What a Year it's Been!

2006 saw the CIPR's and my first foray into the world of blogging and now as I hand over the Presidency to my successor and good friend Lionel Zetter it's also time to give him the log-in details and password for PR Voice. From now on it will be Lionel's smiling face you'll see at the top of this page.

My belief that blogging was something the CIPR needed to embrace has been endorsed by the great response I've had to my musings over the last few months. I'd intended it as just another way of communicating with members but surprisingly many of the comments have been from non-members - some based outside of the UK.

It's been educational for me, helped with the advice I give to clients of my own consultancy and importantly required officers and staff at HQ to think out of the box when addressing how best to handle a whole range of topical issues - particularly when planning consultation and member information campaigns.

But, apart from my own well-documented travels meeting with members and representatives of the PR profession around the world, 2006 was a year with many key achievements and milestones worth reminding you about:

In January, the CIPR opened the PR Centre in St James's Square, London providing training, meeting and business facilities for members and the wider PR industry.

In May, the CIPR called for the abolition of the Newspaper Licensing Agency and for it to be replaced with an independent regulatory body. Our call was supported by 60% of MPs who agreed that it is unacceptable for the NLA to have sole rights to sell newspaper copyright licenses. This was also the month when the CIPR launched PRVoice - the CIPR President's official blog.

In June, the CIPR launched employment guidelines for the PR industry. The guide was produced following recent updates to the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment regulations (TUPE). The new rules could have a major impact on PR agencies that regularly have to pitch for business. The updates to the regulations mean that businesses which lose contracts could lose staff working on them to the account winners!

In July, the CIPR launched a PR procurement guide in partnership with the Central Office of Information (COI) and Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). Written following the recommendations of the 2003 CIPR/DTI study, which identified the lack of a purchasing common standard as a major problem affecting the competitiveness and future success of the PR industry, the guide provides an overview of what PR is and is not. It looks at the workings of PR and how it can be used to greater effect. The practicalities of buying-in PR expertise - a step-by-step account - are also covered.

In October, the CIPR held its first-ever diversity conference, focussing on the business case for diversity. At the conference the CIPR launched 'The Business of Diversity - how performance can be improved by embracing diversity' report. The report reviews the diversity of the PR profession today and outlines issues such as why diversity is good for business; how it improves innovation, efficiency and productivity; how it improves staff recruitment and retention; and how it enables organisations to penetrate different markets.

In November, the CIPR amended its Code of Conduct to enable the CIPR to be more proactive in tackling its members who act unethically. Up until then a complaint from another member had to be lodged before the Institute could take action.

Towards the year end and into 2007, the CIPR put out for consultation new media guidelines that look at how new media should be treated as an extension of existing communication channels and how the same ethical considerations should apply.

So, it's been a year in which social media has played an important role and has demanded a lot of time and effort by a number of us. But it's also been a year where some of the long-standing issues continued to rumble around and around every corner there was something which required a response from the CIPR on behalf of its membership and the wider profession.

I've had fun, learned a lot, made many new friends and clocked up more BA miles than I care to calculate. But I end my year optimistic about the future of the PR profession and proud of what we have achieved together.

Thanks for reading and have a Happy, Successful and Prosperous New Year.

Comments

[Simon Wakeman]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for starting up the blog and for your posts on behalf of CIPR.

I look forward to Lionel continuing your good work.

regards,
sw

[Tony Bradley]

Thanks Simon - your comments are appreciated.

Like I was when I became President, Lionel is new at this blogging lark. But I know he is enthusiastic about its value as a communications tool.

Handing over a blog to someone else does not seem to happen that often, but I'm confident my baby is in safe hands!

[Karel Mc Intosh]

I must also echo Simon's congratulations, as I have found the blog to be quite interesting and a source of information not only on public relations in the UK, but also in places such as China and Brazil. It's also a place where I as a Global Affiliate can connect with the CIPR, which reminds me, I need to update my membership :)