Photos courtesy of Mary Dorn, APR
Monday, August 16, 2010
STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION NOTES FROM 2010 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
From Mary Dorn, APR, CPRC, president, Volusia/Flagler Chapter of FPRA
The Florida Public Relations Association’s (FPRA) annual conference is in day two at the Naples Grande, and already I have a favorite session to share. Before I do, I want to thank the Volusia/Flagler chapter members and board members for an excellent 2009-10 year and congratulate the chapter of the year and Heidi Ottoway, APR, chapter president of the year!
Peter Hollister, APR, CPRC, led a session on strategic planning to a packed room August 9. Ironically, one of his first statements was to put aside strategic planning until you’ve had a chance to exercise strategic thinking. This involves shoving all the organization’s key relationship managers (don’t forget HR) into a room and brainstorming. Doing so not only shows the PR practitioner’s value, but also gains involvement and support, according to Hollister. This “participative” approach is something he stressed throughout the lecture.
He presented his seven steps to the strategic thinking process and warned that plans should be audience driven, not program driven as most are.
After brainstorming, the next step is to take the organizations mission statement and from that create a competitive advantage statement that tells consumers what the value of your product or service is to them. While planning, reduce the constituency list to 8-10 audiences, he said. Be honest with yourself about how much each group can affect the organization’s future.
Without listing all of the notes from what he claimed is a condensed version of his six-hour seminar, here’s the statement about message simplicity PR professionals should remember but don’t always.
“Memorability builds reputation,” Hollister stated. “It’s better to say five things 100 times than to say 100 things five times.”
Hollister is a principal at Hollister, Trubow and Associates where his career has included assignments in the corporate sector for an electric utility, in the not-for-profit sector where he served as vice president for three universities, and as a consultant, originally with Jackson Jackson & Wagner. He co-founded HT&A with Patricia Trubow in 1986 and served on the state board of the FPRA. During the 20 years Hollister spent with universities, his communications responsibilities expanded to include fund raising and fund development. In 1975, he developed the first strategic communications plan for a university, and since that time has served as the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) primary strategic planning teacher, conducting seminars internationally. He is the author of the study guide Successful Strategic Public Relations Planning and has contributed articles and chapters to a number of publications. He is a Certified Public Relations Counselor (CPRC) through the FPRA and was inducted into PRSA’s College of Fellows in 1992.
The Florida Public Relations Association’s (FPRA) annual conference is in day two at the Naples Grande, and already I have a favorite session to share. Before I do, I want to thank the Volusia/Flagler chapter members and board members for an excellent 2009-10 year and congratulate the chapter of the year and Heidi Ottoway, APR, chapter president of the year!
Peter Hollister, APR, CPRC, led a session on strategic planning to a packed room August 9. Ironically, one of his first statements was to put aside strategic planning until you’ve had a chance to exercise strategic thinking. This involves shoving all the organization’s key relationship managers (don’t forget HR) into a room and brainstorming. Doing so not only shows the PR practitioner’s value, but also gains involvement and support, according to Hollister. This “participative” approach is something he stressed throughout the lecture.
He presented his seven steps to the strategic thinking process and warned that plans should be audience driven, not program driven as most are.
After brainstorming, the next step is to take the organizations mission statement and from that create a competitive advantage statement that tells consumers what the value of your product or service is to them. While planning, reduce the constituency list to 8-10 audiences, he said. Be honest with yourself about how much each group can affect the organization’s future.
Without listing all of the notes from what he claimed is a condensed version of his six-hour seminar, here’s the statement about message simplicity PR professionals should remember but don’t always.
“Memorability builds reputation,” Hollister stated. “It’s better to say five things 100 times than to say 100 things five times.”
Hollister is a principal at Hollister, Trubow and Associates where his career has included assignments in the corporate sector for an electric utility, in the not-for-profit sector where he served as vice president for three universities, and as a consultant, originally with Jackson Jackson & Wagner. He co-founded HT&A with Patricia Trubow in 1986 and served on the state board of the FPRA. During the 20 years Hollister spent with universities, his communications responsibilities expanded to include fund raising and fund development. In 1975, he developed the first strategic communications plan for a university, and since that time has served as the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) primary strategic planning teacher, conducting seminars internationally. He is the author of the study guide Successful Strategic Public Relations Planning and has contributed articles and chapters to a number of publications. He is a Certified Public Relations Counselor (CPRC) through the FPRA and was inducted into PRSA’s College of Fellows in 1992.
FPRA honors four Volusia County PR pros
Four Volusia County residents were honored during the Florida Public Relations Association's (FPRA) statewide Golden Images Award competition. Winners were announced at the association’s state conference in Naples Aug. 10.
Mary Dorn, APR, president of the Volusia/Flagler Chapter of the FPRA, was named member of the year for “outstanding leadership, demonstrated enthusiasm, extraordinary involvement and loyal support. “ Dorn is a public relations consultant based in Ormond Beach.
Jo Lynn Deal, chief communications officer for Community Partnership for Children, received an award of distinction for a community relations campaign supporting the agency's mentor program. The campaign recruited 20 volunteer mentors to establish long-term relationships with children in foster care who are between the ages of 14 and 17.
Volusia County Government employees Pat Kuehn and Betty Holness received an award of distinction for “Volusia Counts,” the census awareness campaign they spearheaded earlier this year. Their campaign used local residents as models and spokespersons encouraging others to return their census questionnaires by April 1. The county’s mail-back response rate increased from 67 percent in 2000 to 73 percent by April 27, 2010. The final rate is expected to increase by at least 5 more percentile points when the results of the U.S. Census Bureau’s door-to-door enumeration campaign are announced in December.
Holness is the county’s community outreach manager, and Kuehn is a marketing specialist.
According to the Florida Public Relations Association's website: "The Golden Image Awards have become a standard of public relations excellence in the state of Florida. Winners demonstrate the very best examples of innovation, planning and design. Entries also must meet the highest standards of production, execution, and evaluation of results and budget."
Mary Dorn, APR, president of the Volusia/Flagler Chapter of the FPRA, was named member of the year for “outstanding leadership, demonstrated enthusiasm, extraordinary involvement and loyal support. “ Dorn is a public relations consultant based in Ormond Beach.
Jo Lynn Deal, chief communications officer for Community Partnership for Children, received an award of distinction for a community relations campaign supporting the agency's mentor program. The campaign recruited 20 volunteer mentors to establish long-term relationships with children in foster care who are between the ages of 14 and 17.
Volusia County Government employees Pat Kuehn and Betty Holness received an award of distinction for “Volusia Counts,” the census awareness campaign they spearheaded earlier this year. Their campaign used local residents as models and spokespersons encouraging others to return their census questionnaires by April 1. The county’s mail-back response rate increased from 67 percent in 2000 to 73 percent by April 27, 2010. The final rate is expected to increase by at least 5 more percentile points when the results of the U.S. Census Bureau’s door-to-door enumeration campaign are announced in December.
Holness is the county’s community outreach manager, and Kuehn is a marketing specialist.
According to the Florida Public Relations Association's website: "The Golden Image Awards have become a standard of public relations excellence in the state of Florida. Winners demonstrate the very best examples of innovation, planning and design. Entries also must meet the highest standards of production, execution, and evaluation of results and budget."
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