Exclusive: Communications Council set to open up to PR agencies
The Communications Council has opened talks with several of Australia’s biggest public relations agencies with a view to the organisation widening its remit to include PR, Mumbrella can reveal.
If the move takes place, it would raise questions about the position of the Public Relations Institute of Australia, which is currently the main PR industry body.
Mumbrella has learned that around a dozen PR agency bosses met with Communications Council CEO Margaret Zabel on Friday. She presented them with a vision for what the organisation could do for PR agencies including representation and training.
The talks began as a result of criticisms of the PRIA expressed in a Mumbrella video interview with the management of PR agency Mango late last year.
Only consumer PR? What about other types of PR such as community engagement, stakeholder relations, crisis communications and issues management. The PRIA does nothing for these areas either!
The communications council should take a close look at the IABC (International Association of Professional Communicators). There are four active branches in Australia (Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra) and two in New Zealand. The global nature of the group means big ideas are shared, plus local chapters work actively at professional development and networking.
Wouldn’t that be IAPC?
The ad industry has a lot to teach the PR industry. Some excellent case studies would include the WitcheryMan hoax, the Westpac banana smoothie and perhaps also the Qantas twitter stuff up
perhaps as a goodwill gesture the Comms Council might like to appoint a PR someone to the Board first, and to broaden it’s remit to the ‘real’ part of PR where the status and money lies – financial and corporate and issues management.
Of course the PRIA is yet to respond! It only highlights its absolute lack of engagement in the industry and its lack of backbone.
> The ad industry has a lot to teach the PR industry. Some excellent case studies
> would include the WitcheryMan hoax, the Westpac banana smoothie and perhaps
> also the Qantas twitter stuff up
Which of these was PR-conceived or driven?
that’s the whole point Barkeep – these epic failures all emanated from advertising and marketing folk with no PR sensibility, so it’s unclear what the ad industry has to teach the PR industry about itself
although i have to say many ad campaigns seem to spend more time PRing themselves to their own industry than making a consumer impact. NAB break-up campaign, anyone?
The PRIA is one of the few professional organisations who have fought its right to sanction its members for breaching the Institute’s Code of Ethics to the High Court (and won). Advertisers who breach their code of ethics get what – their advert pulled!
I agree with Archie about the epic PR failures of the Ad Industry.
The PRIA is wise to be reluctant to join with advertisers – they have been trying to get us to merge with them for years!
There is a difference between “earned” space and “paid for” space and the tactics used. Less and less people believe advertisers who shows us how you can clean baked on crap from your cooking surface with one wipe of a product. So there is less funding for it. PR has muscled in on this market because it provides ethical counsel.
FYI – the “Consumer” category of the Golden Target Awards is THE most hotly contested category – and the big companies face it with the spunky small ones. The Award is about the quality of the campaign. Maybe the fact that big companies are not entering is more a comment on their confidence than the Award.
“Archie: The ad industry has a lot to teach the PR industry. Some excellent case studies would include the WitcheryMan hoax, the Westpac banana smoothie and perhaps also the Qantas twitter stuff up”.
Please, the ad industry has a lot to teach PR? If I need help on how to “goodify” something or put a name on a Coke can I’ll let you know.
Agree with Dave, what about the other PR types? What about the PRs working for SMEs – the biggest employers in Australia?
I think Glenda was referring to the IABC – International Association of Business Communicators. They run (in my opionion) the best international conference on communication/PR/digital marketing each year, as well as the international Gold Quill Awards. I’ve been to two conferences (San Francisco and Torronto) and brought back amazing insights and inspiration. The local chapters in Australia are growing too.
I’ve looked at the communications council website, and am frankly unable to see any reason why as an indvidual I’d want to join. It all seems to be focuses on agencies — which is hardly relevant to the many PRIA members who work in-house.
B
IMHO this should not be restricted to just consumer PR agencies.