Communication as an Essential Tool in Planning: An Example of Workshop at The University of Sheffield International Faculty

Written by: Tomo Popovic

Edited by: Dr. Dimitrios V. Nikolaidis

Successful planning greatly depends on interactive and effective communication among team members. Effective communication enables establishing trust and engagement and creates clear comprehension of what each team member has to do. Moreover, it can become a vital tool of success in both creating and executing a plan. An example of effective communication that lead to successfully establishing and accomplishing a plan was seen in student workshop held in City College, University of Sheffield in Thessaloniki. 

 

Team spirit and fun can go together!

Students of the Public Relations Strategies class were divided into four (4) groups of approximately six (6)  members each.  They were assigned with a particular task in a way that two teams work on the task separately from other two teams. Furthermore, the task for each pair of teams, was to build an improvised bridge from various materials (each team had received an bag with exactly the same material: cardboard, straws, papers, souvlaki sticks, glue, paper, aluminum foil, etc.) in a way that one team builds one half of the bridge and the other team builds the remaining half. However, each team worked separately and students could not see progress of the other group, which means they had to establish an effective communication so as to build the two halves that matched.  Additionally, before they started the task, they had ten minutes to create a plan of how the bridge would look like and how would they build it and to select team coordinators; that was the only time in which the two teams communicated.



Focus! Determination! Engagement

After that, the team coordinators would meet in every five minutes to inform each other of their teams’ progress with a time restriction of one minute to do so.  This limitation in time implied that they had to communicate in a highly effective and direct manner with clarity and focus in order to make sure that they both clearly understand what has been done until that point, and whether their halves matched. At the end, all of the teams completed their assigned tasks successfully since they had established great collaboration and effective communication, which were the key element in this exercise. 

 

In closing, certain principles generated from this exercise:

 

1. Be precise.

2. Be direct & open. 

3. Do not assume; ASK.

4. Listen to understand; not to respond.

5. Build team spirit & good climate.

6. Ensure team cohesion.

7. Give clear directions; ask for feedback. 

 

 

Kell on Earth... Dynamism & Passion: Key Elements in Public Relations

Written By: Nicki Patta
Edited by: Dr. Dimitrios V. Nikolaidis

Most of you, probably, have never heard about Kell. Right? If you answer is "Correct" then you better learn about her.  Kelly Cutrone is the founder of the famous public relations firm ''People's Revolution''. And I guess you don't know what the ''People's Revolution'' is.  Hmmmmm... another topic you need to  learn about! Well, in a few words, Kelly founded the company at 1996 and since then the company has grown into one of the most powerful PR companies worldwide, owning offices in New York, Paris and Los Angeles. And to prove what I am writing, let me mention you some brands, whose shows have been produced by her: Bulgari, Jeremy Scott, Paco Rabanne, Longchamp, Valentino etc.

In US she is called by many as ''the bad**s publicist''. She is a strong and ambitious business woman and she is sharing her wisdom in every chance.  People's Revolution is a very successful company but Cutrone didn't stop there. She has appeared in reality shows, like ''America's Next Top Model'', having a judge role (where she also got the ''Kelly Cut-Throat'' nickname). In 2010, Kelly had her own TV show, named ''Kell on Earth''. The show was about her life and how she manages to have her own company and to produce famous Fashion Weeks while she is a single mother.  

Today, Kelly has 68.6k followers on Instagram and 194k followers on Twitter. But what is the recipe to be so successful as Cutrone? What is the role of a Fashion PR? First of all, the person is not responsible for only one job in a company.  He/she is responsible for:

• promoting the fashion business,
• marketing the latest fashion in a creative way,
• making  influential journalists and bloggers to notice the company,
• building relationships with the Press,
• building a brand (plan shows, promotional events, photoshoots etc),
• making  ''key buyers'' to carry their products or promote them,
• gifting (send free products to key editors, celebrities etc.),
• handling   complains and
• being critical, because the ''face'' of the client company is in his/her hands.

