The Week in PR

News and Notes: PRSA said Nov. 16 said its new strategic plan will center on expanding membership, including helping college-level PRSSA members enter the field; broadening professional development, such as offering training in “finance, supervisor skills and technology;” and being a thought leader. -- From Lisbon, the PR Global Network (PRGN) Nov. 18 unveiled a refreshed logo and said it’s added 5 agencies to its roster.

Creative Solution: A tip of the cap for creativity to MyTravelResearch.com (MTR), a firm in Australia that’s taken on the task of publicizing what many in the developed world take for granted: toilets. Nov. 19 was U.N. International Toilet Day, an effort to publicize the need for more toilets, in the developing world especially, and encourage people to use them. The U.N. says 1 in 10 people still defecate without a toilet daily. This, the U.N. says, results in disease, environmental health challenges, increased mortality and lack of productivity at work. It’s also a security issue as sometimes wild animals mistake squatting humans, especially children, for food. The U.N. wants to create adequate toilet provisions globally by 2030. To raise awareness MTR created the Toilet Tourism Awards, whose proceeds will be donated to the U.N.’s effort in the winner’s name. Categories include best toilet location; best design; and quirkiest toilet experience. In indirectly related stories, Google and India’s Ministry of Urban Development said Nov. 17 they’d collaborate on a toilet locator tool to be included in Google Maps. Some 60% of India’s 1.2 billion people defecate and urinate without toilets, says Public Radio International. And Kimberly-Clarksaid Nov. 18 it’s renewing a commitment to Toilets Change Lives, a multi-national effort it co-founded that urges brands to educate consumers about the global sanitation crisis. Since its inception in 2014, Toilets Change Lives has helped improve access to sanitation to some 300,000 people.

CCOs and the Digital Reality:As Verizon VP, communications, Torod Neptune has said, communicators “live in the shadows” between departments of companies. As such, he argues, they are particularly well positioned to coordinate efforts between units, such as crisis planning. Similar thinking is contained in a new Arthur W. Page Societystudy, The CCO as Builder of Digital Engagement Systems. A CCO goal should be to create digital engagement systems that address the strategic needs of the enterprise. Effective management of such an ecosystem requires “a horizontal mindset and a highly coordinated, aligned and integrative approach.” An emerging opportunity for the CCO, the study says, “is to act as an integrator across the C-suite, achieving greater collaboration and alignment between functions” with big data. In addition to working closely with CMOs, CCOs should partner with chief HR officers to use “big data insights to sharpen and better target employee engagement strategies and content.” Making all this happen, though, must be centered in the C-suite.“The largest single reported factor in an organization’s social media success is C-suite buy-in, which often requires a cultural change both at the top and throughout the organization,” it says, quoting a study from the PulsePoint Group and The Economist.

People: Ogilvy regional CEO for N. America and D.C. office chief Robert Mathias will leave at year’s end ( PRN, Feb 22). Ogilvy global CEO Stuart Smith will assume his duties. Mathias has been with Ogilvy since 1988. – Cable vets and top-notch communicators Jim Maiella and Georgia Juvelis were promoted to SVP and co-heads of corporate communications at AMC Networks. The move comes as the network announced EVP, communications Ellen Kroner will retire next month after 19 years. Maiella and Juvelis will report to AMC chief Josh Sapan. – Hill+Knowlton tech firm Blanc & Otus named Tony Hynes CEO. He’ll also serve as an EVP at H+K Strategies. – Collegiate housing brand EdR named Dawn Ray VP, corporate communications and marketing. She comes from Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, where she was director of strategic and executive communications. – Vanguard Communications named Noralisa Leo VP, diversity + inclusion practice, and Matt Chun as VP of the digital practice. Leo came from SKDKnickerbocker. Chun came from Social@Ogilvy. – Stanford University promoted Lisa Lapin to VP, university communications. A former journalist, she’s been associate VP since 2008; she’ll report to Stanford’s president. – PAN Communications named David Bowkera VP in its tech practice. He comes from MSLGROUP where he led its cybersecurity practice. – Ruder Finn named James Walker as group VP, social engagement & digital content. He comes from Cohn & Wolfe. -- Apple hired former WSJ reporter Wei Gu as a director for its PR staff in China.