Posted on Seasoned Posts

A RESET of our profession? Takeaways from Global PR directors of General Electric, Pfizer, Mastercard, Kodak, Bausch and Lomb, Swiss RE, Viacom

The day after Pfizer announced it would ensure free medicines to laid-off and non insured workers for one year, Ray Kerins, head of global pr for the big pharma company (‘we are 50 bl. dollar start up company’ he says…) told an attentive audience of colleagues representing agencies from all over the world, that the idea had not come from top management nor from him, but directly from employees who gathered around internal social networks.

Posted on PR Sense

Dispatch from Oz: Think privacy isn’t important? Aren’t you glad this loo isn’t made of glass?

In 2003, Privacy Victoria launched a sponsorship of the Platypus House at the Royal Melbourne Zoo. At the time the then-Privacy Commissioner, Walkley Award winner, and ex-journalist, Paul Chadwick, indicated, “Privacy Victoria sponsors the platypus at the Melbourne Zoo because these fascinating monotremes are a natural symbol for the idea of privacy. Platypuses are shy, discreet and wary, innately valuing their privacy. The sponsorship aimed at helping people think about privacy in a new and engaging way.”

Posted on Seasoned Posts

‘Enough is Enough’ – an economic model for Net-Work and Net-Worth?

With its roots in 1546, the wisdom underlying the John Heywood proverb ‘enough is enough‘ has been recognised by many. But when is enough truly enough? The churning over the recessionary pressures – real or otherwise – have, more so in recent months, led many to question the economic models we have used for so long. Unsurprising really, as they are models which, as I have mentioned here before, were created for another space and...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

Public Diplomacy with Teheran and direct involvement with the American taxpayer.

Are we finally seeing, moment by moment, a public relations approach unfold…or is it only a disastrous and desperate exercise in spin? You will remember that years ago (not as many as we would hope…) the skies of Baghdad poured tons and tons of bombs. Later on, when the fighting went house to house, those same skies poured leaflets encouraging Iraquis to support allied forces. Subsequently, local newspapers were flooded by articles, expensively prepared by...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

Integrating Public Relations and Public Diplomacy: a workshop in Rome for 25 diplomats by FERPI, the Italian professional association

In agreement with the Diplomatic Institute of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FERPI -the Italian Federation of Public Relations- is holding in the English language, on March 3,4,5,and 6 in Rome a four session workshop on Public Diplomacy for 25 mid career Italian diplomats according to this program. Tutors of the course will be Toni Muzi Falconi and Fabio Ventoruzzo, both representing Ferpi. Four guest lecturers have agreed to participate: Dejan Vercic, Mindi Kasiga,...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

Reputation lost, reputation won: Lessons from Aristotle and Barack Obama. Ronel Rensburg on Rhetoric and Public Relations. A South African Perspective.

by Ronel Rensburg While watching the acceptance speech (“This is your victory”) by Barack Obama upon winning the presidential race in Chicago, I experienced a long-forgotten feeling of excitement towards political rhetoric as well as a stirring of new-found hope for the USA and the rest of the world. In the presence of hundreds of thousands of people in awe, history was made and lessons were learnt of how communication and public speaking ought to...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

Live at the Inauguration with 3000 “Friends” per Minute

I had a new experience yesterday that helped me understand the “social” in social media a little better. I use Facebook to maintain with far-distant friends and to get back in touch. So, contrary  to today’s teens who chat with each other online, I am more likely to talk to my current, nearby friends on the phone and in person and to use Facebook to interact with people who are not in my immediate circle. But...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

Facing this historic discontinuity. Two recently developed certainties for our profession: generic principles and specific applications and stakeholder relationship management

I submit that the paradigm of generic principles and specific applications and the practice of stakeholder relationship management constitute an effective integrated framework of reference for our professional community, capable of allowing our practice to fully benefit (or at the very least, suffer less) from this economic crisis, which will be with us for some years to come. Allow me to dwell on this statement, and explain the why and the how.

Posted on Seasoned Posts

Twelve hours of videobook on ‘In what sense: what is public relations?’. A narrative which summarizes some 400 years of professional experience. A dream, or a nightmare?

Bear with me and please visit www.lucasossellaeditore.it . Mind you, the sound is in Italian so it might be better to move quickly along the few minutes to get a grasp of what the contents, but more importantly the format, are like. Basically these few minutes are an excerpt of a good twelve hours (!) of videobook (3 dvd’s of four hours each) to which Joao Duarte referred to in his post here a few...