BHM Announced as First African Platinum Sponsor at ICCO Global Summit

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ICCO has today announced BHM as its first-ever African platinum sponsor of the ICCO Global Summit. The Summit has been ICCO’s flagship annual conference for more than twenty-five years. The international public relations and communications company has committed to partner the London event on November 17th and 18th as well as bringing insights to the speaker programme.

Ayeni Adekunle, Founder, BHM said,

“By putting BHM at the forefront of activities like the ICCO Summit, we are making ourselves heard and deepening our engagement with the international PR community. I hope to see greater African participation and representation at every level in global organisations and events. This is just the beginning.”

Nitin Mantri, President, ICCO said:

“ICCO is a global organisation, and it is important that is reflected not just in our diverse, international speaker programme and membership but also our sponsor line up, so I am delighted that Ayeni has taken this step to support the event, which is a really positive statement of intent and ambition from him and his agency”.

The Global Summit can be joined virtually or in person, with speakers including Heather Kernahan, Hotwire; Gail Heinemann, Weber Shandwick; Kathy Bloomgarden, Ruder Finn. Full details here.

Inaugural PR World Cup Finalists Announced!

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Eleven countries will compete for gold in the first ever ICCO Next Generation PR World Cup Final later this month.

To qualify for the global final, contestants had to win a national or regional competition, overseen by their local ICCO PR association. In each national competition, participants fulfilled a brief set by a local charity in less than 48 hours. The winning pitch was then determined by a panel of judges.

The final will take place virtually between 13th and 18th October. Answering a global charity’s brief, participants will have five days to put together a five-minute recorded video pitch, which will then be judged by a panel comprised of PR experts from around the world.

Rob Morbin, ICCO Deputy Chief Executive said:

“One of ICCO members’ priorities is to ensure the pipeline of PR talent is nurtured and that we support the next generation of global creative thinkers and internationally minded PR professionals. Winners from different associations across the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East have done incredibly well to win, and the next stage will be even tougher!”

The winner being announced on 21st October.

The full list of finalists:

Name Agency Team/ Country ICCO Association
Nina Kenakkala Novart Oy Finland MTL
Vilma Suokko Lehto Group Ojy Finland MTL
Maria da Silva Agence Proches France SCRP
Vasileios Vrakas (learn more about team France here) Omnicom PR Group France France SCRP
Gerda Scheirlich Opencom Hungary HUPRA
Csenge Miller (Lear more about team Hungary here) Opencom Hungary HUPRA
Iknoor Kaur SPAG Asia India PRCAI
Neha Chandra (Learn more about team India here) SPAG Asia India PRCAI
Flavia Perricone Omnicom Italy Italy UNA
Ludovica Marchese Omnicom Italy Italy UNA
Jessica Openheim Porter Novelli Mexico Mexico PRCA Americas
Leticia Villegas (Learn more about team Mexico here) Porter Novelli Mexico Mexico PRCA Americas
Hameed Olanrewaju Modion Comms Nigeria APRA/ PRCA Africa Network
Onyeka Iyoha (Learn more about team Nigeria here) Modion Comms Nigeria APRA/ PRCA Africa Network
Valeriya Yudina Elefante Porter Novelli Russia PRCA Russia
Julia Kurbatova (Learn more about team Russia here) Elefante Porter Novelli Russia PRCA Russia
Heather Seet Mutant Communications Singapore PRCA Asia Pacific
Victoria Brown (Learn more about team Singapore here) Mutant Communications Singapore PRCA Asia Pacific
Sweta Fernandes (Lear more about Sweta here) Golin MENA UAE PRCA Middle East and North Africa
Hazem Beshr Golin MENA UAE PRCA Middle East and North Africa
Elliot Payne Boldspace UK PRCA UK
Sophie Webster (Learn more about Team UK here) Boldspace UK PRCA UK

ICCO and The Trust Project Announce Partnership to Promote Freedom of Media and Trusted News Ecosystem

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) has announced a partnership with the media and journalism organisation, The Trust Project (TTP), to address misinformation, support free news media, and strengthen the public’s access to reliable news and information around the globe.

