Seen and heard:
This was a milestone Public Relations Society of America Counselors Academy for one primary reason: it was the first time that the annual event has been held since the Council of PR Firms (an outgrowth of a Counselors movement) cemented its name and mission to prove the worth of PR to corporate CEOs.
Heading the council is Jack Bergen, who had a formidable presence at the conference, seen by many in the industry's inner sanctum as an iconoclast whose cause is timely. Bergen not only served as a moderator, but presented a pithy workshop called "A Year of Living Dangerously: The Hot Market for PR Firms."
PR certainly isn't Kosovo, but many corporate CEOs feel like they're in a battle. Dan Edelman, after delivering his keynote address, even jested about the skills it takes to be a PR expert in the 90s: "I came out of the Second World War - I've had experience in psychological warfare, which helps."
Not Silencing the Subversive:
Positioning your business for the future may require seeking out industry revolutionaries instead of stifling the nonconformists, advised two entrepreneurs. Strategos principals Linda Yates and Peter Skarzynski weren't your typical speakers and they certainly received mixed reviews, but if the goal was to shake up notions of how to best run a business, then they surely did the job. (Although they guard their client list with proprietary zeal, they're paid between $250,000 and $5 million to help companies like telecomm Nokia stay competitive.)
The typical mainstream company executive who spots a subversive sets out to quash them, not give them "access to the top," said Yates. "Imagine you have a subversive in your company. There's whispering at the water cooler or he or she passes out a Dilbert cartoon that hits too close to home. What most companies do is put a manager on it and fire them instead of giving them an office and a place to come up with ideas. These are the folks who become the venture capitalists."
And they're also the renegades running top Silicon Valley companies today.
"You have to think about how you're going to invent your company for the future," Yates added. "Today, Zenith barely exists and Compaq seems to have lost the edge. Today people say Amazon.com has the edge, but does it [in the longterm]?"
Robin Palin, president of Robin Palin Public Relations, Quebec, said the conference walkaway for him will be using information from the duo to motivate his clients and employees.
We doubt, however, that Palin will be able to replicate the glitzy slide show the two staged.
Keeping Memory Alive:
The Public Relations Society of America proved how tight the PR community can be. In memory of former member Linda Taber who died in a helicopter accident along with her husband, Roy Howard Pollack, the PRSA Foundation has set up "The Linda Taber Lecture Fund" and was collecting donations last week.
It's A Small World After All:
Although there is a strong U.S. pull at Counselors Academy, international issues were also top of mind. Several days before the conference kicked off, Pinnacle Worldwide, a corporation of more than 65 international firms, met in New Orleans prior to the conference to discuss ways that member firms can assist one another, according to Jerry Klein, executive VP of the network. Pinnacle boasts about $110 million in revenue.
Attendees at the preemptive gathering included firm execs from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Frankfurt and Spain.
In other international-focused news, planners are gearing up for "Summit '99" - billed as the "World's First Congress for Leaders of International Public Relations Consultancies." Spearheaded by ICO, it's slated for Sept. 23-25 in Lucerne, Switzerland. Call the International Organisation for PR Consultancy Associations, 44 (0) 171-828-4797.
The Cyber Trend Counselors Included Medialink, MediaMap, And Burrell's Courting Customers
MediaMap was just one of the software companies networking at Counselors Academy last week, but VP of Sales and Marketing Jarlath A. Connolly said the three MediaMap executives who went to the conference weren't there for lead gens as much as they were to chat with industry players and to uncover industry issues.
Nonetheless, about 50 agency heads dropped by the MediaMap booth for presentations.
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