Heather Conway is Edelman Canada’s new CEO

Posted by Joseph Thornley on July 9th, 2009, Comments Off

Congratulations to Heather Conway, newly appointed CEO of Edelman Canada.

Prior to joining Edelman, Heather was a senior communications executive at Alliance Atlantis and before that, TD Bank Financial Group.

I worked with Heather early in her career when we were both at Hill and Knowlton. I know her to be incredibly smart and creative. Without doubt, she’ll lead Edelman Canada to ever greater success. And I’m looking forward to having her join the CCPRF Board.

Read the full announcement on Edelman’s Website.

Dan Tisch joins the Board of the Global Alliance for PR and Communications Management

Posted by Joseph Thornley on December 30th, 2008, Comments Off

Dan Tisch

CCPRF member and Argyle Communications president Daniel Tisch has been named Canada’s representative on the executive board of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management, the umbrella association linking PR professional associations around the world.

Tisch was nominated for the position by the Canadian Public Relations Society and elected at the Global Alliance’s annual meeting.

You can read more on the Argyle Website.

Congratulations Dan!

Meet Freda Colbourne, the President of Edelman Canada

Posted by Joseph Thornley on November 18th, 2008, 1 Comment

Freda Colbourne is the  President of Edelman Canada. In this video, she tells me about how she built her career in PR, what makes Edelman special and what advice she would give to young people interested in a career in public relations.

Armed with a marketing degree, Freda worked both in an agency and at Molson Breweries before she landed at Edelman. Ultimately, she chose the public relations consulting life because she found that it provided her with `so much variety – a lot of different companies, a lot of different industries and a lot of different things that you could do.`

Freda takes real pride in the people who work at Edelman Canada. `We have a lot of really smart people who always are looking for the next big idea, how is public relations being redefined and how do they want to be involved and develop their skills.`

If you are considering a career in public relations and Edelman in particular, `be a real consumer of media,` advises Freda. Read everything you can and think through `how you can fit into that. Writing skills are important. Communications skills are important. And understanding how public relations can play a role in the wide range of communications vehicles that now are available.` It`s people with inquisitive minds – people with curiosity – who Freda will recruit to Edelman.

You can watch the complete video below.

Dan Tisch, President of Argyle Communications

Posted by Joseph Thornley on August 28th, 2008, Comments Off

Dan Tisch is President of Argyle Communications in Toronto. Recently, we had a conversation about how Argyle focuses its business and prepares for an economic downturn, the importance of measurement to public relations, the career path that Dan followed to the Presidency of Argyle, and the advice that Dan offers to young people attempting to land their first job in PR.

Argyle was established in 1979, making it one of Canada’s oldest independent PR firms. Noting that many of his current consultants weren’t even born when the firm was established, Dan observes, “There’s something about being associated with a firm that has this level of longevity that makes you think about communications and client relationships as a long-term process.”

Argyle focuses on “sectors of the economy that have a lot of growth and promise.” The firm’s areas of practice include consumer marketing (Nestle, Enterprise Rent a Car), corporate communications for public companies, technology communications and consumer health communications. Argyle is also one of the firms qualified in the Ontario government’s PR pool.

The team at Argyle takes award programs seriously, seeing that as a way to benchmark themselves against the industry. (We conducted our interview in front of a wall bearing numerous industry awards won by Argyle. Clearly, they’ve done well in pursuing this strategy.)

Dan sees an opening for PR firms in an economic downturn. Tough times drive marketers and corporations to examine their budgets and pare back activities that offer the lowest return on investment (ROI). Public relations firms can that public relations offers greater value for the marketing dollar than other forms of communication. Dan suggests that the demonstration of PR’s value should be an industry-wide initiative. (It’s worth noting that this is one of the primary objectives that the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms has defined for itself this year.)

Measurement is essential to demonstrating the value of public relations. And it has traditionally been public relations’ weakness. Dan feels that the Canadian PR industry is making good progress turning this situation around. He points to the Media Relations Rating Points (MRP) standard that has been defined in Canada. As this system evolves and is adopted by a broader range of users, it is providing not only a means of measuring audience, but also a means of measuring cost per contact, cost per impression and the ROI of public relations.

Politics and government have proven fertile ground for developing PR industry leaders. Dan comes out of this tradition. He started his career working for Canadian Cabinet Ministers and government departments. From there, he moved to Environics Communications. He became a partner in Argyle when Environics acquired the company in 2002 and the next year, he became Argyle’s President.

What advice does he offer to young people who want to break into the PR industry? “Get an academic grounding in PR. It is a differentiator that shows you know the basics” when you are seeking your first job. Secondly, research, learn and know the business you aspire to work in. Finally, have the right attitude. In the early part of your career, you’ll be asked to do many things, not just the things you may have set out to do. “You have to be versatile. You have to be adaptable. You have to be receptive to change.”

You can watch the complete video of our interview here.

Jane Shapiro, Fleishman Hillard Canada

Posted by Joseph Thornley on April 15th, 2008, Comments Off

Jane Shapiro is Senior Vice President at Fleishman Hillard Canada. She joined the firm 14 years ago when it was just being established in Canada.