Appropriately this announcement comes as we are immersed in ICCO’s PR Ethics Month, which emphasises the responsibility of communications professionals to centre their work in truth, facts, and ethical practices.

ICCO has been a specialist advisor to the Council of Europe (COE) on issues including media literacy and free speech, and TTP will support this work going forward.

The partnership will also allow ICCO, together with TTP, to promote the Trust Indicators® as a powerful news literacy tool for PR professionals, clients and the general public. The organisations will collaborate to create new resources, tools, standards and a series of activities across our geographies that will promote freedom of speech, media literacy and education.

The Trust Project is a US-based not-for-profit that works with news organizations around the world to amplify journalism’s commitment to transparency, accuracy, inclusion, and fairness so that the public can make informed news choices. TTP’s News Partners include CBC, The Economist, El País, The Washington Post, Il Sole 24 Ore and more than 200 other online, print and television media from around the world.

“Misinformation spreads quickly, damaging the work of PR and communications, therefore it is essential we support trusted, credible media. PR also relies on a free media to report information without fear of punishment. Without a free press, there is no free communications. I look forward to partnering with The Trust Project in our work with the Council of Europe and with our members, on building productive networks, campaigns and shared practices between trusted media and trusted PR” said Massimo Moriconi, Europe President, ICCO.

“I am pleased that public relations professionals, led by ICCO, are helping to lead the effort to elevate honesty over misleading reports and claims,” said Sally Lehrman, chief executive and founder of the Trust Project. “The rise of both misinformation and attacks on the press make our collaboration urgent and essential.”

For further information about ICCO’s work with TTP or COE, please contact rob.morbin@iccopr.com

-ENDS-

About ICCO:

The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises 41 associations representing 70 countries across the globe: from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, and Australasia. Collectively, these associations represent over 3,000 PR firms. For more visit http://iccopr.com/

 

About the Trust Project:

The Trust Project is a global network of news organizations working to affirm and amplify journalism’s commitment to transparency, accuracy and inclusion. The project created the Trust Indicators®, which are a collaborative, journalism-generated standard for news that helps both regular people and the technology companies’ machines easily assess the authority and integrity of news. The Trust Indicators are based in robust user-centered design research and respond to public needs and wants. For more visit thetrustproject.org/faq/

 

Ethical challenge facing PR practitioners in 2021

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Isil Aridag, CEO, Unite Edelman Turkey

Reality Versus Truth

In this unprecedented era of pandemics; rising social tensions; unstable politics; financial uncertainty; mass unemployment; misuse of technology; and escalating natural disasters; trust matters more than ever.

According to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer Global Report; among NGOs, governments, and media – only companies and brands are seen as having both the competencies and the ethical resolve needed to tackle today’s problems. Nevertheless, people still question the gap between the projected reality of a company and the truth of how they actually behave.  As comms consultants, we are tasked with a huge and vital mission to foster sustainable, purposeful, ethical business models that protect people, society, and the environment; and to create economic and social value. Consequently, communication in this new age will shift from the traditionally assumed roles of B2B and B2C to a new norm B2H. Business to Human.

The Edelman Trust Barometer Global Report also states that most consumers believe they have the power to force brands to change to take purposeful actions.  Communication practitioners should keep in mind that while acting as loyal ambassadors, consumers may also easily turn into hardened activists and jaded protestors.

The report shows that in our current age, trust in all information sources is at record lows. The public are more sceptical than ever; they doubt the reliability of information; and are wary of disinformation and misinformation; and are confused by knowledge inflation. The challenge for the communication industry, then, is to establish an accountable platform to reach out to, influence, and convince the mistrustful audiences.

The other challenge for communication people is the enormous effort needed to adapt to rapidly developing technology and guide constantly changing social media policies while protecting the privacy rights of all stakeholders. Legal and ethical regulations are a “must-have”. Yet these, sometimes curtail the possibilities of a competitive communications program that stands out among competitors. Alongside this, “strategic creativity” seems to be another challenge.

