Janet Broadhead, joint chair Registered Consultancies Group (NSW) Promoting PR would begin with the basics Ñ identifying the objectives and target audience and developing an appropriate strategy. PR consultants work for everything from multinational and Australian business operations to government departments and charities, so logically these organisations are key targets. Louise Convy, director Convy Consulting PR needs to be a much more credible arm of the marketing mix and not seen as a fluffy extra. Editorial coverage has a considerably higher value than advertising due to its credibility, something advertising cannot provide. Editorial is much cheaper, but cannot be bought. Therefore, PR must review its practices and work harder on its media tactics. Rebecca OÕKeeffe, senior account manager Buchan Communications Ask a group of CEOs what PR means to them, and you will gain a range of views. I hazard a guess that most responses would not be flattering, and I think properly conducted research would bear this out. However, if CEOs were asked how much they value strategic communication and the importance of communicating with key stakeholders such as shareholders, customers and market analysts, I am certain the imperative for communication would be overwhelmingly acknowledged. A program for the profession should aim to replace the term Òpublic relationsÓ with ÒcommunicationÓ. A highly effective way of promoting this position would be enlisting CEOs to highlight where strategic communication enhanced their business. Claire Hosegood, director Hill & Knowlton The greatest misconceptions about PR practitioners and our industry tend to come from people and organisations that have no experience with using communication programs as a part of their marketing mix, internal relations, corporate affairs or issues management. As a result, the objective of a PR campaign for the industry is clearly to raise awareness of what an effective communication strategy can achieve and to dispel any myths about PR being some underhanded process of hiding information. Keith Jackson, principal Jackson Wells Morris Firstly, we need to pick up our ethical game and proscribe practices like astroturfing (setting up phony front organisations) that have caught out quite a few of our number over the past year. The industry needs a stronger code of ethics where there is independent assessment of compliance. Secondly, we need an industry body (PRIA) that is accountable to its membership and communicates more effectively in and outside the industry. We must also manage and educate staff to toe the line on these professional and ethical responsibilities. But, human beings spin. We perceives things differently and tend to present things in the best possible light when our interests are at stake. The issue is whether the information we provide is honest, whether the situation it relates to is transparent, whether all the facts are being disclosed, whether people are being informed in a way to enable them to make reasonable decisions. Matthew Ravden, director Asia Pacific Text 100 International The secret to putting great PR on a pedestal is the ability to show tangible results, shifts in perception, enhanced reputations, and so on, leading to increased sales or invitations to tender. PR can influence a companyÕs top-line business goals and itÕs our responsibility to demonstrate how. Which areas of our clientÕs business did we target, what measurable goals did we set, how did we track our progress against those goals over time? How did we use audience research so we werenÕt just measuring outputs but also outcomes? So, in PR-ing PR I would showcase the great work that the best people in our business are doing, focusing hard on their ability to demonstrate tangible return on investment. Simone Larmer, joint managing director PR Works In this time of ÒrecessionÓ and consumer cynicism, itÕs time to remind the business community that thereÕs more to be gained from public relations (word of mouth) than hard-sell advertising (mouthing off). ItÕs faster, more credible and a damn site cheaper. WhatÕs not to love? Jill Collins, managing director Edelman Public Relations Many organisations have begun to realise that a good corporate reputation can be a source of real competitive advantage. It acts as a magnet attracting customers, investors, partners and staff. Reputation is an asset that has to be actively managed and communicated, and public relations is the preferred means by which organisations are doing this. We have found that clients view reputation management as a PR-centric effort where PR leads the way in the marketing mix. Emilio Robles, managing director Weber Shandwick Worldwide At best, any campaign to enhance the PR industryÕs image is going to be superficial and not germane to the real causes of the professionÕs reputation. PR needs to clean up its own act. People calling themselves PR practitioners need to be as disciplined, professional and business-like as other service-based professionals. Clients hold PR people in such low regard because some practitionersÕ standards are so low Ñ and this reflects badly on the rest of us. Our poor reputation is also reflected in the way clients will opt for selection based on cost, rather than creativity, strategic thinking, value and return on investment. When your perceived only value-added is merely as arms and legs to do ÒdistastefulÓ media hack work (rather than an integral part of a powerful marketing team) our professionÕs reputation suffers. No image campaign can fix this. We have to start policing ourselves Ñ staffing, professional development and ongoing management business practices all have to be world-class. Vikki Howorth, director Howorth Communications Raise the profile of the value of PR at board level so that PR is viewed as a critical business function. PR isnÕt just media relations Ñ it is all about taking a 360 degree approach. Simon Joseph, managing director Dreamcoat PR should be a compulsory subject in all marketing courses. The course would be designed to teach budding product and marketing managers that PR is not about a series of long lunches and blanket media releases written to be quasi ads. It would show the importance of researching the media, understanding the audience sought by a media outlet and any content structure, in order to apply the theory of supply and demand and a customer service strategy to provide individual target media with suitable editorial content.
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