UK Study Will Help Australian In-House PR Managers published March 2004 A major study of the UK public relations industry should prove useful as a ‘benchmarking’ tool for Australian in-house PR managers. Undertaken by the Institute of Public Relations and the Department of Trade and Industry, with nearly 900 respondents, the broad findings of the study were: Recognition that the role of PR has changed. Instead of being used primarily as a way to influence and secure media coverage, organisations are now using PR to communicate with their stakeholders. A continuing debate on the application of research techniques. In-house practitioners can’t agree about the role of audience research and how best to conduct it. The need for more training. The research showed that that less than 50% of agencies and in-house organisations had formal training for their PR staff. Differing perspectives on outsourcing. Most organisations with in-house PR also use an agency. However in house people are not always satisfied with the service they obtain while agencies bemoan the overall quality of briefing they get. Some 120 individual elements of good practice were identified including - strategy development, structure and organisation, commissioning and resources, research and planning, professionlism, creativity, technology and evaluation. Some of the specifics of interest include: How well PR supports overall business strategy Most in-house practitioners feel their PR strategy falls somewhat short of fully supporting their organisation’s overall objectives - perhaps signalling the transition from a media focus to a business focus. Click here to see the figures. How effectively the main purposes of PR are achieved Click here to see a list of the main purposes of PR as defined by the study and how the in-house public sector rates how effectively they believe they are achieving these. A rating of individual competencies among PR professionals Click here to see the 16 individual competencies of PR professionals and how they are rated by private and public in-house people and agencies. Agency v in-house Click here to see a summary slide showing pros and cons between the two. The report included a complete sub-section, and separate presentation, on the topic of agency v in-house. This covered - why and when to use a PR agency, finding the right partner, building and maintaining productive relationships, measuring, analysing and evaluating results and benchmarking. Click here  for the PowerPoint presentation. To see an executive summary of the findings and to access PowerPoint presentations go to www.ipr.org.uk/unlockpr

PR Influences Australian Public Relations Newsletter. Article: PR Research: Public Relations Bench mark study useful for Australian Managers. Information Content: Managing PR