Posts Tagged ‘Gary McCormick’

PR’s Impact on Local Economies for Better Business

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

by Tyra E. Haag
@tyratuckerhaag

As Mahatma Gandhi  once said, “Speed is irrelevant if you’re going in the wrong direction.”

Public relations creates a lasting impact for local businesses and savvy business owners to understand the credibility PR creates when implemented properly.

In an October 2010 article posted on Hispanic PRBlog, Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA, immediate past chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), was quoted as saying, “From other studies and anecdotal information, we have found that the strategic value of public relations continues to outpace that of other professional service industries, and that within the Los Angeles area, the public relations profession is offering an economic boost, clearly benefiting the local economy.”

Similar sentiments can be found within a December 2010 blog post on CommPro.Biz by Scott Harris, president of Mustang Marketing. According to Harris, “PR has the power to reach people in a way ads both cannot and do not, and today, when the name of the game more than ever before is ROI, PR has the solid track record.”

With this month’s blog topic surrounding PR’s impact on local economies for better business, I asked Tammi Ford, executive vice president for the Blount Partnership, the following question:

How has the Blount Chamber of Commerce used public relations strategies and tactics over the years to attract business, industry and tourism to Blount County?

Here is Tammi’s response:

The Blount Partnership, which consists of the Blount County Chamber of Commerce, Chamber Foundation, Economic Development Board and Smoky Mountain Convention & Visitors Bureau, develops an action plan for the year.  Our PR strategy is based on our yearly action plan. 

While each organization’s mission and audience are different, the end result is the same – economic prosperity.  Whether it’s helping area businesses to be successful, recruiting new business or increasing tourism dollars, the bottom line is building the Blount County economy. 

The Chamber offers a variety of benefits, services, and programs to help area businesses grow.  We develop a yearly communications/PR plan to promote these activities, which includes a monthly newsletter printed in The Daily Times, two monthly e-news campaigns (with tracking capabilities), face-to-face contact, media events and press releases to area media.  We also push information out, including member news, through our website and social nets such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Chamber blog. 

How do we measure the success of our communications plan?  Business growth, business assistance, new members, retention, attendance, participation, website visits, and social media interactions.

To promote tourism and business travel, the Smoky Mountains Convention & Visitors Bureau (SMCVB) has a yearly marketing plan coupled with a PR plan.  The SMCVB has been very aggressive in hosting events throughout the year where thousands of people flock to the area.  For these events, our PR schedule includes:  email campaigns to past festival “go-ers,” media releases, targeted tourism/travel publications, website and of course, social media. 

How do we measure success?   By the number of heads in beds and the increase in revenue for area retailers.

The Economic Development Board (EDB) uses strategies to recruit new business to the area.  One of the target audiences are site selectors.  Our organization has face-to-face time with these selectors every year, but their preferred method of communications – e-mail and website.  To stay in front of them on a regular basis, we have an e-news campaign with tracking capabilities that keeps them updated on Blount industry news.  We’ve also given these site selectors flash drives packed-full of Blount County information (i.e. demographics, maps, available sites and buildings.) 

Additionally, our website – www.blountindustry.com – won the International Economic Development Council best website award for our demographic.  The EDB also uses social nets to spread the word. 

How do we measure success?  By increased prospect activity and site visits.

The Public Relations Society of America also offers the following message point about the impact of PR within an article titled “Communicating Public Relations’ Value: Business Value and Public Good are Essence of PR Today.” Below is a portion of the article:

  • A survey of chief marketing officers at major national and global advertisers conducted by the Association of National Advertisers found that the value public relations delivers as part of the overall marketing mix is increasing. Why? A few reasons. Public relations is closer to the perspectives, objectives and concerns of corporate CEOs than any other communication or marketing discipline. Public relations also sees “the whole corporate picture,” as it relates to issues that CEOs worry about. Finally, public relations is a key driver of business outcomes critical to organizational success, including crisis mitigation, reputation and brand building, consumer engagement, sales generation, wealth creation, issues management and beneficial shifts in constituent attitudes and behaviors.

When implemented properly, it seems pretty clear how impactful the public relations profession  can be while boosting the all-mighty bottom line – for local businesses and the economy.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Public Relations | No Comments »

PR Day 2010 Coming Up Nov. 12

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

By Ashley Bowen, MBWC Intern

Communications professionals and students from all over the United States will gather Friday, November 12 at the University of Tennessee for PR Day 2010, a one-day seminar sponsored by the School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Tennessee.

Experts and professionals will speak about communicating with credibility in the field of public relations and the challenges and opportunities in social media, political, health and crisis communications. They will also discuss best practices in each of the fields as well as how to use various strategies, key messages and tactics.

Keynote speaker Merrie Spaeth of Spaeth Communications in Dallas, Texas will discuss mastering the elements of communication to enhance the credibility and influence of a speaker. She will define credibility from the point of view of what a target audience hears, believes and remembers. Throughout her career she has been a pioneer in communication theory and executive training and has previously served as Director of Media Relations under President Ronald Reagan, a producer for ABC’s 20/20, and a writer/reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Daily News.

Professionals from HGTV, Edelman, The Center for Media and Democracy, Bryant Research, Blue Media Boutique and our very own Mary Beth West Consulting will also be discussing communication credibility in breakout sessions throughout the day.

