Congratulations to Elon’s Bateman team who scored a Top 10 finish in the 2008 Bateman Competition. This is an impressive follow-up to last year’s Top 3 finish, since only the University of Georgia — last year’s winner and this year a Top 10 companion of Elon — had such back-to-back success. About 100 teams from 76 universities entered this year’s competition.
Trends are everywhere and impact everything. They decide what electronics we buy, what clothes we wear and what leisure activities we do. In the world of public relations, these trends have a similar effect as they can alter the way we practice. Globalization, for example, is an exploding trend that impacts business overseas, revenue, business culture and employee qualifications.
Take a look at an article I wrote about the topic; it will be featured in the next issue of FORUM under the section covering trends and is targeted at students interested in joining the global bandwagon. Some sources you might recognize are Assembly Delegate John Guiniven, APR, Fellow PRSA and local practitioner Susanne Powell from Trone. Enjoy!
Ten years ago, there was little clamor over the global public relations trend. In fact, according to a study conducted by Edelman in 1999, only 12 percent of the corporations surveyed preferred to use global PR firms over local ones. Today, however, globalization is everywhere.
Globalization is not only defined by expansion or outsourcing, it also requires cultural exploration and understanding.
John Guiniven, APR, Fellow PRSA and former Director of Corporate PR at Chrysler, calls globalization an expansion of markets, including those aimed at politics, ethics, capitalism and public issues.
“Environmental scanning now has to be worldwide,” Guiniven said. “Recognizing problems in Europe can be a problem here too.”
Beyond offering new economic opportunities, globalization allows US based agencies to expand their expectations of their employees.
The trend creates important opportunities for public relations professionals as new skills are required to conduct business overseas.
Susanne Powell, VP management supervisor at Trone in North Carolina, says her agency has a both operations in the US and Europe, including London based medical software company, Misys Healthcare Systems.
“In addition to helping these clients promote their brands and their products in this country, we often help them understand important differences in the American market and how those differences affect specific messages or marketing or communications strategies,” Powell said.
Regardless how extreme the cultural differences are between the U.S. and parent companies, there will be some variations in business practices. The can include differences in marketing materials design, print formatting, use of language in written communications, or time differences when critical events are announced to the financial community. Powell warns from her experience that it is extremely necessary to be mindful of the parent company’s social etiquette.Putting sensitivity to customs aside, globalization poses an opportunity to establish a new kind of partnership as it will play a tremendous role in creating more diverse environments for clients and agencies, according to PR Week.
In an effort to meet the demand of global public relations expansion, firms are broadening their staffs with a wider representation of cultures, ethnicities, and lifestyle backgrounds.
Powell finds that globalization plays a direct role in creative more diverse environments for both clients and agencies. Agencies must have both the business expertise and cultural understanding to cross the cultural and communication barriers between employees and overseas markets, she said.
“Gaining those skills is critical and requires cultivating a more diverse workforce and continually working to understand the needs and unique qualities of their clients and the countries they operate in,” Powell said.
Some students have already begun to get their feet wet with globalization. Elon University senior Katherine Dodson interned with The Clear Group, a PR agency in London whose clients range from Black & Decker, The Wildlife Trust and Popz Popcorn.
“Working in London was much different than any internship I’ve had in the States,” Dodson said. “The atmosphere was very laid back, and the work ethic was incredibly social.”
Interning broad is essential in understand the agency trend of going global prior to entering the work force.
“It put everything in perspective,” Dodson said. “I think that if I hadn’t interned in London, I wouldn’t have the confidence to go out of the country for work.”
In a presentation featured at the PRSSA 2007 National Conference, Jim Holtje, senior manager of leadership communications at Siemens Corporation, encouraged students to embrace the global trend if interested in working abroad.
Take the advice from this successful PR professional: travel often, learn a foreign language, don’t assume that everyone speaks English, know the core skills of speaking and writing, be culturally aware and, of course, network.
… to Teresa Loflin, this year’s VP of Membership. Teresa is doing an amazing job bringing in new members. Since January, she has added (Teresa, correct me if I’ve done my math wrong) some 14 new members to our chapter. New members – new perspectives? You bet. Fresh ways to look at who we are and what we do in this diverse world of PR. Yippee and amen! Welcome new members! And thank you Teresa, for all your hard work and great results.
