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PRWeek and ICCO announce strategic partnership to benefit global industry

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ICCO AND PR WEEK

Following the partnership announced last year between PRWeek and the PRCA, PRWeek has formed a strategic alliance with the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO)

PRWeek and ICCO – the global organisation that covers the national trade association of more than 32 countries across the globe – will work together on cross promotion of key global events as well as  joint content and commercial initiatives. With offices in London, New York and Singapore, PRWeek is the leading global media brand covering PR and marketing communications.

The two will collaborate on the ICCO World PR Report and ICCO will become a partner of PRWeek’s global Powerbook, some smaller events and content products to the ICCO membership.

ICCO members will be able to benefit from discounted attendance at PRWeek events as well as preferential subscription packages whilst the two bodies will also be launching a series of global round table events. “We are proud to partner with ICCO on projects that underscore the power and growth of this important market”, said Julia Hood, global brand director of PRWeek.

PRWeekjobs, already the leading recruitment destination in the communications industry will shortly power a jobs portal on the ICCO site and provide  ICCO members with the latest jobs and career advice

Francis Ingham, ICCO Chief Executive, said: “I’m very pleased to be announcing this strategic partnership between ICCO and the leading global brand for PR insight, PRWeek. With a busy schedule of activities ahead of us, this promises to be a very fruitful relationship, and something that is sure to benefit the global PR 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 32 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent over 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

Inaugural ICCO Global Awards 2015 recognise consultancy and individual PR excellence

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London 27th November 2015: The ICCO Global Awards 2015 saw leading agencies, and individuals from across 6 continents win accolades for effectiveness in PR and communications.

Leading PR practitioners from across the globe attended the ICCO Global Awards 2015 at the Park Plaza Hotel, Riverbank on the evening of Thursday 26th November, hosted by BBC personality Helen Fospero. Top consultancies, individuals, and networks all competed for awards in 18 categories.

The winners for Independent Consultancy of Year include: Interel Group for the EMEA region, Avian Media for the APAC region and Imagem Corporativa in the Americas.

Christopher Onderstall of FleishmanHillard won the award for Rising Star of the Year while Nitin Mantri of Avian Media was awarded PR Leader of the Year.

Ketchum walked away with the award for Regional Network of the Year in the Americas, Weber Shandwick in APAC and TRACCS in EMEA.

David Gallagher, CEO of Ketchum Europe and ICCO Jury President said: “We believe that effectiveness is the one true and equal parameter we can all be measured by. We wanted to recognise not just the obvious, loudest campaigns but the smartest, most elegant, and highest value work our industry has to offer. Congratulations to all the winners.”

Francis Ingham, ICCO Chief Executive, said: “I would like to congratulate the winners, and indeed all of those shortlisted. We are delighted that our inaugural awards have been such a success, celebrating outstanding PR professionalism from around the world. PR is great shape on every continent, and ICCO is proud to help showcase that fact.”

The full list of winners is below:

Regional Network of the Year Award:      

EMEA: TRACCS

APAC: Weber Shandwick

AMERICAS: Ketchum

 

Independent Consultancy of the Year Award:

EMEA: Interel Group

APAC: Avian Media

AMERICAS: Imagem Corporativa

 

World’s Best PR Campaigns Award:        

Media Relations: Hill + Knowlton Strategies

Consumer: Burson-Marsteller

Digital and New Media: MSL Group

B2B: NetProfile

CSR: The Skills Group

Not for profit: CROS

Technology: MSL Group

Crisis & issues: CROS

Broadcast: Lansons

Healthcare: FleishmanHillard

 

Rising Star of the Year Award:

Christopher Onderstall, FleishmanHillard

 

PR Leader of the Year Award:

Nitin Mantri, Avian Media

 

ICCO Hall of Fame:

Arun Sudhaman, The Holmes Report

Kathy Cripps, PR Council

Ray Kotcher, Ketchum

Richard Houghton, Agency Doctor

Barry Leggetter, AMEC

 

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 32 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

 

Press Contact

Binta Kristin Hammerich
ICCO General Manager
binta.hammerich@iccopr.com

 

ICCO appoints Elise Mitchell as ICCO Vice President

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), the global umbrella body for PR trade associations, has appointed Elise Mitchell, CEO Mitchell Communications Group & Dentsu Aegis PR Network, as its new Vice President.

