Six social media and digital communications trends for 2015

One of the most enjoyable hybrid academic-practitioner experiences I have had this year has been as course leader of the PR Academy Digital Communications Certificate course. The reason is that we have been able to incorporate a lot of contemporary thinking around ways of learning as well as the emerging field of digital communications and social media. This includes blended approaches to online and offline learning (with Stuart Bruce leading a face-to-face session, alongside my...

Making the case for solid public relations research

Exploring the core elements needed and depth of analytical knowledge required to lead public relations-oriented research projects By Natalie Bovair, APR Recognizing that research is essential to strategic public relations planning, not to mention program evaluation, conventional wisdom would have it that public relations professionals—at least those of the strategic management variety—were taught or developed strong research skills. Herein lies the problem: The majority of PR practitioners lack the depth of investigative experience or the...

How to build better relations with employees

The first chapter in Part III of Your Public Relations, the 1948 book we are serialising at PR Conversations, is authored by Kirk Earnshaw, industrial relations editor of Modern Industry Magazine, said to have been “a foremost authority” in the field of labour relations who offered “sound public relations procedures to industrial relations”. Alongside sharing insight from Earnshaw’s chapter, this post offers a review of the newly published book, Internal Communications: A manual for practitioners...

Stop with the hocus pocus – employee communications is for muggles

A European internal communications veteran explains: In order to help organisations use communications to get results, practitioners should call on simple skills and experience—not a book of runes, silver bullets or magic fairy dust By Liam FitzPatrick, FCIPR The first time I saw a Harry Potter film I had a strange sense of déjà vu. Where else had I seen people listening raptly to unintelligible men and women in strange outfits? Why did the concept...

The four Ps of public relations leadership

The chair of the Global Alliance introduces the Madrid Momentum (Learning to Lead) and details four Ps that constitute the cornerstones of PR leadership By Anne Gregory, PhD, FCIPR It was not that long ago (September 2014) that the World Public Relations Forum was held in Madrid where the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, together with DIRCOM, the Spanish Association of Communication Directors, hosted more than 800 professionals from 65 countries to...

Sharing Toni Muzi Falconi's biased memoirs

We have always been proud to have the support of Toni Muzi Falconi whose original blog became PR Conversations, and he then passed the editorship to Judy Gombita, Markus Pirchner and myself. Toni has now published his ‘biased memoirs’ entitled glow worms – which can be downloaded free as an ebook from the Biased Memoirs site, with a request to donate to the Cordoba Initiative – or as a paperback via Lulu. Toni  decided to...

Two glaring gaps in an otherwise glowing review of senior PR practice in Canada

A report and commentary on the Canada-specific Generally Accepted Practices (GAP) VIII Survey results By Natalie Bovair, APR It’s official: Canadian public relations practice is distinct and progressing well toward best practice. This is according to a Report of the Generally Accepted Practices (GAP) VIII Survey (Canadian) presented to CPRS members and other practitioners in early September 2014, by lead researcher Amy Thurlow, PhD, APR, associate professor at Mount Saint Vincent University. Following are study...

Association Public Relations

It seems surprising to me that the final chapter in Part II of the 1948 book, Your Public Relations, looks at practice within an industry body as this seems rather a specialist rather than strategic focus. However, its author Holcombe Parkes, Vice President of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) believes PR at the association level differs significantly from the organisational one. In the book’s About the Authors section, Parkes is said to have “been...

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...

Why public relations must wake up to wearables

Things ain’t what they used to be; the end of the beginning around wearable technologies and the device jumps PR practitioners are about to encounter Op-Ed by Catherine Arrow In kicking off this post, I was sorely tempted to indulge in a Buzzfeed-style headline, complete with obligatory quirky picture—probably JIBO, the world’s first family robot. I toyed with “61 ways to know if you’re ready for wearables,” tip-toed around “True Life: Why PR was disconnected...