Ok, so I waxed poetic about how much I just love change. Bring it on, I said. I thrive on it, I said. And then this week it hit the fan.
You may know my company has been acquired by another local PR firm here in the Triad. We’d been working quietly on it for a while, and I’m excited and confident that it’s going to be great for all parties, but I think it’s just now starting to hit home. And what was the trigger for this realization? My email address.
I have several addresses — personal, client-specific, redirects for specific purposes — but my primary address has followed me for years. Sending that first email out with my new post-merger address and signature line made me extremely nervous. I had to come back to it a couple of times before I hit the Send button. It’s the virtual name under which I’ve presented myself for so long, thatI wonder if my friends, colleagues and clients will actually recognize me? I wanted to put big caps in the subject line: “IT’S ME! DON’T DELETE THIS!” Of course I didn’t, but I thought about it. Instead, I put a big note in the signature line reminding them of the transition and just cross my fingers that they get that far.
I didn’t have anywhere near the same amount of angst when it came to my phone number, or even my Web site. So what’s that about? I have no idea, so if anyone else (maybe with a degree in psychology) can shed some light on it, I’d appreciate the feedback. Anyway, just a weird little slice of life, and a confession that, protestations to the contrary, change will rock all of us back on our heels every once in a while. We live through it and we move on.
The Universal Accreditation Board is in need of your expertise to update the Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations. There are two opportunities for your involvement in keeping the Examination current for today’s public relations professionals:
1. Write examination questions (with training provided)
2. Review and debate proposed examination questions
1) Writing Test Questions – RSVP needed by April 2
Accredited members are needed to draft multiple-choice examination questions during the month of April.
2) Technical Review of Potential Questions – RSVP needed by April 21
Participate in one (or more) two-hour conference calls to discuss/debate proposed questions.
If you are interested in sharing your expertise, please contact John T. Mims, APR before the RSVP deadlines above.
I have just returned from the 2008 PRSSA National Assembly in San Diego and WOW, PRSSA is hot stuff! I can’t even measure the amount I learned from the various chapter development sessions and executive board member discussions, let alone the rewarding interaction I got with various chapter leaders from throughout the nation.
Just to give you a little heads up on your future competition: be afraid, be very afraid. This is all in good humor, but seriously, I couldn’t believe how smart and involved some of these kids were. One girl, who actually was just elected as the 2008 VP of Advocacy, is implementing a campaign to promote awareness on disabilities. In the coming months, 200 people will be jumping out of a plan (and hopefully Oprah will join them too!) at her command. Several students are even double majoring and had up to four minors in progress! Don’t forget that the students at the Assembly were chosen by their chapters because they are the best of the best, and they will be headed YOUR WAY in the coming years for employment.
Buzz words that were heard throughout the weekend-long assembly included social media, Facebook, ethics and diversity. I encourage you, like I have in pervious posts, to reach out to these leaders and learn all that you can. It’s getting redundant, I know, but that’s my point!
If you don’t have a Facebook, get one. Even if you don’t plan to use it, having an account is essential in understanding why this Web site has such an impact on the 18-25 year old demographic. If you need help creating an account or navigating your way throughout the site, email me at cmatthews3@elon.edu with your contact information and I’ll help you get the ball rolling.
Ethical practices, as I know have been engrained in your head since your own college years, are vital. The world as we know it headed down a very immoral path. Deception and the craft of “spin” seem to be what drive consumerism and public thought (don’t tell John Guiniven, APR, I used that phrase, he taught me that doesn’t exist!) I encourage you to continue fairness within your practice. Promote good behavior by setting an example for those around you.
I really do encourage you to get involved with your local PRSSA chapter. Students would love to have a mutual relationship with you, sharing information from both the professional and the pre-professional standpoint.
Attaining Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) is an important accomplishment during the career of a PR professional. As one of our chapter APRs, Jessica Knight once put it, “Having APR says to everyone, ‘hey, I’m here and I mean business.’” Can’t you just hear Jessica saying that?
