#APR2012: The value in being accredited in public relations – an in-house advisor’s and a consultant’s perspective.

Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) is an international qualification that is a mark of distinction and demonstrates commitment to the profession and to its ethical practice.

PRINZ takes pride in running the six-month long APR programme  in New Zealand, where candidates are assessed on assignments, written exam and a viva voce with senior practitioners. Candidates are also provided with mentors, seminars and networking opportunities for support through the programme. Each year graduates join a select group of accredited member practitioners who reflect the growing dedication to professional PR practice.

2011 graduates Adrienne Schwartfeger (Environment Canterbury) and Rachel Blundell (Core Communications) talk about their experience of the programme and what having the APR title means to them.

Adrienne Schwartfeger, Internal Communications Advisor, Environment Canterbury:

Adrienne Schwartfeger

Having worked for over 15 years in varying communications roles in a variety of industry sectors (Local and Regional Government, Crown Entity and Corporate), the chance to step out of the everyday busyness to refresh my skills, fill any knowledge gaps and reinforce what I currently do was valuable.

APR is a personal development opportunity with a strong emphasis on the principles of PR and communications as well as the Code of Ethics under which we operate as PRINZ members. The assignments were useful, the concentrated nature of the programme made it achievable while still working, and the mix of workshops and seminars was a bonus. What I also liked was the opportunity to hear from colleagues about their experiences. A mentor provided valuable guidance and although APR seems tough at the time, it’s a great feeling at the end when you’ve achieved it.

My current role in regional government sees me operating in a specialised area of PR, but I’m still required to understand the entire complex situation. Therefore I enjoyed the opportunity to thoroughly critique all ‘body of knowledge’ areas – some in which I had expertise and others which were not so familiar. It allowed me the time to step back and evaluate what I was doing; not only the quality of the PR advice I provided, but also how I measured the success of my work. It’s easy to cast aside elements such as measurement and debriefing when operating in what seems a time-deprived environment.

Should a practitioner do it? Absolutely. Is it challenging and rewarding? Absolutely. Did it have relevance and add value to my role today? Most definitely and I am a better practitioner for having achieved APR.

Rachel Blundell, Senior Account Manager, Core Communications Ltd:

Rachel Blundell

I embarked last year on the APR accreditation process – which seeks to enhance and expand your PR body of knowledge – after hearing a colleague’s positive experience a few years previous.

The structured programme covers six key areas of the industry, giving consultants the opportunity to look beyond the hurry of everyday client servicing into areas of PR they might like to pursue in the future.

I found the workshops and presentations, with senior practitioners sharing their experiences ‘in the trenches,’ particularly valuable.

APR gives consultants the opportunity to receive an objective and impartial assessment of their day to day practice.  Most of us are unlikely to have received such an assessment since our studying days, which was also my case as a graduate of AUT’s Bachelor of Communication Studies.We often receive feedback from our clients, our colleagues and our bosses and these outtakes are useful for improving the quality of our services. However, I found the APR assignment feedback to be particularly useful as a summary of strengths and skills, as well as potential areas needing improvement.

A common query I’ve found among consultants considering APR is the time commitment required. Yes, it certainly does take time, but then if it was quick and easy everyone would do it. The hours spent achieving your APR proves not only a dedication and professionalism to the public relations industry to the benefit your own career, but a strengthening of the expertise and commitment you bring to your clients, present and future.

The 2012 APR applications close on Friday, 18 May. To find out more about the programme or to apply, click here.

#APR2012: Value in being accredited in public relations – a senior practitioner/ chief examiner’s perspective.

Dr. Graeme Sterne

We caught-up with APR chief examiner Dr. Graeme Sterne (Senior Lecturer, MIT) who was also inducted as a Fellow at the recently held 2012 PRINZ Awards event. Here are some insights from him on how the New Zealand APR programme works and why it is beneficial for PR practitioners.

 What is the career value in getting accreditation in public relations?

APR is a voluntary qualification and so its greatest value lies in the fact that each candidate has demonstrated initiative and commitment to professional standards – something that we can confidently discuss with employers at interview time and will help gain attention of the CEOs about the programme.

What significance does the PRINZ APR hold in professional practice?

A true professional is committed to standards without being legislated to do so. They operate from self-generated commitment to professional development and show willingness to be accountable for high standards of performance. APR represents peer recognition that a practitioner possesses the knowledge, skills and attributes to be an accredited PR practitioner.

How rigorous is the process and what is the level of commitment involved from a candidate’s point of view?

