NEW PERSPECTIVES

Written by: Eva Sofia Flores, Graduate student of Public Relations at Humber College

Coming from an arts background 

My name is Eva, and I’m an artist. At least that’s who I’ve been for most of my life. I started acting when I was 8; my parents put me in drama classes in an attempt to channel my very extroverted personality through a productive outlet. My passion for theatre blossomed and led me to Etobicoke School of the Arts for drama. Once I graduated, I went on to pursue a degree in acting. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Windsor in 2018. 

Then the pandemic hit, and theatres shut down. Acting was forced to take a back seat in my plans for the future. I decided to go back to school. I applied to and am currently attending Humber College’s Public Relations Graduate Certificate program. 

Deciding to change my direction

Going from fine arts to communications. It seems like kind of a weird switch doesn’t it? In reality, the shift felt natural. During my undergrad, I had the opportunity to work as an assistant to the head of publicity for the University Players theatre company. I remember my boss had asked for my opinion on what aspects of an upcoming play would best attract an audience my age. I had so much fun coming up with an answer for her. I am fascinated by how we as individuals relate to brands, to people, and even to concepts and ideas. 

This interaction stayed in my head for the next few years. When the time came to think about what else I could see myself doing, I immediately thought about public relations. I knew that this fascination had the potential to grow into something more, so I switched lanes. 

The (not-so) daunting new world

Starting this program was nerve-wracking. My lack of experience in comparison to some of my classmates was daunting. I thought I’d end up lost in a sea of terms and concepts that were foreign to me. But the opposite was true. I felt at home immediately. Not because I already knew everything, but because it felt familiar. 

In PR you have goals and objectives. You achieve them using specific strategies and tactics. The exact same goes for acting. An actor must have a “super objective”. This is a broad overall objective for a character that works throughout the play.  Every scene has its own “objective”. This is best described as what you want to get from the other person in the scene. To achieve these objectives, an actor must use “actions” which are the strategy in which they attempt to get what they need. By the end of a run, every page, scene and line of an actor’s script will be absolutely cluttered with objectives and strategies written into the margins. 

In PR, the objectives and tactics are practiced directly onto the audience. In theatre, objectives and tactics make things active and provide the actor with purpose in the scene. These are applied to the other scene members in order to create something engaging and entertaining. The ultimate goal in both of these situations is to have an effect on the audience. 

I grew up with this practice. It was second nature to me. Imagine how ecstatic and relieved I was when these same words came up as foundational concepts for public relations. 

An art in itself

Public relations deals with people and relationships. It’s an interaction much like a scene in a play. You listen, receive information and respond. Then you do it all over again. Of course, it has its guidelines and rules. But human intuition and feelings are just as important in PR as they would be in any art form.  Public relations is an art.  And I am so proud to still call myself an artist. 

Written by: Abbey Cole, Media Studies Student at the University of Guelph-Humber 

The Pitch: an innovative way to bring together students in all specialties – journalism, digital communications, visual communication and public relations – to collaborate on a multifaceted, multimedia project. 

On Tuesday, March 23, eight teams of University of Guelph-Humber students presented detailed COVID-response plans to help Coca-Cola Bottling Canada, Sobeys, Sunwing and CAMH (The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) to overcome real business challenges they are currently facing. 

The university’s capstone projects, collectively called EMERGE, have won more than 300 international awards since they launched in 2011. Pre-pandemic, it involved publications, special events with guest speakers and multiple attendees, a visual showcase and a full range of web, marketing and graphic design support. 

COVID-19 impeded in-person events, causing the students and faculty to think of something revolutionary. The university hosted this live pitch competition as the fourth-year Media Studies capstone project. Students developed public relations campaigns, organized budgets and presented ideas to real industry professionals. Fourth-year Public Relations students created their own team-agency names and applied the knowledge they have accumulated over four years to flex their strategic and creative muscles for one of four clients. For most of these students, The Pitch was the final assignment of their undergraduate university careers. 

