Another New Year -another opportunity to review the past twelve months, and to look forward to the year ahead.
For our industry, 2010 has certainly been a better year than was 2009. There IS a recovery -ok, its strength varies by sector and by region: and ok, it sometimes appears fragile. But there are more reasons to be positive about the future than negative, and 2011 should be a good year for very many of us.
The PRCA enters 2011 in the best shape it has ever known. Late in December, I presented to our Board a review of our performance over the past three years, and a strategic plan for the next few.
There can be no doubt that we have transformed ourselves over those years -and that we are determined to continue that process of transformation.
So, a few highlights from the past year:
January - NLA Ltd blinked in copyright dispute
February -we grew by more in five weeks than in the whole of 2005 and 2006 combined
March -Copyright Tribunal ruled in our favour versus NLA Ltd
March -Peter Bingle's Bell Pottinger Public Affairs joined the PRCA
April -We announced the 46 PRCA Founding Fellows, including Lord Chadlington and Lord Bell
June Women In PR Group left CIPR, and then joined the PRCA
June -we announced our new officers, with Huntsworth's Clarke and Edelman's Phillips taking major roles heading up best practice and international work respectively
August - Caroline Kinsey was elected as Chairman of the PR Council
August -we announced an alliance with the IVCA allowing our members access to one-another's services
October -our awards attracted a sell-out crowd of 750. They're now second in size only to PR Week's
October -Hill and Knowlton's Sally Costerton became PRCA Chairman and set out her two-year Chairmanship vision
October -Remarkable Group's Amy Bryant-Jeffries became first person to be awarded the new PRCA Foundation Certificate
November -PRCA National Conference took place in Manchester -our first National Conference outside of London in living memory, and an affirmation of our growth outside the Capital over the past three years.
November -We launched designatory letters. Over half of our members have claimed them already
December -having lost to the NLA in the High Court, we stayed the course and move to the Court of Appeal
So what do we plan for 2011?
Well, that will all become clear. But one thing is certain -we have no intention of going slow. We've changed fundamentally over the past few years, and I believe we've become the industry's best and more effective voice.
We represent more than double the number of UK consultancies we did three years ago; we have international members across the world, from Australia to the Ukraine -Indonesia to France; and we represent over fifty in-house PR departments -M&S, John Lewis, the Met Police, Westminster Council, Vodafone, the Law Society, P&G, and many other fantastic names, who wouldn't have even considered joining the PRCA even a couple of years ago. Their faith in the PRCA speaks volumes about how we have changed, and seized our new role.
We intend to build on all of that progress, with detremniation and verve.
As the saying goes -you aint seen nothing yet!
Friday, 24 December 2010
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Standing Up For The Industry
Last week, we lodged our appeal against the High Court's ruling in favour of the NLA.
This is what I said announcing it:
Fifteen minutes ago acting on behalf of our members and the wider PR industry, the PRCA appealed last month’s High Court decision in favour of the NLA,
In 2009 the NLA decided to extend its hardcopy licensing scheme to cover the sharing of links to newspaper website content. The NLA believes that anyone using a commercial media monitoring service, or systematically sending content to clients, needs a licence to do so.
Meltwater challenged the proposed licensing scheme in the Copyright Tribunal believing it to be unreasonable. The PRCA supported this view and intervened in support of Meltwater and on behalf of our members and end users generally.
Following two rulings from the Copyright Tribunal in favour of Meltwater and the PRCA, the NLA referred the PRCA and Meltwater to the High Court.
We were disappointed by the High Court’s decision and believe it fundamentally to be flawed. We believe it risks putting an end to the freedom with which information can be shared on the Internet. The implication is that the mere act of browsing freely accessible websites will require a copyright licence.
We are therefore appealing the decision. We anticipate that even if our appeal is unsuccessful, the Copyright Tribunal will find that the terms of the licences and the fees sought from customers are unreasonable and so will reduce the fees. In this event, end users will still be in a better position.