A trustworthy communication climate and excellent ethical standards can only be achieved when all stakeholders plan, pledge, and act in a collaborative effort. Furthermore, businesses must also “say” and “do” the same. Then, reality becomes truth.

Using these truths to appeal honestly and transparently to the audiences, we can leverage true B2H communications and begin to navigate the multi-layered and integrated landscape of the present day, where trust is needed more than ever.

Follow the hashtag #prethics for more throughout ethics month

High standards and professional ethics are the industry’s crucial raison d’être and an everyday call to action

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By Kresten Schultz Jørgensen, CEO, Oxymoron Communication & Board Member, Kreativitet & Kommunikation (The Association of Advisory Creative Business in Denmark)

& Boline Skovly, Communication Officer, Kreativitet & Kommunikation

If recent history has taught us anything, the most important lesson for communication practitioners and the global industry is that communication has for all practical purposes become means in modern warfare. For some, this might sound as a postulate, however reality backs it up. And indeed, we professionals must acknowledge that our expertise can be used in the service of both good and evil. Good, is the articulation of knowledge and valid opinions. Bad, is propaganda and fake news.

Today, the communications industry is challenged by the commercialization of a few tech giants. The platforms are not only distorted with noise. Over the last years we have witnessed state propaganda, fake news and disinformation that has twisted rule of law and altered societies. As a concrete example, the world witnessed an American election in 2016 that was heavily influenced by Russian interests. This is ultimately what is at stake and this calls for self-reflection within the industry.

Finetune your ethical compass

High standards and professional ethics have always been the foundation of the communications industry, but today they are the most vital competitive parameters in a world where communication is the primary component in both geopolitics and social development. Communication governs the world–and with that follows a great responsibility, ethical behavior, and standards.

Within the Public Relations and Public Affairs discipline, we often work under the radar. Our work and expertise every so often take place in closed spaces, such as dealing with a crisis before it becomes a public crisis or the drafting of political legislation before it is made public. It is our job to participate in policy development for the whole of society, and every communication consultant needs to finetune his or her ethical compass to navigate. Why? Because we are a guarantee of reliable sources of information. But adjusting your ethical compass is not a static exercise. More is it a dynamic process that calls for constant attention.

Furthermore, Public Relations and Public Affairs often start with a problem–other communication disciplines have different starting points e.g., an opportunity, a solution, or a product. The political and crisis-related angles in our professionalism imply that we cannot, nor must we take the wrong shortcuts. In other words, there lies a great responsibility on the individual communications consultant and company in relation to working in accordance with the adopted standards.

Helsinki, Stockholm, and Danish national ethical guidelines

The most urgent challenge today is to value and nurture the ethics of the industry. We believe that we must be at the forefront of standing together with and about high standards. On a national level, we work under a collection of ethical guidelines in Denmark and on an international level we support and conform to ICCO’s Helsinki Declaration and Stockholm Charter.

Heather Kernahan announced as new ICCO Americas President and Board Member

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Heather Kernahan, Global CEO, Hotwire, has been announced as ICCO’s new US Board Member and Americas President. The role will see Heather represent Unites States based agencies on ICCO’s Board of Management, as well as offering strategic insight and direction ICCO’s Executive Committee.

Heather replaces Barbara Bates, who stepped down last month following a move to an advisory role within Enero Group. Heather is currently the Board Chair at PR Council, ICCO’s membership association in the US, providing an ideal platform to continue the excellent partnership between US based agencies and the global PR community.

Heather said:

“It is an immensely exciting time to be a leader in PR and communications, and I look forward to collaborating with colleagues and friends across the global PR community to keep advancing our industry forward in all regions of the world”

Francis Ingham, CEO, ICCO, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Heather to the ICCO Board of Management and Executive Committee. Her experience and global insight will be a valuable addition to our organisation and I look forward to working with her over the coming years”

Heather Kernahan joined Hotwire from Eastwick Communications, as president of Hotwire North America and Australia, after its acquisition in 2016 by Enero Group. In 2019, she was named Hotwire CEO of North America. Under her leadership the agency has experienced record growth. With over 20 years of industry experience, Kernahan has held senior marketing and executive leadership roles at fast growth and global technology organisations including Autodesk, Enphase Energy and Alias. Under her leadership, Hotwire has developed partnerships with technology companies including: Adobe, Facebook, McAfee, Commvault, NetApp and Pinterest. As a global tech expert and business leader she has been named one of 2020 SF Business Times’ 100 Most Influential Women and is the Board Chair of The PR Council. Kernahan holds an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise from Dominican University of California.

