The PR Show, hosted by the CIPR, encourages education as a means to responding to change in public relations. Find out more about what the exposition will offer in this co-created piece

The public relations industry is flexible, adaptable and in a constant state of flux as it responds to new communications tools and new technologies. On 26 November, the CIPR will exhibit, discuss and explore some of those changes at an all-day conference and exhibition. The Public Relations Show will offer workshops, high-profile speakers and practical advice and support to PR professionals.

CIPR president-elect Stephen Waddington says the show will address the ways in which practitioners can meet the needs of the modern industry. The programme is split between workshops hosted by suppliers and discussions led by practitioners. All of which are organised around three streams: Organisational strategy and culture, government, communities and society, and technology platforms and the future of PR. Case studies like the Royal Mail’s golden Olympics and Diageo’s global reputation management strategy will punctuate the day at London’s Business Design Centre.

The exposition’s focus on education highlights the CIPR’s long-standing attention to skills training in PR. The organisation supports young people seeking to enter the industry by encouraging training and qualifications courses in communications. It also supports existing communicators who pursue additional qualifications.

Alongside the opportunities for training and learning, the PR Show will feature addresses given by practitioners within PR. Of those, Katy Robinson, digital brand manager at Co-Operative Food, will discuss the advantages of social media for both brand and consumers.

She says, “Customer service is a huge part of our digital presence, especially on social media, but the main advantage of our digital channels is the insights it provides.” Digital allows for swift and accurate analysis of consumer behaviour that is available from no other channel. By engaging with consumers on social media, a channel which they already use, a brand can both communicate its message and gain feedback from consumers.

Robinson says the entire organisation should have a hand in digital. “Ideally everyone in an organisation from the CEO to store colleagues should instantly see what was being said about them and have a chance to improve based on the feedback. People use social media to be heard, so they want to know their feedback is being taken on board and not just being ‘fed back to the relevant team.’”

Alistair Smith, managing director of corporate communications for Barclays Group will discuss corporate narrative and communications strategy. Smith says, “Unless a communications strategy is aligned to business strategy and has the buy- in and participation from senior leaders, then it can’t be successful.” A comms strategy must derive from corporate strategy, which in turn reflects the objectives of the organisation itself. “Without that grounding in reality, it is inauthentic and ephemeral, and the world is less forgiving of organisations which pretend to be good, but are really doing bad than it is of the people who don’t try and hide their real nature.” Smith adds.

Stephen Waddington, president-elect of the CIPR says the PR Show serves to address the ever-changing nature of public relations and encourage practitioners to adopt new skills and explore new technologies as a means to support that change. See below for more of Waddington’s comments.

Preparing for the future

"Next month the CIPR is hosting an event like never before. At The Public Relations Show, as well as 1,000 people coming through the door, there will be some fantastic speakers sharing the stage, and much of the day’s emphasis is on education, advice and skills development. But why is that important? Well partly because these three things are tantamount to the CIPR’s existence, but also because the profession is changing, and those at the very heart of it, and who want to succeed in this era, are required to keep up-to-date.

Our profession is changing. The internet, media and advances in digital technology have brought about fundamental shifts in the way that organisations communicate. We have passed on the news release distribution, the managing of a media database, the forward feature planning and the media monitoring, to outsourced to specialists, and all for the better. At a senior level, more of our time can now be spent on strategic counsel, whilst for more junior practitioners we’re looking for natural communicators with an integrated skillset and interest in areas such web design, customer relationship marketing and product development to name but a few.

For practitioners to keep up with all of these changes, they will need to develop new expertise and focus on making personal improvements. In my list of ten skills for the future public relations practitioner I’ve looked to some of the fantastic graduates who’ve come from some of the leading business focused degrees that’s offered when studying modern public relations.

Jarrod Williams, one of these many bright-young things, believes we no longer need to have a reliance on networking, critical writing skills and the ability to research. More than ever we need to have the ability to learn and grown, showcase our business acumen, and manage the pre-requisite of being able to communicate to a multitude of different cultures and audiences. Learning never ends Jarrod says, and he is correct. In a fast paced environment where technology leads the way and innovation is a part of everyday life, practitioners cannot afford to rest on their laurels, and so we come to personal development.

