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January 2012

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Clear Communication Saves Lives: CEO of the Year Award Luncheon
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By Martha Holmen

On January 24, I attended the 19th annual CPRS Toronto CEO Award of Excellence in Public Relations luncheon. As a student in Centennial College’s corporate communications and public relations program, I was looking forward to getting a glimpse of how a leader dedicated to communications can influence an entire organization, and I wasn’t disappointed.

This year’s recipient of the CEO Award is Dr. Robert Bell of University Health Network (UHN). During his distinguished career in Canadian health care, Dr. Bell has earned a well-deserved reputation for strong, creative leadership; I was eager to hear his insights into how a culture of open communication affects UHN.

What struck me most about Dr. Bell’s experience is the importance of clear communication at every level of an organization. While the CEO Award recognizes Dr. Bell’s communication in an administrative capacity, he spoke passionately about how communication affects life and death in the daily life of a hospital.

Dr. Bell’s example of the surgical checklist used in operating rooms around the world was particularly fascinating. A surprisingly recent innovation, the checklist introduced the idea that everyone in an operating room should be introduced to each other. In operating rooms where the checklist is used, the patient’s risk of dying is cut in half.

It’s remarkable to think that clear communication, something that’s so easy to take for granted, can quite literally save lives. The surgical checklist is deceptively simple, but its effect on a patient’s well-being is extraordinary.

Dr. Bell also reminded us that good communication doesn’t necessarily come naturally; it’s a learned behaviour. Basic conversation between doctors and patients might seem like an obvious step to many of us, but it’s a behaviour that needs to be deliberately encouraged at every level of an organization like UHN.

As Dr. Bell has discovered throughout his career, the best communication doesn’t happen spontaneously; most of the time, it’s the result of careful planning. The importance of Dr. Bell’s emphasis on communication became clear in the video presentation prepared by UHN. Hearing from so many UHN staff members, I came to understand just how much influence a CEO like Dr. Bell can have when he embraces open communication in his words and actions – and when he works closely with his communications team, of course.

As CEO of University Health Network, Dr. Bell has infused his organization with a culture that values communication, and I can only hope that CPRS Toronto continues to find many more CEOs who share his dedication.

CPRS Toronto members can listen to an audio archive of Dr. Bell’s presentation on the members-only blog, here.

Photo credits: The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/CPRS Toronto

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Archived presentation: Dr. Robert Bell receives 2012 CEO of Award Excellence (32:01)
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Dr. Robert Bell, CEO of University Health Network @UHN_News received the 2012 CEO Award of Excellence on January 24, 2012 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Press play beneath the slides to hear the audio.

The screen can be enlarged in the bottom right corner.

 

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Dr. Robert Bell of the University Health Network Receives CPRS Toronto 2011-12 CEO Award of Excellence in Public Relations
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Toronto, Ontario – This year’s CEO Award of Excellence in Public Relations was presented to Dr. Robert S. Bell, chief executive officer of the University Health Network. The Award was presented by the Canadian Public Relations Society of Toronto at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during a luncheon event for public relations professionals.

First created in 1991, the annual CEO Award of Excellence in Public Relations recognizes a chief executive officer (CEO) who is committed to being an outstanding communicator and who clearly and consistently articulates the organization’s shared mission, vision and values with a broad range of stakeholders to achieve its business goals.

“When you run an organization as large and complex as University Health Network, understanding how to build strong relationships through communications is vital,” says CEO Award Chair Martin Waxman, APR. “In addition to being a respected health care professional, Dr. Bell consistently demonstrates his leadership by engaging his many stakeholders in a constructive dialogue designed to achieve the best possible outcome for the hospital, its staff and patients and the community.”

“I am honoured to receive this award and know that it is also recognition for the communications team at UHN and the approach that the organization has taken towards communications over a long period of time,” said Dr. Bell. “Excellent communication between patient and physician, employer and employee, and health care organizations and the general public are essential if we are to continue to have a quality health care system that is sustainable and publicly funded.”

The selection committee for the CPRS Toronto Award is made up of past local and national CPRS presidents, all of whom are accredited Public Relations professionals.