The term for Americas President is fixed until Autumn 2022.

UK Team Win Gold at Cannes Young PR Lions

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Gigi Rice and Elle Bellwood, creatives at Hope and Glory, have today become the first ever UK winners of the Cannes Young PR Lions competition. The team from Ireland, Orna Clarke and Lughan Deane won Silver, and from Taiwan, Ya Ting Chien and Tze Yu Yeh claimed Bronze.

Elle and Gigi won the UK heat as freelancers earlier in the year, beating 60 other teams. At the global final, they competed against 24 national winners to be crowned the world’s best. Teams had 24 hours to create a global campaign based on a detailed brief from One Young World.

The brief challenged competitors to create a campaign that would promote young voices in conversations around climate change. The winning campaign idea was “Time for Action” – a strategy to target global leaders and politicians with a series of sustainable luxury watches.

The other five teams make the final eight-team shortlist were: Croatia, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, USA.

The previous gold winners hail from Japan in 2019, China in 2018 and Hungary in 2017.

PRCA Director General Francis Ingham MPRCA said:

“Congratulations to Elle and Gigi on making history as the first ever UK winners of the Young PR Lions competition. It’s been inspiring to see so many brilliant young teams from around the world compete and demonstrate the growing power of public relations.”

Gigi and Elle said:

“We are utterly over the moon to have won the UK’s first gold PR Cannes Young Lion in our initial year in the industry. We’d particularly like to thank Hope and Glory and Candace Kuss for all their support in this round and cannot wait for Cannes Condensed next week where we get to finally meet (and buy a few drinks) for the incredible people in PR who have inspired us through this last year. It’s officially coming home!”

 

Nitin Mantri extends ICCO Presidency to 2022

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ICCO’s Board of Management have together agreed to extend the ICCO presidency of Nitin Mantri, Group CEO, Avian WE, by one year. Many of the traditional Presidential activities have been halted over the course of the past 15 months and the Board have decided to enact this one-off extension.

The two-year ICCO presidency was due to end in November 2021, however current ICCO Vice-President Grzegorz Szczepanski, CEO, Hill +Knowlton Poland, will now take over in Autumn 2022. Alison Clarke, Alison Clarke Consulting, agreed to continue in her role as Treasurer for one additional year. An election to determine the next President and Treasurer will take place in Summer 2022.

Global PR Confidence Up To 87%

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Public relations professionals around the world are feeling increasingly confident about the future of their organisations, according to PRCA’s latest Global Confidence Tracker. 275 members took part in a single-question study conducted by Question and Retain.

87% of ICCO members – drawn from a global pool of practitioners – said they were either confident or very confident about the future of their agency. This is the highest ICCO figure recorded since the tracker launched in April 2020.

Reasons for global confidence included the success of vaccination programmes, which many leaders feel has led to an increase in new projects. Numerous PR leaders also cited an increased demand for strategic advisory services, as well as greater investment in social media, as reasons for increased levels of confidence.

ICCO President Nitin Mnatri said:

“The Global Confidence Tracker is a timely and thoughtful initiative, and it gives us a reason to feel hopeful and positive. We are living through extraordinarily difficult times, and there are no easy solutions to the issues we face. But it is our job to carve a path forward and we have brilliantly reinvented ourselves so far, with digital acceleration serving as a key instrument of adaptability. This is our industry’s inflection point where divergent thinking and creative reshaping of PR strategies will become the hallmark of communications.”

