tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2531042967579178232024-02-20T06:26:05.865-08:00Strategic Public Relations and Communications Management in CanadaThe purpose of this blog is to provide a forum to discuss and deliberate on the strategic role of public relations and communications management in Canada. I will endeavour to provide readers with the latest research, theory-building, and international perspectives on our profession.Terry Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758356347227184195noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253104296757917823.post-74486080554442530812009-01-16T06:44:00.000-08:002009-01-16T06:54:06.505-08:00Brace For Impact!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkrs8lTD673WfmIeUncdUNVwxweuJQpQYnXhDdRm2fwvle88QWh7addFya58yzbtKqIA3extm7esw7MUUEKkX7hN10_5K4NL3LUAPvB2IpjWtAw0JZUw1p_QMMPHolRoo5YErnYLDZVv4/s1600-h/3200233434_fa02a4bc8d.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291904968307755266" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkrs8lTD673WfmIeUncdUNVwxweuJQpQYnXhDdRm2fwvle88QWh7addFya58yzbtKqIA3extm7esw7MUUEKkX7hN10_5K4NL3LUAPvB2IpjWtAw0JZUw1p_QMMPHolRoo5YErnYLDZVv4/s320/3200233434_fa02a4bc8d.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>OK, those are three words that I hope none of us ever have to hear. Imagine what/who would be occupying your thoughts in those final three seconds...on the other hand the passengers really didn't have that much time to do anything but brace themselves. This is once again an example of crisis preparedness (similar to the Air France crash in August 2006 in Toronto where all the passengers and crew also survived). Airlines and aircrews have normalized crisis preparedness and have operationalized the six attributes of crisis leadership that I developed into a predictive model in my dissertation. Those factors are: leadership, culture, mindset, crisis management procedures, communications capabilities and organizational learning. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>If the pilot (who I understand is also an accomplished glider pilot) hadn't have normalized these conditions and factors and reviewed and readied himself and his co-pilot for this type of eventuality, I'm not sure that we would have had the same results.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I've seen lots of coverage and communications but I haven't seen anything yet from U.S. Air -- have you heard or seen communications from the company. If so, please give me your perspective.</div>Terry Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758356347227184195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253104296757917823.post-72297571211128487702009-01-12T19:09:00.000-08:002009-01-12T19:20:54.908-08:00Thank Goodness for This New Thing Called The Internet<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrHXS1ePqjKcQfvmWjtmfKb22GRK_70z6NhyphenhyphenL-LUU1_ZClUUQQppWACm4xkbNJfEDxfMialqHOoAJa-EeGHlEM1Id1t-m5ps5dmDg5sAaNVslq46PT6AvjW3lgsvl-oqG0oOo5GdSKQY/s1600-h/ctv.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290613077121963682" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 84px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 63px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrHXS1ePqjKcQfvmWjtmfKb22GRK_70z6NhyphenhyphenL-LUU1_ZClUUQQppWACm4xkbNJfEDxfMialqHOoAJa-EeGHlEM1Id1t-m5ps5dmDg5sAaNVslq46PT6AvjW3lgsvl-oqG0oOo5GdSKQY/s320/ctv.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>While preparing for tomorrow's lecture on crisis communications, I came across this clip from an interview I did on CTV Newsnet in the weeks following the federal election in October. The real secret behind this interview is that my two teenage boys were sitting off camera and threatening to yell and scream just to see how I reacted during the interview...oh the joys of parenthood! The camera guy loved it.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>My key point is that political parties, just like organizations, must find a competitive strategic point of differentiation and their leaders must reflect that differentiation as well.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/pro-dion-petition/#clip104931">http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/pro-dion-petition/#clip104931</a></div>Terry Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758356347227184195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253104296757917823.post-42400726886586417642009-01-04T19:13:00.000-08:002009-01-16T06:55:21.285-08:00Looking for Canadian Best Practices<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-cD_eDbNNgg5fUWEqarc0OvRoLT9ZDA6mFogqhGCdQRyr_Ue3nIuF1OP5bS-l63jIWmsYv3zOX_JOqXjLfZ09Lf9fw_6U5TbaWEbSfoObMxYDeUiGyw-TVk93mSOuUQVyFOKxbRO9MU/s1600-h/BestPracticesImage.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287645075024739058" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-cD_eDbNNgg5fUWEqarc0OvRoLT9ZDA6mFogqhGCdQRyr_Ue3nIuF1OP5bS-l63jIWmsYv3zOX_JOqXjLfZ09Lf9fw_6U5TbaWEbSfoObMxYDeUiGyw-TVk93mSOuUQVyFOKxbRO9MU/s320/BestPracticesImage.