Why this year will really be PR’s year at Cannes Lions by Martyn Rosney & Niamh O’Keeffe

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Guest blog post by 2014 Young PR Lions contestants from Ireland

This time next week, we will be attending the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity representing Ireland at the inaugural Young PR Lions competition. The festival, now in its 61st year, is the foremost industry event in creative communications and advertising.

As part of our preparation for the competition, we have been reading up on festivals past. It seems that industry experts have been predicting that every year (since PR first became part of the festival in 2009) ‘will be PR’s year’. We thought it would be interesting to share our thoughts about what evidence there is to indicate that 2014 will be different.

In the first instance, one clear indication that PR is becoming a more inherent part of the Cannes Lions discourse is the inaugural Young PR Lions competition which was launched this year with support from ICCO, GolinHarris, H+K Strategies, Ketchum and Ogilvy PR. Setting up this competition is a very clear commitment by the industry to foster and cultivate emerging PR talent.

Secondly, 2014 is the 6th year that PR has competed at Cannes. Over this time, the PR industry has become more attuned to what will really appeal to the Jurors at Cannes and how best to showcase our industry. 2012 was a watershed year for PR at Cannes. After another year of disappointment for PR, the judges expressed disappointment in the entries from PR firms which lacked ‘big ideas’, being too tactical, stuck in historic structures of “having one person who is the client contact, the idea generator and also the budget keeper”. We’ve had time to reflect on this disappointment and build on it.

Lastly, everyone in the industry would agree that the PR industry is in a state of flux. We have to find new and more effective ways to identify and communicate to our audiences. As an industry, we have risen to that challenge and our imagination and innovation will be what sets us apart in years to come.

Hopefully 2014 will be PR’s year.

 

500_niamho039keeffe500_martynrosneyNiamh O’Keeffe @niamh_okeeffe and Martyn Rosney @martynrosney are both Account Managers at Wilson Hartnell, Ireland’s leading PR agency and Ogilvy PR’s Irish office. They will be representing Ireland at the inaugural Young PR Lions competition at the 2014 Cannes International Festival of Creativity.

Why this year will really be PR’s year at Cannes Lions by Martyn Rosney & Niamh O'Keeffe

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Guest blog post by 2014 Young PR Lions contestants from Ireland This time next week, we will be attending the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity representing Ireland at the inaugural Young PR Lions competition. The festival, now in its 61st year, is the foremost industry event in creative communications and advertising. As part of our preparation for the competition, we have been reading up on festivals past. It seems that industry experts have been predicting that every year (since PR first became part of the festival in 2009) ‘will be PR’s year’. We thought it would be interesting to share our thoughts about what evidence there is to indicate that 2014 will be different. In the first instance, one clear indication that PR is becoming a more inherent part of the Cannes Lions discourse is the inaugural Young PR Lions competition which was launched this year with support from ICCO, GolinHarris, H+K Strategies, Ketchum and Ogilvy PR. Setting up this competition is a very clear commitment by the industry to foster and cultivate emerging PR talent. Secondly, 2014 is the 6th year that PR has competed at Cannes. Over this time, the PR industry has become more attuned to what will really appeal to the Jurors at Cannes and how best to showcase our industry. 2012 was a watershed year for PR at Cannes. After another year of disappointment for PR, the judges expressed disappointment in the entries from PR firms which lacked ‘big ideas’, being too tactical, stuck in historic structures of “having one person who is the client contact, the idea generator and also the budget keeper”. We’ve had time to reflect on this disappointment and build on it. Lastly, everyone in the industry would agree that the PR industry is in a state of flux. We have to find new and more effective ways to identify and communicate to our audiences. As an industry, we have risen to that challenge and our imagination and innovation will be what sets us apart in years to come. Hopefully 2014 will be PR’s year.   500_niamho039keeffe500_martynrosneyNiamh O’Keeffe @niamh_okeeffe and Martyn Rosney @martynrosney are both Account Managers at Wilson Hartnell, Ireland’s leading PR agency and Ogilvy PR’s Irish office. They will be representing Ireland at the inaugural Young PR Lions competition at the 2014 Cannes International Festival of Creativity.срочно нужны деньги днепропетровск

ICCO, PRCA and AMEC launch first global measurement audit at International Summit

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) UK and the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) are together launching the first international audit to enable members to certify their expertise in PR measurement.