PRCA Director General & ICCO Chief Executive Francis Ingham MPRCA said:

“Our latest Global Confidence Tracker, conducted by Question and Retain, has reaffirmed our overwhelming confidence that 2021 will be a year of resurgence for the PR industry. Significant challenges lay ahead, particularly as COVID-19 variants emerge around the world. But our industry now faces those challenges from a position of strength. Our data show that PR leaders globally are more confident now than at any stage of the pandemic, with digital investment and increased demand for strategic services fuelling confidence around the world. Having endured a torrid period, the industry’s foundations are sound, and its future is bright.”

Annabel Dunstan, Founder & CEO, Question and Retain:

“The Confidence Tracker is a simple one question Pulse Check and happily the trend we have observed is a positive one. It has been a smart move by the PRCA to track member confidence through these most extraordinary of times. The feedback we have gathered on their behalf has helped inform and shape events and communications to support members who have had to pivot and adapt rapidly to ensure their businesses survived and thrived.”

Three ways PR firms can raise ethical standards in 2021

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Author: Nitin Mantri, ICCO Presdient

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world as we know it. But one thing remains unchanged even in the face of adversity: consumer’s need for authenticity, consistency, and clarity.

Even before the world was turned upside down, consumers wanted companies to care about social, environmental, and ethical issues and take meaningful action to create a more sustainable future. Studies conducted before the pandemic have shown that the new brand loyalty is driven by a shared understanding of humanity and respect, and to survive, we must all be authentic, ethical, and human to the core.

The profound upheavals of the past year have made this clamour for authenticity a business imperative. The age of accountability is upon us and ethical behaviour is the only way forward.

Here are three ways PR firms can raise ethical standards in 2021:

Start with your own employees

2020 saw companies effectively adapt to the disruption of the pandemic by transitioning to remote work. In 2021, PR firm leaders must begin to look inward. In a recent ECI 2021 Global Business Ethics Report,“(global employee) pressure to compromise standards is the highest ever. Globally, 29% of employees reported pressure in 2020, an increase from 20% in 2019.”

This is a wake-up call. Since a hybrid work model is likely to be the new norm, this is our opportunity to reflect on our organisations’ values, discard outdated practices and rebuild a company culture that adheres to ethical obligations, starting with employee engagement, growth, and welfare.

Future-proof your organisational culture by conducting ethics trainings that will provide additional guidance on cybersecurity, maintaining confidentiality in shared workspaces, ensuring client privacy and data protection, and address common ethical dilemmas, to name a few. The leadership, and not just the HR, should conduct these trainings because the onus of ethical conduct cannot be only on employees. Leaders must ensure that they are honest in all their dealings.

Defend the truth

The erosion of trust in the media and the proliferation of social channels and online sources of news have resulted in a misinformation surge. This does not bode well for the industry. If the credibility of the media diminishes, will our stories have the same impact? Will consumers trust them? Will we as an industry be that relevant?

The good news is that we, communicators, can play a significant role in restoring people’s faith in authentic news outlets. How? By collaborating with credible media outlets for all our work, being scrupulous about the facts of any story we promote and by holding both clients and journalists accountable. And we must keep doing so even after the crisis is over. We must keep defending the truth and the people who tell it and ensure that our clients stay on the course of truth and accountability.

Use technology responsibly

Amidst the devastation, uncertainties and chaos, technology has been the only winner that is helping us function in this new world. And these technologies will become even more integral to our lives. Tools like Cloud, machine learning and artificial intelligence have become our go-to tech assets that are helping us optimise client time and budgets.

The dependence on big data technologies will also increase as economies inch their way to revival and consumer sentiment remain largely unfathomable. Being a tech optimist, I am excited about these opportunities, but we must strike a balance between innovation and ethics and choose what works best for our clients without sacrificing consumer privacy.

Conclusion

2021 looks to be the year when the PRCA Ethics Council will successfully demonstrate the impact of its purpose, a year in which we will focus on uprooting compromised workplace ethics and lay the foundation of a stronger industry. But let us not forget that the responsibility to maintain ethical standards extends to every single member of the PR fraternity. Till the time we walk the talk, we will not find a cure to the industry’s ethical dilemma.