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.
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