Past recipients of the CPRS Toronto CEO award of excellence include:

  • Mr. Jim Leech, CEO of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (2010-2011)
  • Robert Deluce, President and CEO, Porter Airlines (2009-2010)
  • Galen G. Weston, Executive Chairman, Loblaw Companies Limited (2008-2009)
  • Frances Lankin, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Toronto (2007-2008)
  • The late Richard Bradshaw, General Director, Canadian Opera Company (2006-2007)
  • Michael Budman and Don Green, Co-founders, Roots Canada (2005-2006)
  • Wayne Sales, President and CEO, Canadian Tire (2004-2005)
  • Piers Handling, CEO, Toronto International Film Festival (2003-2004)
  • Julian Fantino, Police Chief, Toronto Police Service (2002-2003)
  • Charles Baillie, Chair, TD Bank Financial Group (2001-2002)
  • Dominic D’Alessandro, President and CEO, Manulife Financial (2000-2001)
  • Bobbie Gaunt, President and CEO, Ford Motor Company of Canada (1999-2000)
  • Diane McGarry, President and CEO, Xerox Canada Inc. (1998-1999)
  • Allan Stark, President and CEO, American Express Company Canada (1997-1998)
  • George Cohon, President and CEO, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada (1996-1997)
  • John Cassaday, President and CEO, CTV (1995-1996)
  • David Bloom, President and CEO, Shoppers Drug Mart (1992-1993)
  • Peter H. Ellis, President and CEO, Sunnybrook Medical Centre (1991-1992)

The Canadian Public Relations Society is a national professional organization focused on establishing and upholding educational and ethical standards in Public Relations. CPRS Toronto is one of the largest local societies with more than 600 members.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:

CPRS Toronto CEO Award Committee
Martin Waxman, APR
Chair
416-569-0501
martinwaxman@gmail.com

University Health Network
Gillian Howard
VP Public Affairs and Communications
416-340-4838
gillian.howard@uhn.on.ca

From left: Vincent Power, APR, President of CPRS Toronto (left) presents the CPRS Toronto CEO Award of Excellence in Public Relations to Dr. Robert S. Bell, CEO, University Health Network, Tuesday, January 24, 2012, in Toronto.  The award was created in 1991 to celebrate the Chief Executive Officer in the Greater Toronto area who best demonstrates personal excellence in the understanding and implementation of public relations practices.  The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/CPRS Toronto (click picture to enlarge)

 

 

 

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Preparing Your ACE Submission: Sometimes the Most Common Mistakes Are the Easiest to Avoid
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By Nicole Laoutaris

Winning an ACE Award will earn you industry recognition, strengthen your strategic communications skills and allow you to celebrate your work with your peers in Toronto’s public relations community. But, before you can earn such a distinction, you need to enter a submission.

Whether it is your first year applying or you are a seasoned pro, preparing your CPRS ACE Awards submission can be a daunting task.

What are the judges looking for?

CPRS Board member and ACE Awards judge, Lawrence Stevenson, APR, weighs in on how you can get your submission to rise above the rest. Lawrence, who has been judging the Awards for the past five years, shares some of his top tips to help you on your way to ACE.

1. Read the requirements.

Too often, submissions do not even meet the eligibility criteria for the executive summary. The judges are very stringent about details like the page length and font size.

The guidelines require the entrant to prepare, in only two-pages and minimum 10 pt font, an executive summary that includes a brief description of the strategy, quantifiable objectives, audiences, plans and tactics, budget and restraints, and the results. For full ACE Awards 2012 Entry Guidelines, click here.

2. RACE can take you from ‘good’ to ‘great’

Many submissions fail because they do a few things poorly. First and foremost, follow the RACE formula: Research, Analysis, Communications and Evaluation. Be clear about the components and set measurable objectives. ‘Raising awareness by xyz’ is not a measurable objective. Objectives should be SMART.

Poorly articulated research can negatively affect your submission. You may have done primary or secondary research, but how did it impact your decisions? You may have done a media scan, but what does that mean? Did you look at similar campaigns, or last year’s campaign? Tell the judges.

Then, did you evaluate based on your SMART objectives? The very best submissions restate objectives and discuss what was actually achieved from them. Conversely, if you didn’t achieve them, explain why because it could be due to some compelling mitigating circumstances. Mistakes do not negate the work of the campaign; being able to identify your mistakes can still result in high scores.

3. Do not gloss over (or completely leave out) your budget

Budgets are sometimes confidential, but there are ways of presenting it in such a way that is representative of your work, without breaking confidentiality. Without giving a specific dollar amount, illustrate where you spent your money.

For example, you could simply document that you spent 90 per cent of your budget on a guest speaker. This does not disclose your actual dollars, but it is a large portion of your budget and needs to be presented. If you’re a not-for-profit with a smaller budget, a guest speaker could be the strongest element to your campaign and well-worth 90 per cent of it. Clearly explaining this will earn you a higher score.

4. Know your campaign

Entrants are more than welcome to submit their campaign to more than one category, but be selective. If you have a special event campaign that also excels in media relations and you decide to submit it to both categories, then make sure you illustrate the difference for each. Do not just copy and paste your entry for both categories.