Irrespective of the outcome of the appeal, we are confident that our ultimate aim of ensuring reasonable terms for the licensing of NLA content will be achieved.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about what the licensing scheme means for you or your organisation or you would like to be kept informed of developments in this case, then please on the link below.
The PRCA is proud to be representing, with Meltwater, the interests of the PR industry. And while it is our duty as a professional body to take on such a role, your messages of support and help collecting evidence have been crucial to our case.
Thank you for all your help and we promise to keep you informed as the case continues.
You can see a clip of that statement here
This is what I said announcing it:
Fifteen minutes ago acting on behalf of our members and the wider PR industry, the PRCA appealed last month’s High Court decision in favour of the NLA,
In 2009 the NLA decided to extend its hardcopy licensing scheme to cover the sharing of links to newspaper website content. The NLA believes that anyone using a commercial media monitoring service, or systematically sending content to clients, needs a licence to do so.
Meltwater challenged the proposed licensing scheme in the Copyright Tribunal believing it to be unreasonable. The PRCA supported this view and intervened in support of Meltwater and on behalf of our members and end users generally.
Following two rulings from the Copyright Tribunal in favour of Meltwater and the PRCA, the NLA referred the PRCA and Meltwater to the High Court.
We were disappointed by the High Court’s decision and believe it fundamentally to be flawed. We believe it risks putting an end to the freedom with which information can be shared on the Internet. The implication is that the mere act of browsing freely accessible websites will require a copyright licence.
We are therefore appealing the decision. We anticipate that even if our appeal is unsuccessful, the Copyright Tribunal will find that the terms of the licences and the fees sought from customers are unreasonable and so will reduce the fees. In this event, end users will still be in a better position.
Irrespective of the outcome of the appeal, we are confident that our ultimate aim of ensuring reasonable terms for the licensing of NLA content will be achieved.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about what the licensing scheme means for you or your organisation or you would like to be kept informed of developments in this case, then please on the link below.
The PRCA is proud to be representing, with Meltwater, the interests of the PR industry. And while it is our duty as a professional body to take on such a role, your messages of support and help collecting evidence have been crucial to our case.
Thank you for all your help and we promise to keep you informed as the case continues.
You can see a clip of that statement here
Friday, 26 November 2010
PRCA response to today’s High Court ruling
London, 26 November 2010 – Following the High Court’s decision in favour of the NLA, Francis Ingham, PRCA chief executive said “We are disappointed by today’s decision and believe it fundamentally to be flawed – it risks putting an end to the freedom with which information can be shared on the Internet. We are discussing the detailed implications of the judgement with our lawyers and in the meantime have been granted permission to appeal.
If you have any questions or comments, then please call Richard Ellis on 020 7233 6026 or 07779 102 758 or email Richard.ellis@prca.org.uk.
If you have any questions or comments, then please call Richard Ellis on 020 7233 6026 or 07779 102 758 or email Richard.ellis@prca.org.uk.
Friday, 19 November 2010
Walking The Walk On Evaluation
As an industry, we have wrestled with evaluation for far too long. Decades in fact. And most of that wrestling has -until now- been pretty much pointless.
I hope that this week's PRCA-supported evaluation summit, hosted by AMEC and our opposite, cross-Atlantic number the PRSA, will prove a turning point.
Bringing together the leading professional bodies to agree a common evaluation framework is the absolute prerequisite for driving forward our common agenda. We have fully endorsed the AMEC-PRSA proposals and I'm glad that the CIPR has too.
Our Chairman, H&K's Sally Costerton, and the Chairman of our Best Practice Committee, Huntsworth's Alison Clarke spoke for us at the summit. They set out not only our support for the framework, but also our practical efforts to embed it within our processes, and by doing so, to drive evaluation excellence through our membership.
We have set out two highly practical and I believe significant initiatives, that will ensure we don't just talk the talk on evaluation, but we also walk the walk.
