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Thanks Ryan. I wouldn't say they're the same thing. Reputation is an asset (similar to social capital). Public relations is the work you do to increase the value of that asset.
I'm not aware of any data on how many organisations have adopted the framework I'm afraid. My very rough hypothesis is that the bigger the organization, the more likely they are to be using a framework along these lines.
I did find this quote from the Executive Director of Government Communications in the UK:
Across the UK Government, the AMEC Principles have helped us to make sure we are measuring what matters. The principles need to be applied in practice so I welcome this new AMEC Interactive Framework which brings these principles to life in a user-friendly way.
“It’s great to see the industry moving to reflect the integrated nature of modern communications and providing a framework for all levels – not just experts – to apply strong evaluation principles.
“This model aligns heavily with the Government Communication Service model I launched earlier this year and I would encourage everyone to use it to focus communications around outcomes to make communication demonstrably effective.
I have a postgraduate diploma in public relations and I was a member of the UK Chartered Institute for Public Relations for several years. I'd like to defend the honour of the public relations profession by sharing the definition used by the CIPR:
Every organisation, no matter how large or small, ultimately depends on its reputation for survival and success.
Customers, suppliers, employees, investors, journalists and regulators can have a powerful impact. They all have an opinion about the organisations they come into contact with - whether good or bad, right or wrong. These perceptions will drive their decisions about whether they want to work with, shop with and support these organisations.
In today's competitive market, reputation can be a company's biggest asset – the thing that makes you stand out from the crowd and gives you a competitive edge. Effective PR can help manage reputation by communicating and building good relationships with all organisation stakeholders.
Our definition of Public Relations:
Public Relations is about reputation - the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.
Public Relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.
Of course, every PR professional knows that most people tend to use a much narrower definition of PR, usually equating it to media relations, crisis comms, or an underhand approach to shaping public opinion. That's why most of us tend to describe ourselves as communications professionals.
For anyone thinking about communications strategy and reputation management, I recommend the AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework as the internationally-recognised best practice.