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PRSA 2012 STATE OF THE SOCIETY
PRSA 2012 STATE OF THE SOCIETY
The first strategic pillar is Advocacy. One way we deliver on thismission is by making sure that we represent our members’ viewpointson the professional issues they care about most, and on broadereconomic, business and societal trends that impact our profession.PRSA took the lead in advocating the role and value of public relationsto the federal government during a Senate investigation of the federalgovernment’s use of public relations and advertising services.
William M. Murray, CAE, PRSA’s president and COO, and I traveledto Capitol Hill to meet with staff directors for the two senators whoinitiated the investigation — Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill and OhioSen. Rob Portman. We met with them to understand the scope andintent of the investigation and to discuss its implications. To date, nofurther action has been taken in this investigation.
Also in 2012, PRSA entered the debate over whether “paidadvocates,” including public relations professionals, should beallowed to edit Wikipedia entries on behalf of their companies orclients. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales says “no.” PRSA says “yes.”We believe that plainly false or inaccurate information should not beallowed to exist within an informational resource relied on by 470
Gerard F. Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA2012 PRSA Chair and CEO
In 2012, the PRSA Board ofDirectors, volunteers and staff
focused their time, attention andcollective efforts on seven key
operational areas, which can beeasily remembered with the
mnemonic device ‘A, B, C, D andEs.’ What follows are progress
updates and highlights for eachof these areas.
After having the distinct pleasure of serving as PRSA’schair and CEO in 2012, I’m pleased to report that it was ayear of progress and promise for our profession and theSociety. There are many reasons for this progress. First,there’s no more waiting and hoping for a seat at the table.We have it. Public relations and communicationsprofessionals are reporting to the C-suite at a growing rate.
A second reason for our progress is that social mediaplatforms are creating new opportunities for public relationsprofessionals daily, from leveraging new means ofengagement to managing the latest management misstepsgone viral. Public relations pros are essential in theenterprise.
Finally, marketers have a new appreciation for publicrelations, as branding and reputation managementconverge. For these reasons and others, public relations andcommunications budgets are on the rise. The investmentfirm Verona Schuler Stevenson says that spending on publicrelations and word-of-mouth marketing grew more than 14percent in 2012, to $7.3 billion. And public relations isexpected to account for more than half of that spending.
Against that backdrop, we’re reflecting on and celebratingour progress during the past year in building the strategicpillars that underpin our organization.
2012 State of the Society
million unique visitors every month. PRSA is a member of theFacebook group Corporate Representatives for Ethical WikipediaEngagement — CREWE, for short — and has been participating inthat dialogue.
To be clear, PRSA understands and supports the notion that publicrelations professionals must respect and follow the policies andprocedures set forth by the Wikipedia community. But we also supportthe notion that public relations professionals are in the best position toknow whether a company or client is portrayed accurately in the publicdomain, and that the Wikipedia community should decide the accuracyand propriety of the information we post.
Another strategic pillar for PRSA is The BusinessCase For Public RelationsTM. In 2012, we lookedfor ways to augment and complement theresources that have been assembled under ourcampaign The Business Case for PublicRelations, a set of tools and resources that youcan use today to educate others about the roleand value of our profession.
In 2012, three major PRSA initiatives helped ussupport and broaden our Business Case campaign. Firstwas PRSA’s continued effort to modernize the definition of publicrelations for the digital era through an open and collaborative effort.PRSA and 12 global industry partners provided a platform for publicrelations, marketing and communications professionals to express theirviews on what a new definition of public relations should look like.
Our goal was not to change the perception of the public relationsprofession. Our goals were to freshen PRSA’s own definition of publicrelations, which was last updated in 1982. We also wanted to showthe blogosphere that we were listening and responsive to the callscoming from various quarters to update the definition of publicrelations for the digital era.
Finally, we wanted to create a brief, dictionary-like definition thatcaptures the essence of what binds us all as public relationsprofessionals. We wanted a definition that all practitioners could useas a baseline that takes into account the nuances of their particularpractice areas, work environment and industry specializations — thevery same differences that make gaining consensus on a standardizeddefinition so difficult.
After nearly a year of research, abundant commentary, hundreds ofsuggestions and nearly 1,500 votes, we completed the process, whichbegan in 2011. Our new definition is as follows:
“Public relations is a strategic communication processthat builds mutually beneficial relationships betweenan organization and its publics.”