The first winner of this new event was a team called Element PR. “We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to pitch to Sobeys and showcase what we learned over the last four years. My team and I are absolutely thrilled that we won and we feel like all our hard work throughout the semester finally paid off,” Team lead Monica Barbaro says, “We extend our congrats to the other team, The Source PR who also pitched an amazing comms plan for Voilà by Sobeys.” 

These students paved the way for a fresh illustration of success for fourth-year PR students. Beyond COVID-19, the hope is that this event will grow into an annual competition. The Pitch tests each student’s ability to collaborate, demonstrate how well they understood their client and applied research, analysis, critical thinking, persuasive writing and presentation skills to solve real business problems. 

The list of winners and their team logos:

To read more about The Pitch, click here. 

About Emerge 

Emerge, the capstone project for fourth-year Media Studies students at the University of Guelph-Humber, brings together students in all specialties – journalism, digital communications, visual communication and public relations – to collaborate on a multifaceted, multimedia project.

It includes publications, special events, a visual showcase and a full range of web, marketing and graphic design support. The Emerge projects have won more than 300 international awards since they launched in 2011.

Written by: Vaibhav Joshi, Secretary Co-Chair, CPRS Toronto

The last year has been unusual, to say the least, but 2021 is shaping up to be a year when we finally step out of the shadow of this pandemic. Although the way we work, live, and communicate has been the same over the past 12 months, there is renewed optimism. Vaccines will bring back the way we lived (hopefully soon), but not everything will be the same.

We learned lessons from a year at home, and 2020 made us look at existential questions, personally and professionally. This past year also raised several issues and exposed the cracks in our system. Gaps that seemed minor and were overlooked before were now glaring at us and needed mending. A need to pivot to a robust framework requires looking closer at how organizations operate and a need for change. One that is supportive, inclusive and accepting of all backgrounds.

Of course, 2020 also exposed the need for financial stability for many organizations. It may or may not stand true for all organizations, but it did for us here at CPRS Toronto. We needed reform, a renewed mission, a supportive and inclusive culture and hence the need for a new strategic direction for this chapter of our CPRS society.

Our strategic vision
It is not always easy to agree when you are renewing your mission. As is human nature, there are several opinions and considerations. The process of charting one strategic vision for the CPRS Toronto chapter was collaborative and largely unanimous. After the deep thought by board members and a working committee, it was agreed that there are three main pillars our Toronto chapter needs to focus on in the next three years.

Not in the order of importance, but in equal standing, the three pillars to propel our CPRS chapter forward are:

1. Identity: Who we are, what we do?
   It is increasingly clear in today’s world that we need to create a sense of community and support our community with resources and networking when we are still socially distant. The communications community has evolved beyond just Public Relations and needs to be reflected in our mission, incorporating the diverse communications functions. We are uniquely placed as an industry body to support our members with professional development and elevate our profession as a whole and act as a single platform to encourage all communications professionals.
2. Membership: Increase and diversify
   What was and is also evident for us in the Toronto chapter of the society is the increasing need to look like our diverse population in Canada. We relooked at the way we support diversity and resolved to create opportunities for inclusion. Diversity is our strength, and we need to embrace it. We also decided to focus on growing our association by providing a sense of belonging and finding solutions to the membership’s cost for students, young professionals, the BIPOC population and new Canadians.
3. Finance: Stability, stability, stability
   Finance is important, increasingly so in the current environment. All organizations had to pivot or make adjustments to ensure there is financial stability during the pandemic. It is even more important for a not-for-profit organization like ours. We need to be creative to build up a revenue stream to support our chapter, create and distribute content that matches the needs of the industry, and share best practices. Increasing the revenue stream alone is not going to do it. We also looked at our spending to cut costs wherever possible. Increasing sponsorship opportunities will also help our goal of reaching stability. All these actions, along with a legacy fund and ROI lense, are sure to put us on a path to financial stability and prosperity.