Mitchell is an accomplished strategic communications professional and business leader with more than 25 years of experience in both agency and corporate settings. Under her leadership Mitchell Communications grew more than 500% in five years to become a top 35 PR firm in the US. At the end of 2012 she sold the company and today it is the leading PR agency brand to Dentsu Aegis Network, one of the world’s largest marketing communications companies. In recognition of her accomplishments, Mitchell has received numerous awards including PRWeek Agency Public Relations Professional of the Year and was included in the Top 50 Power Player in PR.

Mitchell will work with ICCO on behalf of the US PR Council. Its membership represents the premier global, mid-size, regional and speciality firms across every discipline and practice area. She is also former PR Council Board Member. 

Mitchell said:

“As our profession continues to evolve, it is critical we remain globally connected to continue creating new communications solutions for some of the world’s biggest challenges. I’m honoured to serve on the ICCO Board representing the PR Council and our U.S.-based member firms, but also to help our member associations worldwide as they drive innovation and share best practices across borders.

“Together we will continue to expand our impact and elevate the public relations industry.”

Maxim Behar, ICCO President, said:

“We are very happy to have Elise on board, not only as the PR Council and US representative, but also as a knowledgeable professional. Her experience, energy and enthusiasm will be valuable for our association, which is the largest PR community in the world. Our business nowadays is changing literary every minute and this is impetus behind ICCO’s extremely ambitious plans for the near future.

“Enlargement of our community and constant innovations in PR are now our priorities and I am absolutely inpatient to start working with professional like Elise in that projects.”

The ICCO Board of Management brings together outstanding public relations practitioners from 33 ICCO member associations around the world. Their job is to give ICCO strategic guidance and oversee the work of ICCO Secretariat in London. The Board is headed by Behar.

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 32 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

The Swedish model – How to turn rookies into Cannes winners

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Written by: Joseph Borenstein, Cohn & Wolfe Sweden Print@J_Borenstein
Linnéa Rinäs, Cohn & Wolfe Sweden Print@linnearinas

We were invited to the ICCO Global Summit 2015 to talk about our winning campaign from Cannes Young Lions this summer. However, since talking about one single campaign for 30 minutes gets kind of dull, we decided to  broaden the theme and name our seminar “The Swedish model – How to turn rookies into Cannes Winners”.

In many markets, the PR business is very hierarchical and it takes many years for a junior consultant to even meet the client. Not to mention taking own initiatives, like pitching on a new client or managing a big account. For us, that has never been an issue. Our CEO has never been afraid of letting us try, letting us fail, and letting us succeed.

We therefore decided to share with the audience a few Swedish-inspired tips for how they themselves can turn their rookies into Cannes Winners:

  • Throw away the titles! We would never have won our awards if we would have been stuck in the blogger-email, journalist-calling, social media-copy-trap for 2 years. Which is easy if you’re bound by titles and official work descriptions. In Sweden, we dropped a lot of the formal structures at companies in the 70’s, and we sure don’t miss them. What junior consultants may lack in experience, they compensate with in curiosity – let them not only be part of creative processes, but sometimes even lead them!
  • Mix & Match! A wannabe engineer with a political junkie. A sports geek and a fashionista. Unexpected combinations of people can be pretty awesome!
  • Enable us! Our boss sometimes say that the least she can do is to not stand in our way. That might sound harsh, but I’d say it’s crucial to believe and trust in your younger team members. They want do things differently than you? Explore a whole new way of doing PR? Let them try! They might fail from time to time, but so what? That’s how people learn and grow, both as individuals and as businesses. And that’s how you get to keep your talent past the famous 3-year “I quit”.
  • Let us have fun! It’s been proved that millennials want a fun and social workplace, and that doesn’t mean we’re slackers. One of the reasons we work at Cohn & Wolfe is that it is hard to imagine a more fun place to be. Our colleagues are the goofiest, funnest and sweetest people we’ve ever met, and sometimes our open floor plan feels more like a schoolyard than an office. Does that mean we win less new clients, score less coverage, or are less productive? On the contrary. It just means we have fun along the way.

We came to Milan not only to tell the story of how we won Cannes Young Lions, but also to encourage agency leaders  to nurture and take care of the talent they have within their agencies. Because we’re pretty sure that every single agency has the potential of winning a Young PR Lion  – by just following our tips.

Next year, we’re going be too old to compete in Cannes Young Lions, but we’ll be standing on the side, cheering for the next generation of Cohn & Wolfers to get their chance to shine. And we’re looking forward to seeing not only all agency leaders from the ICCO Summit, but their junior PR-talents as well.