Second, we complemented The Business Case for Public Relationsthrough our M.B.A. Initiative. Introduced in 2006, the M.B.A. Initiativeis a multi-year effort to advocate the importance of strategic
communication and reputation management training in thenation’s M.B.A. programs. We have crossed a vital threshold inbringing this program to fruition.
In a third initiative, PRSA promoted The Business Case forPublic Relations with an awards program that showcases thepublic good served by our profession. PRSA launched PRServing America in June 2011 to draw attentionto the philanthropic efforts of our memberswho have employed their public relationsskills to strengthen and preserve the localcommunities in which they live and work.
Our deepest thanks go to past PRSAChair and CEO Gary McCormick, APR,Fellow PRSA, and his employer, HGTV/DIYNetwork, for making the PR Serving Americainitiative possible through their generoussponsorship.
Speaking of Community and community service, lots ofgood news originated from the various PRSA communities in2012. I saw it firsthand during my travels when I visited PRSAChapters in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland, Cleveland,Knoxville, Fresno, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Dallas andSacramento.
Each time I visited a PRSA Chapter, I was reminded of theoutstanding local communities that our volunteers create andnurture. This is one reason why many members say their localChapter is PRSA.
Our Chapters remain the heart and soul of PRSA. We are allparts of the whole, but PRSA is only as strong as each of ourcommunities, which is why we continue our outreach. Everythree months, we ask each member of the Board of Directors toreach out to every PRSA Chapter, Professional Interest Sectionor District president. The calls are intended both to keep ourcommunities abreast of what’s happening at National, and tohelp maintain open lines of communication.
Meanwhile, PRSA’s Professional Interest Sections aregrowing, averaging a 10 percent increase in members in 2012.Nearly 7,000 PRSA members are now also members of aSection. The star of this group is our New ProfessionalsSection, which is growing at about 20 percent annually.
There was also good news coming out of PRSA’s Districts in2012. Each of our Districts brought together Chapter membersthrough conferences and other events. In addition, the MidwestDistrict held its first-ever conference.
It’s also important to remember that we are part of the globalcommunity, and a great deal of what we do often finds its wayaround the world. As a reflection of this, at our annualInternational Conference, held Oct. 13-16 in San Francisco, wehad more than 100 colleagues from 25 countries in attendance.Also in 2012, I accepted invitations to represent our professionin the Middle East, China and Russia — at no cost to PRSA. Wealso remain active in the Global Alliance, which has provided anexcellent way for our members to network across the world.
Our next strategic pillar is Diversity. As a professionalassociation, we welcome practitioners of all races, genders,ages, ethnicities and sexual orientations, and our diversity ofthought as an organization runs deep.
But we still have a long road ahead of us before we can trulysay that our profession reflects the diversity of our society. OurDiversity committee is focused on goals such as encouragingmore ethnically and culturally diverse individuals to pursuecareers in public relations. Resources created by this groupinclude webinars, a diversity toolkit, Conference breakoutsessions, content development and networking.
2012 State of the Society
The next strategic pillar for our society isEducation. Of course, the big news for 2012 was thatPRSA is now providing professional-developmentwebinars — both live and on-demand — to ourmembers for free.
By the end of 2013, thousands of our members willhave participated in one of our 63 free webinars on awide variety of topics. We hope that you’re takingadvantage of this terrific new benefit.
Our final strategic pillar is Ethics, which remains acritical and central focus for PRSA. Our membersurveys have shown that the emphasis we place onethics is one of PRSA’s most important andappreciated benefits.
Our focus, quite simply, is on educatingprofessionals about the role of ethics in publicrelations. We do this by critiquing, celebrating orraising red flags on relevant ethics-related issuessuch as fake product reviews, non-disclosure,plagiarism, unpaid internships and blogging, amongothers.
Playing on the British war slogan, “Keep calm andcarry on,” we created a special poster that sets forthPRSA’s professional values and provisions of conductto commemorate Ethics Month in September.
Feedback on the poster via Twitter and Facebook,which included a number of photos of the posterhanging in member offices, has been positive.
Last year was indeed one of progress and promisefor PRSA, and every member had a role to play in theSociety’s success.