The optional module which now forms part of the PRCA’s internationally recognised Communications Management Standard (CMS) will audit PR consultancies and in-house teams for the measurement of their work. It is the first international measurement standard.

The module is being launched at the AMEC International Summit in Amsterdam, the leading global event for communication measurement, on 11th June 2014.

ICCO Chief Executive and PRCA Director General Francis Ingham said: “Effective measurement is fundamental to best practice in PR. That’s why we are launching this module, to provide a framework around which agencies and in-house teams can grow and develop their skills in this all-important area. We are very pleased to be launching this module with AMEC, the leading authority on measurement in communications.”

AMEC Executive Director Barry Leggetter said: “It is a pleasure to launch this measurement audit with the PRCA and ICCO at the AMEC International Summit. Our aim is to give the industry just the guidance it needs to improve the way it measures its work.”

CMS is the mark of communications professionalism worldwide. Independently audited on a regular basis by Redfin Management LLP, CMS is the accepted kitemark of PR excellence and professionalism. It combines elements of ISO9001 and Investors in People with criteria specific to the PR world. CMS has been adopted internationally through the ICCO network. ICCO is also currently working on creating an online version of the audit which will be available to all its members internationally.

During the audit, a consultancy or in-house team must prove to the assessors that it has the systems in place to ensure the effective planning and measurement of all programme work in the organisation; that its staff understand the organisation’s commitment to programme measurement; and that clients and colleagues are made aware of this programme approach.

To qualify for the CMS certification in measurement, members should score 40 points in this element.

The PRCA and ICCO endorse AMEC’s ‘Valid Metrics’ approach for the measurement of PR programmes, which was formally adopted by the PRCA at the London Measurement Conference in November 2010. The PRCA and ICCO also endorse AMEC’s ‘Barcelona Principles’ for the measurement and evaluation of PR.

Last year, the PRCA, ICCO and AMEC launched the PR Professionals Definitive Guide to Measurement, which can be found here.

 

About ICCO

ICCO is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comp rises national trade associations in 29 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Collectively, thesis associations representing over 1,700 PR firms. ICCO is a proud sponsor of the Young PR Lions competition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

About AMEC

AMEC is the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication, the global trade body and professional institute for agencies and practitioners who provide media evaluation and communication research. AMEC currently has more than 120 members in 41 countries worldwide.

For further information contact:

Barry Leggetter

Executive Director, AMEC

Email: barryleggetter@amecorg.com

Tel: 44 1268 412414

www.amecorg.com

Cannes Lions 2014: Is the PR industry creative enough? by Arun Sudhaman

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Guest blog post by Arun Sudhaman, Editor in Chief of The Holmes Report

That might be the type of question designed to raise the hackles of the good PR folk travelling to the Cote D’Azur for this year’s Cannes Lions. Yet it is a question that needs asking, particularly when you consider the industry’s mixed record in the PR Lions category, which the Holmes Report has been covering from its launch in 2009.

In 2012, the continued debate over the industry’s creative prowess led us, along with NowGoCreate, to launch the Creativity in PR study, a major global survey of 600 PR people from more than 35 countries across the world. In particular, we asked the PR industry whether it agreed with the claim that PR agencies lack big ideas, a contention that has been heard at Cannes.

Last year’s survey found that respondents, in general, continue to agree with the claim that PR agencies lack big ideas. 60 percent believe the statement is a fair one, essentially the same proportion as 2012. Among clients, the view is even more pronounced, with 69% believing that the PR industry lacks big ideas.

“The PR industry has a range of obstacles in putting forward and driving ‘big ideas’ and very few agencies have managed to master the art of both creating a ‘big idea’ and harnessing the power of their own structured traditional PR techniques,” read one survey response from an agency executive in Australia.

Significantly, the client-agency divide found here extends to perceptions of the industry’s creative quality. Broadly speaking, opinions of creative quality within the PR industry have not shifted much over the past 12 months, demonstrating that ambivalence persists. Once again, more than half describe it as ‘ordinary’ or worse. 38% say it is good and just 7% label it ‘inspirational’. One in 10 describe it as ‘unsatisfactory’.

Significantly, clients have a considerably more jaundiced view of creative quality than their agency brethren. Just 39% describe it as inspirational or good, while more than 60 percent see it as ordinary or worse. Once again, it appears that agencies are falling down in their quest to prove to clients that they have the necessary creative credentials for today’s engagement environment.Respondents in AngloSaxon markets — Australia (56%), the UK (54%) and US (50%) — held the most favourable view of creative quality, with Asia (38%) some distance behind.