The process involves an initial selection procedure by PRINZ followed by three written assessments and an exam and finally a panel interview with senior practitioners. It requires a high level of written, verbal, strategic and intellectual skill. Each candidate has to be able to integrate theory with practice and demonstrate their competence in the profession as measured by senior practitioners.

What would you say is the main benefit in doing APR?

There are several benefits of APR – the stimulus of peer interaction, the challenge of marshalling your thoughts in written form; the exposure to a wider range of expressions of PR; insights into areas that a practitioner may not know much about; the chance to measure yourself against industry standards; the ultimate satisfaction of knowing that you are an accredited practitioner.

What do you most enjoy about the chief examiner’s role?

I love the exposure to talented practitioners from all over the country. It is a privilege to be part of practitioner development and I enjoy offering feedback that can be used for their growth and development, The role challenges me to stay sharp and to keep integrating theory with practice.

The 2012 APR applications close on Friday, 18 May. To find out more about the programme or to apply, click here.

#prconf12 – Planning presentations for maximum results!

As professional communicators it is our job to ensure the consistency and effectiveness of messages across multiple channels and touch points. Occasionally this includes researching, writing and delivering speeches and presentations. Often these presentations are for others to deliver, but sometimes the buck stops with us.

Can you confidently deliver relevant and persuasive presentations with the same ease you can write copy for print/online? With a community of other professional communicators to share experiences and learn with, Lisa Folland’s conference presentation ‘Planning Presentations for Maximum Results’ (limited to 20 delegates) is a must-attend if you’re a junior/mid-level practitioner wanting to develop this skill.

PRINZ asked Lisa some questions:

What is the secret to successful presenting?
Well crafted words delivered in an engaging and interesting way

How will you help delegates on the day?
We will go through a planning process that ensures messages are accepted, understood and retained by the audience

Do - Plan and rehearse
Don’t – Wing it!

What’s the main thing delegates will take away from the session?
They will have a practical tool that will ensure all future presentations are relevant, persuasive and effective. Using this tool will enable them to plan presentations in a time efficient way, enabling them to then focus on the delivery skills associated with presenting.

About #prconf12

This year’s PRINZ Conference offers a line-up of local and international speakers, including Lisa Folland who will present case studies, research and insights to help you address a changing world as communities reshape.

About Lisa Folland

Lisa has more than 20 years experience as a presenter, facilitator and teacher. She currently works for 6 Degrees, a boutique training and consulting company, with local clients, including Fonterra, Elldex Packaging, ChildFund, APPA, ASB and the NZRPA.

Tags: planning, presentations, PRINZ Conference, public relations, Public speaking

#prconf12 – Looking ahead locally and globally: environmental scanning, futures, and trends

PR practitioners need to keep up with industry trends, which involve looking to the future. But how far ahead should we be looking? Prof. David McKie suggests in his conference presentation titled ‘looking ahead locally and globally: environmental scanning, futures and trends’, that leadership is the domain of the future. Therefore, informed foresight should be part of the “new normal” in our organisational planning.

What is the value of looking ahead?

To be as prepared as possible. In a time of Black Swan events when trillion can become the new billion in a matter of weeks, conventional planning alone is not enough and stretch visions of the future should be part of the “new normal.”

What is the benefit of future forecasting?

To entertain ideas about really good and really bad futures and the associated opportunities and risks. This involves feelings as part of practical preparation. Shell used future forecasting to prepare emotionally as well as materially for the shock oil price rise in the 1970s. Accordingly, when the crisis happened, they outperformed the other oil giants and transformed their company’s position.

Does future forecasting research focus specifically on the public relations environment or is it broader?

It must be broader. Communication planning needs to be in sync with strategy and both need to be adept at reading the signs of the times.

Which organisations or sectors are successfully researching the future?

Unfortunately, I think education is very poor. The high-tech sector does good work as it constantly seeks future-proofing along with the CIA and the US military. Unfortunately not much of that research is publicly available but there are not-for-profit organizations who do excellent work and who do make it available.

The number of ‘essential tools’ in the public relations toolkit is growing constantly. Should future forecasting be prioritised?

The future is the domain of leadership. If PR seeks to lead then it needs to forge imaginative and informed narratives of what lies ahead. End of story.

What other areas are you looking into at the moment?

I’m co-writing on a book on the evolution of public relations in Israel, co-organising an international PR conference in Barcelona in July, and researching my next book that I hope will become the successor to Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence

What are you looking forward to at Conference 2012?

