By Matthew Schwartz
Along with death and taxes, I now have a third guarantee in life: a steady dose of weekly e-mails plugging the latest public-relations award. More often than not, the e-mail
sender asks to "please run this in your newsletter" as if it's fait accompli. With apologies to the late Sammy Davis Jr. -- Stop the world, I want to get off.
In the last few months, the volume of award-related e-mails (and follow-up telephone calls, ugh) has gotten so acute that it begs this question: How in the world do PR reps -
- particularly the newbies, who are the next generation of PR practitioners -- find time to work on the line items that senior PR execs constantly tell me are paramount to
enhancing the value of PR? These areas include learning the language of the client's business (and that of its competitors); finding that elusive return-on-investment (ROI) for PR
campaigns; tracking the ever-expanding influence of the Internet; and locating any potential potholes that could sink a company's reputation (and its bottom line).
The number of PR award programs is staggering. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) alone has enough awards to make even the most cynical 'Oscar' voter cut
and run.
In addition to its annual 'Silver Anvil Awards' -- which recognize companies that have successfully brought PR to bear on a public issue -- the PRSA also has the 'Innovation
Award,' the 'Volunteer of the Year Award,' the 'MacEachern Chief Executive Officer Award,' whew, the 'Paul M. Lund Public Service Award,' plus a bevy of others. Many of PRSA's
local chapters have their own homegrown awards; ditto for regional PR groups/affiliates.
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has its marquee 'Gold Quill Awards,' while the Arthur W. Page Society that caters to corporate PR
execs has the 'John Reed For Distinguished Service Award' as well as the new (2004) 'Arthur W. Page Society Award,' which recognizes a communications strategy for rebuilding a
corporate reputation.
Collectively, the flood of awards erodes what has been one of the essential benefits of effective PR -- to wit, getting out of the way so the focus is entirely on the client
and his or her demands, whether that means getting more ink, devising a product launch or, in the age of 9/11, helping to simulate a crisis.
This is not to deny PR firms (and execs) the attention award-winning campaigns deserve or to take any spotlight away from them. (PR News has its own awards portfolio.)
But with so many crucial areas of PR now at the crossroads -- measurement and employee relations, to name just two -- a more selective approach to awards could not possibly hurt
the profession.
Spending precious time tooting your own horn does nothing to accomplish the business-oriented goals toward which PR folk strive, and it only pushes the PR function back to
the margins -- a trend the PR field can ill-afford when you consider the oft-tenuous relationship between the chief decision-maker(s) and marcom executives. Clients are
interested in results. They want assurance that their PR partners are concentrating on and have a thorough understanding of their businesses. "Creative" should come second
When it comes to their obsession for awards, PR pros might be wise to bone up on the Bard, and this couplet from 'King Lear': 'Have more than thou showest/Speak less than
thou knowest.'
After all, what's going to truly impress a client? Showing a legitimate connection between PR and stronger sales or touting an abstract piece of art that could easily be
mistaken for a paperweight?
***
To The Editor:
Re: "PR Alliances On The Upswing" (front page, July 13). Unfortunately, your list of examples overlooked Pinnacle Worldwide, the world's oldest organization of independent PR
firms.
Established in 1976, Pinnacle is an international corporation of independently owned PR firms, with offices in 56 major cities and more than 1,200 employees in 30 countries.
Pinnacle member firms have annual revenues between $500,000 and more than $5 million per firm, and are usually the leading firm in their market.
Ronald Hanser
President
Pinnacle Worldwide Inc.
[email protected]
http://www.pinnacleww.com
Contact: Matthew Schwartz is editor of PR News. He can be reached at 212.621.4875, [email protected].