NEW PERSPECTIVES

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President’s message: The rhythm of December
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The 13th hole on our PR course is a short par 3, no real trouble, you just have to execute all that you have learned in a smooth, rhythmic motion. Swing confidently and you will be successful in landing your ball on the green and having a real chance at birdie.  It’s a very important hole because, although it is a short one, performing well allows you to get a good score and get ahead of the game.

Isn’t December just like that? Short, but requiring confidence and smooth, rhythmic execution? Both in my professional work as a corporate communicator in the retail arena and in my personal life trying to squeeze all the pre-holiday activity into the first three weeks of the month, December is very short, when you consider it to be just those pre-holiday weeks. So, it really is a time for me to take all that I have learned and focus on execution.

In my retail world, the communication required by my team and me are critical to make the biggest month of the year successful. We just need to “do” and rely on the expectation that all we have learned will guide us to create and conduct effective communication plans and help drive customers into the store, to the catalogue and onto our shopping website.

Personally, it’s about taking the few free moments I have from my busy work life and efficiently working my way through the list of presents I’ve selected to buy, the get-togethers I’ve chosen to host and the house I’ve elected to decorate for the holidays.

I hope that the varied professional development and educational opportunities provided by CPRS Toronto for both students and new and experienced practitioners over 2012 have allowed you to perform to the high level you expect of yourself in whatever communication and public relations activity you have set yourself.

We have much more in store come the new year. Be sure to check out CPRSToronto.com for the latest opportunities to learn and develop, including two national webinars, a networking lunch with Terry Fallis, author of The Best Laid Plans, The High Road and Up and Down on January 15, and an update with Daniel Tisch, APR, FCPRS, Chair, Global Alliance for Public Relations & Communication Management on February 26.

I am pleased to announce that Ian Ross, APR was elected to the Board of Directors as chair of sponsorship in November, following Laurie Smith’s decision to step down. I am grateful to Laurie for the time and dedication she provided to the board during her time as sponsorship chair and ACE chair before that. Ian has broad CPRS Board experience, having served in various positions in the past, including sponsorships as well as president. I am excited to have him in this very special portfolio and look forward to his contribution moving forward.

ACE Awards time is here again!  Be sure to get your submissions in for recognition at the April 24 gala.  If you are able to take advantage of the early bird deadline of Wednesday, January 9, so much the better!  There’s no time like the present.

Have a great holiday season and I wish you and your families health and success as we head into 2013!

Vincent Power, APR

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Call for submissions for CPRS Toronto 2013 ACE Awards
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By: Natasha Nitsopoulos

ATTENTION PR mavens!

Would you like to be the star of the hottest PR event of the year, while gaining industry recognition, raising your organization’s profile and being noticed by Toronto’s top public relations gurus?

Well, this is your chance to ‘shine bright like a diamond’ (as Rihanna would say) with a 2013 CPRS ACE Award!

Every year, CPRS Toronto recognizes communications excellence in public relations with the ACE Awards. Winning an Award is a great way to give you and your company a competitive edge in the industry and strengthen your strategic planning skills. Not to mention, you’ll be able to celebrate your success with all of your peers and colleagues at the chicest PR event in Toronto!

More information on eligibility, submission requirements and campaign entry categories is available on the CPRS Toronto website. So if this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, then get ready to submit your campaign!

Save the date! Make sure you clear your schedules for this premier event that you don’t want to miss. The Gala will be held on April 24. More details to come.

Important Dates and Deadlines:

Early Bird Entry Deadline: enter at a discounted rate by January 9, 2013

Entry Deadline: January 23, 2013

Leadership Awards Deadline: February 24, 2013

 

Enter at www.cprstoronto.com!

 

Questions? Tweet #CPRSACE or e-mail ace@cprstoronto.com

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CPRS Toronto members support Dress for Success Toronto
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Sadies Profile Picture

By Sadie Wolfe, CPRS Hamilton student member, Mohawk College

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday December 4th CPRS Toronto Members were invited for an Exclusive Shopping and Networking event hosted at Tique on Yonge Street.  Women of varying ages and styles showed up to enjoy retail goods accompanied by red wine, bubbles, and shopping advice from Jones New York stylists.

CPRS Members were encouraged to invite their friends and together we enjoyed browsing, which led to discovering and trying on the latest fashions, which led to further discovery.  Who can blame us? We enjoyed a 60% off discount that evening plus anything that was previously on sale was buy one get one free – they were practically giving clothing away!

Speaking of giving away clothes, the event invitation suggested participants bring new and gently used professional clothing for the Dress for Success Toronto charity that Tique proudly supports.  The mission of Dress for Success Toronto is “to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.”  This CPRS Toronto event not only served as a networking opportunity, but also as a way to proactively revive our wardrobes by sharing the old and strategically buying some new key pieces.