To participate in “community” evolution with old friends and new faces through exciting conversations. As we reconfigure who we are in the face of transformational change, the “our place, our space” theme is right on the money.

About #prconf12

This year’s PRINZ Conference offers a line-up of local and international speakers, including Prof. David McKie who will present case studies, research and insights to help you address a changing world as communities reshape.

About Prof. David McKie

Dr David McKie is Professor of Management Communication atWaikatoManagementSchool. He has published, or co-published five books, over 25 book chapters and over 50 refereed journal articles and is CEO of his international consulting firm RAM (Results by Action Management).

Tags: future forecasting, industry, Leadership, public relations, research

#prconf12: What does the Communication for Social Change (CSC) toolbox have to offer PR?

Social media has been at the core of many political uprisings that we have witnessed in the recent past. These democratic revolutions have proved that technology can enable ‘positive participation’ that eventually reshapes our communities. So, where do we as PR and communications practitioners fit in?

Associate Professor Pradip Thomas, co-director of the Centre for Communication and Social Change at the University of Queensland talks about how PR can leverage technology for encouraging ‘positive social change’.

In what ways do you think that communities are re-shaping? 

Communities have never been static. On the contrary, they have always been characterized by ‘change’. However today, in the context of the accentuation of globalization and the proximity of technologies and cultures, communities are being re-shaped that much faster. Dispositions and habits, attitudes and behaviours are being re-shaped like never before. It is interesting however that in spite of such changes communities do hold on to their core values and it is intriguing that in many parts of the world the heterogeneity of globalisation has been accompanied by the strengthening of tradition.

Do you think that technology acts an ‘enabler’ in this social change? 

Yes technology has from time immemorial played a key role in social change. Just think of the enormous influence of ‘industrial’ technologies on societies and lives over the last three centuries. And in the more recent past, the digital revolution that has taken the world by storm and that is re-creating the world in its image. Recent events related to the Arab Spring, point to the enabling role of social networking technologies in helping people to network for a democratic future.

 How can PR leverage technology for encouraging positive participation? 

While technologies are not value neutral, most technologies can be intentionally used to strengthen positive values and participation. PR agencies do use the media – sometime effectively, although in our world today, the issue is whether PR strategies intentionally embrace two-ways flows of communication. Since people the world over have become active producers and consumers, they value genuine ‘interactivity’ and participation and I guess this is what they expect from leveraging of technologies via PR strategies.

Do you have any recent examples where PR has successfully used social media for ‘communication for social change’? 

There are many examples from around the world with the Pink Ribbon campaign being one of the most profound. There is also the use of social networking by anti-AIDS activists in South Africa. At the end of the day, PR campaigns are  successful to the extent that they factor in the ability of consumer’s to translate messages into positive change practices and behaviours. There is little point in advocating people from low income groups to eat 2 fruits and 5 veges everyday when it is cheaper for them to eat fast food. Positive messages need to be accompanied by enabling environments.

What are you looking forward to at Conference 2012? 

Networking, listening to other speakers and enlarging my own understanding of why PR is critical to social change today. 

About Prof. Pradip Thomas

Associate Professor Pradip Thomas is the UNITEC headline speaker, presenting at the  leading academic in the area of communication and social change, communication rights and the political economy of communications.

About #prconf12

This year’s PRINZ Conference offers a line-up of local and international speakers who will present case studies, research and insights to help you address a changing world as communities reshape. Follow updates on Twitter via #prconf12.

Tags: communication for social change, political uprising, positive participation, PR strategy, public participation, social change, Social Media

Issues and crisis management – online lessons

By Guest Blogger Rob Crabtree (PRINZ Fellow and Trainer)

We all know that an issue we are dealing with can quickly turn into a crisis we were not expecting and for which we most probably are not prepared. Our reputation suffers accordingly. A colleague in Chicago, Nick Kalm, recently shared his views on an issue that developed into a very embarrassing situation for an individual – highly relevant given recent email messaging around the corridors of power in New Zealand.

This is what he wrote and the lessons that should be learned from it:

Don’t pick fights with those who…have internet access

There’s a story rocketing around the PR agency world about a PR firm that finds itself in a very ugly and avoidable fight with a prominent blogger. It’s a great and timeless cautionary tale.

There’s an old saying about not picking a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.  Of course, this is meant to suggest caution about doing battle with a member of the media.

But with most newspapers, radio and TV news in decline, along with the rapid ascent of bloggers, I think the saying should be updated to the headline of this post.