The first is that we we will create a specialist evaluation module as part of our Consultancy Management Standard (CMS). This will allow consultancies and in house departments to demonstrate their commitment to robust and relevant evaluation techniques. Passing this specialist, independently-audited module will result in the award of an evaluation kitemark -public evidence of evaluation excellence. Bear in mind too that CMS has now been adopted by over a dozen countries. So our evaluation ambition and reach goes far beyond just the UK.
The second is that from 2011 onwards, we will include a mandatory evaluation element in our awards programme. This year, the PRCA awards became second in size only to PR Week, so this again is a major practical commitment. And I would urge other awards programmes to follow our lead. Credible PR awards require the credible evaluation of PR work.
A note of caution and realism though. It takes more than one afternoon's summit to crack such a deep, ingrained issue. Good intentions and fine rhetoric will take us only so far -that's why we need practical commitments. We delude ourselves if we think that the path ahead will be simple. but at least now we're walking the walk on it eh?
I hope that this week's PRCA-supported evaluation summit, hosted by AMEC and our opposite, cross-Atlantic number the PRSA, will prove a turning point.
Bringing together the leading professional bodies to agree a common evaluation framework is the absolute prerequisite for driving forward our common agenda. We have fully endorsed the AMEC-PRSA proposals and I'm glad that the CIPR has too.
Our Chairman, H&K's Sally Costerton, and the Chairman of our Best Practice Committee, Huntsworth's Alison Clarke spoke for us at the summit. They set out not only our support for the framework, but also our practical efforts to embed it within our processes, and by doing so, to drive evaluation excellence through our membership.
We have set out two highly practical and I believe significant initiatives, that will ensure we don't just talk the talk on evaluation, but we also walk the walk.
The first is that we we will create a specialist evaluation module as part of our Consultancy Management Standard (CMS). This will allow consultancies and in house departments to demonstrate their commitment to robust and relevant evaluation techniques. Passing this specialist, independently-audited module will result in the award of an evaluation kitemark -public evidence of evaluation excellence. Bear in mind too that CMS has now been adopted by over a dozen countries. So our evaluation ambition and reach goes far beyond just the UK.
The second is that from 2011 onwards, we will include a mandatory evaluation element in our awards programme. This year, the PRCA awards became second in size only to PR Week, so this again is a major practical commitment. And I would urge other awards programmes to follow our lead. Credible PR awards require the credible evaluation of PR work.
A note of caution and realism though. It takes more than one afternoon's summit to crack such a deep, ingrained issue. Good intentions and fine rhetoric will take us only so far -that's why we need practical commitments. We delude ourselves if we think that the path ahead will be simple. but at least now we're walking the walk on it eh?
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
UKPAC Register Open For Business
The public affairs industry takes a further step forward in delivering transparent accountability today, as the UKPAC Register is opened up for CIPR members to submit their details.
The PRCA and APPC have run our own Public Affairs Registers for years now, but their weakness has been a lack of comprehensive cover, and the simple annoyance of looking at two different registers. Very soon, both of those weaknesses will be gone.
Just by way of clarity for our member employees –you’re covered by your corporate PRCA or APPC memberships already. So if you’re also a CIPR member, you don’t need to register again –your details will be registered as the whole PRCA Register is uploaded in one go.
I’m a member of the CIPR, and I do the odd bit of lobbying. So I guess I’d better sign up. Off to the UKPAC site I go……
The PRCA and APPC have run our own Public Affairs Registers for years now, but their weakness has been a lack of comprehensive cover, and the simple annoyance of looking at two different registers. Very soon, both of those weaknesses will be gone.
Just by way of clarity for our member employees –you’re covered by your corporate PRCA or APPC memberships already. So if you’re also a CIPR member, you don’t need to register again –your details will be registered as the whole PRCA Register is uploaded in one go.
I’m a member of the CIPR, and I do the odd bit of lobbying. So I guess I’d better sign up. Off to the UKPAC site I go……
Friday, 29 October 2010
Celebrating Success
By any measure (except perhaps efficient air conditioning) this week's PRCA Awards were a a roaring success, in a sold-out Park Lane Hilton.
