For the 175 PR managers (mostly from mid-size agencies) flocking in sunny Orlando last week there was less spiel on pitching and more on how to manage the business and how to
be a player in a hyper-competitive marketplace. (In the current climate, the bigger agencies aren't shy about bidding for business they wouldn't even sneeze at five years ago.)
While in recent years the Counselors conference was, we're told, a beehive of PR deals, the '04 gathering was on the sober side, with seminars, schmoozing and words of inspiration
from 1998 Olympic Gold Medalist Nikki Stone and leadership guru Jim Kouzes. (See PR NEWS, March 1, 2004.) For more information on Counselors Academy, go to,
http://www.prsa-counselors.org
Dynamics of Diversity
A multicultural panel on diversity blasted the PR industry for what one panelist described as being "horrifically behind" in diversifying its workforce. The panel provided some
tough love for PR managers who are going to have to adapt to profound demographic changes ahead in the country, in terms of race, age, gender and what defines a family:
"Maintaining fish is what diversifying management in PR agencies is all about. You have to find the fish and make sure they're in an environment in which they can thrive,
otherwise they will die."
-- Dr. Rochelle Ford, assistant professor, Howard University
"In 1950 there were nine white people for every one person of color. Today, for Americans under 40 years old there is one and half white people for every one person of color.
At [the Counselors Academy] lunch, it looked like it was 1950...There are some companies that are getting this but the majority of large companies don't care at this point."
-- Luke Visconti, partner and co-founder, DiversityInc.com
"Your clients' audiences are changing and you can't afford to be the last in understanding or relating to that. More important, how are you going to influence the message that
goes out to investors, the media and others who are wrestling with how to communicate with audiences that not only speak different languages but also speak to different
experiences? You're the translators... Numbers alone aren't going to do it. You've got to be prepared to invest in relationships and that means listening, mentoring and
learning."
-- Rosanna Durruthy, president and chief talent strategist, Aequus Group, a human resources consultancy firm specializing in best practice human capital development.
Q/A: Mike Herman, president-COO of Epley Associates and outgoing president of the Counselors Academy, took some time during the busy conference to chat with PR NEWS about some
of the challenges faced by PR managers and directors. Herman (left, in picture), a professional country music crooner before he got into PR, played guitar with an impromptu band
that performed on the last night of the conference.
PRN: What's the biggest concern right now for Counselors Academy members?
Herman: There are a lot of concerns about the shifting trends in our business. The independent firms are disappearing, and while that is perhaps inevitable it changes the
environment. The ramifications are the same as they are when Wal-Mart comes in, knocks out the mom-and-pops and homogenizes the area. There's still a pretty good market for mid-
size agencies, but the reality is that in order to continue to compete with the conglomerates agencies, mid-size agencies have to start their own networks, which, in some
instances, create the same monster they're competing with.
PRN: Why is PR still the first out the door when times are tight?
Herman: Management [tends to] thinks of PR as a message-delivery system. There has been some enlightenment in corporate America in the last 10-15 years that PR is truly about
relationship building. With our own firm, when the economy went south, we had corporate clients decrease the budgets on external communications and increase almost diametrically
their internal communications budget because they recognize the importance of informing their employees and keeping their loyalty and morale in cases where they had to cut jobs,
close plants and re-think their business structure.
PRN: You hear a lot from corporate PR execs about how PR needs better ROI and PR reps have to understand the company's business goals, but in our recent study (PR NEWS, May 17,
2004) corp execs basically said that getting ink is still the most important thing they can get from PR. What gives?
Herman: Part of it is a throwback to a true understanding of what PR is and does for an organization. The most difficult part of my counsel is to get clients to understand it
isn't about getting their name in the paper but building relationships with customers, suppliers, employees and regulators and audiences that tend to make a difference in the
organization...A lot of corporate managers are saying, 'We don't care about whether our name is in the paper. What we care about is, can we increase sales and build or keep our
reputation.' It's not about whether the customers know the brand is out there but do they trust the brand?