What Kelly claims to be her secret and gift for her success is that she learned to say the word ''no''. ''This is a service industry and after a while becomes very demanding. Learn the word 'no' and then really have the energy and the experience and the knowledge to sit your client down like a good trekker going through Nepal. You want somebody who's gone to the top of that mountain. You need somebody who's going to say don't drink all your water because you're not going to have any here. Around this corner, you might find a man-eating lion''.  And when they asked her, what advice would she give to anyone who would like to get into fashion PR she replied ''when you're following your inner voice, doors tend to eventually open for you, even if they only slam at first''. 

At the end, the magic about our discipline is that we can learn and get lessons from various sources: schools; studying; self-observation; personal experience; academic journals; commercial journal, customers, professionals, etc.. We just need to filter out the information and critically assess the value of it!

   

References:

• Lieber, C. (2014) Badass Publicist Kelly Cutrone's Fashion Horror Storie. [online]. Racked. Available from: http://www.racked.com/2014/9/23/7575955/kelly-cutrone-interview-pr [Accessed 19^th October 2015].
• Ciarallo, J. (2008) So what do you do, Kelly Cutrone, Owner, People's Revolution?[online]. Mediabistro. Available from: http://www.mediabistro.com/So-What-Do-You-Do-Kelly-Cutrone-Owner-Peoples-Revolution-a10220.html [Accessed 20^th October 2015].
• Tiku, N. (2010) Kelly Cutrone's Advice for PR Success. [online]. Inc. Available from: http://www.inc.com/articles/2010/03/qa-with-kelly-cutrone.html [Accessed 20^th October 2015]. 

FACT OR MYTH: PR Myths to... "Believe" (or Not)?

Written by Tijana Kopilovic

Edited by Ivona Vukovic

Nowadays, in this era of crisis, where many people feel insecure for their jobs while others are getting fired from their positions and when nothing seems to be changing anytime soon in the region of SE Europe, we urge you to search on the internet for PR positions. You would be amazed with the variety and the quantity you will find! It is in fact true that there is a constant need of PR professionals.

Public Relations professionals are often called for managing a crisis, neutralizing a negative public opinion, helping in building a corporate image or joining strategic teams. They  may also serve as storytellers, advisors, organizers, counselors, implementers and strategists. But still there are several myths about them. Let's try to address some of them and provide few insights. 

• PR is not important to have. The strongest and most powerful brands have specialized people in PR and communication. Reputations deploy neat tactics that are apparently integrated into the company's core mission, vision and culture.
• PR people do not deal with finance. In order to be in PR you need to know to deal with numbers. They require adding measurements inside the business conversations and informing senior managers about the financial plan. They also develop, execute and monitor budgets.

• The PR person is behind the scene. Incorrect. Every organization is proud to have smart a PR person; a counselor which will be a great spokesperson and always be able to backing its reputation. The PR person is an advantage of every organization and they like to put them on the stage.

• PR only deals with social media nowadays. Today social media is a main tool. This is true, but also not the only one. PR is dealing with a lot more. Planning, developing and implementing strategies, they are key spokespersons, answering enquiries from media, researching, writing and distributing press releases to targeted media, sourcing and managing speaking and sponsorship opportunities, and many other tasks.

• PR only roles are in media relations. Subset of PR is media relations. Having a good relationship between PR and journalist are in most cases critical. Having the good relation with journalists brings to positive media, which every company wants, but it is far away from the truth that this is their only role, but it is highly important for them.

Is a PR Department Necessary For a Company Today?

Written By: Constantinos Rama
Edited by: Christine Saifi and Matija Petrović

The answer is definitely YES. A Public Relations (PR) department is responsible for the corporate image and the reputation of a company. On one hand, a good image can increase sales and make a corporation more valuable. On the other hand, many businesses are occasionally facing brand crisis that can be caused by different types of accidents, defected products or bad services which they usually generate customer or employee dissatisfaction and of course complains. The department of PR has to manage these kinds of crises and ensure that they do not damage the company in any way possible.