Public relations may be a maturing professional discipline but unlike other areas of strategic management it has yet to adopt the qualities that mark out other professions, such as formal qualifications and life-long learning.

This is the key finding of the European Communication Professional Skills and Innovation Programme (ECOPSI), a research programme that explores the competencies required by communication professionals in Europe.

In order to continue its development towards a profession, we need to shift away from a hands-on, learning on the job approach to more focused knowledge acquisition and development. And how do we do that you ask? Through a commitment to professional development, life-long learning and knowledge acquisition. Enter; The Public Relations Show.

The Public Relations Show will give practitioners from all sectors and backgrounds an opportunity to learn something. It’s not a conference, so it’s not learning at an inflated price; it’s not a workshop so it’s not learning in a stuffy classroom; it is learning at its best."

Stephen Waddington, CIPR president-elect, European social and digital media director, Ketchum PR.

Exhibitors include:

Lissted

Adam Parker, chief executive of Realwire will explain why content sharing and conversation is necessary to practitioners. Himself a beneficiary of the skills training programmes encouraged by the CIPR, as well as its services to new entrants into the profession, Parker began his career as a chartered accountant. His success in communications has been a testament to the industry’s attention to education. Parker says, “Since coming into the industry seven years ago I’ve seen a great deal of positive change, with education and skills being increasingly prominent in conversations about PR and its future. But there’s always more that can be done. A continuing challenge is simply spreading awareness and proliferation of the new opportunities that exist. That’s why we’re keen to support an event like the PR Show and be a part of driving standards upward.” He adds that the rate of technological change helps shape the way PR can measure its effectiveness, yet measurement tools still have a ways to go to become fully-ingrained in the PR process. This may be the most important change the industry has yet to make. “Finally measurement still proves to be a challenge for many in the industry. With my numbers background this is an area that’s close to my heart. It’s critical that PR practitioners can demonstrate how their work has resulted in measurable business outcomes if they want to have a significant voice in C-suite boardroom discussions,” he says.

f1 recruitment:

Amanda Fone has been in communications recruitment for over 20 years. f1 will host a careers workshop throughout the day at the PR Show. Fone says she hopes to counsel people about the current market and their career opportunities.

PR faces some challenges in regards to recruitment and staffing. One of which is that young people are not always aware of PR as a viable career option, particularly those teens from BME backgrounds. In many cases, careers teachers are unable to counsel students on choosing careers in communications. To combat this, the comms industry itself has begun to reach out to schools to inform students about their options within communications.

Fone says paid internships are a key way to attract new talent. “You really need to get the relevant work experience to break in,” she says. Adding that the crackdown on unpaid internships has been a step in the right direction.

The other workforce challenge faced by communications is the mommy gap. The 10 year period in which women, and men, take time off for parenting leave and either never return to the workforce or return on a part-time basis. Fone says this talent drain can be alleviated in part by adopting an imaginative approach to flexible working. “We really encourage women to come back or to try and demonstrate that they can be just as valuable working less than five days a week, but the company has to have the right attitude too,” she says. “There’s an amazingly talented group of people that can give so much to the PR agency world, but they are over the age of 40. We’re wasting all that talent.”

Vocus:

Vocus is set to run a social surgery at the PR Show that will highlight its focus on outreach, monitoring and measurement within public relations.

Sophie Ambridge, marketing manager at Vocus says, “For Vocus, this is the ideal platform not only to share our ideas, but also provide practitioners with tips and advice that will make a real impact when they get back to their desks.” She adds that the PR Show will encourage conversation about social media strategy and allow PR professionals to get help and advice about using social media. This training will help give a practitioner confidence to use social and maintain a brand’s digital communications.

“The success of a company achieving its objectives is hinged on its staff’s skills and training and this includes social. As such a fast-paced channel, practitioners need both the foundation and continual development of this skill to keep up with the changing social landscape.”