Council of Public Relations Firms 2009 Critical Issues Forum

Council of Public Relations Firms 2009 Critical Issues Forum

Ray Kotcher

Senior Partner and CEO, Ketchum 

Vanderbilt Suites 

New York, N.Y.

October 28, 2009


Good evening, and thank you all for being here tonight. It’s great to see so many colleagues and friends come together as members of the Council of Public Relations Firms, an organization I am proud to have chaired for the past two years. For me, gatherings like this reinforce the importance of belonging to the Council.

 

I want to thank two very special guests for joining us tonight: Pattie Sellers from Fortune magazine and Ambassador Karen Hughes. Pattie is one of the best business journalists and thinkers working today. What she has done with the Most Powerful Woman Summit is remarkable.

 

Karen Hughes is currently the Global Vice Chair at Burson-Marsteller. During her career, she has served as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, where she oversaw three State Department bureaus, and prior to that assignment, she served as counselor to President George W. Bush.

 

I also want to thank our board of directors, for your passion, for this business and for your commitment to this organization. We had a great meeting today, and there are several important initiatives in the works for 2010. 

 

And speaking of most powerful women, the Council will be in great hands with incoming Chair Margery Kraus, who is the CEO of APCO Worldwide and one of our industry’s brightest and most forceful advocates.

 

I would also like to thank Davis & Gilbert, and, in particular, Michael Lasky, for the support and assistance you and your firm provide. Not only is Davis & Gilbert always ready to provide advice and expertise, Michael is one of the best new member recruiters the Council has. Thanks, Michael, for the many ways you and Davis & Gilbert support the Council

 

Tonight I want to take a few minutes to make some general observations on the past two years of my chairmanship, from an industry perspective and about our now-11-year-old organization.

 

And what a two-year span it has been: An economic meltdown, the election of the first African American president in the U.S., and an ongoing global and digital revolution that continues to shape our industry’s future.

 

While it may not be the easiest time to run a business, if you had to choose a business to run, or to start, I think a public relations consultancy is a damn good choice.

 

However, as strong as I think the prospects are for the public relations industry, I do think we are at a crossroads. It is true that public relations is more valued than ever. But we also have to continue to work hard to make sure it stays that way.

 

“We are all media now.” That’s a popular expression that I’ve heard quite a few times this year. As provocative as that phrase is meant to be, there’s clearly some truth in it. We’re never going back to the way it used to be. With each innovation, each online revelation, each market or cultural gyration, when it comes to the digital, media, and global communications landscape, we must accept the rapid pace of change, continue to be flexible, and innovate in order to continue provide client value.

 

It makes what we do so very interesting. It also makes what we do that much more important to our clients. And it makes what we do that much more competitive for our agencies – because other disciplines want what we have.

 

Therefore, as an industry, we must protect and advance our unique value proposition. We must continue to clearly define and articulate our place in the new world order and get even better at measuring our contributions to our clients’ businesses.      

 

The Council is going to have a role here, and I’m passionate about this opportunity. In fact, I believe so strongly in this organization’s influence, and responsibility to the industry, I’ve already committed to the Council’s board that I’ll spearhead an effort for the next year. We’re calling it the Gold Ring, and it will involve proprietary research as well as outreach to clients and other purchasers of public relations services.

 

As we all expected, 2009 has been a challenging year, especially when compared to the past several years of steady and robust growth. 

 

We are hoping for the best in 2010. I, for one, am optimistic. The most recent Council survey indicated that most of you are cautiously optimistic as well.

 

Despite all the economic challenges of the past year, member retention at the Council was more than 90% this year -- which is where it usually is. I can’t think of a better testimonial to the relevance and strength of the organization than that.

 

I said at the outset that meetings like this one are great reminders of the value of membership. But it’s the stuff that gets done between the annual meetings that’s really important.

 

As a refresher, I want to make the point tonight that the Council has been beneficial to member firms by developing and promoting programs that adhere to this organization’s guiding principles. Those principles are . . .

Outside these walls, we compete. Inside, we collaborate. And we collaborate quite well. The Council’s 10th anniversary Gives Back program, which many of your firms took part in, is a wonderful case in point. Member firms contributed their time and conducted workshops for nonprofits in six U.S. markets.

 

The results went way beyond what we expected. More than 30 member firms participated; close to 400 nonprofit organizations attended, and all six events were sellouts. It was a great demonstration of the Council’s ability to mobilize its members for a worthy cause, not to mention a convincing showcase for the strength of this industry’s digital know-how.

 

The Council always has an eye on the issues. Most recently we have provided our members guidance related to the new changes in the Federal Trade Commission Guides concerning the use of spokespeople and testimonials.

 

Again, thanks to our friends, and tonight’s sponsor, Davis & Gilbert, for developing these materials for the Council, and, as always providing us with exceptional counsel on important industry matters.

 

With Margery taking over as Chair, you can bet that issues management will be a top priority in 2010.

 

Ethics is an area that the Council takes very seriously. We continue to revise and update our statement of principles, most recently adding language about working with online influencers and the importance of transparency. This document, which every member is required to sign each year, helps distinguish the Council and its members and what we stand for, which is honest, ethical business practices that our employees can be proud of and our clients can depend on.   Many of you have attended the Ethical Decision Making training sessions that we held over the past few years -- that training was developed and contributed by my firm, Ketchum, and Davis & Gilbert. There will be more of those sessions in the future.

 

Looking outward: The Council continues to build an impressive multichannel platform from which to share our news and opinions with a broader audience.  

 

Firm Voice is now in its second year of publication, reaching thousands of readers every other week. It is a project that I developed and believe in strongly – an online publication dedicated solely to the PR agency world. Today, it is reaching not only agencies, but clients, media and students who want to learn about our business – it has a distribution of 60,000 and 5,000 – 7500 opens per issue.

 

I want to share with you a reader’s comment from earlier this month that I think says a lot about this publication. It’s from a CEO of a small marketing company about an article that focused on what clients were anticipating in 2010:

 

This article is fantastic. The information is invaluable. It would cost our company thousands of dollars to gather this insight. I forwarded your article to my entire team and set a strategic planning discussion for next week to ensure that our goals and objectives are aligned with the recommendations in this article. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this article. You are making a difference in the industry, one agency at a time.

 

Firm Voice has been a great source of visibility for the Council and its members. It really does shine a light on the exceptional work being done by our members, especially through the Best Practices articles, which are a mini “viral” phenomenon on their own.  

 

Then there are the social media tools we use. You can find the Council on Twitter, YouTube, Linkedin, Flickr -- Constantly spreading our messages, and showcasing the best that the public relations industry – and our members -- has to offer.

 

I want to conclude tonight by asking you to renew your commitment to this organization. You can do this, not just by writing a check (though that’s always appreciated) but also by giving your time and your firm’s resources as we continue to reach for greater heights. Our active members run successful firms, but they find time to serve on committees, participate in events and programs that are relevant for their firms, or lend creative resources, like Coyne PR and Imre – just to name two -- did this year.

 

Thanks to the Council’s staff as well. We appreciate your commitment to the industry.

 

It has been a pleasure serving as your Chair. Getting to know so many of you individually as well as the work of your firms has given me a great deal of confidence in our industry’s future as well as the Council’s future. I think we are just starting to hit our stride. Thank you.