Here’s a sneak peek at the April 4 issue of Marketing
The new head of the CCPRF’s five keys to making PR shops better
Marketing caught up with David Gordon, Cohn & Wolfe’s managing partner who recently started wearing another hat as chair of the trade organization for public relations in Canada. One of the stated goals of the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms (CCPRF) is to provide thought leadership in areas that influence industry growth and, on that note, he shared his thoughts on the most compelling trends and priorities facing the PR industry today.
Image & Profile
Globally, public relations is the fastest-growing part of the overall communication mix, with increasing financial resources being allocated to PR as part of the shift from paid to earned media and two-way conversation. This same shift is increasing competition as a variety of communication firms, including our sexier Mad Men cousins and the digital agencies, begin engaging in conversation-based communication tactics. As an industry, PR practitioners are often so busy focusing on client needs that we ignore our own—we need to be much more active in promoting our knowledge and expertise to continue to be successful. We can’t afford to allow ourselves to be the proverbial shoemaker’s children running barefoot.
Convergence
The various disciplines of communication and PR—ranging from corporate reputation, investor relations, CSR, crisis and employee communication to B2B and B2C communication—are converging across disciplines and channels, creating both capacity challenges and growth opportunities for specialist agencies. In large part this has been driven by the expansion of digital and social media, which is discipline agnostic. This trend is in place and accelerating.
Unique perspective
PR agencies are often at the centre of interaction, where the different disciplines of marketing and communication fit together to achieve client goals. It’s a unique opportunity to gain an understanding of that interaction, and—because managing two-way conversations is at the core of what we do—to influence it. Remaining at the centre of these conversations in digital and social media is an essential role for PR agencies.
Staffing
Agencies are the leading employer of PR practitioners and depend on a stable, skilled workforce for continued growth. We have to attract the best of those trained in PR at schools and also those with valuable skills, but who may not be aware of the opportunities for personal and career challenges within the PR world. PR agencies are competing with a variety of industries and professions such as pharma, law, engineering and business for staff with the broad skill set required to meet the needs of a diverse client base. Given the pace of change in the industry, continuing to build the skills of the current generation by providing training programs such as the CCPRF Boot Camp, currently in its third year, is equally a priority.
Integrity
As Canada’s largest PR agencies, members of the CCPRF recognize a responsibility to the integrity of the industry. Primarily this means ensuring an active voice on a range of issues affecting both agency and clients—including those related to the emergence of new communication channels and their use in an ethical manner. Lack of vigilance to ethical communication—regardless of source or authorship—threatens the value of “earned media” on which our industry is based.