In the 2007 awards -two weeks into my new role at the PRCA- we had a fifth of this week's attendees, and a third of the entries. And, in truth, the evening wasn't very good. In fact, it was so soul-crushingly bad that I seriously contemplating asking Colin Farrington for my old job back at the CIPR. Fortunately, I held my nerve, and decided that instead we'd work hard to improve the awards. And we certainly have.
This week's awards saw a fantastically well-run event, fronted by an hilarious Rufus Hound, showcasing the very best our industry has to offer from across the consultancy, in house and freelance sectors of PR. And attended by 250 people more than even last year's event. I've been to dozens of PR awards, and -biased though i obviously am- it was the most enjoyable I've been to. AS you can see from the photos After PR Week's extravaganza, it was also the biggest. That's a pretty decent achievement.
The only problem of course is this: How can we improve for next year? Well, it's a nice problem to have eh?!
In the 2007 awards -two weeks into my new role at the PRCA- we had a fifth of this week's attendees, and a third of the entries. And, in truth, the evening wasn't very good. In fact, it was so soul-crushingly bad that I seriously contemplating asking Colin Farrington for my old job back at the CIPR. Fortunately, I held my nerve, and decided that instead we'd work hard to improve the awards. And we certainly have.
This week's awards saw a fantastically well-run event, fronted by an hilarious Rufus Hound, showcasing the very best our industry has to offer from across the consultancy, in house and freelance sectors of PR. And attended by 250 people more than even last year's event. I've been to dozens of PR awards, and -biased though i obviously am- it was the most enjoyable I've been to. AS you can see from the photos After PR Week's extravaganza, it was also the biggest. That's a pretty decent achievement.
The only problem of course is this: How can we improve for next year? Well, it's a nice problem to have eh?!
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Congratulating Our First Qualification Recipient
Congratulations to Amy Bryant-Jeffries, the first person to be awarded a PRCA qualification.
Francis Ingham and Amy Bryant-Jeffries, with Stephen Pomeroy, CEO of Remarkable Group
I had the pleasure of presenting Amy with her Foundation Certificate earlier this week, at the Remarkable Group office in Winchester, where Amy has now been promoted to PR Account Executive.
We launched PRCA qualifications just a little while ago, and Amy's the first person to complete the course.
For those of you who haven't looked at our offering in any depth, this is what makes it stand out from the competition:
1. PRCA qualifications are about practical skills, not dull theory
2. They're priced at an incredibly competitive level -consciously below the prices offered by other professional bodies
3. They're modular, so you can start and finish at a pace that suits you
4. They're underpinned by a Qualifications Board of eminent practitioners -Jonathan Jordan, ex-Burson Marsteller, and now founder of Sermelo; Dick Fedorcio, Public Affairs Director at the Metropolitan Police and ex-President of the CIPR; Professor Trevor Morris; Westminster's A;ex Aiken; and Bray Leino's Penny Porter
So if you're looking to give your career or a boost, or to equip your staff with practical skills, why not follow Amy's lead?
Francis Ingham and Amy Bryant-Jeffries, with Stephen Pomeroy, CEO of Remarkable Group
I had the pleasure of presenting Amy with her Foundation Certificate earlier this week, at the Remarkable Group office in Winchester, where Amy has now been promoted to PR Account Executive.
We launched PRCA qualifications just a little while ago, and Amy's the first person to complete the course.
For those of you who haven't looked at our offering in any depth, this is what makes it stand out from the competition:
1. PRCA qualifications are about practical skills, not dull theory
2. They're priced at an incredibly competitive level -consciously below the prices offered by other professional bodies
3. They're modular, so you can start and finish at a pace that suits you
4. They're underpinned by a Qualifications Board of eminent practitioners -Jonathan Jordan, ex-Burson Marsteller, and now founder of Sermelo; Dick Fedorcio, Public Affairs Director at the Metropolitan Police and ex-President of the CIPR; Professor Trevor Morris; Westminster's A;ex Aiken; and Bray Leino's Penny Porter
So if you're looking to give your career or a boost, or to equip your staff with practical skills, why not follow Amy's lead?
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