5. Edit your work!

First impressions are everything. That goes for your ACE Award submissions too, and it is very difficult to undo a bad first impression. Your initial executive summary is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the judges. The small details are important. You could provide an award-winning campaign, but the judges will not be able to see it through an entry that is riddled with errors.

Remember, this is your best work in a campaign, so it should be your best work in the submission.

So, what are you waiting for? Submissions are due on January 26, 2012. You can enter here through the online entry form. And be sure to save the date for this year’s gala on Thursday, April 26, 2012.

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Locating Influencers Online – Without Third-party Paid Software
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By Adam Weitner @AdamWeitner

Before you can dive in to an online influencer outreach program you obviously need to figure out who is influential and where they hang out online. Customers and potential customers read blogs and take part in discussions online every day, and online influencers are writing those blogs, and leading those conversations. If you can find out which blogs, and where these discussions are happening, you can begin to seek out, and build a list of online influencers. This can be done without purchasing third-party software such as Radian6 or Sysomos, though even with those programs some human analysis will be required for building accurate influencer lists.

For now, we will focus on finding potential online influencers and compiling a list.

Step 1 – identify keywords:

Since customers and potential customers will be actively seeking information, they will be searching for content based on keywords that are related to what they want to find. For example, your company produces and sells tablet computers – people who are interested in buying a tablet, or learning more about tablets will search the internet for more information. They will search for things such as “tablet computers 2011”, for example.

To determine which keywords related to your product type are the most commonly used, you can use a tool like the Google AdWords “Get keywords ideas” Tool. Once you’ve populated a list of popular search terms that are related, you can make a note of the most commonly used ones (between 5 and 7 should be plenty), which will come in handy in the following steps.

Step 2 – locate bloggers:

Now that you have identified the keywords that your customers and potential customers are using to find their information, you can search for blogs that contain those keywords and begin building a list.

A handy, accurate tool for doing this is also a Google property (oh how I love Google), called Google Blog Search. It works much the same way as any other Google search, but focuses on blog results only. You can search for both blogs and blog posts, or just one or the other. The advanced search function allows you to really narrow things down, if a broad search is turning up too many results.

Technorati is also a great tool for finding blogs, so be sure to check there as well to make sure you don’t overlook any major players.

Step 3 – find discussions on other social media

Forums are great for finding influencers as many of them will take part in online discussions as a means of driving traffic to their blog. Yet another Google tool (are you surprised?), you can use the same keywords identified in step 1 to search Google, then simply click on the “Discussions” tab on the left sidebar of the results screen.

Another place that hosts a ton of discussion that can in-turn lead you to influencers is Twitter. Try using Twitter Search with those same keywords to see if any discussion is taking place there. Though this will involve more digging than any of the other steps thus far, it can pay off large if you find one or two big influencers there.

Building your potential influencer list

Throughout steps 2 and 3, you should be compiling a list. I use Excel for this, but any charting tool or contact database you are comfortable with will be just fine. One thing to note with regards to your list is which information you should capture. Below is a basic example of the type of info I usually capture in a potentialinfluencer list:

Determining who is actually influential:

Once we’ve pulled together a solid list of potential influencers we can begin to determine which ones will become a part of our outreach and rank them based on a number of variants.

Before we can really even begin to judge whether someone is influential or not, however, we will have to look at some of the top-level data that is readily available to us. The first thing I always do is look at a few things that are easy to locate:

  • Number of Twitter followers
  • Number of times they are listed on Twitter by other users
  • Number of “Likes” on their Facebook fan page
  • Number of inbound links to their site. This can be found by searching “link:sitename.com” in Google (see image below). The number of results returned will give you the number of inbound links for that site

It is also important to note that some people who may not be overly active online can have a lot of influence offline. These people should not be overlooked! They can be found on LinkedIn, or through traditional news stories (among many other, more traditional methods – that’s for another post all together) and can play a major role in your online efforts, even though they are mostly influential offline-only.

Building your target influencer list

Using the simple methods listed above, you can start to eliminate bloggers from your list that don’t boast reasonable numbers (what is considered reasonable is, ultimately, up to you to decide). You will figure out what is average, and what is considered “good” after doing this with a few of your potential influencers. Take it from there…

In the chart below, I would immediately remove “The Tech Blog” from this list. I would also likely remove “TechABC” as well, though I would need to find data for a larger list of potential influencers before I would make that decision (to determine just how bad TechABC’s numbers actually are). Chances are that TechABC would be cut from the list as well.