The warm fuzzy feeling of giving to a good cause was doubled by an added holiday bonus! Attendees were invited to give their business cards to a draw for the potential to win 1 of 3 prizes.  The first two were gift bags filled with lovely goodies and the third was exclusive to those who donated goods to the Dress for Success drive: a $200 shopping spree at Tique and the guidance of a personal shopper for the day of spending.

I would like to thank the wonderful Tique staff members with special acknowledgement to Sandra Steward, store manager and impromptu model extraordinaire! I would also like to recognize Tique’s vivacious personal stylist Shealah for her tireless efforts in helping me tie a stylish bow, her informative and professional Seasonal Dressing Trends and How to Build a Wardrobe on a Budget presentations, and continuous help and tips during the event.

Promoting Dress for Success Toronto while showcasing the latest fashions from Jones New York was done in style. I look forward to attending future CPRS Toronto Networking events in the New Year.

For more information about Dress for Success Toronto, visit dressforsuccess.org

   

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Helping new practitioners transition to work
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If you are entering the public relations and communications job market, you may want the think again about the value of membership in your professional society.

It can be helpful to be matched with a professional mentor during this transition, for example. Networking with professional members can help you tap into the hidden job market. Participation in your professional association can also help to differentiate you as a job candidate.

CPRS helps students, new grads and new practitioners transition to work. We’re here to help.

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Heard about the member benefit that pays?
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Our member referral program pays $100 for new Full members that join CPRS Toronto on the strength of recommendations from members like you.

Here’s how it works:

Tell a colleague about how CPRS membership has helped you professionally and suggest that they check out the benefits of belonging.

If you are named on this application form as our referring member, you’ll be informed by the CPRS National office that you’ve earned a $100 credit, as soon as the new Full member is confirmed, up to a maximum of $800 per year.

Need to know more? Drop us a line.

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Calling all practitioners – Bright and motivated GTA students need you!
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CPRS Toronto is in search of mentors to participate in this year’s mentorship program. The CPRS Toronto Mentorship program pairs students or junior-level practitioners with senior public relations professionals. As part the of the mentorship program, participants will build mutually beneficial professional relationships throughout the year.

While each relationship will be different, mentors and protégés are expected to be in contact by e-mail, phone or in person, at least once a month during the program’s duration to share information, attend CPRS events, get to know each other and have fun.

If you are interested in being a mentor please contact AJ Goodman at aj.goodman@fticonsulting.com to learn more. Application forms are also available online.

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A new global mandate for the public relations profession
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At the recent World Public Relations Forum in Melbourne, Australia, public relations leaders from 29 countries identified three emerging areas of value for public relations and have issued a new ‘mandate’ for the profession.

The Melbourne Mandate speaks to the role of public relations in defining organizational character, building a culture of listening and engagement, and instilling responsibility in organizations and individuals.

Are you practising to the full scope of the mandate? Can the mandate be used to guide your professional development, enhance your practice, or inform your clients?

To help CPRS Toronto members grapple with these and other professional ideals, we’ll be bringing you the idea guy behind the Melbourne Mandate in the New Year.

Watch this space for details of our February professional development event with Daniel Tisch, APR, FCPRS, Chair of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management. You can also read Daniel’s reflections on the release of the mandate.

Is the Melbourne Mandate relevant to your practice? 

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Dumb ways to die viral video
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Melbourne Metro Trains launched a video titled “Dumb ways to die” that is gaining a lot of attention for its PR approach in promoting safety.

What do you think? The video has almost 26 million views on YouTube.

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CPRS Toronto immediate opening for board position – ACE Chair
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One of the CPRS Toronto Board positions, the ACE Chair, is currently vacant and the Board is looking for a candidate to immediately fill the position.

ACE (Achievement in Communication Excellence) is a celebration of the highest calibre of communication programs in the Toronto area.  The awards are decided based upon submissions from the organizations that produced the original work following a stringent judging process and are distributed at a gala event held around the end of April every year.  The Chair of the ACE committee oversees and guides the team of dedicated individuals who conduct the submission and judging processes, as well as the preparation and execution of the gala.

CPRS Toronto members interested should provide their resume to Lois Marsh at marshl@marsh-executive.com

Participating on the board enables you to enhance your corporate governance skills, contribute to our profession in a meaningful way, and interact with and learn from your industry peers.

All members are invited to apply. Having an APR, more than five years of communications experience or being an active volunteer are assets.

Please reply by November 30th.