I thank each and every one of you for yourpassion, your dedication and your hard work. ❖
AccreditationThe Accredited in Public Relations
(APR) credential remains valuable to thepractitioners who earn it; to theagencies, clients and organizations theyrepresent; and, perhaps most important,to the profession itself.
To help applicantsprepare for theExamination forAccreditation in PublicRelations, PRSA workedclosely with theMinnesota, NationalCapital, New York, NewJersey and SanFrancisco Chapters on
developing and hosting APR BootCamps.
These camps featured three-daypreparation programs that culminatedwith an opportunity to sit for theExamination. Four APR Boot Campswere held in April, August, October andNovember, with similar programsplanned for 2013.
FinancesFaced with the prospect of reducing
or possibly eliminating certain memberbenefits, the Leadership Assemblypassed a proposal to increase memberdues by $30, effective Jan. 1, 2012. Thismarked the first dues increase in 10years. Not only did the dues increaseallow us to continue to provide the samelevel of programming, networking,research and leadership training asbefore, but it also afforded theopportunity for PRSA members,Chapters and Sections to enjoy freeprofessional development webinars.
Like most organizations, PRSA had tocontend with the rising cost of doingbusiness, devastating and far-reachingimpacts from severe weather and thethreat of the fiscal cliff. In considerationof all this, PRSA is on course to meet ormodestly exceed its net financial goalsfor 2012.
We will post our complete 2012 auditreport and related financial statementson our website in the spring as soon as itis submitted, reviewed by the FinanceCommittee and accepted by the PRSABoard of Directors.
International ConferenceThe PRSA 2012 International
Conference, held Oct. 13-16 in SanFrancisco, attracted nearly 3,000professional and student members.
Attendance reflected not only aserious commitment to professionaldevelopment and networkingopportunities, but also to the value of theConference as the must-attend industryevent for sponsors, exhibitors andattendees.
The theme of the Conference was“The Future Starts Now,” and it wasprogrammed in response to the real-timeopportunities and challenges faced byPRSA members. General Sessionsfeatured Biz Stone, co-founder, Twitter;Tim Westergren, founder and chiefstrategy officer, Pandora; June Cotte,Ph.D., consumer behavioral expert; andMichael Steele, political analyst,MSNBC.
Here’s a look at other key areas and events from 2012
2012 State of the Society
PRSSAThe Public Relations Student Society
of America (PRSSA) continued toexpand its network by growing to morethan 11,000 members at 330 Chaptersby the end of 2012.
Members received opportunities topractice and apply real-world publicrelations principles through multiplecampaigns for national and localclients, as well as chances to connectwith other members and professionalsaround the globe through social mediaplatforms such as Twitter chats andLinkedIn discussion groups.
In 2012, PRSSA awardedCertification in Education for PublicRelations (CEPR) certifications toEastern Kentucky University, SoutheastMissouri State University, SenecaCollege, Union University and SetonHall University.
Silver AnvilsIn June, the stars of public relations
came together to celebrate theprofession’s finest work at PRSA’s 2012Silver Anvil Awards Ceremony.
PRSA presented the 2012 Best ofSilver Anvil Award to the “CentennialCelebration of Service” campaign, ayear-long, professional skills-basedvolunteerism initiative that attracted 88percent of IBM’s 400,000-plus workforceand supported local communityorganizations worldwide. Developed byKetchum and IBM, the campaign wasselected as the best of 143 publicrelations programs nominated for a SilverAnvil Award.
The Silver Anvil Awards program hasgrown in scope and stature since itsinception in 1946, and awards are nowgiven in 59 categories andsubcategories.
In the 60-plus-year history of theSilver Anvils, various organizations havebeen recognized, including solopractitioners, agencies of all sizes, largeand small businesses, top corporations,nonprofits, associations and governmentagencies.
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The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the nation’s largest communityof public relations and communications professionals. We provide training, setstandards of excellence and uphold principles of ethics for the global publicrelations profession. As a leading voice in the industry, we also advocate forgreater understanding and adoption of public relations services.
PRSA’s more than 21,000 professional members represent nearly every practicearea and professional and academic setting in public relations.
Headquartered in New York City, and chartered in 1947, PRSA is comprised of112 local Chapters organized into 10 geographic Districts; 14 ProfessionalInterest Sections focus on issues, trends and research relevant to specializedpractice areas, such as technology, health care, financial communications,entertainment and sports, and travel and tourism.
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