All the above pillars will help us move in the right direction to provide a platform for our fellow colleagues across the communications industry. To support, inform and exchange ideas, best practices and learnings, to propel our industry into the future. This new strategy is a start, a living document if you will. We are not done, rather just getting started to achieve everything that we have stated above. Bring on 2021! We are ready to step out of the shadow of 2020 and the past with a renewed mission.

Written by: Mahlet Sintayehu, Public Relations Student

Are press releases still valuable? Are we writing them effectively? These were some of the questions addressed during the CISION virtual workshop held on March 11^th. For many PR professionals a press release and wire distribution are a staple tactic, but with new technologies and evolving trends, the importance of SEO key words, multimedia and compact information is key.

The event was hosted and moderated by Michelle Dias, CPRS Toronto’s Vice President. Guest speakers included CISION Canada experts Jeff Vanderby, Director of Global Product Marketing, Michelle Oke, Director of Strategic Accounts, and Duane Bayley, Senior Director of Client Content Services. Each speaker offered their expertise on how to master the art of writing and the distribution of an effective press release. The event went in depth on topics like getting the journalists’ attention, effectively scheduling distribution, using SEO to improve placement, and how/when to use multimedia in content.

The conversation kicked off with Jeff debunking the myth that journalists no longer need or enjoy receiving press releases, using statistics from the CISION 2020 State Of The Media Report. CISION’s annual survey  asks journalists about the challenges they face within their industry for that given year.

“The press release isn’t dead; you’re just doing it wrong.” – Jeff Vanderby, Director of Global Product Marketing, CISION

Jeff summarized these findings, including a lack of staff and resourcing, competition between journalists and influencers on social networks, and the ongoing conversation of fake news. He     converted these issues into real nuggets of advice for the workshop attendees.

Helpful tips to take into consideration before the writing and pitching process:

• Conduct research on the journalist you’re reaching out to beforehand, ensuring your information is relevant to their target audience (this prevents pitching a story on a topic the journalist doesn’t personally write about)
• Build a relationship with the journalist to understand how they plan their stories, so you know what they want and can write in a way that compliments their writing style
• Using clear and concise quotes help put a face to the story and give the journalist a better understanding of what the potential story may look like
• Multimedia (images, infographics, videos, audio clips, PDFs, etc.) elements are necessary (if multimedia is not included, journalists will be forced to find them on their own, which is a hassle)

Helpful tips to consider when formatting your press release:

• Avoid getting lost in the swarm of pitches sent to journalists by sending your press release a minimum of 1 hour beforehand
• Aim for a minimum of 400 words. This best serves search engines and eliminates the possibility of sending content that isn’t necessary
• Headlines should be engaging, include action verbs to further garner interest, and should NOT be used more than once
• Be sure to be available for contact on the day of press the release, in case the journalist needs to reach out
• Using the F-Shape format helps make writing more digestible for the reader
• Include 1-3 relevant hyperlinks

“One of the things Google hates is duplicative content. Using the same catchy headline over and over again- although you may like it, Google doesn’t.”  – Duane Bayley, Senior Director of Client Content Services, CISION

Together, both Duane and Jeff finished off the conversation diving into SEO best practices focused on the discoverability of a press release, tying in the question “what is considered good content?” Using high-quality multimedia  helps tell your story more effectively and improves your SEO, which results in higher levels of engagement with your targeted audience.

They reiterated the importance of leveraging wire-worthy content, content not typically thought of in PR but widely used in marketing, in press releases to generate the same amount of earned media coverage those in marketing typically garner. Branching out from traditional press release topics is an excellent  way to intrigue journalists and give them content they actually want to write about it. It positions your brand as a thought leader and helps build credibility and trust between you and the customers.