So, when I got the notification that it was time for me to submit my APR maintenance application, I quickly completed it – ’cause hey, I mean business! (The maintenance application is what APRs must submit every three years to keep the designation. The application serves as evidence of an APR’s continued learning, sharing and support of the PR profession.)
But this post is less about APR maintenance than it is about encouraging you to get the designation. John Mims, APR, is our Chapter APR Chair, and is available to answer any questions you may have about the designation or process of becoming accredited. Personally, just the experience of going through the accrediation process is worth the work. You’ll learn about our profession, its history, its importance, and best practices in PR. Going through the APR process will make you a better practitioner, which will make you more valuable to your organization. If you are serious about a career in public relations, I’d highly recommend embarking on the accreditation trail. You can do it! Good luck!
If it weren’t for my peers in PRSSA, I definitely would feel lost at Elon. The university takes pride in having self-motivated students who go above and beyond their academic duties. We set the bar extremely high for ourselves. PRSSA pushes me to do more and be more. For example, when I was a member as a freshman, I got involved simply because I didn’t want my 70 dollar member fee to go to waste. In an effort that began on a whim, I became extremely involved with our chapter and started such initiatives as PRSA affiliate relationships and our monthly newsletter, The Student Professional. If it weren’t for the push that my chapter gave me, I would still be a journalism student who only wrote for the campus newspaper and did nothing else.
So, PRSA Tar Heel, this is my challenge for you. Last month I challenged you to seek the enthusiasm and excitement that I find in my own chapter within yours, and this month I am calling you to reach out.
I also challenge you to carry on your enthusiasm to other chapters, including your PRSSA affiliates. OUR CHAPTERS NEED YOUR SUPPORT. We are a student lead organization that thrives off experiences. If our chapter members have questions, we can only answer them to the best of our own ability. We need individuals to speak at our chapter meetings and Regional Activities, or even by becoming a mentor. Our chapter would really like to push this effort, but we can only do it if both sides are willing. A mentor program like this would not be veiled as a way to provide internships or job opportunities to students. We simply want support via e-mail or an occasional coffee date. We want to ask questions and receive valuable answers. We want to know if our resumes and cover letters are professional enough to make it. We want to question our futures and have you support our endeavors. We want to experience the same enthusiasm you do each day when you go do work and meet a new client or develop a new strategic plan.
If you are interested in aiding any chapter throughout the state, please e-mail me at cmatthews3@elon.edu. Even though I represent Elon University, I can put you in contact with East Carolina, UNC-Chapel Hill, Pembroke and Charlotte and NC A&T chapters. Your efforts will be invaluable to PRSSA members, and in turn the up-and-coming professionals in your field.
Have you changed companies recently? Had a name change? Do you need a replacement for your name tag? Have you recently joined our society but have not yet received your complimentary name tag? If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, please contact me, the Vice President of Membership at membership@prsatarheel.org
In addition, members of the Tarheel Chapter will now be able to keep their name tags and bring them to each meeting; therefore, you will no longer need to worry about picking name tags up at the beginning of each meeting. Name tags will be handed out at the next few meetings, please look for members of the Membership team to be getting these out to you.
I’ve been thinking a lot about change these days. I tend to be a person who loves change; who starts to get antsy if things stay the same for too long. I know this isn’t a common trait. There are plenty of people who are paralyzed by the very idea of change. I have a client, for example, who is so frightened of change that we have a hard time finding opportunities to discuss even those changes that are the sane, positive and logical outgrowths of the plan she’s approved.
In part, it’s a client management issue. If we’re to attain the results we’ve promised, we have to be able to follow through on opportunities. But on a personal level (because this client has also become a friend), I worry about how she faces life in general. What will she do if her job is eliminated? What if her dog dies, or her best friend moves away? Those are all negative things, but even the positive ones are scary. What about promotions, new boyfriends, or a new house?
As a vendor, the best I can do is be aware of her feelings and present change as carefully and thoughtfully as possible; I hold her hand as she’s considering a big leap. As a friend, I’ll joyfully push her over the edge without a moment’s hesitation. I believe strongly that the best things you can do in your life are the things that make you just a little bit nervous. Those are the things that bring the biggest rewards.
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