If you want to get really in-depth and ensure that your influencer list includes only those that are actually influential, there are some ways to look beyond the obvious numbers (fans, followers, etc.):

  • What kind of content is the person creating and sharing (quality, focus/niche, credible and sourced, etc.)?
  • Of the lists that Twitter users have added them to, is there a common theme/niche? For example, have they been added to several lists focused on technology? If so, they are likely influential about technology, which is why people listed them in the first place.
  • How does the content they create relate to what you are planning to achieve? The most effective blogs are often tailored to a very niche audience – is their blog attracting the group of people you want to reach?
  • What kind of engagement does their blog receive – comments? Discussions between readers through the comments?
  • Are people sharing the content through their own networks? (Through Google +1, Facebook “Likes”, Twitter, etc. – this can most often be seen by a counter next to its respective button)
  • Is their content ever picked up, or linked to by other bloggers or even major news outlets?
  • Perhaps most importantly, are they seen as credible? (A look at the tone of the comments and the kinds of comments the blog receives should give an indication of this. People won’t be afraid to speak their mind if they think the writer is full of it).

If you follow all of the steps outlined in this article and do your research, you should be well on your way to a strategically targeted online influencer outreach campaign. It is very important, however, that you recognize that checking online influence and building lists is an ongoing process, and it should be revisited regularly.

Have you already completed an online influencer campaign in the past? If so, how did you determine influencers? Please add your thoughts and tips in the comments!

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Last Chance to Buy Your Tickets for 19th Annual CPRS Toronto CEO Award Luncheon on January 24!
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By Francesca Gilli

Get your tickets now for the CPRS Toronto CEO Award Luncheon on Jan. 24, honouring Dr. Robert S. Bell, president and CEO of University Health Network.

The CPRS Toronto CEO Awards celebrates excellence in communications. Award recipients are successful in expressing a clear mission and values to stakeholders.

Dr. Bell, the 19th recipient of the annual CEO Award of Excellence in Public Relations, is an internationally recognized orthopedic surgeon, health care executive, clinician-scientist and educator. To highlight just a few of many career achievements, Dr. Bell was instrumental in leading Canada’s largest cancer centre at UHN’s Princess Margaret Hospital, he has educated Canadian and international surgeons and this past year led the integration of the UHN with the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

We invite you to join us in recognizing Dr. Robert S. Bell at a gala luncheon in his honour.

WHEN:
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012
12 – 2 p.m.

WHERE:
Fairmont Royal York Hotel
100 Front St. W., Toronto

COST:
Members $65
Non-Members $80
Student Members $50
Table of 10: $700

TICKETS: 
Purchase tickets now to avoid disappointment. This event typically sells out.

REGISTER: 
Register directly through our secure website at www.cprstoronto.com/pd/events.aspx

CONTACT:
Lois Marsh
416-360-1988
marshl@marsh-executive.com

This event is a good networking opportunity for all communicators and a great place to bring your own CEO. Don’t miss out; tickets are going fast so grab yours today!

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Early Bird Submissions Reminder for CPRS Toronto 2012 ACE Awards
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The New Year may have only just begun, but time is already running out to get your CPRS Toronto 2012 ACE Awards submission in before the early bird deadline! Submit your entry by January 13, 2012 to qualify for a special discounted rate.

Are you thinking you won’t be able to enter in time? Don’t fret; you could be on your way to ACE in just two easy steps!

Simply enter an executive summary of your project and payment electronically through the online entry form.

Once a team of experienced communicators have reviewed the applications, those who have been short-listed will be asked to submit a full entry.

Winning an ACE Award will earn you industry recognition, raise your organization’s profile, get your work known by Toronto’s public relations community and will allow you to celebrate your work with colleagues and friends at the CPRS Toronto ACE Awards Gala – the hottest PR event in town!

Don’t hesitate, get started on your entry today! And be sure to save the date for this year’s gala on Thursday, April 26, 2012!

For more information on eligibility, campaign entry categories, submission requirements and deadlines, click here to download the ACE Awards 2012 Entry Guidelines Package.

Questions? Contact us at ace@cprstoronto.com or Tweet your questions to @CPRSToronto

Important Dates and Deadlines:

Early Bird Entries Deadline: January 13, 2012

Entries Deadline: January 26, 2012

Leadership Awards Deadline: February 24, 2012

Early Bird Entry Fee (received on or before Friday, January 13, 2012, 5:00 pm EST)

  • $75 CPRS Member
  • $100 Non-Member
  • $25 CPRS Student Member
  • $35 Student Non-Member

Entry Fee (received after January 13, 2012, on or before Thursday, January 26, 2012, 5:00 pm EST)

  • $100 CPRS Member
  • $120 Non-Member
  • $25 CPRS Student Member
  • $35 Student Non-Member

Please note that payment is only accepted via credit card through the online entry form.