In this case, the PR firm sent a pitch to a blogger who didn’t care to receive it.  Blogger said so (in typical blogger way) and got a snarky reply from the pitcher at the PR firm.  Blogger (who, by the way, had over 160,000 followers — compare that to the readership of your average daily newspaper!) sent back another typical blogger reply (a bit flip and edgy).

This was followed by a foolish “reply all” from the PR firm (that included said blogger).  Well, after this bonehead maneuver (which nearly anyone could have done), the blogger apparently gave the PR firm VP a chance to take his comment back, but, no, instead, he decided to double down on snark.

And, gee, what do you think the blogger decided to do about this whole exchange?  Publish it!   Sigh….

Setting aside how this reflects on the whole PR agency world, it was just plain dumb to think that this firm could do (inept) battle with a blogger and come out a winner.

So, what are the lessons here?

Lesson #1 — Treat respectable bloggers (especially those with six-figures worth of followers!) with at least as much respect as you’d treat a reporter from The New York Times.

Lesson #2 — Assume that anything and everything that you put in writing to/about a blogger will find its way to said blogger (and everyone who follows him/her…and so on….and so on).

Lesson #3 — Once the damage, is done, the only thing left to do is give an unqualified apology to the blogger (and the world), and give your staff some remedial training.

 

Learn more about how you can avoid an issue from becoming a crisis and managing a crisis situation (if it occurs) at Rob’s professional development courses on 24 April in Auckland.

Issues Management

Crisis Management

Rob Crabtree has over 25 years of experience to share.A public relations practitioner for 27 years, he is one of our most experienced consultants and trainers. Rob has worked in corporate management roles, as well as running his own consultancy. He was a radio and television broadcaster for 17 years. Rob is a Past President and Life Member of PRINZ.

Tags: bloggers, Issues management, online crisis, online reputation

#prconf12: What do sport audiences tell us about the role of media in social life?

The Rugby World Cup had the whole of New Zealand cheering for the All Blacks whether it was at the stadium, in their living rooms or on online fan communities. But can an ‘online space’ successfully create an authentic experience like being physically present among the action?

Dr. Andy Ruddock

Dr. Andy Ruddock (Senior Lecturer in Communications and Media Studies at Monash University, Australia) uses his recent research on soccer fan communities to throw some light on the debate of authenticity vs inclusion.

Why do you focus on soccer audiences – not rugby or cricket for example?

I should have expected that question from New Zealand! The focus on soccer stems from my interest in media audiences as cultural groups. Soccer fans often explicitly describe the things that they do in relation to traditions, histories and politics. Moreover, when they do this, it’s also common for them to talk about the role of media in globalisation.

I’m sure rugby and cricket fans do this as well; it’s just that, as far as I know, the examples I’m going to be talking about, where soccer fans have used social media to build communities, are unique examples of how fans blend digital media with social traditions.

What started the creation of fan communities online and how have they evolved since then?

Academics became interested in fan communities in the 1980s. Henry Jenkins is probably the best known writer on the topic. His argument was that in the 1960s, Star Trek was the only multicultural show on television, and people started to care passionately about it because they could imagine what it would be like to live in a world without discrimination. This was especially true for those who were discriminated against because of sexuality, race and/or gender. So, the much-maligned Star Trek convention circuit was actually an effort to build inclusive communities where everyone could belong. Online fan communities are a continuation of this project.

Is there a ‘haves and have nots’ in the soccer fan base when it comes to social media tools and technology access?

Yeah, very much so. I’m going to be talking about “Myfootballclub”, where the idea was to attract a global supporter base to buy and manage a real club. In the end, most subscribers came from the UK and the US, which did not reflect ‘global’ in its true sense.

What are some of the methods of gaining authenticity for this audience?

From a social media perspective, one of the interesting things about online soccer fans is the way they build esteem among their peers as curators and commentators of news and gossip about the game. So where authenticity used to be showing up at games, it’s also now about becoming a trusted source of information about players, tactics, finances etc.

Aside from soccer communities online what other online communities have you researched/looked at in terms of their media consumption and engagement?

I do a lot of work on young people and the media, and I’m developing an interest in how social media can be used as a teaching resource. I’ve also written on social media and alcohol marketing, political celebrity and media violence.

About Dr. Andy Ruddock

Dr. Andy Ruddock is Senior Lecturer in Communications and Media Studies at Monash University, Australia. Andy is the author of two books on researching media audiences, and is currently completing a third on youth media (all with Sage).

Andy will be presenting at the 2012 PRINZ conference to be held in Auckland on 10-11 May.