Gone til November

I know I go on about it all the time but I am doing the final project of my CIPR Diploma at the moment and it’s not due until 24th October so the next month is going to be a hard slog writing a 6000 word report (3000 word literature review and 3000 words of primary research). Will try and blog more about the topic soon…

In the meantime, I had a funny conversation with my colleague and friend who is also studying the diploma. We have a funny game (I say funny, I probably mean geeky) where we find songs on YouTube to convey what we think/feel about things. Today I sent her this….

(EDIT: I sent her the actual music video, not this rubbish version but embedding has been removed by request – don’t you hate when people do that)

This is the conversation we had…

Ellie Lovell: ha ha http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UBHHtpTwJeM
(4:32:18 PM) Julia: is this us?
(4:32:21 PM) Julia: gone til november?
(4:32:26 PM) Julia: 23 oct to be exact
(4:32:28 PM) Ellie Lovell: i know
(4:32:34 PM) Ellie Lovell: altho there wasn’t a song about 23rd oct
(4:32:42 PM) Julia: a good point
(4:32:48 PM) Julia: well made
(4:32:55 PM) Ellie Lovell: i will look for one
(4:33:01 PM) Julia: lol
(4:33:09 PM) Julia: will laugh if you find one

(This isn’t the exact conversation – I amended the typos)

I will let you know if I find a song about 23rd October.

Procrastination

Right now I should be writing a Project Outline for my CIPR Diploma Project but instead I am procrastinating and I can see a lot more of this happening over the next month before the deadline on Friday 24th October.

via Podnosh

Too many ideas

For a while now I have been thinking about the final assignment as part of my CIPR Diploma – the Personal Project. This is a piece of self-directed research into a specific aspect of PR practice and/or theory. It will be a 6000 word research document including a literature review, primary or secondary research, and hopefully some interesting conclusions/implications for public relations.

Over the past few weeks I have been toying with a few ideas that are of interest to me…

1. City Image and Identity: A Birmingham Case Study

How do people develop their view of the city? And how can this be influenced by PR? Who are the Gatekeepers? Who controls the messages – organisations tasked with PR or media? How is the image and profile of a city co-ordinated?

This idea translates the theory of corporate image and identity, organisational culture/structure, the cultural web of the organisation and the organisation’s paradigm (the overall reflection of the culture) would look at how these theories might apply to the wider context of a city.

2. PR2.0: The importance of the web in Public Relations

My original thoughts for this project were something along the lines of: “The pace of change of web2.0 technologies and the growing role they play in people’s lives means that public relations practitioners must really understand these new communications tools and integrate them into their communications toolkit.”

I hadn’t really thought this project through to be honest, I find continual talk of ‘Web 2.0′ a bit tiresome now. I work in online communications and I love my job (and I love the internet) but Web 2.0 is not a new phenomenon and I don’t want to produce a piece of work that is repeating old news. I’m not playing down the importance of social media tools, online community etc but I want to produce a more timely piece of work that will say something relevant in the medium/long-term, not the short term.

3. The Relationship between ‘Brand’ and ‘Reputation’ (in Higher Education)

My latest idea (and possibly my current favourite) would consider the relationship between ‘brand’, typically a tool of marketeers, and ‘reputation’, the concern of public relations. Inspired by Chris Chapleo, Portsmouth University and Justin Shaw, Communications Management, I might go further and focus on the higher education sector and University brands. They presented preliminary findings of some research into “Successful University brands and reputation” at the CASE Europe Annual Conference in Brighton. Their research so far has been qualitative only and I would need to find out their plans for the rest of their research as I wouldn’t want to steal their idea.

Doing a bit of online research on the idea I found an interesting blog by Elliot Schreiber, Brands and Reputation. He says: A Good Corporate Reputation Starts with a Good Corporate Brand

Most communications professionals do not recognize that building a good reputation is directly linked to the relevance their corporate brand has with key stakeholders. Too often, public relations and communications professionals try distance themselves from the term brand, arguing that it is related to marketing and advertising and narrowly focused on products and customers. This is not and should not be the case.

I do worry that my tutor will think this last idea is too marketing focussed so I will need to ensure there is good relevant PR theory considering the relationship between brand and reputation without it just being a discussion of definitions.

