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1. The internal communicator is not the postman in the company…

2. How to be a strategic partner to the top management?

These were the main topics in the first two days of the CIPR Internal Communication Certificate qualification programme in Bulgaria. On 10 and 11 February the first group of students in this course in Bulgaria made initial steps in mastering the internal communications profession. And these two steps were taken under the guidance of the creator of the Certificate Kevin Ruck and Ann Pilkington, founder of PR Academy (UK). 

One of the first impressions that we had after the course started was…

Our first student group for the Certificate consists only of women.

Not bad, but a little bit challenging for Kevin to hold the line.

So, what the students did?

Here are the notes of Kevin Ruck:

Course - Day One: “Theory, theory and more theory. Culture, management, and communication. But then, there’s nothing more practical than a good theory. And, guess what, research shows that senior managers want internal communication managers to use theory more.”

Course - Day Two: “Research, research and more research. Plans that can be measured lead to a more strategic approach. But how do we do the day job and plan?”

The participants in the programme were involved in a lot of case studies and practical tasks to find the answers themselves, guided by Ann and Kevin. “Communication is the key” agreed all students. ‘And main elements of the communication process are collaboration with the senior management and engaging the employees in the company strategy’.

The internal communicator’s job seems to be e challenging one, especially at a time of social cataclysms and organizational changes. What’s needed to be a good professional is a solid theory and strategic thinking - that’s what the participants learned and shared practical experience how to do it.

After lectures Ann wrote: “Running the CIPR Internal Communication Certificate in Bulgaria has been a great experience for me. It is so interesting to hear about internal communication in Bulgaria and to realize that practitioners face similar changes to those in the UK. I hope that the students enjoyed it as much as I did!”

Thanks to Ann and Kevin! We are looking forward to see them in March 2010, during the second lecturing session of the CIPR Internal Communication Certificate in Bulgaria!

Students and lectors:

подобни статии:

1. Four candidates pass to the final stage of International scholarship competition for CIPR Internal Communications Certificate The candidates are from Bulgaria and Slovakia   On 5th...
2. Apeiron Academy announces international scholarship competition for CIPR Internal Communications Certificate On 1st of November Apeiron Academy, Accredited centre of the...
3. Kevin Ruck and Ann Pilkington: ‘The new Certificate in internal communications will help specialists to take the most of opportunities that has opened for this profession’ Interview with the two lecturers of the first CIPR Internal Communications Certificate...

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Many questions appeared throughout the PR community during the last days. Questions provoked by Adam Parker’s campaign The Inconvenient PR Truth about the way PR specialists in UK and US communicate with media.

The initiators of the campaign made a research in the end of 2009 that proved 78% of press releases sent annually in UK and US are irrelevant to their recipients. 55% of them stuck into the mail block-lists.

That is obviously a topic that has to be observed and seriously considered. Because it concerns the efficiency of one industry, its future and more…the loss of one of the most precious resources - TIME.

See the videoclip of the campaign.

CIPR President Jay O’Connor gave his response to the Inconvenient PR Truth campaign.

“There is value in the conversation Adam and his team have started and there is also something to be gained from looking at the factors behind poor targeting of media, including issues such as client expectations and systems of measurement.  

“We would be happy to host a working session with practitioners, media, bloggers and the campaign founders to develop guidelines for practitioners, to complement our current Code of Conduct and the training courses on dealing with and pitching to media. The guidelines should be something practitioners and the media craft together with the goal of encouraging best practice - and we should get the input of those who do do it well - there are many practitioners who engage exceptionally well with those they wish to influence.”

‘I’ve got mixed views about it. While I applaud the initiative, I’m not totally convinced about either the approach or if it will work. Clients are paying you for your expertise. Just because they tell you to do something doesn’t mean it’s right. It’s your job to provide counsel and explain why your way is better. Stop focussing on outputs and start focussing on real business and organisational objectives, not fluffy publicity outcomes.’

Stewart Bruce, managing director of Wolfstar.

