Des Moines PR Executive Published in International Journal
Column in IPRA FrontLine
DES MOINES (June 21, 2005) – A guest column written by Ronald Hanser, president of West Des Moines-based Hanser & Associates, is published in the June edition of IPRA FrontLine, the trade journal of International Public Relations Association.
IPRA invited Hanser to write the column describing trends and new assignments emerging for independent public relations firms on every continent.
Hanser is also global President of Pinnacle Worldwide, an international corporation of independently owned public relations firms with offices in 55 major cities in 30 countries.
ABOUT IPRA
United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association has members in nearly 100 countries and is celebrating its 50th anniversary. IPRA’s mission is to provide intellectual leadership for the PR profession. The trade association supports education, quality and ethics in the industry. Visit www.ipra.org for more information.
ABOUT HANSER & ASSOCIATES
Hanser & Associates is an international award-winning public relations firm that helps companies build and maintain relationships with the people who are important to their future. Co-owned by Ronald Hanser and Bonnie Hanser, the firm is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa and has an office in Omaha, Neb. The firm has a strategic alliance with Redstone Communications, an Omaha-based advertising agency, and the two firms share offices in Des Moines and Omaha. Hanser & Associates is nationally ranked among the top independent PR firms in Midwest cities. The firm has won nearly 40 international, national and local awards for its public relations work, including the Public Relations Society of America’s “Best of Show” and two national Bronze Anvils – the “Oscars” of PR. Hanser & Associates is equity partner in Pinnacle Worldwide, Inc., an international corporation of independently owned public relations firms with offices in 55 major cities and more than 1,200 employees in 30 countries. Visit www.hanser.com for more information.
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THE FULL TEXT FOLLOWS:
IPRA FrontLine
June 2005
What’s ahead for worldwide PR?
Independent public relations firms on every continent see new kinds of assignments – and new accountabilities – emerging.
By Ronald C. Hanser, APR
Congratulations to IPRA, celebrating its 50th anniversary this month. IPRA’s mission to provide intellectual leadership for the PR profession remains vital as the roles and responsibilities of public relations professionals evolve at a quickening pace.
Indeed, as the IPRA’s conference this month in Istanbul focuses upon trust and ethical behavior, public relations firm executives – and likely most IPRA members – are witnessing a number of changes that are having immediate and, likely, long-term effects.
In May I connected with almost half of the 100 principals of independent public relations firms which are members of Pinnacle Worldwide, the global organization that I have the pleasure of leading this year. The firms represent every continent and most major business centers, and they reinforced the two primary trends we’ve seen emerging in PR firms around the globe – new assignments and new accountability.
New Assignments
“Business leaders are recognizing PR as more than publicity,” is the trend most often cited by Pinnacle Worldwide
principals named by 51 percent.
A whole new wave of PR savvy executives is coming on line. None too soon, let’s thank academia. Top universities are adding undergraduate courses on "reputation management" and more executives will emerge from graduate school with formal PR training as part of their MBA course work. PR will become an even more powerful tool for management.
“Word-of-Mouth (WOM) marketing” is the second most common new assignment, said 49 percent of the principals, and many cited the increasing awareness of importance of WOM.
WOM marketing is “hot” because it recognizes that trust comes from peers, family, friends and other influentials, not from traditional marketing messages. B2B and B2C customers –
not marketers – increasingly “own” the brand. That is why WOM is valued twice as much by consumers as traditional media, according to NOP World; and influentials –
people with many points of contact – are twice as likely to recommend a product or service.
Emerging assignments for PR firms include helping clients understand how WOM constituents differ from other customers, identify them, activate them and measure their impact.
“Need to rebuild public trust of business following scandals,” said 44 percent of principals.
Many firms are seeing clients under greater scrutiny and regulatory oversight, particularly in biotech and biopharma.
Some firms in the United States have multiple clients wrestling with “trust” issues, including…
- Science and medicine are not well understood and the mysteries of risk/rewards in modern medicine need to be better explained.
- Cost of developing a new drug needs to be better explained. While still moving slowly, drug discovery will increase at a rapid rate – perhaps faster than the public's understanding.
“Internet communications, online publications and Web logs (blogs),” were cited by 41 percent of principals responding.
“Clients do not know how to use blogs or to derive benefit from them yet,” said one principal. Also the media is watching their control of the news be supplanted by this new media. They are trying to find ways to play while PR firms are trying to finds ways to use this direct media.
Some PR firms are doing blogging campaigns and monitoring blogs for their corporate clients. Other PR firms are doing search engine optimization (SEO) and SEO marketing for their clients.
New Accountability
Overwhelmingly, 75 percent of the principals said, “Clients expect measurable results.”
New rules are being applied to the measurement of all communications. Nielsen is “out” and more behavioral measurement and cause and effect studies of PR will be “in.”
As marketers demand bigger “bang for the buck” and demonstrated ROI, the PR industry must present our clients a relevant, scientifically-grounded, easy-to-understand tracking system to document the value the PR programs contribute to the client’s bottom line.
PR firms are seeing more requests for “measurement” in proposal requests, but still report a lack of willingness to pay for the measurement activities once the PR firm is selected.
“Clients want senior-level PR professionals serving them,” said 61 percent of the principals. Clients also want experienced pros with local market knowledge.
Organizations around the world are going through a painful process of reappraisal with local, senior-level PR professionals playing a critically important role. Reformulation of strategy is underway, a realignment of priorities and new processes of communication.
None of us knows for sure what is ahead for the PR profession worldwide, but I am confident that the practice will gain a larger role in business and society.
The value of PR as a management function that creates and maintains relationships important to the future of all types of organizations all over the world has never been greater.
Ronald C. Hanser, APR, is president of Hanser & Associates – a public relations firm he founded in 1996 in Des Moines, Iowa – and president of Pinnacle Worldwide, Inc. He may be reached at rhanser@hanser.com.
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