Possible wire-worthy content to include in a press release:

• Statistics of a given industry
• Trends related to your given industry
• Corporate Social Responsibility content

Excellent  two-way dialogue between guest speakers and workshop attendees during the workshop’s duration created a collaborative learning environment. It is essential that attendees leave with this as a takeaway: it is now more important than ever for brands to deliver the kinds of timely and relevant information that journalists are looking for while leveraging earned media channels to cut through the noise with content solidifies trust in their brands.

CPRS Toronto plans to continue hosting professional development events, so stay tuned for those.

To stay up to date on the latest news, blog articles and upcoming events, subscribe to CPRS Toronto’s newsletter.

For more information on effective press releases, check out these CISION resources below:

• State of the Press Release 2020 Takeaways
• The Ultimate Toolkit For Getting Your Press Releases Noticed
• 5 Most Impressive Press Releases From January

Written by: Matt Yuyitung, Outreach Manager, The Pigeon, CPRS Toronto Member

Daisy Uy has a slightly unusual daily routine for a public relations student.

The Centennial College student pours herself a cup of coffee at 9:30 p.m. local time, attends online lectures, meets with classmates to work on assignments and she might schedule a coffee chat for 4:00 a.m. before she wraps up her day.

As a postgraduate student currently based in the Philippines, adjusting to a 13-hour time difference is one of many challenges Uy has taken on as she pursues a PR education in an online environment.

Uy isn’t the only Centennial PR student facing time zone challenges either. Others have logged in from Cameroon, Jamaica and Sri Lanka.

Uy spent several years in sales and marketing before “stumbling” into more communications-oriented work. As her interest in PR grew, she chose to enroll in the corporate communications and public relations program at Centennial.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to transition to an online environment, Uy says she arrived at a “crossroads,” debating the merits of deferring her acceptance or pressing forward with online learning.

“I could have waited,” she says. “It would have been a fair option, but nobody knew when ‘normal’ would have come again and nobody still knows when normal will come again.”

Ultimately, she chose to accept her offer, and began the program in September 2020.

Donna Lindell, a professor and the program coordinator for Centennial College’s post-grad PR program, says perhaps the biggest key so far in providing a quality online education has been “a healthy attitude.”

“I think that makes a big difference in the student experience,” she says.

For the Centennial faculty, this meant working hard to embrace the change, deliver quality content and commit to student success.

On top of her own healthy attitude, Lindell has been very impressed by the attitudes of the students.

“They have shown up prepared to learn,” she says. “They have committed to this experience.”

For example, Uy works to catch each lecture live, despite them being in the middle of the night.

“Of course there are replays that you can watch but you realize it’s a lot more engaging to just be there, even if it involves being up being up at 3 a.m. like me,” she says with a laugh.

With the help of apps like Slack, Lindell has also worked to ensure that students had easy access to faculty and to each other. The app was instrumental in helping the class connect and form a community, she says.

“What I’m hearing from students is they actually feel they have greater access to faculty than they would perhaps if we were in person,” she adds. “It’s pretty easy to get it.”

Lindell has enjoyed some of the lighter moments as well, from asking students to take photos outside during class breaks to a Christmas themed scavenger hunt to feeling “emotional” during a chance encounter with a student while out shopping.

“You get those little moments,” she says. “I do feel I’m still connecting with the students.”

Uy has had her share of fun moments as well, like the time her microphone picked up roosters crowing while on Zoom.

Despite the challenges, Uy has made the most of her Centennial experience. She was pleased with the virtual interactive baking event she organized with her team back in the fall and believes these online experiences will serve her well after completing the program.

“It has really prepared me for working in an uncertain situation when we graduate,” she says. “It has really prepared me for adjusting to different platforms and adjusting to having to work with people from all over the world in different time zones without too much drama.”

As for her decision to choose online learning instead of waiting for in-class sessions to return, Uy has no regrets.

“I wasn’t willing to wait that long,” she says. “I figured it would be a good experience and I’m happy to say that my prediction came true.”