“PR spam is as contagious as chlamydia and has the same effect; it can cause sterility in the people infected. The only difference is that everyone in the PR world’s passed on a spam infection at some point, accidentally or not.‘

Mark Borkowski, founder of Borkowski 

The initiators of the campaign mention their ‘10 commandments’ how PRs to communicate media or bloggers, called the ‘Bill of rights’. Read them here.

The discussion the campaign provoked pointed out some issues that may be considered very important for the future of PR industry and media relations in general.

- Is there a place for development of common Code of Conduct that both PRs and media have to start using in their work?

- How new technology and modern media (blogs, sites and social groups) have changed the way PRs and journalists communicate?

- Have journalists changed their methods to seek and gather information and how these methods modify their work?

And last but not insignificant - What serves as basis for a good partnership between PRs and journalists?

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A few thoughts before the CIPR Internal Communications Certificate kicks off on 10th February

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Few days left till the beginning of the CIPR Internal Communication Certificate qualification programme in Bulgaria. On the 10^th February 2010 Apeiron Academy, Accredited Qualification Centre of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, UK (CIPR) will welcome the first alumni of the professional qualification for internal communicators in Bulgaria. Bright palette of specialists in the field of internal communications, public relations and human resources will enter the Apeiron Academy Training Hall. Among the Bulgarian student will be one from Slovakia, who won one of the awards in the International scholarship competition.

On the 9^th February 2010 in Sofia will arrive Kevin Ruck and Ann Pilkington - accredited CIPR lectors. The Bulgarian Accredited centre is honoured with lecturing sessions lead by the creator of the Certificate Kevin Ruck and Ann Pilkington, founder of PR Academy (UK).  Hope that the weather will be merciful and the snow will not embarrass the lectors’ program in Bulgaria which starts in the evening of 9^th February as they are special guests of the Apeiron Academy project ‘Meeting the Good Communicators’. Meanwhile you could read interviews with Ann and Kevin on the CIPR Students’ Blog here.

Why do we expect the qualification programme so impatiently? The internal communicator profession is very young in Bulgaria, as well as in many other countries worldwide. Often it is considered as part of the work of specialists in PR or HR. Without clear professional and academic standards, the internal communicators are very far from professional recognition and good reputation. On the other side Internal Communications Certificate is the only one qualification approved by the CIPR. The course provides all the key internal communication concepts, techniques, theories and skills. The education is result-orientated towards the business and the successful graduations provides international certificate for professional qualification in the field of internal communications. The graduates from Bulgaria have the opportunity to join the qualified communicators’ family in Europe - the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, which is the largest PR professionals’ organization in Europe.

Focus on the programme. The course lasts for approximately 6 months. Topics covered include:  organisational culture and transformation; communication theory and strategic internal communication and engagement; planning and managing; setting the right tone - the fit between internal and external communication; using social media for internal communication; role of communications in transforming organisations.

Soon we will introduce you the course students - here, on CIPR Blog.

Behind us are few months from the day Apeiron Academy became the first centre that got a licence for teaching the Certificate outside United Kingdom. Behind us are the emotions of the official announcement, the International scholarship competition, the deadline for approving students’ documents, the conversations with the lecturers - the whole organization of all this special events.

In front of us we have few months of meetings with lecturers and students. And it won’t be any different from usual - Apeiron Academy will encourage all specialists, who want to extend their potential and develop their career in internal communications.

подобни статии:

1. Ann Pilkington: ‘Students realise there’s a lot more in internal communications than they expected, and then bring that message back to their workplaces’ Last year the CIPR launched Internal Communications Certificate programme...
2. Apeiron Academy awarded two scholarships to students in the first professional internal communications qualification in Bulgaria On 13th January 2010 ended the International scholarship competition for...
3. Kevin Ruck and Ann Pilkington: ‘The new Certificate in internal communications will help specialists to take the most of opportunities that has opened for this profession’ Interview with the two lecturers of the first CIPR Internal Communications Certificate...

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Which event is special? Or how to transform an ordinary ‘occasion’ into “special” and worthy event?