Further clarity is provided when respondents are asked whether they think the quality of creativity in PR campaigns has improved over the past year. 61% disagree that it has, suggesting that there are no quick-fix solutions to raising creative standards.

Again, clients are even less convinced that quality is improving; just 26% agree with that statement. Latin American respondents (71%) are least likely to see an increase in creative quality, followed by US (69%) and UK (66%). Australia stands out, with just 59% disagreeing with the notion that the quality of creativity in PR has improved over the past year.

Those results provide plenty of food for thought. If nothing else, the hope is that this year’s Festival will definitively showcase the PR industry’s impressive creative credentials.

 

Arun Sudhaman is partner and managing editor of the Holmes Report, the global PR industry’s most authoritative and credible source of information and analysis 

In this role Arun oversees the Holmes Report’s global content offering, including its analysis and insight into public relations and communications trends and issues. Since joining the Holmes Report in 2010, Arun has led a comprehensive relaunch of the title’s content platform, including its digital presence and new products such as the Influence 100, Global Rankings and Creative Index. 

He brings to the position more than a decade’s experience as a journalist and digital content specialist, most of which has been spent covering the global PR, marketing and communications industries .

Prior to joining the Holmes Report, Arun spent more than seven years with Haymarket Media in Hong Kong, Singapore and London. He joined Haymarket title PRWeek UK in January 2009, after covering Asia’s media and marketing landscape at sister Haymarket title Media Asia (now Campaign Asia-Pacific) in Hong Kong and Singapore.

 

Cannes Lions 2014: Is the PR industry creative enough? by Arun Sudhaman

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Guest blog post by Arun Sudhaman, Editor in Chief of The Holmes Report

That might be the type of question designed to raise the hackles of the good PR folk travelling to the Cote D’Azur for this year’s Cannes Lions. Yet it is a question that needs asking, particularly when you consider the industry’s mixed record in the PR Lions category, which the Holmes Report has been covering from its launch in 2009.

In 2012, the continued debate over the industry’s creative prowess led us, along with NowGoCreate, to launch the Creativity in PR study, a major global survey of 600 PR people from more than 35 countries across the world. In particular, we asked the PR industry whether it agreed with the claim that PR agencies lack big ideas, a contention that has been heard at Cannes.

Last year’s survey found that respondents, in general, continue to agree with the claim that PR agencies lack big ideas. 60 percent believe the statement is a fair one, essentially the same proportion as 2012. Among clients, the view is even more pronounced, with 69% believing that the PR industry lacks big ideas.

“The PR industry has a range of obstacles in putting forward and driving ‘big ideas’ and very few agencies have managed to master the art of both creating a ‘big idea’ and harnessing the power of their own structured traditional PR techniques,” read one survey response from an agency executive in Australia.

Significantly, the client-agency divide found here extends to perceptions of the industry’s creative quality. Broadly speaking, opinions of creative quality within the PR industry have not shifted much over the past 12 months, demonstrating that ambivalence persists. Once again, more than half describe it as ‘ordinary’ or worse. 38% say it is good and just 7% label it ‘inspirational’. One in 10 describe it as ‘unsatisfactory’.

Significantly, clients have a considerably more jaundiced view of creative quality than their agency brethren. Just 39% describe it as inspirational or good, while more than 60 percent see it as ordinary or worse. Once again, it appears that agencies are falling down in their quest to prove to clients that they have the necessary creative credentials for today’s engagement environment.Respondents in AngloSaxon markets — Australia (56%), the UK (54%) and US (50%) — held the most favourable view of creative quality, with Asia (38%) some distance behind.

Further clarity is provided when respondents are asked whether they think the quality of creativity in PR campaigns has improved over the past year. 61% disagree that it has, suggesting that there are no quick-fix solutions to raising creative standards.

Again, clients are even less convinced that quality is improving; just 26% agree with that statement. Latin American respondents (71%) are least likely to see an increase in creative quality, followed by US (69%) and UK (66%). Australia stands out, with just 59% disagreeing with the notion that the quality of creativity in PR has improved over the past year.

Those results provide plenty of food for thought. If nothing else, the hope is that this year’s Festival will definitively showcase the PR industry’s impressive creative credentials.

