APR Accreditation Study Tips!

Studying for your APR credentials? FPRA Accreditation Chair, Mary Briggs, offers some insights to help you prepare.

• Create flashcards from the study materials (this helps with the material that is pure memorization).
• Attend the chapter study sessions. You’ll learn from other members of the group and it will help keep you on track.
• The day before the exam, do a last minute cram, then get to bed early and get a good night’s sleep.
• Create your own case studies. Look at issues being covered in the local media and create a plan or part of a plan on how you’d handle it.

Call or email Mary to get more info or visit http://www.fpra.org/Professional_Development/APR.aspx for more information on the APR process .

Member Spotlight: Wendy Payton-Enriquez

Wendy Payton-Enriquez applies an original mind and her instincts to help clients establish, articulate and achieve their integrated marketing communications goals. She uses her seventeen years of experience to guide marketing planning, brand strategy development and account service activities at pearl brand communications (discoverpearl.com).

Wendy started her career in 1993 in the public relations department at The Florida Aquarium, a million-visitor tourist attraction in Tampa. Since moving to agency work in 1997, she has directed a broad range of accounts with annual budgets up to $15 million. After a six-year stint at Fort Myers-based Tweed Advertising, she and creative partner Scott Qurollo launched pearl in 2008.
She currently serves as president of the American Advertising Federation-Southwest Florida and is a member of Florida Public Relations Association. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing from Cleary University of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her work has earned numerous national advertising and marketing awards.

Crisis Management: What GM did in SM

Chris Barger of General Motors gives 5 important lessons to consider when handling crisis management through social media.

By: Samantha Scott

Lesson #1 – You can’t over Communicate

• For general engagement and “normal” business, it’s better to strategize and choose right channels for your goal.
• In a crisis, answering as many questions as possible and letting people know you’re listening is vital – both because those affected expect it, and because it introduces your perspective into the conversation – so a broad, all-platforms approach is most effective.

GM reached out to influencers by sending out the complete social media/communications plan to the likes of Chris Brogan, etc. telling them it was coming out the next day and telling them to watch. ALL of them wrote about it because it was a great case study, happening live.

 Lesson #2 – Let others tell your story

• Others will be interested in how you handle your crisis from a social media perspective. So tell them, and let them tell others.
• We didn’t contact anyone in hopes that they would turn into an advocate. We just wanted them to tell the story – and knew that the story would drive people to us.
• Perceived loss of control is terrifying, but especially during a crisis. Do it anyway. You never really had control anyway.

 Lesson #3 – Measure, and report

• Keep track of all the positive comments, conversations, etc.
• Share them with your boss/client.

 Lesson #4 – Follow Up Matters

• Community will expect continued engagement.
• Reputational repair begins with demonstrating change, and the sense that you value the relationships forged during the crisis.
• Absent significant follow up, community could see your reputational efforts as PR/marketing.

 Lesson #5 – Reputate

• Ray Jordan, Johnson & Johnson – “reputate” as verb rather than “reputation” as noun.
• “Get caught doing the right thing.”
• Google search your company name with “wish” in front. See what consumers wish you had or did.
• Apply principles of community. Actually listen & respond.

 There is someone in every digital community who has the “Oprah effect” for their group. Find them, talk to them, listen to them. If they get on your side, then everyone else in the influential circle will be too.

 When you’re recovering from a crisis and trying to rebuild a reputation you’re trying to win people over one at a time. It’s one at a time that matters.

Lessons Learned: Final Thoughts

• Open, candid engagement can win admiration, mitigate negativity.
• Need to be engaged prior to crisis to have earned credibility.
• Engagement during crisis only goes so far; you have to back it up after the crisis with sincerity and action.
• Social engagement CAN sell your product, even when your product is something as big as a car.
• Success is only half in executing your program; the other half is TELLING people about what you’re doing (social, traditional, bloggers, etc.) If you have a good campaign or are doing something good, but no one knows, what good is it?
• There is no “over.”
• It’s not a campaign. It’s a commitment. You are promising to be there.

*Editor's Note: Learn more about crisis management and thriving in the Auto industry from Ford Motor Company at Annual Conference in August. Scholarships available through the SWFL Chapter; applications due Friday, March 26, 2010.

FPRA Membership dues increase November 2010

As you may be aware, the FPRA State Board of Directors had appointed a committee to conduct a much needed review of our current association dues amount (which has held steady since 1997!). Given the research and the financial needs of our organization, a slight adjustment was approved by the board.