So they are my ideas so far. I obviously need to give them some more thought and consider the PR theory that will form the basis for the research and then the original research that I can undertake to produce some new and interesting ideas to contribute to the PR profession!

I haven’t blogged for ages…

I hate when blog posts start with “I haven’t blogged for ages” but I feel I need to say it! It’s been almost a month but I have been pretty busy! Very poor – especially since I was given a plug on Matthew Watson’s blog – I now have something to live up to!

So the month of July mostly consisted of my CIPR Planning Assignment but it was a massive relief to finally submit it and have it out of my life (unless of course I fail and have to re-submit!). Generally in life, I like situations when you know what the right answer or direction is – but this assignment was like feeling my way in the dark. There were so many options or possibilities that the ‘right’ answer was hard to find so who knows how I got on! Well, I guess I find out in mid-September! I am already thinking about the final project for the CIPR diploma – a 6000 word research project on a topic of our choice – but I will blog more about that another time!

Apart from that I have been enjoying having my social life back and have been to a few parties including Pickle Jar Communications 1st Birthday party and the University of Warwick’s Staff Summer Party. I have also celebrated Mom’s birthday and waved goodbye to my cousin Maria who was home for the Summer after three years living in Jakarta, and has now moved on to Singapore for two years! Plus it’s my own birthday tomorrow and on Sunday I am going to London for my friends daughters 3rd birthday. Then a week today (next Friday) my cousin is having a baby! There really is no rest for the wicked!

Work has also been pretty busy lately. People think that it’s quiet at a University during the summer months when there are no students around but they are quite wrong. There are lots of preparations to be made for new students especially with A-level results, clearing, confirmation, enrolment, preparations for induction etc. The University has also taken on a new enquiry management system to assist communications with prospective students and applicants so there is a lot of planning going in to that as well as the usual ‘comms’ stuff.

So after that re-cap, I think I need to change my approach to blogging and try a more little-but-often approach as this entry is far too long and boring…!

Looking ahead…

So I have resigned myself to the fact that, like April, July is going to be pretty much…

Where is my sunshine?

We received our CIPR planning assignment on Monday 30th June and progress so far has been slow. It’s a pretty tricky assignment and being busy with work I just haven’t made much headway with it so it’s time to knuckle down!

I have lots of things to look forward to in August so that should keep me motivated. I’m making a note of them here so that when I am struggling with the assignment and feeling miserable I can remind myself of the fun to come!

• Saturday 2nd August – Leaving Party for Sam and Mark (colleague and her husband who are moving to Brighton)
• Wednesday 6th August – Pickle Jar Communications‘ 1st Birthday Party
• Thursday 7th August – University of Warwick Staff Summer Party
• Saturday 9th August – Nottingham for final CIPR Diploma teaching session
• Tuesday 12th August – Mom’s Birthday
• Wednesday 13th August – Mom’s twin sister (Mag) coming over from Dublin
• Saturday 16th August – My Birthday – there will be a whole weekend of celebrations for this but I haven’t got round to planning it yet!
• Monday 18th August – Going to see Mary Poppins at Birmingham Hippodrome
• Friday 22nd August – Cousin Laura having baby (if not earlier!)
• Saturday 23rd August – Casey Leaver’s 30th Birthday
• Tuesday 26th – Friday 29th August – CASE Annual Conference in Brighton

EDIT: this list is not exhaustive – I shall be adding to it!

So, bring on August when I will feel more like this…

I can do anything if I try

EDIT: I also feel that August might need a theme tune so am open to suggestions…preferably in the form of links to YouTube please!

Planning the Planning Assignment

Want to know what it’s like studying for the CIPR Diploma…? Well I may have bored you enough already with my discussion of the first assignment (the Critical Reasoning Test) but no sooner had we received our results we were given the details of our second assignment, the Planning Assignment.

I can’t really complain – the deadline for the first assignment was the 29th May and I have done very little studying since then but the trouble is that when the assignment details are released there is approx three or four weeks of (almost) hell trying to complete it! I am the type of person who likes to agonise over these things and I do generally aim for perfection so I probably make it harder than it needs to be but I can’t help who I am!

The first assignment tested academic understanding of theory. The next assignment is putting the theory into practise by developing a step-by-step communications plan in response to a crisis or issue. The main plan is 3000 words long and should be accompanied by a 2000 word rationale explaining the theory behind your chosen approach to the task. The deadline is 1st August so it’s a good job I didn’t have much planned for July!