 

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Arun Sudhaman is partner and managing editor of the Holmes Report, the global PR industry’s most authoritative and credible source of information and analysis 

In this role Arun oversees the Holmes Report’s global content offering, including its analysis and insight into public relations and communications trends and issues. Since joining the Holmes Report in 2010, Arun has led a comprehensive relaunch of the title’s content platform, including its digital presence and new products such as the Influence 100, Global Rankings and Creative Index. 

He brings to the position more than a decade’s experience as a journalist and digital content specialist, most of which has been spent covering the global PR, marketing and communications industries .

Prior to joining the Holmes Report, Arun spent more than seven years with Haymarket Media in Hong Kong, Singapore and London. He joined Haymarket title PRWeek UK in January 2009, after covering Asia’s media and marketing landscape at sister Haymarket title Media Asia (now Campaign Asia-Pacific) in Hong Kong and Singapore.

What everyone wants to know about Cannes Lions by Petra Sammer

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Guest blog post by Petra Sammer, Chief Creative Officer, Ketchum Pleon & 2014 PR Lions Juror

Cannes Lions jury-members are generally asked two questions:  “How do I win?” and “Does PR really fit into the Cannes Lions Festival?” This year I have the honour of serving as a jury member on the PR Lion Awards and, true to form, I’ve been asked these questions many times. Here are my humble replies:

How do I win?

The first thing to remember is that the Cannes Lions competition organisers select new juries each year.  So there isn’t an entirely consistent winning formula, given that each new mix of professionals brings with them a slightly different focus and breadth of experience.

With a jury of 21 judges in the PR category alone, that focus can be really complex. This year the PR category jury brings together representatives from different networks, big agencies and small. There are judges across all global regions spreading from the Americas, to Europe, to Asia-Pacific. There are seven men and fourteen women from a host of different PR disciplines. There are 10 judges from network agencies and 11 from smaller agencies.  Five are from the Americas, twelve are from Europe, plus there are others from Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India. It’s impossible to predict exactly what focus this “always-new-mix” may have until us judges get to work.

But I don’t want to disappoint you, and leave you with an unhelpful reply. Yes, of course there is a basic winning recipe, no matter who is on the jury. It’s what we call at Ketchum, the RISC-Factor. Judges will always look for strong Research behind a campaign. They will expect work to be built on a single Insight.  They will seek out a compelling Strategy and then want a wow moment of breakthrough Creativity. The trick is to present your award submissions in a very simple story that makes the RISC-Factor sing!  Jury members might see up to 10,000 campaigns during Cannes. So the simpler your story, and the clearer your evidence, the better.

Does PR fit into the Cannes Lions?

The simplicity you need to stand out at Cannes challenges many PR programmes. A lot of PR disciplines, like ongoing media issues or crisis PR, don’t fit easily into the Cannes format. Because of this, some people accuse Cannes Lions of forcing entrants to simplify PR and value the fancy, lifestyle-ish side of our profession above the deeper, more complex but no less worthy corporate work we do. My view is that we shouldn’t fall into the trap of regarding even Cannes Lions as the ultimate judgment of our creativity, or our profession for that matter.

There is so much creativity out there in PR, and so many different ways in which PR is not covered by Cannes. But does that mean we shouldn’t go there? Of course not!  The Cannes Lions Festival throws a spotlight on some of the strongest work in PR. It inspires our creatives and helps our industry recharge its batteries. It shows the power of PR and acts as a shop window for our clients and their brands, as well as other organizations and causes. Ultimately Cannes Lions draws attention to some of the wonderful campaigns that help make this world a better place.  And that´s the reason why I go. I hope I’ll see you there.

 

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Petra Sammer, Partner & Chief Creative Officer, joined Ketchum 1992, was named Managing Director Ketchum Germany in 2006 and became a “Creative Hub” of the agency in Germany and Europe after Ketchum and Pleon merged in 2010.

As Chief Creative Officer Petra promotes the areas or creativity, strategy and planning to fulfil the agency´s promise of “break through ideas”. With more than 20 years of experience in marketing and PR, she is constantly building solutions at the intersection of business, communication and entertainment – a recognized leader with the ability to successfully inspire teams, drive business goals and serve storytellers, marketeers, digital experts and communication professionals – within the agency and clients.