Written by: Jenny Cruxton, Director of Measurement and Analysis, Fifth Story /MRP & Director of Membership CPRS Toronto

How long have you been a CPRS member?

I have been a CPRS member since 2006. 

Why did you decide to become a CPRS Member?

Working with and for PR professionals for my whole career led me to want to learn and network with the people I engage with daily and have become friends with. I have been lucky enough to have employers that cover off the fees as part of my various positions.

Over the years as a member, what have you gotten from your membership?

My membership experience has changed over the years, from watching/learning from the audience to being a board member for the first time this year. Two big stand outs for me are getting comfortable with presenting to larger groups via the National Conference and the sense of community the CPRS has given me. I love the thought leadership on many fronts the CPRS has offered up over the years, that have been so meaningful and useful to my career. Also, the networking opportunities have been so valuable for my career.  

What are the benefits of Membership?

Putting my Director of Membership hat on now, there are so many benefits on being a member! 

• Access to the National resource library, as someone who is always researching resources in the industry, having access to the library’s awards winning entrants, to accreditation work samples and case studies is so valuable to me. Access to the CPRS membership directory.
• Member insurance (LMS PRolink) pricing and several other member discounts like members can get a discount on their MRP subscription. Membership rate on PRSA quarterly publication and monthly newspaper.
• Career File free for PR pros looking for a job and preferred pricing for members to post job opportunities.
• Access to the Global Alliance for PR resources.
• Amazing volunteer opportunities and a fantastic mentorship and mentee program.
• Leadership opportunities: volunteering on local boards, task forces and councils
• Professional Development through local and national workshops, seminars and networking opportunities as access to the PRSA Counselors Academy

There are so many ways to learn and network being a CPRS member, even during a pandemic with meetings and seminars being held virtually.

Membership month offers:

• If you join in March as a new member the $50 initiation fee will be waived.
• Lapsed members also the $50 reinstatement fee will be waived.
• Anyone who renews/joins in March is entered into a draw for a year’s free membership!
• Renewing members: all members who renew in March will be entered into a draw to win a $50 voucher each week.

Written by: Sarah Heiman, Rebecca Moe, Daisy Johanna Uy and Charmaine Blair, CCPR postgraduate students, Centennial College

The movement for diversity in our industry is growing, and we sat down with students, professionals and educators to discuss its impact.

We had a conversation about representation of women in leadership roles, emerging acceptance in our industry and what we can do to make the industry more inclusive with:

• Judy Lewis (chair of CCPRF and co-founder and partner of Strategic Objectives),
• Michelle Nguyen (co-founder, lead writer and social strategist of Super Duper Studios),
• Ananya Mani (senior internal communications specialist of Ingram Micro),
• Gabriel Bedard (human rights and equity advisor and GCE instructor and facilitator at Centennial College),
• Jerome Kitenge (a current student of the Centennial College Bachelor of Public Relations program).

On culture

Judy emphasizes that we must create welcoming and accepting cultures for women navigating the integration of career and life. Women need to feel confident when striving for executive roles, but also supported if they have to take on the role as primary caregiver for their families. 

Michelle says we need to change the narrative of stereotypes that women are “multi-taskers” and can “do it all.” When everyone shares their wins and losses with transparency and honesty, this curates authenticity and can inspire people to not worry about perfection. We’re all human, after all. Choosing to share these challenges and successes can foster supportive workplace cultures. 

On commitments

“Our words and actions matter,” Judy said, in respect to building cultures that cherish diversity. For example, Strategic Objectives committed to fostering a culture of DE&I inside and outside of their organization. They have cut ties with suppliers and organizations that don’t align with this commitment, and have begun reaching out to partner with new suppliers that believe in these values. We can pave the way in our spheres of influence; as Ananya says, “we are all influencers.”

