Posts By :

Robin Smith

  • Robin Smith
  • No Comments

Event Recap – Mia Pearson (MSL Group) breaks down branding to give young practitioners a headstart
150 150 Robin Smith

Written by Nancy MacMillan, CPRS Toronto Board of Directors

Branding is an essential pillar of the public relations services that a practitioner can offer. We create a brand experience and persona for the companies and clients we work with. But when it comes to our own personal branding as PR professionals, we often fall short.

 

Have you heard of The Judy Project? Inspired by Microsoft executive Judy Elder and facilitated by the Rotman School of Management, The Judy Project is one of Canada’s leading executive training forums, designed specifically to support women as they prepare to take on executive leadership positions.

 

Mia Pearson, CEO of MSL Canada, is one of several distinguished educators in The Judy Project program. With more than 25 years of experience in PR, social media and brand strategy, Mia is an expert at corporate reputation management, as well as executive thought leadership and brand strategy – and a true authority on the art of personal branding.

At a recent CPRS Toronto PD event, Mia shared that when it comes to personal branding, it’s often not good enough to be great at your job. You have to be seen as being great. You need to become “the CEO of ME Inc.” – and there are three steps to getting there.

 

Develop three key pillars and focus on those. Build them from your unique, personal experiences. Try creating your pillars in these categories:

  • Personal strengths (what are you great at?)
  • Company/professional goals
  • Industry trends

 

For those not in senior management positions, it might look more like:

  • What you are doing now
  • Philanthropic/volunteer work
  • Looking toward the future

 

Develop your personal PR Plan.

 

Once you’ve got your pillars, then you need to get out there by creating your personal PR plan!

 

  • Get social: Give special attention to LinkedIn, work with a partner to write an amazing summary section, and have a professional looking photo. You should also follow experts who have the same interests as you do (like and share their content and they will often reciprocate!) Remember: LinkedIn is your publishing platform.

 

  • Be visibly competent: Seek out opportunities for third party recognition and awards to add credibility to your brand. Having your work awarded at the CPRS ACE awards, for example, is a nod to others that you excel at what you do.

 

  • Amplify every opportunity: If you are speaking at an event, or if you receive an award, leverage your social networks to announce and celebrate that win!

 

“We are grateful to Mia Pearson for sharing her time and expertise with our membership. Guests walked away with very direct and actionable next steps for building their personal brand. Thanks to Mia, we’re all on our way to becoming CEO of ‘ME Inc’!” said Erika Manassis, Co-Chair of Professional Development for CPRS Toronto.

 

Special thank you to Omar Stephenson of OSNAP Photography, who captured professional head shots of our event guests.

  • Robin Smith
  • No Comments

🚨Contest Alert🚨: Be our Valentine and come to the 2019 ACE Awards Gala!
150 150 Robin Smith
CPRS Toronto is looking for its Valentine this year and we want to get everyone in the ACE Awards spirit!

One lucky person will win 2 FREE tickets to the 2019 ACE Awards Gala on May 23, 2019. All you have to do is show @CPRSToronto a little Twitter love.

CPRS Toronto’s 2019 ACE Awards Gala will be held at The Carlu for the second year running. The Gala is a professional celebration par excellence. Professional communicators have the opportunity to relax with their friends and clients, enjoy a delicious meal and take an opportunity to review another successful year.

To enter the contest, hop on your Twitter account and head to @CPRSToronto. Find our pinned contest tweet, retweet it, follow @CPRSToronto and tag a friend.
The contest is open until 11:59 p.m. on February 14, 2019, at which point entries will not be accepted and a winner will be chosen.

We’re excited to choose our winner!

 

 

 

CONTEST RULES

1. CONTEST PERIOD: The ACE Awards Gala Valentine Contest (the “Contest”) begins at noon February 13 and ends at 11:59 pm on February 14, 2019 (the “Contest Closing Date”). No purchase necessary.

2. ELIGIBILITY: This Contest is open to all any entrant who complies with the following directives, entering the contest through Twitter.com:
– Shares the original contest Tweet
– Tags a second User
– Follows @CPRSToronto on Twitter

3. HOW TO ENTER: Entrants must comply with the entry requirements included in the original tweet by the Contest Closing Date. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received by the Contest Closing Date. By entering this Contest, entrants agree to be bound by these Contest Rules and by the decisions of CPRS Torotno, which shall be final on all matters relating to this Contest.

4. PRIZES: There is one (1) prize available to be won consisting of 2 tickets to the 2019 ACE Awards Gala (approximate value: $250). Prize must be accepted as awarded and is not transferrable or exchangeable for cash. CPRS Toronto reserves the right to substitute a Prize, in whole or in part, with a prize of at least equal value in the event of the unavailability, for whatever reason, of the advertised Prize.

5. RANDOM DRAW: A random draw will be held at on February 15, 2019 (the “Draw Date”) from among all eligible entries received as of the Contest Closing Date. The winner will be notified by Twitter at the email address used for their entry. If a selected entrant (i) cannot be reached within twelve (12) hours of the first attempt of contact or declines the Prize, the selected entrant will be disqualified and another entrant will be randomly selected from the remaining eligible entries.

6. PRIZE PICKUP: Prize details will be provided by CPRS Toronto closer to the date of the Gala.

7. GENERAL RULES: All entrants release and forever discharge CPRS Toronto (the “Releasees”) and their officers, directors, employees and volunteers from all claims, demands, damages, actions and causes of action arising or to arise by reason of his/her participation in the Contest and/or the administration of the Contest, including, without limitation, the selection and awarding of the Prizes. The Releasees shall in no way bear any liability whatsoever regarding the Prize. In no event shall the Releasees be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, indirect or punitive damages arising out of or in connection with this Contest and/or the Prize, however arising, including negligence.

8. APPLICABLE LAWS: This Contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal law.

  • Robin Smith
  • No Comments

2019 ACE Award Submissions Open
1024 682 Robin Smith

Submissions for the 2019 ACE Awards are officially open, kicking off one of the most exciting industry awards programs in the Greater Toronto Area’s communications industry.

All CPRS Toronto members and associates, as well as full-time public relations and marketing professionals in the Greater Toronto and surrounding area are eligible for the ACE Awards. Each campaign or project submitted must be planned, produced and completed within a period of two years prior to the entry deadline. The entrant must have executed or directly managed the project submitted.

To learn more about categories of awards and the process to submit your work, visit the ACE Awards page

Details for the ACE Awards Gala, synonymous with acknowledging excellence–and a good time–will be released following the close of submissions. In 2018, the ACE Awards Gala was honoured as one of BizBash’s Top 100 Toronto Events.

The 2019 ACE Awards Gala will be held on May 23, 2019.

*Correction: An earlier version of this blog post listed an incorrect date for the ACE Awards Gala. The correct date is May 23.

Start Typing