Petra has provided award-winning thought leadership to major brands including Burger King, Bosch, BMW, Kodak, IBM, Mattel, Merck, Pixar, Starbucks and Sennheiser to name a few.

Petra is part of the 2014 PR Lions Jury at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Analytics and measurement critical to new PR industry model

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Key finding in new AMEC international study

New international research shows that as PR firms move to adopt a new integrated model they are also recognising the importance of measurement and analytics more than ever before.

It is one of a number of key trends in new International Business Insights research published today (9th June, 2014) by the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), based on a survey of AMEC members.

The findings come ahead of AMEC’s International Summit on Measurement in Amsterdam (11/12th June), attended by 240 delegates from 36 countries.

More than seven in ten AMEC members (72%) agree that PR consultancies are increasingly recognising the importance of measurement and analytics.

David Rockland, a Ketchum Partner and Chairman of AMEC, said: “We have been working hard with PR firms and PR member organisations, and most importantly our clients, over a number of years to elevate the importance of measurement in modern communications and marketing practices.

“As various disciplines are increasingly integrating to deliver optimum value to the client, it remains critical to be able to not only demonstrate results of each discipline, but how they work together to drive business performance.

“We are encouraged by the results of this survey that shows significant growth in the use of measurement by agencies and their clients.  The findings suggest that there is now wider spread recognition of the importance of measurement in not only being accountable and relevant, but also of the use of measurement as a predictive tool and one from which compelling insights can be drawn. We are making progress.”

Phil Lynch, Research Director for Kantar media and Chairman of AMEC’s Business Development Committee, said: “What is good to see coming through is the recognition that clients recognise the value of using measurement and analytics to demonstrate communications effectiveness to the C-suite and senior management.”

He added: “The results prove that AMEC’s commitment to education is having a measurable impact on the raising of measurement standards. Our next challenge is to help corporate clients implement new strategies for proving the business benefits of communication.”

The study showed industry growth of 9% in 2013, building on 12% growth in 2012, with the strongest growth in mid-sized firms (€751K-€2m revenue). Healthcare and energy sectors are forecast to offer the strongest growth potential in 2014. More than two thirds of AMEC firms (71%) said their company’s total revenue increased in 2013

The new insights study from AMEC also shows that explosive client-led growth in measuring social media is behind overall international industry growth with 81% of members reporting increased demand.

There was strong support for AMEC’s work in education, with 87% saying that that AMEC has a critical role to play in educating the marketplace about the importance of measurement as part of its Global Education Programme.

 

Boilerplate

AMEC is the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication, the global trade body and professional institute for agencies and practitioners who provide media evaluation and communication research.

AMEC currently has more than 120 members in 41 countries worldwide.

For further information contact:

Barry Leggetter

Executive Director, AMEC

Email: barryleggetter@amecorg.com

Tel: 44 1268 412414

www.amecorg.com

Five Good Reasons To Stay Close To ICCO During Cannes Lions by David Gallagher

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Guest blog post by David Gallagher, ICCO President & CEO EMEA, Ketchum

In my experience, PR people respond to the Cannes Lions Festival in one of three ways:

  • The doubters:  ‘Not for me. It’s really an advertising festival and not where serious PR should be.’
  • The curious:  ‘It sounds interesting, but I’d need to know more before investing that kind of money.’
  • The true believers: ‘Cannes is where the action is, and love it or hate it, we need to be in the thick of things.’

As a delegate from the devout faction, I’m pretty sure nothing comes close to matching the Festival as a source for inspiration, insight and foreshadowing for our increasingly integrated and global business. But in the past I’ve looked at Cannes Lions as both doubter and curious voyeur, so I’m pleased to see ICCO throwing back the curtains on the festival with useful information and perspectives for the Festival first-timers, grizzled veterans and even the stay-at-home critics.