Those are just two of the questions that we often ask ourselves or seek answers for in our work.

At Apeiron, when we take the role of event consultants, we know that we will do the traditional things in an untraditional way. During negotiations process and later brainstorming, our heads come up with so many ideas that we hardly can evaluate their pluses and minuses. Some of the ideas are so weird that we just smile at them and send them to our ‘Unrealizable’ column.

But when you seek the Idea you have to unleash your imagination and not set barriers from the very beginning.

According to us, every boring award ceremony, some annual cocktail or the opening of an established and popular event can be turned ’special’.

The event just has to carry with it some special accent. Something to be remembered for. Do you remember the last event that gave you the chills? Share it with us…

We all search for new ideas even in things that are done before.

We’d like to share with you one of the many YouTube clips that inspired us for a conception of one forthcoming event.

This is a music piece called ‘History of music in five minutes’ performed by the English string quartet Stringfever.  

This is the list of songs performed: 

1. Traditional - Greensleeves         2. Handel - Messiah - Hallelujah chorus        3. Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

4. Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 - “Ode to Joy”   5. Rossini - William Tell Overture   

6. Puccini - Turandot - Nessun Dorma     7. Bach - Prelude in C Major     8. Beethoven - Symphony No. 5   

9. Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra   10. Offenbach - Orpheus in the Underworld

11. Bizet - Carmen - Torreador Song       12.   Brahms - Hungarian Dance #5   

13. Tschaikovsky - Nutcracker Suite - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

14. Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite - In the Hall of the Mountain King   

15. Rimsky-Korsakov-Flight of the Bumblebee (underneath previous song)

16. The James Bond Theme       17. Grieg-Peer Gynt Suite    18. Scott Joplin-The Entertainer    

19. Brown / Freed-Singin’ In The Rain         20. Sound of Music-Do Re Mi    

21. Irving Berlin-There’s No Business Like Show Business      22. Interlude (falling scale)

23. George Gershwin-Summertime          24.  Glen Miller - In The Mood  

25. Kander,Ebb-New York, New York    26. Elvis Presley-Hound Dog   27. Roy Orbison-Pretty Woman  

28. McCartney / Lennon-Yesterday    29.  James Brown-I Feel Good    30. The Bee Gees-Stayin’ Alive

31. Interlude (falling scale)  32. Abba-Money, Money, Money  33. Queen-Another One Bites The Dust  

34. Eric Clapton-Layla        35. Michael Jackson-Billy Jean        36. Deep Purple-Smoke On The Water   

37. Theme from Jaws    38. Knife Scene from Hitchcock’s Psycho    39. Wagner-Ride of the Valkyries   

40. Jerrold Immel-Theme to Dallas       41. Thomas Augustine Arne-Rule Brittania

42. Traditional-Sailor’s Hornpipe (music from Warner Bros Buccaneer Bunny)

43. Traditional-Shave And A Haircut (music from Warner Bros Looney Tunes)

44. Wagner-Lohengrin-Wedding Chorus

The special event is a blank page. A void that has to be filled with inspiring and practical ideas. That is why this event carries with it the tag ’special’, isn’t it? 

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The Swedish capital Stockholm will host the 6th World Public Relations Forum which will be carried out on 14 and 15 June 2010.
Among guest-lecturers that have already confirmed their participation in the program are Mervyn King, senior counsel for the World Bank and the United Nations; Carl Bildt, Foreign Minister of Sweden; Björn Edlund, Vice President Communications for Shell; Brian Solis, social media-guru; Anne Gregory, one of Great Britains most practised proffessor/PR-professiona, lecturer in CIPR programmes.
The program of the event will be developed and adapted to the profile of specialist that register for the forum.
Registration fee before or on 10 February is 500 euro incl. VAT. Registration fee after 10 February is 700 euro incl. VAT.
You can find more information about the 6th World PR Forum here.

подобни статии:

1. Kevin Ruck*: As the recognition of public relations grows, more pressure is put upon practitioners to perform… It is a great opportunity to make a difference and have a voice in the success of an organisation In times of crisis organisations need to talk more to...