CIPR Diploma Unit 2.2 – Planning Assignment

Aims: to encourage students to demonstrate their ability to apply planning theory acquired in Unit 2.2 to practical public relations activities

Objectives: to produce an action plan and rationale for a charity launching a campaign in the face of competition from a similar campaign launched by a private sector organisation. The plan should detail key issues and develop a strategy for maintaining reputation in the long term.

Scenario: you are the Director of Public Relations and Fundraising for a leading charity devoted to research into the causes of heart disease. Approaching the end of a two-year planning period, you are one month away from the launch of a new campaign, entitled ‘Let’s Kill Heart Disease’. The campaign aim is to raise the equivalent of £3 million over the next two years for distribution to the charity’s medical research units throughout your country.

During your regular Monday morning staff update session, one of your junior press officers mentions that a friend of hers who works for a leading cereal manufacturer has mentioned that her company’s new Corporate Social Responsibility initiative is remarkably similar to your campaign. Entitled ‘Stop Heart Disease. Dead’, the company has set a fundraising target equivalent to £1 million over the next 12 months. The funds raised will be distributed among scientists from anywhere in the world submitting successful funding bids that involve research into the heart-health benefits of cereal. The company has significant backing from a range of existing celebrity endorsers, and will be using high-impact TV and billboard advertising to publicise its campaign.

You are due to present to your charity’s board of directors in two days time, where you will be required to provide:

• A step-by-step plan to manage communication around this issue, providing a clear list of actions in order of priority and a summary of content for any written communication outputs
• A proposal to establish an issues management group, to monitor opportunities and threats, build and maintain the charity’s reputation in the longer term
• A rationale for each step of your approach

So, that’s the task… now to start planning…

P.S. This blog post is not a true reflection of what it is like to be studying for the CIPR Diploma as the opening sentence suggests… you should read the rest of my blog for a fuller picture ; )

Ethical Propaganda?

This is the second essay of my CRT assignment for my CIPR Diploma, graded a Distinction. The first essay on PR and the Blogosphere is also available on my blog.

“Propaganda is not neutral, it aims to further the aims of the propagandist.” (Wright, 1991).

Discuss this definition of propaganda in the light of “ethical propaganda” campaigns, such as public safety or public health campaigns in your country.

There is a great deal of uncertainty when it comes to propaganda: Some PR practitioners will recoil at the suggestion that they are propagandists. Other public relations experts will argue that propaganda is an integral part of public relations practise. So who is right and why is there such confusion over propaganda? “One of the few things that can be said with any certainty about propaganda is that there is little consensus concerning what it is, how it is used, who uses it, how it can be assessed and whether it is effective or not” (Elkes, 2001). This paper examines the meaning of propaganda, the characteristics that distinguish it from other forms of communication, the techniques employed by propagandists and the theory that is applied to these techniques. It also aims to consider more recent uses of propaganda for health campaigns and considers whether propaganda can be ethical.

PR and the ‘Blogosphere’

Today I found out the results of my CIPR Diploma CRT (Critical Reasoning Test) and was delighted to find out I passed with a distinction.

I was a bit hesitant to post my assignment on my blog before receiving the results for fear that it wasn’t any good but now I can share my work without worrying so much. I am sure that there are many people who have an opinion on the role of PR in the blogosphere and may disagree with some of the viewpoints in my assignment so feel free to share…

There is an increasing number of individuals and organisations entering the “blogosphere”, where reputations are played with by almost everyone, from anonymous mischief makers to the openly concerned. Your CEO has heard that her name has been mentioned in an anonymous blog and she wants to retaliate.

Before you advise her as to what is best to do, write yourself a reflective paper about public relations and the “blogosphere”.

The 21st century has seen the development of many new communications tools on the internet, and a massive rise in the number of people publishing content online. Web applications such as blogs, wikis and social networking sites have become increasingly popular, and faster broadband connections have made access to these tools more widely available. These advances in digital technology, and the new audiences they bring present fresh challenges for public relations and prompt us to reconsider more traditional theories of public relations as well as assessing the challenges and opportunities that these tools present. This paper is designed to reflect on some of these existing theories and their application to the blogosphere, consider possible applications of the tool in PR, and analyse case studies demonstrating good and bad practice. In order to give a broad consideration of PR and the blogosphere, it may not be possible for a thorough analysis of all aspects of theory relating to blogging, but the flowing discussion should provide greater understanding of the blogosphere and it’s relevance to public relations.