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I'm thinking about developing a series of Canadian public relations case studies that could be used at both the undergraduate/post-grad and masters level. But to do that, I need to write the cases with organizations that are willing to put themselves forward as 'best practices' -- you know from my writings on Maple Leaf Foods that they are a natural for the Crisis Communications case study. So who do you think are the candidates for this publication?</div>Terry Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758356347227184195noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253104296757917823.post-62282609329697089092009-01-02T07:22:00.000-08:002009-01-04T19:30:20.538-08:00Newsmaker of the Year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdS398XRqXTkTbnCc2EHarNXe011_lJfpiQ3XdUxDAPmw87kr4gjm445aESe120UDveFlpgnEkPn2ynlt4ZRYgkzgdqWTPpvuAmA5NIH_PpXoFWG9JmIw9BlcB7-ZfLsVXQShhd16nNTw/s1600-h/Michael+McCain.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286724683467896354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 215px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdS398XRqXTkTbnCc2EHarNXe011_lJfpiQ3XdUxDAPmw87kr4gjm445aESe120UDveFlpgnEkPn2ynlt4ZRYgkzgdqWTPpvuAmA5NIH_PpXoFWG9JmIw9BlcB7-ZfLsVXQShhd16nNTw/s320/Michael+McCain.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The Canadian Press today announced that Maple Leaf Foods CEO, Michael McCain, was named their 2008 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Newsmaker</span> of the Year for his handling of the listeria recall (see story in today's Waterloo Region Record <a href="http://news.therecord.com/Business/article/466063">http://news.therecord.com/Business/article/466063</a>). The annual survey of Canadian editors and broadcasters stated that McCain "showed both genuine compassion and cutthroat business sense, and helped Maple Leaf Foods Inc. emerge relatively unscathed <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">from</span> one of the worst <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">foodborne</span> illness outbreaks in Canadian history."</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>From my analysis and assessment of their initial and continuing response to this crisis, I predicted in early September that not only would the company survive this tragedy but that it would be stronger and more focused on their core operations when the dust settled. In those early days I observed a number of critical variables that I believe <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">MLF</span> had institutionalized prior to the outbreak that predicted a successful recovery: strong crisis leadership, a participative culture, strategic public relations management capabilities and a crisis mindset that demonstrated that crises are a fact of everyday life.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>In those early days I gave their response an A- (a very good mark in my books) and in mid-December I revised that to an A (for my U.S. colleagues ... our grading system includes A+) due to following actions: not rushing to reopen the plant and waiting until they had effectively managed the presence of listeria in their operations (it is ubiquitous); and most importantly, the effective and strategic decision to settle the class-action lawsuits in a very timely manner. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The markets have responded positively to their actions as well. On the last trading day of 2008, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">MLF</span> shares traded above their <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">pre</span>-crisis price of $10.90 -- signalling a vote of confidence from investors and analysts.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>There are of course a couple of things that I'm sure that Maple Leaf Foods would dispute in Canadian Press statement I quoted above: cutthroat and the company emerged relatively unscathed. I would suggest that rather than cutthroat their response was absolutely strategic. Cutthroat denotes a devious intent and I do not believe that the company's response was designed to help the company survive at all costs. In fact I would suggest that they ultimately lived their corporate value of "doing the right thing" and thereby were able to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">strategically</span> manage their way through this crisis. The second statement is also problematic: no company that is faced with a crisis of this proportion emerges relatively unscathed. I would suggest that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">MLF</span> and Michael McCain have been impacted deeply by this crisis and therefore have been changed forever. It is my belief that they will institutionalize the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">learnings</span> from this recall and response and make it a very real and meaningful part of their corporate history and values.