ACE Summary

The ACE chair position requires a firm commitment until May and involves the following key tasks:

  • Coordinating a team of volunteers, coordinating roles and overseeing event progress including everything from judging to logistics
  • Attending regular board meetings, facilitating necessary approvals and updating other board members of the progress of the event
  • Managing the ACE Awards budget and volunteer team meetings

The time estimates provided below are estimates and may increase if issues arise. While there are lots of team meetings, the new chair should be aware that this role involves a lot of email correspondence, most of which takes place throughout the work day. Because of this, being accessible throughout the day is an asset.

September (~5 hours for the month)

  • Book venue
  • Begin recruiting volunteers

October (10 hours for the month)

  • Finalize team and begin monthly meetings
  • Finalize critical path with dates from committee
  • Start working on contracts for the program, trophies and AV requirements
  • Find judges to act as judging chairs
  • Marketing plan completed and approved by ACE chair
  • Approved updates made to entries package

November (10 hours for the month)

  • Begin recruiting for MC
  • Marketing for entries/event begins, continues until April
  • Theme selection
  • Ensure all sponsor requirements are in hand – ongoing management of sponsor’s needs

December (10 hours for the month)

  • Judging panel finalized (with 50 per cent APR)
  • Staging plan from AV company, theme for PowerPoint presentation

January (5-10 hours per week)

  • Entries deadline – deal with escalations from entries and judging team
  • First draft of program complete
  • PD event on how to write a good submission (if doing again this year)
  • Menus finalized for venue

February (5-10 hours per week)

  • Executive summary judging and related issues
  • Begin working on script and PowerPoint presentation
  • Event survey approvals

March (~10 hours per week)

  • Increase meeting frequency to every other week
  • Full submission and best of show judging takes place, must be on site for both events to deal with related issues
  • Media materials approved by board
  • Florist finalized
  • Media list complete
  • Trophies ordered
  • Finalize music selection

 April (~10 hours per week)

  • Program approved by board members
  • Script approved
  • Event takes place – day of issues management
  • Lots of last minute emails!May (~5 hours for the month)
  • Follow up media requests and photos
  • Regroup with team to determine what worked, what didn’t
  •  Reconcile budget and create wrap report for AGM
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President’s Message: Establish sound strategy
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The trick to the twelfth hole is to avoid the water on the left, avoid the out-of-bounds roadway on the right, land your tee shot on the right because the fairway slopes left big-time, and try not to lose your ball to the right of the green on your approach or you’ll be fighting chickens and roosters to get it back.

So much to keep in mind…how does one learn the skills to properly manage their way through a golf hole with so much to think about?  One needs to master course management.

The twelfth hole needs to be approached strategically…you have to have a sound strategy before you tee off, and then execute that strategy as you start to play the hole.

A Public Relations campaign can be like the 12th hole.  There is so much to keep in mind at one time, and one has to consider so many elements and keep so many things in balance all at one time.

A strategic approach to public relations helps practitioners manage public relations effectively from the start of a project to the end.

Where do we go to for help?  Golfers can take golf lessons, but where can we, in PR, go for help?

One of the most important tools of education we have at CPRS is the Accreditation program.  November is the last month to prepare your application for the 2013 Accreditation year.  If you’re a member of CPRS and have five years experience in the profession, you may be eligible to go for your APR designation in 2013.  Applications are due December 3rd.  I hope you will visit www.cprs.ca to get more information or contact our Co-chair of Accreditation, Kathleen Garrett at kathleen.m.garrett@gmail.com.

I found the Accreditation program to be a great learning experience in approaching PR from a strategic point of view.  It drove home, for me, the difference between tactics and execution (very necessary work) and planning strategy (the well-researched plan to determine what tactics and execution are needed).

As I look back, I see how fortunate I was to be a member of CPRS Toronto while I was obtaining my APR because I was able to participate in a Study Group.  With our substantial member base, Toronto normally has a handful of people looking to get their Accreditation in any given year, so, as candidates, we are not normally going through the APR process on our own.  Those numbers provide us the opportunity to form Study Groups with candidates like us.  The Study Group meant I could share the workload with my colleagues, get clarification, talk about the exam material and learn about experiences I would not have otherwise been exposed to.

I encourage you to complete the application process if getting your APR designation is something you’ve been considering.  I wrestled with whether the year I finally committed to Accreditation (Class of 2006) was right from a timing point of view with the pressures of my job at the time.  It was a busy year, and I considered putting it off again.  Now, as I look back, I realize subsequent years were even busier, so glad I did it when I did.

Just like golf where one can continue with their current game and be overwhelmed by that tricky 12th hole, or take lessons in course management and learn to master it, Accreditation is there for us to pursue, and we just need the determination to say Yes…this is my year!

There’s still time to get in on the 2013 program if you are interested.  Become an APR and take your career to a new level.

 

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