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Last year the CIPR launched Internal Communications Certificate programme in the United Kingdom. In February 2010 the course for the Certificate starts in Apeiron Academy. The Bulgarian centre is the first centre outside United Kingdom who got official accreditation and will start educating specialists in the programme. We present you excerpts from an interview Ann Pilktington, one of the lecturers in the qualification program, gave for www.simply-communicate.

How has the introduction of the ICC been received by the industry?

It’s done very well. This year we’ve run four public courses, and two in-house courses with the government department HMRC.

What has the uptake been like (in the UK)?

We currently have about 100 students, which is a really strong amount. For them it’s exciting because the qualification is very new - it’s the first thing of its kind that’s really been done. For a long time now there have been qualifications in PR, and other fields like marketing and HR, but before this there was no equivalent qualification in Internal Comms. For the students it’s great to see some recognition that IC is an established profession with theory behind what we do - we’re not just corporate postmen.

So the course lends a legitimacy to the industry?

Yes, and something we’re seeing is that many of the students are very tactical in their approach. They realise that there’s a lot more to the field than they perhaps realised, and then bring that message back to the workplace and tell their company, “Hey, we should be doing these other things.”

So on the certificate you’ve been running this year, what kind of results have you seen?

It’s a little early yet to be judging exactly what kind of return students can expect from the certificate, but what we have seen is that the light has been switched on for people who take our course - it broadens their horizons. With other courses we’ve run in the past we’ve seen students actually leave their jobs once they finish, because the course gives them that impetus, and those who feel frustrated having learned so much might feel that they could be making better use of their knowledge elsewhere.

How is the course received by the more seasoned comms practitioners, who made their way without any qualifications?

There’s always a debate between the more experienced, seat-of-the-pants approach to this business and the qualification approach. One thing we’ve noticed though is that the profile of the students coming onto the course isn’t what we expected - there’s a far greater spread of ages and people from all different backgrounds. The content of the certificate is somewhat dictated by the more experienced practitioners in the first place. I think more than anything these qualifications offer people a chance to catch up with those who are the dyed-in-the-wool comms professionals.

We’ve also seen people coming onto these courses and then rising through the ranks in their organisation, then sending their employees onto the courses too.

How does the course foster the creative side of IC?

AP: When people think of creativity they tend to think of clever stunts - fun things to do. We would take the approach that it’s more important to understand your audience and understand your objectives. By doing this you know what you want to achieve, and your creativity falls out of that. Our students are given the tools and techniques to get the strategy right, their creativity blooms out of this.

How do the courses you offer address social media?

Again, it’s about teaching people the principles. We don’t teach people how to use Facebook for example. What social media does is quicken the speed at which we work and change the dynamic around comms - so IC needs to change to accommodate that.

It’s more about how social media impacts the role of the IC professional. You have to be a facilitator. The risk is that internal comms practitioners keep working in a top-down way, and might do the occasional cursory bit of social media - a podcast or a webinar, but nothing else. We mustn’t feel threatened by social media - obviously it’s not good to have employees sit on Facebook all day, but it can be very helpful in particular sorts of communities.

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One interview of Luke Westaway for http://www.simpy-communicate.com

Original link: http://www.simply-communicate.com/news/cipr-offers-more-ways-communicators-get-qualified

подобни статии:

1. Kevin Ruck and Ann Pilkington: ‘The new Certificate in internal communications will help specialists to take the most of opportunities that has opened for this profession’ Interview with the two lecturers of the first CIPR Internal Communications Certificate...
2. Apeiron Academy awarded two scholarships to students in the first professional internal communications qualification in Bulgaria On 13th January 2010 ended the International scholarship competition for...
3. Apeiron Academy announces international scholarship competition for CIPR Internal Communications Certificate On 1st of November Apeiron Academy, Accredited centre of the...

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On 13th January 2010 ended the International scholarship competition for the first class of the British professional qualification for internal communications specialists - Internal Communications Certificate, a programme of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). 

