconi

Toni Muzi Falconi — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:18:17 +0000

my friends,
I have decided to dare…and… barge into this fascinating canadian caucus and file a comment, also in the hope that others from other countries and experiences will want to weigh in and contribute to what is probably the most amazing and interesting dicussion on the topic I have ever witnessed.
In following the debate, I was frequently stimulated, but Fraser’s last comment and his reference to the coming bled and milano (euprera) conferences really urge me to put in my two-cents.
My professional upbringing is principally based on seven solid years (1963-1970) of executing 3M public relations in Italy. Very much of this (not all..) in the area of product publicity. Even in those years my excellent St.Paul senior colleagues (John Verstaete and Paul Brown, subsequently Bob Peterson..) were much more interested in my evaluation of the impacts on customer behaviours (admittedly business to business..) of the outputs and out takes of our work, rather than the measurement of column inches.
I was then fortunate enough, having moved in the meantime to consultancy, to have worked for more than 10 years each (20 years in one case!) for three mnc’s (Philip Morris, American Express and AT&T) whose international public relations directors (the latter was Frank Ovaitt, today my coblogger here and effective ceo of the ipr..) were almost totally disinterested in output and out take measurement and concentrated their attention on evaluating outcomes, thus allowing significant time and resources for the exercise.
In the mid eighties, as Ceo of the largest italian pr consultancy, I launched an internal program in which any activity which implied resources of more than 50.000 euro, needed to adopt a pre-post qualitative outcome analysis methodology even if the client was not interested.
More recently, say in the last 10 years, just about every project I am directly involved in requires not only outcome but also outgrowth analysis (by which I mean that that single program is measured in its impact on key stakeholders, but also in the quality of the organization’s relationship systems as well as their reputation).
Not surprisingly, I have recently sold Methodos, the change management consultancy of wich I was chairman and minority shareholder to a….research company: Doxa, Italy’s most reputed and oldest market and social research organization, and for the last seven months I have been having a whale of a time in inventing, testing, discussing new ideas in order to devise new products and services which, despite all the potential and real conflicts of interest of which I am well aware, may effectively integrate consulting and research cultures for our clients benefit in measuring (always) and evaluating (where possible) the four levels of output, out take, outcome and outgrowth.
In October of 2008 Milano (IULM University and Ferpi) will host the annual Euprera congress
on the theme ‘the institutionalization of public relations and coporate communication’. Euprera is the european association of public relations research and education: an excellent organization which has done wonders to create a community in which schoilars, teachers and professionals work from many countries work together to forward our body of knowledge.
There are many aspects related to the institutionalization issue (a very ambiguous concept this, which raises many questions, both good and bad..)but, in my view, the central one has to do with the (if you prefer..) the consolidation of the public relations function inside any form of organization. And there is no doubt in my mind that research (including evaluation and measurement, but not only: think of the listening to stakeholders role…)is firmly embedded as a cumsubstantial (does such a term exist??) part of our day to day activity. No practice is acceptable if it is not related to a predefined objective. If we start from there, the rest comes along.
This is why I thank Fraser for having mentioned the Milano congress. If canadian, american, australian, new zealand, south african, latin american professionals, scholars and educators decide to join their thoughts with those of their european colleagues we could be hopefully leading to a truly relevant event.