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The ICCO Global Award Entries: The Quest To Demonstrate True Effectiveness

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Article by Renee Wilson, president, PR Council; co-chair of ICCO Global Awards jury

Another awards program? Oh my…….but wait! – here is a chance to get some deserved recognition for your team’s stellar work, while helping educate the global marketing communications community on the power of public relations.

Our industry is going through somewhat of an identity crisis redefining who we are, and what we do, at an incredible pace.  There are many types of different discipline agencies that claim to know how to ‘earn influence’ or ‘earn media’ in a way that public relations can, with credibility and relevance.  However, our discipline is truly an art and a science, and operates in some similar ways but in a lot of unique ways too.

The ICCO Global Awards is a great opportunity for our industry to showcase the way in which public relations campaigns achieve real results, through powerful outcomes.  It is the measurement of changes in attitudes, opinions, and behavior (eg,votes, shares, sales etc.) that truly helps underscore the effectiveness of our campaigns, and what the ICCO Global Awards are all about.

The Cannes Lions Festival and Awards is very much rooted in creativity, and we love it for that, while the ICCO Global Awards punctuates the campaign “effectiveness.” That’s not to say that you don’t need a creative entry to win the ICCO Global Awards too, but proving how you help achieve your clients’ objectives with something measureable and tangible, not just opinion, is where your focus should be when entering for an ICCO Global Award.

Additionally, could this be the year we come up with the best collection of global campaign entries that demonstrate the powerful effectiveness that public relations offers?  I think it could.  Let’s challenge ourselves and our industry to do it!  Then, let’s use these ICCO Global Award winning campaign entries as calling cards to clients all over the world to better demonstrate what our discipline is capable of when it comes to effectiveness.

In my role as president of the PR Council, I talk to many leaders from CMOs and marketing clients, to communication directors, about the power of PR.  In order for them to continue to prioritize PR within their organizations with supporting resource, and in some cases, start to prioritize, we need to do a better job of explaining our effectiveness.  It’s that simple.  And, it’s that complex.

If you listen to the trade media that cover our industry and the industry pundits, some feel that we are moving too slowly in doing this.  The observation – (whether you agree or not) – is perhaps we are not retooling as quickly as other disciplines in terms of our talent, infrastructure and campaign thinking.  Let’s prove them wrong!  Let’s show the remarkable work our teams produce.  Let’s enter the ICCO Global Awards and use these entries as our industry calling cards.

For more information on the ICCO Global Awards visit: awards.iccopr.com

ICCO announces new Innovation in Communications panel

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ICCO has announced at its annual Global PR Summit that it will be launching a new Innovation in Communications panel.

The panel will aim to engage and educate the international public relations and communications industry on innovative topics relating to its development. It will also prepare research into new practices and encourage the adoption of ground-breaking ideas and products. Finally, it will benchmark and develop best practice standards in communications and engagement.

The panel will be co-chaired by Russell Goldsmith, Founder, Audere Communications, and Elayne Phillips, Head of Civil Service Communications & Internal Communications, Prime Minister’s Office & Cabinet Office Communications.

The panel will be made up of the following members:

  • Richard Bagnall
  • Hanna Basha
  • Stuart Bruce
  • Dom Burch
  • Simon Collister
  • Russell Goldsmith (Co-Chairman)
  • Michelle Goodall
  • Joanna Halton
  • Gabrielle Laine-Peters
  • Rachel Miller
  • Adam Parker
  • Elayne Phillips (Co-Chairman)
  • Julio Roma
  • Andrew Smith
  • Paul Wilkinson

If you would like to find out more information about the panel, please contact Russell Goldsmith.

Francis Ingham, Chief Executive, ICCO, said: “Innovation is key to good communications and is an essential part of a thriving PR industry. The panel will share best practice and innovative practices with the wider global PR and communications community. The industry is already at the forefront of innovation and the panel will serve to encourage a healthy debate on innovation.”

Russell Goldsmith, Founder, Audere Communications said: “It’s a genuine thrill to have another opportunity to work with the same forward thinking individuals who made up a large part of the CIPR’s Social Media Panel.  After our work in that team finished in December 2015, a number of us felt there was more value we could add and having spoken with colleagues and peers in the industry, across business and in the public sector, we felt it appropriate to re-launch the panel with a focus on innovation in products and practice across international communications.  We were therefore delighted that ICCO agreed to support us and give us a platform to achieve our objectives.”

Elayne Phillips, Head of Civil Service Communications & Internal Communications, Prime Minister’s Office & Cabinet Office Communications said: “Professional communicators from in-house teams, agencies and consultants, are facing similar global challenges – some of which can be solved with innovative communications.  As a group, we have always been proud to be progressive in our approach, challenge the status quo and offer new thinking, and we want to continue to push the boundaries.  So, get involved, follow us, contribute to discussions and join us at the heart of innovation in communications.”

About ICCO

The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 48 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

ICCO and PRWeek launch World PR Report 2016

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The World PR Report 2016, published by ICCO and PRWeek, has today launched at the Global ICCO PR Summit in Oxford.

The report, presented by Francis Ingham, Chief Executive, ICCO, is the annual analysis of the international public relations industry. The report includes a breakdown of the top 100 global agencies, market analysis from regional leaders, and a report on agency growth, opportunity, investment plans, and talent challenges.

The report revealed that agency heads are optimistic – on a scale of 1-10, the global average for optimism is 7. The most optimistic markets are the UK (8.1) and the Middle East (8.0). The least are Latin America (5.9) and Africa (6).