Jane spoke with me recently about the career path that brought her to her present position, about her experience at Fleishman and advice she’d offer to a young person considering a career in PR.
Some of the points Jane made:

“I started out in politics. And I now say to people who come to me asking about ways to get into PR that politics was a fabulous learning ground and a proving ground. I still recommend it highly to anyone starting out in their careers. … Politics allowed me and young people to do things that they would rarely get the opportunity to do in other environments: to think strategically, to think quickly, to work on issues, to write creatively, to develop relationships with reporters, to do all kinds of things at a very early stage in their career that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.”

What makes Fleishman Hillard Canada a special place? “It’s the quality of people, not just in this office, but around the world. We are a very connected company. So I can work with my colleagues in Shanghai or Paris as I do with my colleagues here in Toronto. … This allows us to learn from the experience and the expertise of a very large and diverse team of professionals.”

Advice for aspiring PR practitioners: “Getting experience as a volunteer … to show that you have done something … is enormously helpful in getting the first job. … Look to the volunteer sector or the non-profit sector to get that first experience. … Once you are in a firm, be open. I think about the people who have joined us as Interns and remain with us as Senior Vice Presidents. In the course of their careers with Fleishman Hillard, they have moved from one practice to another, from one challenge to another, from one kind of client to another, and who have done all of that without leaving us.”

The entire video can be viewed by clicking below.

Other interviews with Canadian PR leaders:

Trevor Campbell, Porter Novelli

Patrick Gossage, Media Profile

Who says PR doesn’t have a sense of humour?

Posted by Joseph Thornley on March 27th, 2008, Comments Off

For most of the past 20 years, Terry Fallis has been my business partner – first at Hill and Knowlton and since 1995, at Thornley Fallis.

So it was big news today that Terry‘s novel The Best Laid Plans has been short-listed for the 2007 Steven Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

Terry and his novel are keeping some pretty impressive company. The other short-listed novels and authors are: Douglas Coupland The Gum Thief, Will Ferguson (Spanish Fly), Scott Gardiner (King John of Canada) and Ron Wood (And God Created Manyberries.) Past winners of the award include: Robertson Davies, Earle Birney, Pierre Berton, Harry Boyle, George Bain, Richard J. Needham, Max Ferguson, Farley Mowat, Mordecai Richler, Stuart McLean, and W.O. Mitchell.

Terry originally launched the novel through a podcast reading.

I read the book when Terry published it and I have to say it kept me chuckling well into the evening.

It just goes to show that you will meet some of the most interesting (and funny) people at a public relations firm.

Pat Gossage, Chairman of Media Profile

Posted by Joseph Thornley on March 24th, 2008, 1 Comment

Pat Gossage founded independent Canadian PR firm Media Profile in 1985. Recently, he initiated a succession process to pass the firm’s ownership into the hands of Media Profile’s employees.

Pat talked with me recently about why he founded the firm, the kind of place he tried to make it, the succession process and the advice he would offer to young people considering a career in public relations.

Some of the highlights:

What makes Media Profile a special place?

“I wanted a firm I enjoyed coming to work at every day. And I wanted a firm that had a pleasant, accepting and respectful atmosphere amongst its workers. A lot of teamwork. Bringing people up from within rather than parachuting from above. I was much more interested in creating a culture than creating a big, successful firm. The culture is here and the success followed.”

On client relations:

“The other thing we stress is being incredibly attentive to clients. We’re good listeners. Somebody once told me that when you are listening to the client your are winning. That’s been a theory we’ve put into practice and it’s been an important aspect of us winning and keeping clients.”

Advice to young people considering a career in public relations:

“The atmosphere in an office is very important. … It’s whether you want to come to work at a firm and whether the senior people are accessible, whether there’s a mentoring program, all the things that will allow you to build on your skills over time. And stay with one firm, which is very important to all of us in public relations, so that we have continuity with our people. That’s what the client respects. The client doesn’t want to be dealing with different people every couple of years.”

You can watch the complete interview here:

What education helps you get a job in PR?

Posted by Joseph Thornley on February 7th, 2008, Comments Off

Kerri Birtch posted a comment in response to the video interview with Porter Novelli Canada President Trevor Campbell in which she asked, “what level of education is necessary or valued in the industry?”

Good question.

If you are responsible for hiring new employees at a PR firm, please leave a comment to let us know what education you value or look for in a new employee.

Interview with Trevor Campbell, President of Porter Novelli Canada

Posted by Joseph Thornley on February 4th, 2008, 3 Comments

This is the first in a series of interviews with the leaders of Canada’s top public relations firms.

Trevor Campbell has worked his way up in Porter Novelli Canada to become the firm’s President.

In this interview, Trevor talks about his career path, what distinguishes Porter Novelli Canada and the need for PR professionals to stake out a clear practice area relative to advertising, marketing and other disciplines.

He also offers some advice for young people looking for a job in PR. “Have a clear sense of what your strengths are. … Do your homework before you approach a company. … Look for a place that’s a great fit for you. … when you can speak passionately and intelligently about this opportunity, that goes a long way with me.”

The full video with Trevor lasts about five minutes.