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Congratulations Mr. McCain and the Corporate Communications department at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">MLF</span>. </div><div> </div><div>POST SCRIPT... on Saturday, while drinking my morning coffee, I was pleased to read that the editorial staff at the Record agreed with my perspective on MLF's success. I was also pleased to read that they referenced a line from an op-ed that I wrote on this subject in September. Here's the editorial for your reading enjoyment <a href="http://news.therecord.com/Opinions/article/466519">http://news.therecord.com/Opinions/article/466519</a></div>Terry Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758356347227184195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253104296757917823.post-47276825341504398722008-12-20T06:50:00.000-08:002008-12-20T07:07:32.947-08:00The Detroit Three -- Bail Outs or Bailing?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhku2GYA3O1HTIXM3e3t9JTMTGXXXKff0FbYPoajjXcCseHEijqny4md-KYJwJEATuX7uRF-I4A45DpLGmflqtHmJWBdFNhrKSiXGCwf1KdrEdOPwhbEoChm9n05tNf0DzckQ6rjx0xAE8/s1600-h/detroit_3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281889132504232290" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 163px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhku2GYA3O1HTIXM3e3t9JTMTGXXXKff0FbYPoajjXcCseHEijqny4md-KYJwJEATuX7uRF-I4A45DpLGmflqtHmJWBdFNhrKSiXGCwf1KdrEdOPwhbEoChm9n05tNf0DzckQ6rjx0xAE8/s320/detroit_3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Can a $20+ billion bail out stop North American consumers from bailing on the Detroit Three? Over the last decade these companies have significantly damaged their relationships with their priority <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">publics,</span> resulting in a dramatic decrease in their overall <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">reputational</span> value. In two recent studies conducted with my MBA students, the Detroit Three ranked at least 30 points behind in corporate reputation scores than Toyota and Honda. So will the investment by both the governments of Canada and the United States impact consumer demand for these products? Rather than simply handing over $20 billion -- which will only be a short term fix to help them through the next quarter -- why not encourage both consumer confidence and spark retail sales by implementing a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">moratorium</span> on both federal and provincial taxes -- in Ontario that would be a 13% savings for consumers. But on the other hand, this might just help Toyota and Honda continue to out pace the Detroit Three.</div>Terry Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758356347227184195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253104296757917823.post-74811573909989701322008-12-19T08:23:00.000-08:002008-12-19T08:46:54.476-08:00Strengthening Relationships and Enhancing Your Reputations During This Economic Crisis<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFZjxr49RTfRjBfE2J-TOZRrjjlkcz9mkNzippfagkwfx8DDP2LRBb4OAFDh_lv4amskqYviGsc71NuyL6fWFL8bl9BUFVDSStZr8Djn7SEmB1g7x7SrvEH56ECx5iFi1cNFzj03CNDo/s1600-h/01_26_08_recession.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281543653134678258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 242px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFZjxr49RTfRjBfE2J-TOZRrjjlkcz9mkNzippfagkwfx8DDP2LRBb4OAFDh_lv4amskqYviGsc71NuyL6fWFL8bl9BUFVDSStZr8Djn7SEmB1g7x7SrvEH56ECx5iFi1cNFzj03CNDo/s320/01_26_08_recession.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Can public relations initiatives survive this economic crisis? For those of us that can remember the recession of the early 1980's and then the mild economic disruption in the early 1990's -- public relations programs and professionals were among the first casualities of organizational cutbacks.<br /><br />Will that be the case in this recession or have we done a better job in showing the value and return on investment that strategic public relations programs bring to organizations -- relative to other organizational functions?<br /><br />From my research, it is clear that when public relations professionals demonstrate their strategic contributions through communications/public relations programs and can tie their program success to increasing the organization's overall value or reputation, then they are in a better position to defend their programs and their jobs.<br /><br />What do you think?</div>Terry Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758356347227184195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253104296757917823.post-16382113001570048022008-12-19T07:54:00.001-08:002008-12-19T08:00:59.449-08:00CPRS Annual Conference Launches Vancouver Website<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBQCcV2y_t8DmEwlgK0BFr5iLdWGnfLepwvfelle86goOL6pM5EqqAlHyMe8uxCfjzyEUn0z_4eNaxa6pxYlzPV_TMF4CsFoJskvCWGHUVRf-TvTQckFbKOh1W8fscx03M7BhJasDUwU/s1600-h/CPRSbanner120.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281531830247314066" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 120px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 90px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBQCcV2y_t8DmEwlgK0BFr5iLdWGnfLepwvfelle86goOL6pM5EqqAlHyMe8uxCfjzyEUn0z_4eNaxa6pxYlzPV_TMF4CsFoJskvCWGHUVRf-TvTQckFbKOh1W8fscx03M7BhJasDUwU/s320/CPRSbanner120.