On awareness and education

Gabriel proposes we build awareness of ingrained racial biases that can cause microaggressions people entering the workforce may face. We can acknowledge them, begin to dismantle them and create more accepting workplace cultures. Students can help, as they leave schools with concrete knowledge of and passion for DE&I. Jerome perfectly summarizes many students’ thoughts by stating, “If the industry is able to accept [students like myself] and we’re able to change it to a new direction, I would say … the future looks bright.”

On mentorship

Ananya brings great advice for professionals. “Pay it forward! We bring unique skills so find those opportunities to mentor someone, but also ask for mentorship.” Building these relationships can broaden our perspectives. Mentors don’t always have to be someone who is more experienced than their mentees. Having relationships with those who hold unique perspectives help inform journeys in DE&I. Since students are receiving training in these areas, they have knowledge established professionals can benefit from.

Michelle also brought up the role of managers and employers. They can work to make room for diverse juniors in their positions, bringing new thoughts and perspectives to the table.

On sharing and listening

By having open conversations between a diverse group, we learned a lot! As communicators, we can expand our knowledge and perspectives by sharing and listening to each other’s stories. Jerome emphasizes that we are all unique and that everyone should have the ability to share their authentic stories. “We all have something to say,” he says. It’s about learning how to find confidence, project our voices and show our passion for the industry. 

Thanks again to Judy Lewis, Michelle Nguyen, Ananya Mani, Jerome Kitenge and Gabriel Bedard for sharing their perspectives and knowledge with us. It is encouraging to know so many advocates for DE&I are pushing the change in the communications industry and beyond. You can listen to the full episode by clicking here.

The Future of PR Looks Like Us campaign

This blog is part of a series called The Future of PR Looks Like Us, a meaningful campaign led by a team of Centennial College public relations and corporate communications postgraduate students in partnership with the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms (CCPRF). Our goal is to highlight the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the public relations (PR) industry. 

This blog accompanies a podcast series exploring the diverse voices that have shaped the industry and featuring work done by PR students from Centennial College. Learn about diverse figures of PR’s past that have shaped the industry for BIPOC professionals today. Listen in to uncover misconceptions and gain a sense of the opportunities the industry holds. The series closes by emphasizing the bright future PR professionals and students see for the growing diversity within the industry.

Written by: Kaila Currie-Bartlett, Account Executive, Craft Public Relations & Digital Communications Coordinator, CPRS Toronto

For our second In Conversation With, we chatted with Mark LaVigne, MA, APR, FCPRS, an industry veteran with 30 years’ experience as a media relations specialist. For the past 23 years, he has operated his own media relations and media training firm, Hunter LaVigne Communications Inc. In addition to this, LaVigne has 16 years of part-time college and university teaching experience, most recently with Centennial and Humber Colleges’ Degree PR programs. Prior to his very successful career in PR, LaVigne worked as a radio journalist for five years in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto with CKO, CJEZ, BN, and CBC Radio.

Mark is an award winning, accredited member (APR) of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), and a member of the CPRS College of Fellows (FCPRS). He wrote the media relations chapter in “Fundamentals of Public Relations and Marketing Communications”, University of Alberta Press (2015) and is co-author of the new edition of “In the News (third edition)”, University of Alberta Press (2019) and Author of “Proactive Media Relations in Canada” (third edition), Centennial College Press (2019).

How did 2020 change your role as a PR practitioner?

• Pivoted to a fully-online reality for my teaching and practice
• Shifted most of my focus to college teaching and publishing
• I have more time due to the lack of commute (2.5 hours more time per day)

How important is communications and/or internal communications during a global pandemic?

• External as the geopolitical and geo corporate frenzy erupts
• Internal to engage a largely home-office workforce

What are the biggest challenges you think PR practitioners will face in 2021?

• Reaching target audiences effectively

Where do you see the PR industry heading in the future?

• The PESO blend will continue as clients try to reach target audiences

What trends do you foresee emerging throughout 2021?

