PRSA: Giving Unemployed Members a Break

I was speaking with members of a Northeast District Chapter recently, and became aware that not everyone knows about an initiative PRSA National launched in April to help those members that have lost their jobs or who are temporarily disabled.

Basically, PRSA National has introduced what it calls the “Hardship Program.” People that have been members of PRSA for five or more years, and who have lost their jobs/are currently unemployed, can apply to renew at a discounted rate (a savings of about 49% off the regular rate) for one year only. If you recently renewed your membership and meet these criteria, you can also apply for a refund of $110. This is a one time, one year offer which has been implemented to deal with the status of some members in this current economic downturn.

Members wishing to take advantage of the hardship plan should notify a PRSA Member Services representative at membership@prsa.org or (212) 460-1400. Member Services will send the member a short application which states the terms of the plan, asks the member to indicate whether they are unemployed or temporarily disabled, and asks them to sign it.

For full details of the plan (and to read about important details which I may have not mentioned), click here

Register Now for the PRSA International Conference and Save $200

The 2009 PRSA International Conference is being held in sunny San Diego on November 7-10, 2009. I have been to a few International Conferences and have always been impressed by the breadth of the presentations, the networking opportunities and the sheer number of PR professionals you get a chance to meet. There are four tracks in this year’s conference and they look interesting.

Following is a link to conference details and the planned sessions.

If you are considering going, you should register now and save $200. While I love PRSA, why give them more money than  you need to?

Lessons Learned from “Spinning the Web”

This past weekend, I disconnected from the grid to spend time with my family. I came back and was pointed to a NY Times story on “Spinning the Web: P.R. in Silicon Valley” and the TechCrunch response.

Both articles are interesting, and I could get my Master’s deconstructing the nuances of the NY Times story. But after reading both stories, there are two things I wanted to say after reading both articles:

1) The most effective PR people are counselors – The core of PRSA’s code of ethics is the phrase “responsible advocates.” That to me is the most important part of our job. If we are “yes men” or “yes women”, if we engage in the irresponsible tactics that too many paint our whole profession with, then we are not doing our role ethically and are not living up to our responsibilities.

This means pushing back to a client or a manager when it is called for. Not just a token pushback, but standing firm with the courage of our convictions. If a client has an idea and we think it is wrong, we are obligated to tell them so. It is one of the core responsibilities of our job.

A colleague of mine, Dave Close, once told me that every time we interact with a reporter our capital with a reporter either goes up or down. Additionally, the agency for which we work’s capital goes either up or down, so be sure we are always bringing something that increases our capital.

I want to take what Dave says one step further, and state that every time we interact with people as trusted public relations counselors, we also impact the capital of the entire industry. Every time someone “dials for dollars” or doesn’t work to form mutually beneficial relationships, we hurt the entire industry.

2) There is no magic bullet. Media/no media, tech bloggers/no tech bloggers. It is not a simple either/or proposition. Every engagement we undertake on behalf of our employers and out clients needs to be approached with fresh eyes. Following a carved-in-stone PR recipe is a course for disaster.

Yes, there are always certain fundamentals (research, planning, solid writing, determining how to reach the right audience, determining who the right audience is, listening to the audience and all stake holders, engaging in real conversations and of course – results that measure outcomes and results, not outputs). But the ingredients of each recipe need to change. Just because you launched a product for Company X using tactics A, B and C, doesn’t mean the same process with work for Company Y. Most of us know this, but there is always the danger of the rut that needs to be avoided.

Think of it, our goal is to help someone reach the top of a mountain. If we follow the rut, the same old way of doing things – we may have an easy path, but it is rarely the rut that takes you to the top of the mountain. Rather, the rut helps you circle the base pretty easily. But it is by blazing a new path that we reach the heights.

Why we need to pay attention to the USJFCOM

The 4th of July is approaching. It is a day of celebration and a day to honor those who have served and given so much.

Around this time of year, my thoughts always turn to the services. I tend to pay more attention to publications I do not follow that closely most days. For example, I recently received a news brief from Jane’s Defense in my email inbox. The headline intrigued me: “USJFCOM explores network-free warfighting.”

I read some more and the tease – “US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) has conducted a comprehensive wargame that, among other things, evaluated the military’s ability to fight without networks” – reminded me of something important:

As communications professionals, we are living in an ever increasingly-networked world. Laptops, e-mail, IM, Twitter, IP phones and the Web have replaced the typewriter, letters, faxes, delivery services and press conferences. But what happens if we experience disruption? Blackouts, solar flares, or other events can shut us down for hours or weeks. But most likely the world outside continues moving.

While our challenges would never be as severe as those faced by the U.S. military, we can take lessons from the foresight the military is showing. Many of my financial services clients and I have these discussion as part of our crisis planning during any engagement.

I remember doing a lot of this a decade ago as the Y2K crisis approached. I was one of many communications professions for which New Year’s Eve 2000 was a day of work, not a night of celebration.

Following are three tips to keep in mind.

1) Plan for the worst – You do not need to be a manufacturer, an airline or a healthcare company to have a crisis. Part of your communications planning process should be spent thinking about what are the challenges you may face, and how will you respond to them? You won’t get them all, but if you identify the five most likely issues, you won’t be scrambling to make up responses on the fly.

2) Rehearse – The USJFCOM didn’t just think about these issues. They practiced them. Companies should have crisis drills where they practice their response. This year’s Best of Silver Anvil Award winner, Northern Illinois University, received the Anvil for the work they did during a crisis. They credit the skills of their response to the drills they ran.

3) Make sure “everyone gets the word.” Crisis planning should not be limited to just the communications and public relations department. Give guidelines to everyone and make sure people know where the plans are in case you are unavailable. It’s the little things. How are you going to get the message out, monitor the discussion, change the Web site, keep the company informed, etc.,