The "image" is what the public is supposed to see when the corporation is mentioned. A good corporate image my result in increased sales and contribute in enhancing the brand equity of a company.  The image however, is closely related to successes and failures; and PR can certainly help a company move ahead or assist in resulting fewer losses after a crisis. In other words, PR can ensure such an environment in which a business can survive in the market. Certain techniques and functions exist so that a PR department can employ towards reaching its objectives: 

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which is the company's philosophy in which through various initiatives intervenes in the society with an aim to improve the life of people so that a more socially responsible public ​profile is built. An example of a CSR initiative is, Green marketing, whereby, corporations find new products that are Eco-friendly or alter their existing products so they are more environmentally friendly.

Media Relations is also very important for sustaining the company's image through the media as they largely affect the public. Bad reviews or articles by journalist can create negative brand reputation whereas, positive ones result in a more favorable brand image and reputation. In addition, nowadays Social Media is becoming more and more powerful and therefore, a company’s online presence is a must. Active social media presence allows a company to be highly visible among its target audience as most customers and especially the new generation are shopping online, or posting reviews on social media.  

Another function of a PR department is Event Organization. Companies hold events so they can get the media and the people talking about them. Events can vary from new product launches, press conferences, openings, announcements, celebrations, social gathering, etc.. Usually in these kind of events companies will be portraying the image of themselves. The basic aim is the customer - internal or external - to have better knowledge and awareness about the company’s products, services, management, projects, plans, etc..

In addition to the above, many businesses are occasionally facing crisis that can be caused by various unplanned incidents, such as accidents, defected products, severe complaints from customers. The PR department has to manage these kind of crises and ensure that they do not damage the company in any way possible. The latter is known as Crisis Management as it manages urgent issues. A crisis management plan should be put forward by the PR department and updated on a often.

Finally, Employee Communication, is highly essential as it keeps employees engaged, promotes consistency and positive attitude, are kept up-to-date, they will be active bodies in the company, create more work efficiency, and they will better understand their role. 

In conclusion, the image is closely related to success and failure, so PR can absolutely help a company move to success or assist in achieving fewer losses after a disaster. In other words, PR can ensure an environment favorable for a business to grow and go even further, under certain conditions:

• The company's philosophy is customer - centric;
• Its products and services are offering real value and solutions to people's problems;
• There is clear vision towards sustainability and the well-being of internal and external publics;
• The company truly believes in the value of Corporate Communication and PR!

Public Relations 24/7 TODAY! A Welcome Note

We are living in an era of technological revolution; an era in which information travels quickly and reaches large audiences; an era in which individuals act as reporters since they are able to transfer and post information 24/7. The fact is that the way people get informed is constantly changing while social and new media impact the shaping of public opinion. New technologies, blogging and social media turned the word of mouth into a powerful tool. Public Relations is changing. It is definitely much more than writing and sending press releases and cultivating good relations with the Press. The PR executive needs specialized knowledge, market awareness, and digital familiarity.  Moreover, they need to understand that public relations is not just a set of processes and procedures but also a field where practitioners, besides creating and diffusing content, they should hold a strategic position in the company's decision making processes. 

I have been studying, teaching and practicing public relations and marketing for more than two decades. During this long period of time I have seen the transformation of Public Relations from a set of processes - not as a continuum in some cases - to the development of unique and creative content.

Regarding the module of Public Relations Strategies now, even though the unit was considered among the favorites in the student body, I have decided to make drastic changes. As a result, tis whole process generated a totally different and restructured module; different in lecturing style, in the content, and most of all in the strategic approach given to it.  It ensures more elaboration on the particular subject as well as more critical analysis of various concepts and most of all, more application through a sequence of workshops.  Students using a 60-page workbook, become an active part of the learning process; thus for every theory we discuss, a workshop or a case study has been designed.   
 

 

The primary aim of the unit is to enhance student's employability skills. The unit is designed in such a way that provides students the opportunity to understand and apply the theoretical framework and at the same time develop skills such as:

• written and oral communication,
• working in teams,
• cultural agility,
• creativity,
• time management,
• work ethics,
• organization and planning,
• research skills,
• decision making,
• critical and analytical thinking.

I hope you will enjoy this learning approach and by the completion of the module you will be able to understand the significance of Public Relations and realize the interesting times we live and work in.  With the skills and knowledge you will acquire you will be able to successfully direct the communication strategy of the company you will be working for.

Welcome aboard!