• Home-officing will continue
• Closed-captioning will continue
• Migration from major downtown areas will continue, including head office dispersement
• The “creative boom” will continue across all of the arts, finding audiences online
• There will be a showdown between Canadian democracies and dictators of all sizes, as well as those multinational corporations that consider themselves as powerful as the democracies in which they exist
• Mental health will become a focus for many employers
• However, once global herd immunity becomes a reality near the end of the year, the new roaring twenties will begin!

What is your biggest piece of advice for PR practitioners moving forward?

• Continue to pivot and do not worry about leaving divots

CPRS Toronto’s ‘In Conversation With’ blog series

Once a month, CPRS Toronto’s communications and marketing subcommittee will post quick conversations with GTA public relations practitioners and industry thought leaders. During these conversations we look to explore the impact COVID-19 has had on communication practitioners, as well as provide insights into the future of public relations moving forward.

Written by: Carolina Salinas, public relations and corporate communications graduate, Professional Development Inclusion & Equity Co-Chair, CPRS Toronto & Anjali Rego, Professional Development Subcommittee member

Diversity and inclusion have been an ongoing topic of discussion, where awareness has grown following the Black Lives Matter movement that originated in the U.S. However, there is still much work to do to combat racism, discrimination, and inequity within the Canadian public relations and communications industry.

Although systemic racism in the industry and society is not a new topic, talking about the elephant in the room within the public relations industry is a big step toward generating inclusion and diversity within workplaces. This was the topic tackled by CPRS Toronto’s most recent professional development event, held on Feb. 25.

The event was hosted and moderated by Gail Strachan, CPRS Toronto’s Director of Professional Development and Chair of Inclusion and Equity. Guest speakers included  Rohini Mukherji, Vice President Integrated Communications, APEX Public Relations and Rob Ireland, Senior Vice President Hill + Knowlton Strategies (H+K). Each speaker and moderator gave insightful information on inclusion, diversity and equity in Canadian public relations firms and how PR professionals can generate a change among the society so that our employers include this topic in their core values.

Rohini and Rob began the conversation by highlighting that neither of them attended public relations schools. Despite not having traditional educational backgrounds, someone took a chance on them because of their transferable skills, which gave them a foot in the door into the world of PR. This view was confirmed by Gail’s experience as well, now in a completely different industry, Management Consulting, where she is able to leverage her legal background and communication skills in technology transformation projects.

Although an immigrant to Canada, Rohini shared her story as being atypical because she came to Canada as a student at the age of 17, when there weren’t many people of colour working in PR. With university education being an equalizer, she did not face the same barriers as other BIPoC individuals. Being aware of the barriers to entry, Rohini supports those around her who are entering the field.

“Breaking the glass ceiling is great, but we have to send the elevator back down,” she stated.

Despite being a White man, Rob had the opportunity to support the Black North Initiative, its board and committees when H+K Strategies was named the pro bono PR agency of record. To support the Initiative’s commitment to combating anti-black racism in society and Corporate Canada, Rob wore a Black North Initiative t-shirt to the event. He encouraged participants to also support this change of perspective within the PR industry. 

“We need to listen and be able to relate to the communities we serve, and the face of our companies needs to reflect this. As a leader in a PR firm, we need to hire the right people with different lived experiences and thinking,” said Ireland.

Rob mentioned that PR agencies typically hire from PR schools, where students tend to be predominately White. Both Rob and Rohini agreed that Canadian public relations firms must commit to making leadership ranks more diverse, removing barriers to recruitment, retention, and advancement to improve the representation of BIPoC at all levels.

Gail mentioned that it is important to implement unconscious bias training, create safe spaces for employees from underrepresented groups, advocate for change with clients, and foster diverse representation in the content we draft on behalf of employees in our organization and our customers. She also mentioned the importance of making equity and anti-racism a focus topic within public relations firms and organizations. 

When organizations hire someone who is a culture “fit”, Rohini proposed eliminating that requirement so that organizations are more welcoming of an individual.

“It is up to the organization welcoming them, not the individual being interviewed. That is on us,” said Rohini.

