Steffen Kurzawa’s Post

 🌟 Attention PR & Communications Professionals! 🌟 Looking to level up your skills and stay ahead of the curve in 2024? Look no further! We've curated a list of must-attend conferences that will keep you at the forefront of industry trends. Jim Donnelly has done the groundwork for you, interviewing top PR conferences to give you an exclusive preview of what's in store for this season. From networking opportunities to expert insights, these conferences are sure to enrich your knowledge and expand your professional network. Check out the lineup: 1. The Conference Board: Corporate Communications, Getting the Job Done 2. International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC) 3. Institute for Public Relations (IPR) Bridge 4. Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Tri-State District 5. IABC World Conference 6. Fierce Pharma PR & Communications Summit East 7. PRSA Icon 8. Global Summit Canada 9 (P World) These conferences are not to be missed. Stay tuned for more updates and insights as we dive into the exciting world of PR in 2024. https://lnkd.in/gshR_-Gb #PR #prconferences #comunicationsconferences #PRconferences2024

We all know the value we deliver time and time again to our orgs. Stephen Waddington has captured data in his latest post showing the unfortunate reality that many colleagues have a different perception. Echoing his call to action: We must be proactive in evolving how we lead the business, teams and even ourselves to elevate our profession -- and critically, to be acknowledged -- as strategic corporate affairs practitioners. BTW, this is exactly why Carly Goldsmith, PCC and I designed Ticket to Biotech's Corporate Advisor Series for senior communicators in the life sciences. More info here: https://lnkd.in/gtk-aKRE

Joanna Parsons earlier this week posted: “Don’t assume that anyone knows what an internal communicator does, how you add value or what you're really good at. TELL THEM!” It received several comments all along the lines of not liking “I” or praise from someone else is worth 10x self praise. Delighted there’s some hard evidence to back up “TELL THEM!” 1. the value of your function in business-relevant terms 2. focus on strategic advisory and stakeholder relationship building 3. delivering activity measurement and evaluation in terms that the business understands

The Page Society Spring Seminar was packed with insights on the latest communications industry trends. Here are our top takeaways from the thoughtpartners at The Grossman Group: 1) The Widening CCO Remit Creates Enormous Opportunities for Our Profession 2) AI is Powerful, But We Need to Apply a Critical Lens 3) Use Expectations as Currency 4) Civility and Civil Discourse Must Win the Day 5) The Intersection Between Politics and Communication has Never Been Stronger 6) Never Lose Sight of Your DNA The Widening CCO Remit Creates Enormous Opportunities for Our Profession — Page’s latest research shows that CCOs are more central to strategic decision-making in their organizations than ever. More and more CCOs are playing roles that stretch across transformation, data and analytics, and culture. CEOs are looking for CCOs to act as conveners of business solutions rather than just bringing forward communication problems.   AI is Powerful, But We Need to Apply a Critical Lens — While AI will dramatically improve ways of working and open doors to communication innovation, it introduces friction in the form of disinformation and transparency in government communication. It’s critical to pause and consider what AI output tells us – determining its validity versus simply assuming it’s correct. We must also think of AI as the next big influencer and build that into content strategy.   Use Expectations as Currency — Cutting through the noise in today’s overcrowded content landscape requires a deep understanding of stakeholder expectations. To influence today is to trade in the currency of expectations, which builds directly on the widening remit of the CCO. Civility and Civil Discourse Must Win the Day — We live in a world fraught with friction: employee activism, isolationism, geopolitical crisis, political tensions, and radicalization. While businesses can’t solve all these issues, they can create environments for civility and civil discourse. To do this, we must work to understand all perspectives and build the muscles that help us empathize with each other. The Intersection Between Politics and Communication Has Never Been Stronger — Former President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, discussed today’s political environment. He said that winning today requires managing tension and polarization as opposed to the old political model, which focused on finding votes in the center.   Never Lose Sight of Your DNA — Etienne Thobois, CEO of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, discussed how he spends a significant amount of time sharing the organizational DNA with employees and other key stakeholders to drive understanding of vision and values. This ensures there’s no compromise on what’s most important. Having the DNA as a foundation, he says, creates a sense of trust and freedom among his team so they can be focused, determined, and confident in their roles. #PageSpring #CCO #Communications #CorporateDNA

If #conferences are not part of your executive communications mix, they should be. Find out why in my latest article in PR Daily: Conferences: The Jelly to the Peanut Butter of Media Relations. https://lnkd.in/eiiMGwbd We live and breathe conference strategy at //NKST and understand the power of conferences as catalysts for growth and visibility. We have the proven expertise, relationships and extensive network to drive impactful strategies that elevate businesses and executives to new heights. Whether it's forging valuable connections, showcasing #thoughtleadership, or securing #media coverage, conferences offer unparalleled opportunities to make waves in your industry. And when combined with strategic media relations, the results are truly transformative. Looking to take your thought leadership and #executivevisibility to the next level? Give us a shout! #conferences #integratedcommunications #thoughtleadership #pr #publicrelations #mediarelations