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) will hold its annual conference in Vancouver from June 7-9, 2009 at the Westin Bayshore Hotel. The conference organizers are offering extra early bird registration offers from now until February 20, 2009 -- a $200.00 saving over the full conference fee. Here's a link to the conference website <a href="http://on-the-edge-vancouver.com/">http://on-the-edge-vancouver.com/</a> and you can also go to <a href="http://www.cprs.ca/">http://www.cprs.ca/</a> for further information. The list of speakers will be updated in the new year but I can confirm that Dave Scholz (VP Leger Marketing Toronto Office) and I will be presenting our results from two national surveys on the effect of Maple Leaf Foods crisis communications efforts.</div>Terry Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758356347227184195noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253104296757917823.post-87232150203830212112008-12-19T05:48:00.000-08:002008-12-19T06:10:52.638-08:00Maple Leaf Foods Moves From A- to A on My Rating Scale<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uui2XFIYesC9MX1pJvs8qDhlrUi1nj3lCz2htFMGGno8WUw3xgi5MYjjWR0AWU8z0kQ0nBgmL1AQ63ECk_AI32aqHjRAVcoihY1UWRYgKjdc3CIoI0S14jxw0wql5X9Hqxt5erz4f5s/s1600-h/Maple-Leaf-Foods.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281502521566453474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 190px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uui2XFIYesC9MX1pJvs8qDhlrUi1nj3lCz2htFMGGno8WUw3xgi5MYjjWR0AWU8z0kQ0nBgmL1AQ63ECk_AI32aqHjRAVcoihY1UWRYgKjdc3CIoI0S14jxw0wql5X9Hqxt5erz4f5s/s320/Maple-Leaf-Foods.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><div>News this morning that Maple Leaf Foods has settled a number of class action law suits that were launched in the wake of the listeria outbreak this summer. Reports in the Globe and Mail (A4) and The Record (A1) indicate that the company has agreed to pay around $27 million to settle the claims. This is an approach that I recommended in media interviews in late August as a way to show that the company is living their corporate values -- "Doing the right thing."<br /><br />I also suggested that due to the high credibility ratings that Mr. McCain achieved in our two DeGroote-Leger national surveys (also had high ratings for trust and believability) conducted in early September and October -- that he should continue to be the company's spokesperson as it worked to regain consumer confidence and rebuild market share.<br /><br />In those surveys we also isolated a direct and significant effect of their communications efforts on trust and credibility factors and intent to repurchase Maple Leaf products. We also showed that their crisis communications actions also had a positive impact on consumers valuation of the company.<br /><br />On a final note...Maple Leaf Foods stock traded for $10.90 the day before the recall. It fell about 25% in the first few weeks after the recall and hit a low of $7.10 in early October. Yesterday it closed at $11.00 -- the stock market has certainly viewed their recovery efforts very positively.<br /><br />Grade === move from A- to A.</div>Terry Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758356347227184195noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-253104296757917823.post-2453515892510292542008-12-18T12:41:00.001-08:002008-12-20T07:32:27.178-08:00Defining Public Relations<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyYxBcdZh4BxVkmDvgOZwqfnCrddfqqyNmOj3RsfoQjEPRzbRVhdwXVF7oOUCAYiAkcP_Dfjc8r-elFTUTUB0p6iVx4KgF3myGy9Wgcs7jLXSTAn-1SPFnlH24kF7TLCd-eNYLmiN-0s/s1600-h/Balance+Zone+of+Public+Relations.2.JPG"></a><div><br /><div>Over the summer, a group of us (Fran Gregory -- Conestoga College and Jean Valin -- Government of Canada) reviewed nearly 20 definitions of public relations published in various text books, by national/international associations or journals. We determined that a series of constructs were present in all or some of the defintions. The constructs included: relationship management, reputation management, serving the public interest, strategic and tactical, managed function, and two-way symmetrical.<br /><br />We used a wiki to revise and refine a proposed definition that could be used by the Canadian Public Relations Society (and perhaps others).<br /><br />Here is our definition (September 2008):<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">"Public relations is the strategic management of priority relationships, through two-way communication, between an organization and its publics to achieve mutual understanding, realize organizational goals, and serve the public interest."<br /></span></strong><br />What are your thoughts about this definition? Do you think that it could be used globally? Here's a link to our wiki discussion <a href="http://definingpublicrelations.wikispaces.com/">http://definingpublicrelations.wikispaces.com/</a></div></div>Terry Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10758356347227184195noreply@blogger.com0