See you in Cannes!

Eight things you need to know from the ICCO Global Summit in Milan

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Written by: Tanya Hughes

Print@TanyaTalkPR

Over 150 communications and PR leaders from all around the world gathered in Milan last week to attend the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) Global Summit. This year’s theme was “Food For Thought” and explored how consultancies and communicators are surviving and thriving in our changing world. SERMO president, Tanya Hughes, joined the heads of some of the biggest independent agency networks for the “Going Global 2.0″ panel discussion. Here are her top eight take outs from the conference on the state of the global PR industry:

1

The two biggest drivers of change in the PR industry are the rise of social media and PR’s increased presence at Cannes Lions – the world authority on creativity in communication, still dominated by ad agencies, but changing fast.

2

AVEs RIP! PR must deliver business results. Ask yourself if your account teams know the share price of their clients.

3

Corporate and brand reputation are now indivisible – marketing and communications are converging. It’s estimated that 60% of market value can be attributed to reputation.

4

And the CEO’s reputation matters. Successful CEOs must now fulfil a public engagement mandate. For PR agencies too, the CEO must embody the brand.

5

Agencies need to restructure to attract young talent – millennials are demanding: they want best possible technology, equality and diversity, customisation, rewards beyond salary, mentoring, a ‘noble’ purpose, recognition access to leadership and empowerment.

6

Over 400 hours of video are uploaded per minute on to YouTube. To have stand out your content needs to appeal to a community (spark and be part of a conversation), engage (hit on a passion point) and have authentic value (entertainment, inspiration, education).

7

Video series are a big trend on YouTube.

8

PR agencies give 20% of their work away. They like to be liked, but the more they give clients, the more they’ll want. That means Fridays are free!

Click here to read more on SERMO

ICCO reveals it represents 2,500 PR firms at Global Summit 2015

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) announced at its Global Summit 2015 this morning that it now represents over 2,500 PR firms and 175,000 PR professionals.

Speaking at the Summit in Milan, ICCO Chief Executive Francis Ingham said: “ICCO is utterly thrilled to be bringing the cream of world PR to the iconic city of Milan.

“We are looking forward to two days of debate in stunning surroundings. The Summit is designed by PR agency leaders, for PR agency leaders, with the sole purpose of advancing the industry through education, networking and collaboration.”

In total, ICCO represents over 175,000 individual PR professionals, working in over 2,500 PR firms and three networks, across 32 countries.

Following the ICCO Board’s decision to open up to direct membership, the UK offices of H+K Strategies, Golin, JIN, MWWPR, Grayling, Sermo Network, thenetworkone, and the GlobalCom PR Network have all directly joined the organisation.

The ICCO Global Summit is being held on the 8th and 9th October at 5* Excelsior Hotel Gallia in Milan. The theme is ‘Food for Thought’, providing a debate around how consultancies and communicators can survive and thrive in a changing world. The Summit coincides with the Milan Expo.

Ingham spoke on the first day of the ICCO Global Summit, and will be followed by speakers that include Fred Cook, CEO, Golin; Colin Byrne, CEO, UK and EMEA, Weber Shandwick; and David Rockland, Partner and CEO, Ketchum Global Research & Analytics, presenting on the Barcelona Principles 2.0.

The ICCO Global Summit is sponsored by ePress Pack, Augure, Autogrill, Prysmian Group, Ketchum, AMEC, PROI Worldwide, Tint, The Holmes Report, PRWeek, and Question & Retain.

Boilerplate

The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 32 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Collectively, these associations represent over 2,500 PR firms. Contact Binta Kristin Hammerich, ICCO General Manager binta.hammerich@iccopr.com

– See more at: http://news.iccopr.com/icco-reveals-it-represents-2500-pr-firms-at-global-summit-2015/#sthash.mQ3kdLTv.dpuf

ICCO announces latest member: Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) announced at its Global Summit that the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms (CCPRF) has joined its growing membership.

Speaking at the ICCO Summit in Milan, ICCO Chief Executive Francis Ingham announced that the CCPRF has joined the Organisation, bringing its association membership to 32.

Comprising the senior leadership of Canada’s public relations industry, the goal of the CCPRF is to promote the high value, professionalism and development of public relations consulting and provide leadership in areas that influence industry growth and performance.

Following the CCPRF’s inclusion, ICCO now represents 32 national PR associations, collectively representing over 2,500 agencies around the world.