Wherever your opinion sits, here are five good reasons to stay close to ICCO during the Festival through our onsite booth, this website and social media:

  1. Strength in numbers.  Even Cannes old-timers can find the sheer crowds at the Festival overwhelming, and it’s always nice to see a familiar face.  Use the ICCO booth 12.01 in the Palais as a rallying point for networking and meetings, and for the latest on PR-related news and information.
  2. All the news that’s fit to share.  We’ll be collating and sharing perspectives on what’s hot – trends, learnings and analysis – from a range of sources, including our four main agency supporters:  GolinHarris, H+K Strategies, Ogilvy and Ketchum (go team).
  3. It’s a festival in the South of France, after all. We’ll be socialising in advance of the PR Awards celebration on Monday night, toasting what should be a great showing for the whole industry. If you haven’t yet RSVP’d’d, there’s still time.
  4. Meet the Young Lions.  For the first time, teams of two under-28s from up to 20 countries will vie to win the golden Young PR Lions accolade at an on-site competition. We’ll toast their success and wish them well in this glimpse of the future of our business.
  5. There’s a world outside PR, you know.  One of the great opportunities of Cannes Lions is to see creativity expressed through work of those trained in other disciplines.  We’ll encourage participants to share what they liked (or didn’t) throughout the festival with the hashtags #ICCOCannes for general observations and #WeLovePR for professing your industry support.

See you on the Croisette!

 

As a Senior Partner and CEO of Ketchum’s European operations and chairman of the UK agency, David Gallagher brings more than 20 years of public relations experience, both as a client and as a senior agency adviser, to some of the world’s leading brands and companies.

David Gallagher oversees Ketchum’s nine European agencies and their specialist services, which include consumer public relations, healthcare communications, corporate affairs and social responsibility, public affairs, change management, and clinical trial recruitment.

He is president of the International Communications Consultancy Organization (ICCO), the global umbrella network of 30 national PR agency trade associations, and a fellow and past chairman of the UK Public Relations Consultants Association.  He chairs the World Economic Forum’s global agenda council on the future of media, and was the 2014 PR jury president for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Searching for Wisdom in the Creative Cacophony at Cannes by Renee Wilson

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Guest blog post by Renee Wilson, Chief Client Officer, MSLGROUP & President of the PR Lions Jury 2014

I’ve been to Cannes a number of times as a juror and as a delegate, and I’ve always approached it as an inspiring creative journey and a momentous learning experience.  This time each year, I’m reminded why I chose to be a professional communicator.  I’m excited by the energy of Cannes and its awesome magnetism that attracts some of the most creative minds in the world to this town in the south of France.

In this whirlwind of Cannes, PR is just one part of a much larger whole.  And, the festival here gives us the best opportunity all year to perform a reality check on where we fit in the creative communications landscape and assess the overall health of our creative output.

This year, as President of the PR jury, I have the opportunity to gain clearer vision into this situation.  As the judging continues, my learning about this continues to grow.  At this time, what I can say is this:

 

  1.       There is tremendous creative work being done in the PR category that matches the level of creativity in any other section of the communications industry.
  2.       The best creative work doesn’t just come from America, or Europe or Asia.  It comes from everywhere–every culture and every region.  No one group or one geo has a stronger hold on creativity than any other.  Perhaps that’s because the best creative work cuts to the heart of the human condition and has a universal appeal.
  3.       More agencies, companies, brands and organizations than ever before want recognition for their creativity.  The PR category this year saw more than 1600 entries from around the world.  Numbers continue to go up each year.  The tremendous interest in the festival and the Lions and the efforts that many put behind winning continues to push the level of creative thinking higher and higher.  I think we may be in an age that we are seeing our evolution as creative beings happen before our eyes.  And, in this case, Cannes is the Galapagos of this creative evolution.

Agency sources for the entries are blind to the jurors, of course.  So, we won’t know until after we select the winners where that winning work comes from.  But it is fair to speculate about the key question – just where does this put PR agencies in this space?

The reality is that with the convergence of the industry across channels of communication, everyone is going at PR just like PR agencies are playing in and building out their advertising and digital capabilities.  Let’s not be offended by that.  But I think you get a different flavor of the capability when you buy it from a different kind of provider.  So, the issue is really about style and choice.

In the past, we’ve seen highly creative PR work from ad agencies at this festival.  This work is often supportive, or even central to an ad campaign.  Often, we see fantastic creative work built around tactics.  Sometimes the language used in describing the work – i.e., “we got some free PR” provides both a clue to a ‘non-pr agency’ source and an even bigger insight into the mindset of the creator.

In my opinion, PR agencies, while in a worthwhile quest to upgrade their creative product, still provide better strategic alignment of efforts to long-term company and brand strategies that sit above the campaign itself. And, PR from a PR specialist agency no doubt has very carefully thought-through business metrics built into campaign goals that are evaluated at the end of the effort. There is tremendous value in that.