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Secret to Argyle Communications’ ACE Success
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Kelly BaitaBy Kelly Baita

What is it that sets any PR firm apart from the pack? Is it size? Client base? Years in the business? According to Daniel Tisch, president of Argyle Communications, it’s about setting high standards and treating people well.

This philosophy has contributed to Argyle’s success and multiple CPRS ACE Awards, including an impressive six ACE trophies in 2011 alone.

A method for success

If you think there is a method to this level of achievement, you’re right. For Argyle, it’s about being meticulously selective in the submission process. During awards season, Dan and his team look for the best campaigns in each of their four areas of practice: consumer marketing, corporate communications, health and wellness and public affairs. Deciding on the right projects to submit is a process, and Argyle seems to get it just right.  “Last year we entered seven campaigns in total,” says Dan. “Six of them won ACE awards.” This has been a continued trend with Argyle; in 2010 the company had its proudest ACE moment, winning PR Campaign of the Year for Peanuts in Crisis.

Winning more than trophies

After more than 30 years in business, Argyle continues to strive for greatness with CPRS. “What others say about you is most important,” says Dan. “Being recognized by your peers is the highest of honours.”

So has this continued recognition contributed to the company’s business? Looks like it. Ask any employee at Argyle, and they’ll express 100 per cent confidence in the agency’s reputation. Everyone on the Argyle team is proud to be there, especially as their work is celebrated by CPRS year after year. Beyond celebration and validation, winning multiple ACE Awards “helps us to tell our stories,” explains Dan. Each new award contributes to Argyle’s visibility within the industry.

Last year, Argyle even participated in our ACE WebN’R to share the Peanuts in Crisis case and award entry with other PR professionals. How better to show your expertise than that?

Looking ahead

Dan plans to submit to the ACE Awards again this year, with the same high standards as always. You’ll be likely to find the Argyle team at the 2012 gala on April 26.

Words of wisdom

If you’re new to the ACE Awards, take some advice straight from Daniel Tisch himself. To decide on which campaigns to enter, he suggests you:

  1. Consider your best campaigns.
  2. Consider the extent to which those campaigns are measurable.

If your results align with your set objectives, then go ahead and submit it!

The Early Bird entry deadline is January 13, 2012.

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December 2011 PD: An Evening with Movember’s PR Strategist
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By Rua Wani @ruawani

Members can view an archived webinar of this December 12, 2011 presentation (length 24:29) by Matt Matheson, Communications and PR Manager, Movember Canada and Terry Foster, President, Cision Canada in the members’ only blog.

Matt Matheson @mattyipa, Communications and PR Manager of Movember Canada spoke at the CPRS Toronto December PD session about the organization’s success story. Movember Canada has seen rapid growth, going from 2,000 Mobros and Mosistas in the launch year of 2007, to 19,000 in 2010.

Matt outlined the organization’s tactics behind its two main communications strategies: in-house public relations and media relations.

In-house public relations

  1. Hand over the brand and provide all the collateral so individuals can create their own Movember experience. Movember logos and posters can be downloaded from movember.com.
  2. Give them their own webpage (known as their ‘mospace’), which basically functions as an online social network. This website is the primary fundraising tool.
  3. Make it easy and provide various opportunities to connect. Multiple forms of social media are used including Facebook Connect. People can also share pre-written tweets and Facebook posts/emails.

Media relations

  1. Pitch stories directly to media and work directly with them on these.
  2. Work with Mobros and Mosistas to get in touch with news media to share their own stories.
  3. Make the most of organic media coverage generated by passionate Mobros and Mosistas who make contact directly with media.

Terry Foster @Terry_Foster, President of Cision Canada, then spoke about  how Movember Canada effectively manages the three different types of media.

  1. Paid: Media paid for by Movember, such as advertising and product placements.
  2. Owned: Media controlled by Movember, such as their website, blog, and Twitter account.
  3. Earned: Media coverage generated through word-of-mouth or through the media relations program.

The informative evening celebrated the success of one of Canada’s fastest-growing grassroots movements and highlighted the importance of men’s health.

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Archived webinar: An Evening with Movember’s PR Strategist (24:29)
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Matt Matheson, Communications and PR Manager, Movember Canada and Terry Foster, President, Cision Canada presented Changing the face of men’s health on December 12, 2011. Follow @mattyipa & @Terry_Foster. Press play beneath the slides to hear the audio.

The screen can be enlarged in the bottom right corner. (Slides in PDF)

Resources:
Movember Season 2011

Rick Mercer: End of Movember

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