Mary Beth West, APR, along with Tori Rose of Blue Media Boutique and Rebecca Bryant of Bryant Research will lead one of the breakout sessions on how to integrate social media for authenticity-driven employee relationships. They will also cover recommendations for employer organizations to consider in developing well-managed employee relations and communications programs and measurement and results tracking techniques for monitoring success.

Ed Patterson, senior vice president of Edelman, will discuss Edelman’s 2010 Global Trust Barometer and Good Purpose study as well as how trust and brands working for social change can drive successful communications.

Health industry whistle-blower and UT grad Wendell Potter will discuss the health care debate along with ethical public relations practices in the field.

Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA, Director of Partnership Development for HGTV and Chair and CEO of PRSA will discuss identifying opportunities for off-channel exposure and defining and implementing the partnerships that will increase ratings and awareness with viewers for the leading home and lifestyle cable network. Research efforts measuring credibility with HGTV’s product will also be covered.

PR Day 2010 looks to be an interesting and enlightening day that communications professionals and students in the area should definitely check out. Regardless of where you might be in your career, the things you will learn at this event will undoubtedly be beneficial.

For more information and to register for PR Day at the University of Tennessee please visit http://www.prday2010.com

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Public Relations | No Comments »

There’s Definitely a Business Case to Be Made for Public Relations…

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

By Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA; Director, Partnership Development, HGTV; 2010 PRSA Chair/CEO

       

I recently had the opportunity to ring the opening bell for the NASDAQ – a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I clearly had never placed on my bucket list. Even more curious, it was done for an organization that is not a listed or public company. I was there representing a professional association of public relations professionals, which represents a multibillion-dollar global industry.

So how did this happen? It was the result of an advocacy program for public relations launched by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) to outline the value and impact that public relations has on an organization’s success – The Business Case for Public RelationsTM.

Many don’t understand the essence of our business. Stylized notions of celebrity publicists and Beltway spokespeople pervade the news and popular culture, and the term “PR” itself has become common shorthand for the impression – good or bad – that organizations create.

That’s why PRSA developed The Business Case for Public RelationsTM. The program showcases the role of public relations and the professional value it delivers to essential business outcomes:

  • Distinct skills provide services like crisis mitigation, reputation and brand building, wealth creation and consumer engagement.
  • More than other communications and marketing disciplines, public relations engages all stakeholders of an organization, identifying and delivering impacts that are strategically aligned with concerns of the boardroom, employees, customers and investors.
  • Public relations skills are critical to restoring waning public confidence in government and financial institutions as well as being essential to define, develop and maintain the transparency that consumers expect from the companies with whom they choose to do business.

Today more than ever before, companies and organizations need the value that public relations can deliver. As consumer engagement grows through social media, companies will need to outline an increased ability to manage the relationship and conversation that impacts their success in the marketplace. But companies need to engage a public relations professional that understands how to research, plan, execute and evaluate based upon the organization’s defined objectives in order to achieve value.

If your public relations activities are focused on business output and media clips instead of business outcomes, then you are coming up short in a return on your investment. On the other hand, your investment in public relations will garner attention when you can show how that investment delivers value in financial performance by generating sales, revenue and profit; improves your brand equity and reputation; allows for stronger and more efficient employee recruitment and retention; and increases the support you seek for policy decisions or achieving market position.

I hope that you will take time to find out more about the value of public relations on an organization’s performance by visiting www.prsa.org/intelligence/businesscase/.  Moreover, I hope that you find and define the value that public relations is currently delivering or can definitely deliver in your organization.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Virtue of “Listening Points”

Friday, February 19th, 2010

By Mary Beth West, APR

Several members of our team attended the February PRSA Volunteer Chapter meeting, where Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA – this year’s national PRSA chair / CEO and Knoxville-based Scripps communications exec – shared insights on the 2010 outlook shaping the public relations profession.

Among his recommendations on navigating social media relationship management, Gary urged the audience to consider developing “listening points,” not just talking points, in order to manage dialogue with diverse audiences who undoubtedly are calling the shots like never before.

To us, the idea of listening points draws upon an oldie but a goodie – the issues management playbook – whereby the PR team identifies and constantly monitors outside issues impacting, or potentially impacting, an organization’s world and that of its stakeholders. 

The process involves taking those issues and helping an organization stay one or more steps ahead, not just via messages, but via policies, procedures and behaviors that stakeholder groups view as the only legitimate evidence of where an organization really stands. 

Hence, the role of listening . . . after all, you can’t effectively advocate for an organization’s position if you’re deaf to the voices and points of view around you.  In equal measure, you can’t help guide an organization’s decision-making toward the best business decisions if management can’t (or won’t) hear, comprehend and hold some level of empathy for how stakeholder groups absorb the impact of those decisions.

Great case in point: the apparent lack of effective listening going on in much of the financial sector regarding executive compensation. 

Chapter President Susanne Dupes, APR, closed the meeting by announcing a $1,000 gift given to the UT College of Communication & Information’s public relations program in Gary’s honor, a gift in which our firm was proud to take part.  A terrific leader like Gary, who is keeping our profession’s best practices front-and-center, couldn’t be more deserving.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in news, Public Relations, westwire | No Comments »