When asked about their expectations of profitability, North America came in highest with a score of 7.2, followed by the UK at 7. Latin America came in lowest at 5.2.

Noted areas of growth include digital communications, corporate reputation, marketing communications, and public affairs. These growth areas vary by region, reflecting differing local priorities and differing levels of market maturity.

Commenting on the Report, Francis Ingham said: “The World PR Report is the definitive analysis of the global PR industry. It is only by understanding where we are and in what direction we are moving that we can continue to drive growth and invest in opportunities. We are thrilled to see that the industry is bright, and getting brighter.”

Danny Rogers, Editor-in-Chief, PRWeek, said: “We are very proud to present the World PR Report 2016; the best, and most contemporary, guide in existence to the PR industry across the globe. It has been produced by PRWeek, the pre-eminent source of news and analysis of the sector, and ICCO, the voice of PR consultancies around the world.

“As well as providing the definitive ranking of the world’s top 100 PR consultancies and further listings of local agencies, the World PR Report 2016 has asked this vast network of PR firms about the recent trends in their business, along with their forecasts for the year ahead. We look forward to the next year, and revisiting these rankings and indicators in a year’s time to gauge progress.”

Full analysis and commentary of each of the markets is available in the World PR Report, which will be published by PRWeek both online and in the magazine.

About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 48 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

Global Women in PR Gender Pay Gap Survey

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Thursday September 29th 2016 – Leading international networking group GWPR (Global Women in PR) revealed today at the ICCO Global Summit, the results from their very first gender pay gap survey of men and women working in the Global PR industry. Data collected from 12 countries worldwide revealed a staggering £12,600 pay gap between the salaries of men and women.

The survey also provided an important insight into work/life balance and working practices, that might provide a clue as to why more women are not better represented at the top of a profession where they make up the majority of the workforce.

The survey, conducted by leading research company OnePoll on behalf of GWPR, revealed an average global PR salary of £57,200, with men earning on average 19% more at £67,600 compared to women at £55,000. Whilst salaries are very similar at a junior level in PR; when it comes to more senior roles it is a very different picture. For example, a male in-house Board PR Director earns an average salary of £110,000, compared to his female equivalent on £97,000 – a £13,000 pay gap.

The survey also showed that more than a third of men (36%) working in PR agencies are at board director level, compared to only 16% of women who have broken through the glass ceiling.

When considering asking for a promotion or pay rise, 21% of men were very confident in doing so, unlike women (10%). Further gender differences surrounded balancing childcare and work commitments. This was described as more challenging by women (78%) than men (58%). The sharing of domestic chores was fairly evenly split with 47% claiming to divide the chores, although 41% of the women surveyed believed they did more than half.

In today’s connected world one of the most surprising facts to emerge was the lack of opportunity to work from home. 70% were not allowed to work from home on a weekly basis, with 15% never allowed to do this. The average working week for a PR is 45 hours and an encouraging two-thirds believe they have a good work-life balance.

Commenting on the survey findings GWPR Co-Founders Angela Oakes and Susan Hardwick said: “The findings revealed a much higher pay gap than perhaps anticipated and considering the world in which we now operate, with 24hour access to technology, it is hard to see why there cannot be more flexibility in the workplace.

“Flexibility is very important, but so too is looking at the skill sets that women need to help them reach the top. Business training and tackling confidence issues are two key areas worthy of attention. Retaining talented women so that the boardroom has a better gender balance makes sound business sense. As many studies have shown – a balanced boardroom improves business performance.

“Current working practices have not led to any significant changes in the gender pay gap over the past decade and Deloitte’s report revealed last week that if things continue on the current path ‘Women will not be earning the same as men until 2069!’ We don’t think we can wait that long…..we need to act now to make the necessary changes.”

Francis Ingham, Director General of the PRCA and CEO of ICCO announced an important initiative last month that includes gender pay gap reporting in its kitemark accreditation for UK consultancies for the first time – this should be a global initiative.

About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 48 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

ICCO launches international think tank

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ICCO is pleased to announce that it has launched an international think tank to address the future of global PR and communications consultancies.

The new initiative, chaired by Stephen Waddington, Partner and Chief Engagement Officer, Ketchum, will identify the issues of most concern and interest identified by ICCO’s members. ICCO’s membership covers 48 countries and over 2,500 agencies, making this think tank truly worldwide.

The think tank will now lie at the heart of ICCO’s work and will produce thought-leadership articles as well as best practice guides. The content will be produced by a range of associations and by ICCO’s direct agency members. All articles and pieces of guidance will be available in a free-to-view online format, thus benefiting practitioners at all levels and in every country.

Stephen Waddington, Partner and Chief Engagement Officer, Ketchum, and Visiting Professor, Newcastle University, said: “The geopolitical situation and fractured public discourse in many areas of the world underlines how the strategic role of public relations is more critical than ever to government and organisations. Our business is changing and growing at an unprecedented rate thanks to new forms of public engagement. This truly international initiative will use modern public relations techniques to engage ICCO members and signpost the future of the public relations business, and the excellence that it delivers.”

Francis Ingham, Chief Executive, ICCO, Director General, PRCA, said: “Ensuring that all PR and communications practitioners have access to clear guidance and innovative thought-leadership articles lies as the core of ICCO’s existence. The new think tank will draw upon knowledge from some of the most influential professionals around the globe, all for the benefit our industry.”

About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 48 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East. the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com