Effective for the 2011 membership year, which begins November 1, 2010, annual membership dues for the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) will increase from $150 to $170. This dues change will apply to the following membership categories:

• Individual Professional
• Institutional Professional
• Multi-Institutional Professional

(Additional members from the same company and location would be $160)

• Allied

The Associate Member category, which is designed to extend membership privileges to those individuals who are temporarily not actively engaged in a public relations position (including recent college graduates), will remain unchanged at $52.50 for the maximum one-year membership.

This decision was not made lightly, as many of you may have read in the communication earlier this month from the FPRA state office. The facts you need to know about the reasoning behind this include:

• FPRA has not increased its dues since 1997. During this time, the Association’s expenses have increased by 39 percent while revenues have only increased by 32 percent.
• Not until 2007/2008 did the Association experience a deficit, which is why the State Board has not recommended an increase until recently.
• This dues increase will allow the Association to reinstate the full 20 percent rebate to chapters. Chapter rebates were temporarily reduced to 10 percent in 2009/2010 to help balance the budget for the 2009/2010 year.
• The increase will allow the Association to continue to set aside funds in reserves as recommended by the Association’s accountant and financial management, which will protect the ongoing financial viability of our professional Association.

FPRA is continually seeking ways to reduce costs for our members and control operating expenses of the Association. Some of these measures include:

• Negotiating lower hotel rates ($125 room rate for this year’s Annual Conference in Naples) and other expenses for professional development events.
• Seeking local sponsors and community resources to reduce costs of hosting quarterly State Board meetings.
• Seeking sponsors to help support communication vehicles such as the Association’s Web site.
• Minimizing print and postage expenditures by using electronic means for communication when appropriate.
• Renegotiating telephone service fees.

Additionally, in November 2009, the FPRA State Board of Directors approved a new Association Policy titled “Membership Dues and Categories Review Policy.” This new policy requires an annual review of our membership classes and dues to ensure that membership categories reflect the needs of members and that membership dues are appropriate to meet the Association’s budgetary requirements.

Now, for those of you doing the math, Individual, Institutional and Allied memberships only cost $3.27 a week – a bargain price for the professional connections and career skill development that FPRA provides. About 80 percent of our membership dollars are spent supporting association-wide efforts, which govern our overall administration and connect us with fellow practitioners across the entire state.

The Southwest Florida Chapter is one of 15 from across the state (plus 11 student chapters), and each chapter contributes significant professional development opportunities in their local areas. Local chapters join together at the Association level to coordinate efforts and to create a statewide network with additional events and opportunities. The State office also conducts industry-wide research, sets goals, leads projects and performs other administrative, budgetary and organizational tasks that keep our organization running smoothly. As the association Web site states: The Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) is the oldest public relations organization in the United States. Members represent a variety of different organizations including private and public corporations, government entities, not-for-profits, counseling firms and independent practitioners. As a statewide Association, FPRA boasts nearly 1,100 professional and student members. As you can imagine, managing an organization of members who juggle volunteer roles and their day jobs can be very complicated and challenging.

We hope that you agree, this is a modest and necessary increase to ensure we can continue to offer the level of service, professional development and networking opportunities we have all come to expect from our professional organization.

What does it mean to be “connected”?

President’s Word, April 2010

By Kathleen Taylor, APR

Through flurries of life happenings, I’ve noticed how much of my work hinges on outside connections. It can be tough for independent types to admit it when they’re running their own show, but even if one person is pulling all the strings, someone or something at the other end is moving too. We all rely on these resources to come through both for ourselves and our clients or companies every day. Consider the many ways you are “connected,” and take note of the value FPRA provides its members with its enhanced networking opportunities and resources.

Know the inside scoop: Having access to the latest news provides helpful bits of information, some of which can give you insight into current similar or related situations you may be facing. For example, while stuck in parking-lot style traffic, I checked Facebook and learned the cause of the hold-up, reported by a friend. Being plugged into newsfeeds, Twitter streams and other sources connects you to all types of news. (FPRA-related example: the Annual Conference Facebook Fan page, our chapter Fan page, Twitter and blog stream are three continuous sources of the latest FPRA news.)

Access to helpful people: You know something I don’t know and likely, vice versa, and we can help each other that way. In today’s social society, we have access to potentially helpful people whom we may not even know yet. I posted to Twitter about my tax refund frustrations and received nearly instant help from a customer service member of Turbo Tax. When we can reach people who can answer questions, we overcome communication barriers and solve problems. Be it Twitter or the telephone, having a channel and knowing the right person to ask saves time and frustration. (FPRA-related example: Search or post a question using the Twitter hashtag (#) “FPRA” and get answers to your FPRA questions.)

