Kathy Cripps officially joined the Council of PR Firms as president this month, replacing Jack Bergen, who left to join Siemens USA (PRN, Dec. 10, 2001). She recently spoke
with PR NEWS about her plans for the Council and the group's goals for serving its member agencies in 2002.
She also addressed the controversy that surrounds the Council's yearly publication of agency rankings and how the results of a recent survey prove that communications should be
top of mind for every executive.
Stay tuned for more to come from Cripps - she joins the roster of PR NEWS' expert columnists with her first column on Agency/Client Relations in May.
PRN: Congratulations on your new role! Tell us more about your plans for the Council of PR Firms.
Cripps: First of all, I'm very pleased about this opportunity because I've worked on the agency side for such a long time and started and ran my own mid-sized agency.
As I'm getting into understanding more about what the Council is about and getting more into the programs and initiatives the Council already has up and running, I'm focusing
on business advocacy. We want to make sure we're promoting the good work of public relations and what the firms are doing. We are really promoting the reputation of public
relations.
We're also trying to protect the way agencies are compensated.
PRN: In what way?
Cripps: For one thing, there's a proposed sales tax in certain states on services like public relations. That sales tax is something that we're not supportive of.
The other issues is in looking at how companies are willing to compensate agencies. Some of them are instituting new approaches through a procurement agent. Clients are trying
to dictate how much agencies can be compensated. We're also looking into those issues.
PRN: Controversial stuff. But the Council has had its experience with controversy. What are your thoughts on the questions that are raised every year about whether it is
appropriate for the Council of PR Firms to issue rankings of PR agencies which constitute its membership?
Cripps: I think it is very smart for the Council to be the institution that has oversight over the rankings. I don't think it's contentious. I think it's appropriate that the
Council handle it.
We've sent out requests to agencies - members and non-members - to submit their revenues; we want to see [data] from all agencies [not just our own members].
PRN: The Council recently released a survey of top executives at Fortune 1000 companies, asking which leaders and public figures they thought would make the best corporate CEO
and what qualities were most important in corporate executives. What do you think was the most significant finding of the survey?
Cripps: The significant part of that was the people who were surveyed recognized the value and the importance of good communications skills. [According to nearly half (47
percent) of all the executives surveyed, the single most important quality for a CEO to have in tough times like these is the ability to effectively communicate and motivate].
It's one of the big things we've been trying to help [our members] to help potential clients recognize.
PRN: What's your advice to in-house PR employees and agencies for turning a CEO into a savvy communicator?
Cripps: Even good communicators can improve their skills through presentation and media training - and by being clear on their message and who the audience is that they're
delivering the message to.
Beyond that is the heart of what a corporation or not-for-profit stands for - what are the core values of that organization, are they credible, are they delivered to people,
whether it's an employee [or the media or another stakeholder]?
Kathy Cripps is president of the Council of PR Firms. She can be reached at 877/PRFIRMS or [email protected]. For more information,
see http://www.prfirms.org.