activevents

Fresh season…Fresh trainings…Fresh ideas!

This must be one of the busier weeks for CIPR’s popular Freshly Squeezed breakfast briefings series - we ran three sessions, namely ‘Celebrity brands’ (London), ‘Impressive press releases’ (Scotland) and ‘Loosen tight deadlines’ (London) all in one week!

With 24 sessions organised in London and 8 in Scotland this year, there is no doubt that the Freshly Squeezed programme is gaining popularity (and not just in London and Scotland). We are currently exploring the feasibility of organising this programme in other regions after we have received some indication of interests from our members. So before you know it, you may see a Freshly Squeezed session come to your region very soon.

The idea of having this series of breakfast briefing is to allow time-conscious PR practitioners to take an hour out in the morning to catch up on topical issues or for some, to take stock of what they are doing and should do. I chanced upon this interesting website,  http://if.psfk.com/if/if_by_discipline/public_relations/ that shares creative PR campaign examples and tips. This is particularly useful for those in the PR or communications industry, as they have to constantly come up with new angles, stories and campaigns that are newsworthy.

Summer is almost here and I am sure this is the best chance for you to get out of the office for some fresh air and training (and fresh ideas of course!). Who knows, you might benefit from the networking opportunity with delegates from various PR sectors and clinch a potential deal from there. Check out and book the up-coming sessions on reputation management, audience segmentation and green issues at www.cipr.co.uk/fresh

Why not also Inject a ‘boost’ of creative juice to your brain at the half-day highly practical ‘Creativity work-out’ Masterclass on 16 June. www.cipr.co.uk/masterclass 

If you still find it difficult to find time to get out of office, you can trust our resourceful Training Development team at the CIPR to tailor a training programme that will bring the fresh ideas you need, right to your doorstep. Email JankaS@cipr.co.uk to find out more.

For further information on training and development, please visit www.cipr.co.uk/training

Choo-Li Tan, Training Development Officer

Inside Information conference is a hit!

Yesterday we held our annual internal communications conference here at the CIPR for  professionals in the industry.  Delegates learnt ‘New skills and the confidence to use existing skills’ through the ‘inspirational words’ of the day.

Liam FitzPatrick FCIPR from Competent Communicators led the day and included an interactive networking game with delegates to kick start the morning!  Keynote speaker was Robert Johnson from COI Strategic Consultancy who spoke about Key Issues in managing internal PR.  Next saw John Drummond, bringing delegates first hand knowledge on Corporate responsibility from the inside out based on his experiences at Corporate Culture.

Westminster City Council’s Paul Middleton updated the group with What’s new in internal communications, which was followed by practical pointers on digital tools for internal communicators from Russell Goldsmith at markettiers4DC - a brand new topic introduced to the conference due to much demand! 

Paul Hewitt from Ogam Marketing discussed the important need for measuring and evaluating internal branding, which many delegates were able to identify with and picked up new skills.  After networking over a short break, Natasha Tobin from the Cabinet Office kept up this theme by presenting on Working the network – so important for us in PR! 

Rounding up the conference was Russell Grossman MCIPR, Head of Internal & Change Communications at HM Revenue & Customs, who presented a dynamic and very popular case study on change and impact in internal communications.  He touched on topics such as Identifying the need for change and overcoming them, and also gave out several Top tips to cope with change and impact.  These tips proved really valuable to the delegates, who called them ‘excellent’ and ‘inspirational’ - so come and hear them yourself at our next Internal Communications conference on 22 October 2007. 

For more information, visit www.cipr.co.uk/internalcomms

If you would like to experience one of our conferences for yourself, then please do come along to the next one - Fresh Thinking: Media on Monday 30 April.  This conference looks at current media topics like podcasting, blogging, wikis, RSS and more, via workshops, case studies and panel discussions.  If you have up to three years’ experience in PR and communications, and want to keep up-to-date with the latest media technology, tools and techniques then come along and Freshen up!  To find out more and to book online visit: www.cipr.co.uk/mediaconference

‘Staying ahead of the game’ in PR

Preparing for worst case scenarios, the role of communications in corporate responsibility, and the role of PR in reviving a brand were just a few of the topics on the agenda at the CIPR's National Conference yesterday. Held at Claridge's in London, over 130 delegates attended a mixture of speaker sessions and discussion groups. Judging by the positive feedback, the day was a great success, giving delegates much to take back to the office.