Oh, it is so easy to be seduced by the creative sirens of Cannes.  Even Achilles wouldn’t be able to resist.  While our effort to learn from the creative zeit masters of the world and improve our creative product is admirable, it should be with a full embrace of who we are: trusted advisors.  The opportunity is to become more creative trusted advisors, of course.  And, in fact, I think we can celebrate a dramatic improvement in creative product from PR agencies over the course of the last few years.  But as we engage with the creative energy we find here at Cannes, we shouldn’t be tempted to disrespect our PR agency DNA.  There are businesses and brands who need this level of strategic thinking and advice just as they need strong creative ideas.  That’s what choice is about.  #PRagencyproud!

 

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Renee Wilson is the Chief Client Officer of MSLGROUP.  She is responsible for the agency’s client service model, global client account planning, migration, quality assurance, tool and process development and relationship management.  She is a member of the global management board of MSLGROUP. 

Renee is the executive sponsor for P&G, responsible for the firm’s work across P&G’s diverse portfolio.  

She most recently was President, North America and oversaw its 14 operations throughout the continent.  Renee also previously served as the Managing Director of MSL New York where she oversaw the day-to-day operations of the firm’s flagship office.

Renee is also 2014 PR jury president for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June.  A proponent of giving back to the community, Renee sits on the Advisory Board for the Young Women’s Leadership Schools of NYC.

Five Good Reasons To Stay Close To ICCO During Cannes Lions by David Gallagher

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Guest blog post by David Gallagher, ICCO President & CEO EMEA, Ketchum

In my experience, PR people respond to the Cannes Lions Festival in one of three ways:

  • The doubters:  ‘Not for me. It’s really an advertising festival and not where serious PR should be.’
  • The curious:  ‘It sounds interesting, but I’d need to know more before investing that kind of money.’
  • The true believers: ‘Cannes is where the action is, and love it or hate it, we need to be in the thick of things.’

As a delegate from the devout faction, I’m pretty sure nothing comes close to matching the Festival as a source for inspiration, insight and foreshadowing for our increasingly integrated and global business. But in the past I’ve looked at Cannes Lions as both doubter and curious voyeur, so I’m pleased to see ICCO throwing back the curtains on the festival with useful information and perspectives for the Festival first-timers, grizzled veterans and even the stay-at-home critics.

Wherever your opinion sits, here are five good reasons to stay close to ICCO during the Festival through our onsite booth, this website and social media:

  1. Strength in numbers.  Even Cannes old-timers can find the sheer crowds at the Festival overwhelming, and it’s always nice to see a familiar face.  Use the ICCO booth 12.01 in the Palais as a rallying point for networking and meetings, and for the latest on PR-related news and information.
  2. All the news that’s fit to share.  We’ll be collating and sharing perspectives on what’s hot – trends, learnings and analysis – from a range of sources, including our four main agency supporters:  GolinHarris, H+K Strategies, Ogilvy and Ketchum (go team).
  3. It’s a festival in the South of France, after all. We’ll be socialising in advance of the PR Awards celebration on Monday night, toasting what should be a great showing for the whole industry. If you haven’t yet RSVP’d, there’s still time.
  4. Meet the Young Lions.  For the first time, teams of two under-28s from up to 20 countries will vie to win the golden Young PR Lions accolade at an on-site competition. We’ll toast their success and wish them well in this glimpse of the future of our business.
  5. There’s a world outside PR, you know.  One of the great opportunities of Cannes Lions is to see creativity expressed through work of those trained in other disciplines  We’ll encourage participants to share what they liked (or didn’t) throughout the festival with the hashtags #ICCOCannes for general observations and #WeLovePR for professing your industry support.

See you on the Croisette!

 

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As a Senior Partner and CEO of Ketchum’s European operations and chairman of the UK agency, David Gallagher brings more than 20 years of public relations experience, both as a client and as a senior agency adviser, to some of the world’s leading brands and companies.

David Gallagher oversees Ketchum’s nine European agencies and their specialist services, which include consumer public relations, healthcare communications, corporate affairs and social responsibility, public affairs, change management, and clinical trial recruitment.

He is president of the International Communications Consultancy Organization (ICCO), the global umbrella network of 30 national PR agency trade associations, and a fellow and past chairman of the UK Public Relations Consultants Association.  He chairs the World Economic Forum’s global agenda council on the future of media, and was the 2014 PR jury president for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.