Good busy

Another busy few days ahead but busy is good.

Tomorrow I am off to London for a CIPR Education and Skills Sector Group conference, New Challenges, New Opportunities The Role of New Media in Crisis Communications. I am expecting it to be a good day. It has been organised by a former colleague and Director of Pickle Jar Communications and she has managed to secure the Director of Web Communications from Virginia Tech University in America – i’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the tragedy there last year. It will be really interesting to hear from their point to view how they handled it – i don’t think a University can ever be fully prepared for something like that to happen so it will be reassuring to see what lessons they learnt.

On Saturday I am in Nottingham for the sixth session of my CIPR Diploma. At the moment we are working towards for our second assignment – the Planning Assignment. We haven’t been given the assignment yet but basically we will be expected to develop a communications plan and rationale at just over 5000 words. Aapparently this is often a crisis communications situation so i’m hoping tomorrows conference will also be good preparation. The deadline is Friday 1st August so I exepct I will be knuckling down in July (but partying hard on the weekend of 1st August!).

After my course on Saturday I am then travelling across to Keele University for their Homecoming Reunion. I graduated from Keele in 2003 and don’t think I have been back there since maybe 2004 so I am excited and sentimental about returning. I spent three brilliant years there with brilliant friends and I am really looking forward to walking around the campus and remembering the good times spent sat out on the lawns of Keele Hall, drinking in Lindsay Bar and partying in the Union.

Then Sunday I will be coming home to sleep.

A Week On…

So a week has passed since the deadline for my CIPR Diploma CRT and I have been too busy enjoying having my life back to find time to blog. It’s one excuse after another with blogging – too busy working to blog then too busy having fun to blog.

I actually completed my CRT a few days before the due date as I had a busy weekend planned and did not want the CRT hanging over me. Last weekend I went to see Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong at Warwick University Students’ Union, the Kooks at Birmingham Academy and a friends new apartment and this weekend I went to a friends pre-wedding meal at the Mailbox and another friends engagement party! The social calendar is full to make up for the hermit I became for the month of April.

The Kooks, Naive, Live at Birmingham Academy

Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong (live but not at Warwick SU) - definitely worth catching live if you get the opportunity!

On Saturday I will be heading to Nottingham for the fourth of my CIPR Dimploma taught sessions and it will be the first session of the second module which focuses on planning and management in preparation for our second assessment in August. I was planning to publish my first assignment online here but I thought I should wait to see how good/bad it was before sharing! If the two essays (one on PR and Blogging and the second on PR and Ethical Propaganda) are any good then expect to see them here in June! Fingers crossed!

In the meantime, here’s a preview of my PR and Blogging essay:

Expectations from media, clients and audiences about new technologies are placing increasing pressure on public relations practitioners to increase their use of new technologies (Lordan, 2001). Whilst new technologies won’t replace traditional tools used in public relations the cost to PR practitioners in not using these tools will be in losing their competitive edge to those who have mastered new technology (Anderson and Reagan, 1992 cited in Lordan 2001). As advice to PR practitioners considering entering the blogosphere, Porter et al (2007) suggest an evolutionary approach in which “Practitioners begin using blogs routinely for informational purposes – seeking out alternative viewpoints, the latest news and experimenting with blogs for research purposes. Then use shifts to a more professional – albeit passive – orientation. This issues identification factor allows practitioners to continue to use blogs for information but in a more strategic and professional manner. The final step in the evolution of blog use is to begin engaging in two-way communication.” Whilst this model will not apply to all PR practitioners who use blogs, it does emphasise the importance of a familiarity with and a knowledge of blogs and the blogosphere before being able to use the tool for strategic and purposeful two-way communications.

References

Lordan, E. J. (2001) Cyberspin: The Use of New Technologies in Public Relations, in Heath, R. (2001) ed. Handbook of Public Relations, Sage, London

Porter, L. V. et al (2007) Blog power: Examining the effects of practitioner blog use on power in public relations, Public Relations Review 22 (2007) 92-95