Make miles feel like millimeters: I used to think my mother had eyes in the back of her head. With her seemingly inconceivable intuition, my mother kept my behavior in check whether she was on the other side of the house or across town from my actual location. In reality, she just knew the people who were watching over me, and they would let her know what I was up to. She was connected. Having resources in the community and beyond who can clue you into interesting and relevant happenings can give you an edge on unique opportunities you might not otherwise see by yourself. (FPRA-related example: By networking with other chapter members, you can learn about partnerships, programs and places where you could participate. Working alongside members in FPRA is an opportunity to forge relationships, which could translate into work referrals in the future!)

Tap into exclusive resources: These days, it seems you need a password to access everything, and some expert resources simply are not free. Different doors open for different people though. If you are connected to those people, you may find your research projects rolling a bit more smoothly. I had a legal question regarding a client’s PR, and an FPRA member helped me find just the resource to explain it all. (FPRA-related example: Say your client is considering expanding their business to neighboring areas of the state. Or maybe you are job-hunting and are interested in Orlando opportunities. As an FPRA member, you have a state-wide network of resources that can help you get your foot in the door.)

When you are a member of FPRA, you are getting more than discounted registration costs and incredible professional development programs. Your number one membership benefit (with perhaps immeasurable value) is a network of engaged professionals and life-long connections. Learn more about the value of FPRA in this issue of imPRess, and make sure to read the article about annual membership dues; we hope you agree that every dime of your association membership, is a dime well-invested.

What would you like to do in FPRA next year?

The FPRA year is far from over, but it’s time to begin planning for 2010-2011 already! According to our chapter bylaws, nominations for the Officer and Director positions open on April 1 of each year, and within 30 days a slate must be presented to the current Board for review. The approved slate is then presented to the general membership by June 1 of each year and is voted on at the chapter’s annual business meeting, held in July. This process is guided by our chapter bylaws and it all takes place in time to coincide with the statewide annual conference in August, when the President and President-Elect are sworn in as members of the Board of Directors on the state level. Depending on the dates, during our chapter’s August business meeting, outgoing Leadership Team members are recognized, incoming Officers are sworn in and Directors and Leadership Team members are installed. Then, before you know it, it’s September 1 and the new FPRA year begins! What would you like to do in FPRA next year?

Full job descriptions for each Leadership Team position can be found on the chapter Web site at http://fpraswfl.org/leadership-opportunities.html.

Send your nominations to Nomination Committee Chair Ginny Cooper at ginny@mycoopergroup.com. Nominations will close on April 23, 2010.

Please be advised that the Board adopted a policy in 2008-09 that all members of the Leadership Team must have been a member in good standing of FPRA for at least one year prior to assuming leadership responsibilities.

Bridging the Generations

FPRA's March 8th luncheon theme was “Building Bridges for Mutual Benefit” and who better to speak to that topic than Jack Levine, communications and public policy consultant and founder of 4Generations Institute? 

Levine opened his candid discussion of the four generations by posing an introspective question, “Who helped shape you – positively or negatively - how to be or how not to be?”  Specific people in our lives, from previous generations, have been influencers.

At the turn of the last century (1900s), there were typically three generations in families: children, parents and grandparents.  Life expectancy has been increasing dramatically since then.  In 1908, the average life expectancy was 47; during the depression, it was 62; today – almost 80.  This longevity has led to the addition of a fourth generation: the great-grandparents.

Levine provided some additional statistics: of every 75 year old ever alive in the history of the United States, two-thirds are alive today.   Currently, there are 53,000 centenarians in our country.  With the current trend of longer life expectancy, in 30 years, there will be 500,000 centenarians.

Emotional and economic attention is needed for this surge in elder population and meeting their needs. According to Levine, “In order for us to have a future for all our generations, we need to have a plan.” 

One of the keys to that plan is intergenerational bridging, rather than segregating the older population.  Seventy-five percent of children under the age of five have two parents working. Teens need positive influencers that help them gain interests.  The older generations can help provide the younger generations with a brighter future by sharing learning and life experiences, passing down skills and interests to the later generations.

In business, these theories can be applied through communications which evoke an emotional connection to inspire a buying decision.  Levine dubs this an emotional intelligence – knowing the motivations for each generation.  Bridging the generations is about mutuality – approaching multi-generational community “with something”, rather than “for something.”

In closing, Levine encouraged us to leave a legacy as we personally work to bridge the generations.  What will you be remembered by?