David Gordon, Chair, Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms, said: “It is a pleasure to be joining this global network of PR consultancy associations, and look forward to sharing knowledge and best practice with our peers from around the world.”

Speaking in Milan, Francis Ingham said: “I am very pleased to welcome the CCPRF, a hugely important association on the world PR stage. As ICCO grows, so does its relevance and vibrancy, and its ability to represent the global PR community with a single unified communications voice.”

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 32 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australasia. Collectively, these associations represent over 2,500 PR firms. Contact Binta Kristin Hammerich, ICCO General Manager binta.hammerich@iccopr.com

– See more at: http://news.iccopr.com/icco-announces-latest-member-canadian-council-of-public-relations-firms/#sthash.xrzhSx2a.dpuf

AMEC, ICCO and PRCA launch new version of guide to PR measurement

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AMEC, the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication, the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), and the PRCA,  the UK Public Relations Consultants Association, have today launched a new version of their web-based guide to public relations measurement.

The new-look guide, entitled ‘The PR Professionals Guide to Measurement’ was launched today at the ICCO Summit in Milan.

The simple, easy to use and navigate guide is available online at http://prguidetomeasurement.org/, which can be easily accessed on all platforms, including PC, tablet and smartphone.

Eight of the original 12 chapters have been replaced or refreshed by AMEC, ICCO and PRCA members, featuring case studies and best practice on PR measurement, top tips and latest thinking.

The guide’s authors include brand leaders, senior PR experts, and measurement experts such as ICCO President and Ketchum Europe CEO David Gallagher; Carma CEO Mazen Nahawi; Michael Frohlich, UK CEO / EAME COO, Ogilvy Public Relations and Ketchum Partner and CEO of Ketchum Global Research & Analytics, David Rockland.

Jeremy Thompson, Managing Director, Cision EMEA and Chairman of AMEC, said: “We are delighted to again partner with ICCO and PRCA in this comprehensive update of the PR Professionals Guide to Measurement.

“We know we are making real progress in educating PR professionals of the business benefits of using measurement. The new Guide is an important part of that work.”

PRCA Director General and ICCO Chief Executive Francis Ingham MPRCA said: “I am very happy to be launching this, the second edition of the PR guide to measurement. Coming soon after the launch of the Barcelona Principles 2.0, this guide places ICCO, the PRCA and our members alongside AMEC as key players in the effort to improve standards in evaluation across the PR industry.

Earlier this morning, ICCO launched the World PR Report in conjunction with The Holmes Report. The research that surveyed nearly 500 PR agency principals found the gap between the Americas and Europe narrowing. Last year, North American agencies were considerably more optimistic than those in Western Europe (8.46 compared to 7.28 on a scale of one to 10) but this year optimism levels were more similar (7.89 for North America, 7.44 for Western Europe).

Global optimism levels declined just a little from last year’s survey, with agency principals averaging a 7.62 when asked whether they were optimistic about the future of public relations in their market (compared to 7.69 last year and 7.50 in 2013) and a 7.52 (down from 7.6) when asked whether they expected profits to increase this year.

Notes to editors
The PR Professionals Guide to Measurement is available at http://prguidetomeasurement.org/.

About AMEC
AMEC, the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication has grown to become a global trade body for agencies and practitioners who provide media evaluation and communication research. AMEC’s purpose is to define and develop the industry on an international scale with better professional standards for both companies and individuals. AMEC has a membership base in over 40 countries.

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 32 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

About the PRCA
Who we are: Founded in 1969, the PRCA is the largest PR association in Europe, representing 18,000 people in agencies, in-house communications teams, and individuals. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations.

What we do: The Association exists to raise standards in PR and communications, providing members with industry data, facilitating the sharing of communications best practice and creating networking opportunities.

How we do it and make a difference: All PRCA members are bound by a professional charter and codes of conduct, and benefit from exceptional training. The Association also works for the greater benefit of the industry, sharing best practice and lobbying on the industry’s behalf e.g. fighting the NLA’s digital licence.

Who we represent: The PRCA represents many of the major consultancies in the UK, and currently has more than 350 agency members from around the world, including the majority of the top 150 UK consultancies. We also represent over 250 in-house communications teams from multinationals, UK charities and leading UK public sector organisations.
www.prca.org.uk

– See more at: http://news.iccopr.com/amec-icco-and-prca-launch-new-version-of-guide-to-pr-measurement/#sthash.eMkJBL7y.dpuf

ICCO appoints Maxim Behar as President

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) announced that it has appointed Maxim Behar as its new President, at its Global Summit today.