One popular discussion group focused on the role of PR in marketing. Inspired by the report commissioned by the CIPR’s Marcomms Group, 'A marketing communications scenario for 2010', this session focused on the suggestion that PR could position itself to become the prime driving force in marketing communications. Research highlights that of a total £2.4 billion marketing communications spend in the UK in 2004, 60% went to below-the-line elements including PR. The same research shows that PR is the second fastest growing area in this mix, something speaker Professor Philip Kitchen from Hull University Business School believes is a great opportunity for the industry.

In an age where consumers are taking control of the way messages reach them, thinking about how they are making sense of communications in the 21st Century is essential. Professor Kitchen talked about an integrated approach with the tools and techniques of PR recognised as a vital element of achieving marketing objectives. Discussion within the group centred on the often confusing distinctions made between the two disciplines, with many in agreement that the dividing lines can be artificial and political. It was felt that  there was a need to lessen confusion between the two by clarifying to clients what PR can achieve and what marketing can achieve - but also a sense that only by placing PR professionals in the role of prime advisor on communications would fees and position be cemented.

Other discussion groups on the day included sessions on demonstrating how PR can add value, harnessing the power of lobbying and the concept of payment by results. 

CIPR President Tony Bradley opened the conference looking at new developments in the public relations profession. Bradley has travelled extensively during his presidency and highlighted the importance of the CIPR’s international influence, especially in China’s growing public relations market.

Meanwhile, Paul Mylrea, Transport for London Group Media Relations PR Director, talked about getting the most from a PR Team. Mylrea said teams needed to common goals to work effectively. Amongst the tips he proposed to delegates was the idea of taking a gamble when hiring staff and not always appointing the safe candidate; being brave enough to have that management conversation with someone sooner rather than later when the team is not working; and going beyond the simple interview and involving other staff who will be working with the new person.

Paula Cummings, World Vision UK celebrity co-ordinator, also provided delegates with insight into the power of celebrities to promote campaigns: ”Love them, or hate them, celebrities are the currency of the lifestyle media,” she said.

Managing director Stephen Howard from Business in the Community closed the conference by challenging delegates to look at the way their organisations do business and see how they can add value to the community through their PR.

More information on the speakers can be found on the conference website www.cipr.co.uk/conference.

How creative are you?

Has your creative spark gone out with the summer sun? Post holiday blues and the turn of the seasons may have you searching for inspiration. I asked creative thinking expert and trainer, Andy Green FCIPR, Managing Director of Green Communications, for his advice on generating creative ideas.

Here are Andy’s top tips for injecting creativity into your PR

1. Create 'idea banks'. Why reinvent the wheel? Be comfortable in re-using used material and ideas that are not fully developed, or adapt them slightly to create a new dimension. Be masters of 'creative recycling'.

2. Make you and your team creatively accountable - don't just expect creativity to hang about in the ether around you and somehow happen. Inspect what you expect by demonstrating to your team you are alert to new opportunities, new ways of doing, or challenging the established or routine.

3. Know the ultimate creativity question: Are you asking the right questions? Challenge your assumptions and explore new dimensions by stretching your questions or breaking them down into multiple questions.

4. Harness your 'incubation' - as long as it is not an excuse for procrastination. Sleeping on a problem usually brings results. Even a walk to the photocopier and back is a mini incubation break.

5. Just say 'Yes' more often.

6. Always go the extra yard. Aim higher than what is expected of you - and what you expect of yourself.

Train your brain to think outside the box

Andy will be running three CIPR creativity workshops this winter at the CIPR Public Relations Centre. Building on the success of the original Creativity in PR workshop, we’re now offering a Creative writing workshop – to help you attract reader interest and create ‘the writing explosion’!

Want to spread the creative bug around your team? If you are responsible for managing creativity at departmental or organisation level, we’re running a Creativity masterclass. Find out what you can do to develop the creative potential of your team - from providing the right environment to stimulate ideas - to effectively managing your creative and ‘non-creative’ employees.

Find out more about our creativity workshops at www.cipr.co.uk/workshops or email sarahi@cipr.co.uk.

Find out how your creative brain ranks!

Creative solutions consultancy, CREAX, have a quick creativity questionnaire on their website www.creax.com/csa. Analyse your creative side and see how you score in areas including boldness, persistence, curiosity and perspective.