The interview process is the start of a relationship. As Rob stated, a relationship should start with dignity.

“We as employers need to create this open environment so people will feel safer being themselves,” said Rob. Gail added, “BIPoC individuals take measures to make White people feel comfortable during interviews. What are White interviewers doing to make candidates feel more comfortable?”

Before concluding, Rob encouraged the audience and candidates to take some action steps by asking future employers bold questions about how the organization supports inclusion and diversity. Run to the organizations that embrace diversity and this will force the other ones to do it,” said Rob.

After the chat, audience members asked questions, which led to interesting discussions about personal growth, new understanding and concerted effort to address a great employee experience in the PR industry. It was a golden opportunity where virtual attendees raised their voices and spoke candidly about their experiences.

The conversation wrapped up for the night, but the discussion continues.

CPRS Toronto plans to continue hosting professional development events, so stay tuned for those.

Written by: Sarah Heiman, Rebecca Moe, Daisy Johanna Uy and Charmaine Blair, CCPR postgraduate students, Centennial College

Today’s powerful zeitgeist is around social responsibility and collective action. With the public’s demand of representation in the workplace and the work that we do, communicators are driven to contribute to the work of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in our industry.

We PR students talked to Fatyma Khan, Meghann Cox, Jeannette Holder and Mubashira Farooqi, four Toronto-based communicators from different sectors, about this critical issue. Here are just a few of the things we learned from them:

1. Put yourself out there.

Meet people outside your normal circle. Mubashira shared this realization: “If I don’t use my voice, how can I ask anyone else to?” How can we expect people to engage when we don’t engage ourselves? Putting ourselves out there encourages others to do so too.

2. If you see something, say something.

As communicators, we have our ears to the ground so we can do effective work. That means we can prompt colleagues and people in power when acceptance is missing. Fatyma says we can “nudge executives and remind them that, ‘Hey, there’s a little imbalance here. Do you notice that imbalance? Here are the things that you can do…’”

Often, something continues in the industry because it’s familiar and it’s the way it’s always been done. This doesn’t mean it needs to repeat though, and we can help the learning process of diversity along with these simple nudges.

3. Small actions can create ripples of influence. 

Some actions may seem small; some initiatives may not feel noteworthy. Reframing those actions as the start of meaningful progress is a reminder that every step is a contribution. Be it a scholarship or a wider campaign, taking those tiny steps often snowball into meaningful work that can influence the industry.

4. Recognize that no two people have had the same life experiences.

Fatyma reminds us that, “representation helps us identify that no one person has lived the same life or had the same life experiences, and there’s something to learn from each other.” When we take in different perspectives and stories and put ourselves out there in turn, we learn to be kinder with each other. That makes us more humane, and our work more interesting as well.

This realization also leads to significant interactions in the workplace, just like when Jeannette shared about PwC employees sharing their lived experiences.

5. Emotional intelligence is important especially in leadership roles.

We are increasingly seeing the role of emotion in effective leadership, particularly in uncertain times. Empathy, respect and concern for people go a long way towards creating connection with the people we work with and our audiences as well.

Today’s episode and our reflections show the beginnings of more acceptance in the PR industry, even as there’s space for work to be done. As forward-thinking communicators, we can be part of that change, helping shape the industry in the work that we do. You can listen to the full episode by clicking here.

The Future of PR Looks Like Us campaign

The Future of PR Looks Like Us is led by a team of Centennial College PR and corporate communications postgraduate students in partnership with the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms (CCPRF). We intend to highlight the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the PR industry. 

This blog accompanies a podcast series exploring diverse voices that influenced the industry and featuring work done by PR students from Centennial College. Learn about diverse figures of PR’s past who have shaped the industry for today’s BIPOC professionals. Listen in to uncover misconceptions and learn about the opportunities the industry holds. The series closes by highlighting the bright future PR professionals and students see as diversity grows within the industry.