Behar is a globally recognised PR expert, CEO of leading Bulgarian PR consultancy M3 Communications Group and Hill+Knowlton Strategies Chairman for Czech Republic.

He has been Vice-President of ICCO since December 2013, alongside ICCO President David Gallagher, Senior Partner, CEO, Europe & Chairman, London. He was formerly the Treasurer of ICCO, a role which he held for three years.

Behar will take on the new role at the ICCO Board Meeting on 10th October.

Speaking at the ICCO Summit, David Gallagher said: “Maxim brings an extraordinary mix of energy, experience and diplomacy to everything he does, and his passion for our business and this organisation is infectious. Many more good things are on the ICCO horizon.”

Francis Ingham, ICCO Chief Executive, added: “Maxim lives and breathes international PR. His commitment to our industry, and his passion for its future make him the ideal person to lead ICCO. The growth we have enjoyed in recent years will be turbocharged under his leadership.”

Behar is lecturer on modern PR in many universities around the world and a former President of the Bulgarian Association of PR Agencies (BAPRA). He is Honorary Consul of the Republic of Seychelles in Bulgaria.

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 32 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

– See more at: http://news.iccopr.com/icco-appoints-maxim-behar-as-president/#sthash.wQqz8R2R.dpuf

Connecting PR Women Around The World #agencypublisher

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Written by: David Gallagher

dgPrint@TBoneGallagher

GLOBAL WOMEN IN PR To Launch At ICCO Summit In Milan

I have learned a few things about the PR business over the years: it’s global, it’s highly interconnected and it’s powered by women.

The global part has happened recently, with PR consultancy now thriving around the world and contributing significantly to business, government and civil society in economies just about everywhere.

The connectivity goes without saying; every industry event is a homecoming and a reminder of how small the PR world is.  We all owe our careers to a surprisingly small number of people, and as anyone who has ever attended a PR conference or awards dinner, it’s hard to be heard over the buzz (roar?) of memories shared and friendships re-established.

And the powered by women bit – that’s a sign of our collective strength and a reflection of work yet to do.  It’s no surprise that a service industry built on empathy, insight and, well, communicating, would be one in which women thrive.  But while many PR agencies are largely populated by females, the numbers in senior management positions remains disproportionately underrepresented.

The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) has enjoyed considerable success in recent years in all three areas – nurturing international expansion of the consultancy business, creating opportunities to network and collaborate and, now, playing a small role in helping PR women meet, mentor and shape the future of the industry.

A new organization – Global Women In PR (GWPR) – committed to furthering the industry by helping women meet, share, mentor and shape our future.  GWPR will launch at the ICCO Global PR Summit in Milan, Italy this week, and here’s the official announcement:

Milan, October 6th 2015 – A new international association, linking independent networking groups of senior women working in PR, is being launched at the forthcoming ICCO (International Communications Consultancy Organisation) Global Summit in Milan (October 8th – 9th).

Global Women in PR (GWPR) has been formed to act as an umbrella organisation to enable groups of senior PR women worldwide to come together to share ideas, contacts and experiences and to campaign on the major issues directly affecting women working in the PR industry today.

The development of GWPR is fully supported by ICCO and their President David Gallagher had this to say about the new initiative “women are the heart, soul and mind of PR consultancy all over the world, and we at ICCO are pleased to be associated with GWPR’s ambitious global plans.”

Following the recent success of Women in PR (WPR) in the UK and its resurgence as a significant and powerful networking organization; former Joint-Presidents Angela Oakes and Susan Hardwick felt that the time was right to encourage other countries to form their own WPR associations.

“The widely reported gender pay gap and the lack of women in the boardroom are two major issues which are not limited to the UK PR industry, but affect those working in PR worldwide. Coupled with what we believe to be an important vehicle for senior women to meet in a non-competitive environment, WPR also offers its members a chance to help shape the future of the industry and to act as mentors to the next generation. We want our successful networking blueprint in the UK to be rolled out globally and are taking the first steps to make this happen,” commented Angela and Susan.

The launch of GWPR is being supported by Business Wire (a Berkshire Hathaway company) and a major sponsor of WPR in the UK. “We are delighted to be supporting this important launch,” said Kim Deonanan Business Wire Regional VP, Northern & Central Europe.

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David is a senior partner and CEO for Ketchum in Europe, and outgoing president of ICCO.