I often emphasise that in public relations, transparency is crucial. It not only applies to communicating with the external publics, but also to client-agency relations. However, there are times when clients feel tempted to hide the truth or keep their PR agency in the dark about certain aspects of their business. They might hope that this approach will help the agency craft a dazzling narrative for stakeholders, using smoke and mirrors to create a desired illusion or impression. But here’s the reality: just as you wouldn’t omit any of your symptoms to your doctor, you shouldn’t withhold the truth from your PR agency. Public relations professionals are experts in shaping narratives, but to do so effectively, they need a clear understanding of the situation. Imagine visiting a doctor and not disclosing critical symptoms. The doctor’s ability to diagnose and treat the problem would be severely compromised. The same logic applies to PR. Agencies are most effective when they have an honest and complete view of what is happening behind the scenes. If the agency doesn’t understand what’s really happening on the backend, it won’t be able to effectively help create the desired front-end impression. When clients share the unvarnished truth, it empowers the agency to craft effective strategies that resonate with stakeholders and the public. This authenticity builds trust, enhances credibility, and ultimately leads to more successful outcomes. Conversely, when a PR agency is kept in the dark, it risks creating a narrative that can quickly unravel, damaging reputations and stakeholder trust. Every successful PR campaign is a partnership built on trust and honesty. Clients should see their agency as a trustworthy partner, working collaboratively to address challenges. Full transparency allows PR professionals to anticipate potential pitfalls and proactively address them, ensuring the client’s story is both compelling and credible. In PR, as in life, honesty truly is the best policy. On all fronts. PROI Worldwide PRCA APAC IPRA International Public Relations Association International Communications Consultancy Organisation #PRagency #transparency

Last week, I wrote about a Swedish study published in 2017, led by Prof. Dr. Jesper Falkheimer, that highlighted the perception of corporate communications or public relations as a tactical function focused on channels and messaging.   Sascha Stoltenow kindly shared a German project published last month, led by Prof. Dr. Ansgar Zerfass, that reached a very similar conclusion. Zerfass has significantly contributed to corporate communications and management theory and practice in the past 20 years through his leadership of the European Communication Monitor (ECM). It is the world's largest and longest-running empirical study of strategic communications. Both studies sought the views of managers, co-workers and public relations practitioners. Research in this area typically explores the perspective of practitioners and occasionally managers. It rarely seeks the opinions of co-workers in other areas of an organisation.   The Swedish project surveyed more than 6,000 employees working in eleven large organisations. While 90% of employees recognised public relations as an increasingly important success factor, there was a significant gap in how public relations practitioners viewed their strategic role compared to the perceptions of managers and co-workers. Only 42% of employees said that the task of public relations practitioners in their organisation was clear.   The more recent German study of 1,147 employees working in German companies with more than a 1,000 employees and a public relations function draws a similar conclusion. It went further than the Swedish study by segmenting management into senior executives (C-level) and middle managers (heads of business units or functions). The study found that 97% of top executives and 80% of middle managers claimed to know what the public relations function does, but only 80% of top executives and 58% of middle managers knew its objectives. We need to do three things to elevate the contribution of the corporate communication or public relations function. 1. Corporate communications leaders must articulate the value of their function in business-relevant terms. 2. Practitioners need to expand skills beyond traditional communication and media areas and focus on strategic advisory and stakeholder relationship building. 3. We must improve the measurement and evaluation of activity in terms that the business understands. My research explores the performance and effectiveness of the corporate communications function and its contribution to management and value creation. I am starting to design my own study and am keen to apply a similar methodology to these two projects and explore both managerial and practitioner perspectives.

To the 3rd point ("...improve the measurement and evaluation of activity in terms that the business understands"): Showing that the work *is* measurable is in itself a great way to beef up the salience of the comms dept and to engage the business in coming up with the best metrics.

Such pivitol topics on the current and future state of comms Thanks, David Grossman, for highlighting.

In the last couple of years, I have been witnessing innumerable awards to celebrate the public relations (PR) profession. Every couple of weeks, I see professional contacts humbly accepting a recognition or win. Celebrating success is important given that it pushes the PR industry to become inspiring and aspirational, but I wonder whether there will be any efficacy left in awards. I do hear that some consultancies and in-house corporate communication professionals are relooking their spends and participation at awards, but having been at the fulcrum of communication awards over the last decade, both as a participant and until a year ago running a credible award, I am sharing my experiences of what defines the efficacy of an award: 1. Ratio of how many sponsors won awards. 2. Ratio of how many Jury (Organisation) won awards. 3. ⁠Was the award competitive or just a few firms entered, which makes it win-win for all. 4. Adherence to deadlines. Extending the deadline once by a few days is fine, but if the award organisers continue to extend deadlines, then it clearly highlights that the process is meant for accommodating those who must be accommodated. 5. Awards that are run by entities who directly or indirectly need to be pleased as they are critical stakeholders for participating consultancies or in-house corporate communication teams. This might push consultancies / in-house teams to beef up their number of submissions, despite knowing that maybe some of their campaigns are not award-worthy. The factors highlighted are pivotal in preserving the integrity and significance of industry recognition. It's crucial that we collectively strive to safeguard the credibility of awards and prevent their devaluation.