Apeiron Academy, Accredited Center of the CIPR awarded two full scholarships to Petya Uzunova, Executive recruitment Consultant in Antal International - Bulgaria (http://antal.com/) and Martina Ličková, Project Coordinator/ Account Manager - Human Resources Consulting at KNO Slovakia (http://www.kno.sk/). The scholarship covers for the and all the additional ’s materials. The other two finalists, who presented very good results, were awarded with partial scholarships for the programme.

The CIPR qualification programme is the first in Bulgaria that provides an international certificate in the field of internal communications to its graduates. The first course in Sofia starts on 10^th February 2010 and will last for approximately 6 months offering a minimum of 20 hours tuition. At the accredited center Apeiron Academy the lecturing sessions will be lead by CIPR lecturers from England.

15 candidates participated in the scholarship competition. In the first assessment stage were evaluated candidates’ essays on the topic “Successful communications start from within”. Four candidates successfully passed to the second stage of the competition - personal interview with the candidates. The assessment commission included the creator of the Certificate Kevin Ruck and Ann Pilkington, accredited CIPR lecturers and PR Academy (UK) co-founder, and members of Apeiron Academy team.  

The new CIPR qualification programme is suitable for internal communications specialists or specialists with experience in similar professional field, who want to extend their knowledge about organizational culture, corporate change, strategic planning in the field of communications, and social media.

Registrations for the first class of the CIPR Internal Communications Certificate in Bulgaria will be accepted until 30^th January 2010. Find more information here.

подобни статии:

1. Apeiron Academy announces international scholarship competition for CIPR Internal Communications Certificate On 1st of November Apeiron Academy, Accredited centre of the...
2. Four candidates pass to the final stage of International scholarship competition for CIPR Internal Communications Certificate The candidates are from Bulgaria and Slovakia   On 5th...
3. Spread the word – it’s coming… A few thoughts before the CIPR Internal Communications Certificate...

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The candidates are from Bulgaria and Slovakia

On 5^th January 2010 ended the first stage of the assessment process of candidates for the International scholarship competition for CIPR Internal Communications Certificate. 15 candidates entered the competition, organized by Apeiron Academy, Accredited centre of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in Bulgaria. Three candidates from Bulgaria and one from Slovakia pass to the final stage of the competition. The final results will be announced on 12^th January 2010.

The first stage included assessment of essays on the topic ‘Successful communications start from within’. The commission members were Kevin Ruck, Ann Pilkingtion - CIPR lectors and founders of PR Academy (United Kingdom) - and Apeiron team.

The four candidates that pass to the second stage of the competition are (in alphabetical order):

1. Martina Ličková, Slovakia - Project Coordinator/ Account Manager - Human Resources, KNO Slovakia

2. Milena Marinova, Bulgaria - last employer (part of M3Communications Group)

3. Petya Uzunova, Bulgaria - Executive Search Consultant, Antal International

4. Svetlana Petrova, Bulgaria - Employee Relations & Communication Manager, BNP Paribas Personal Finance

On 7^th and 8^th January all 4 candidates will be interviewed at the Bulgarian Accredited centre Apeiron Academy. On 12^th January 2010 the winners in the competition will be announced. In future posts the winners will be presented with their essays and personal interview on the blog.

The scholarship covers the expenses of the education and the additional student materials but will not cover travel expenses, accommodation and CIPR membership fee.

CIPR Internal Communications Certificate is the newest qualification programme of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. The course lasts for approximately 6 months and offers a minimum of 20 hours tuition. At Apeiron Academy the lecturing sessions will be lead by the creator of the Certificate Kevin Ruck and Ann Pilkington, specialists with big experience in the field of communications.

Registration for the new CIPR Internal Communications Certificate is open until 15^th January 2010. Find more information here.

подобни статии:

1. Apeiron Academy announces international scholarship competition for CIPR Internal Communications Certificate On 1st of November Apeiron Academy, Accredited centre of the...
2. And the CIPR Internal Communications Certificate started… The first lecturing session passed…what we learned?  - - -...
3. Apeiron Academy awarded two scholarships to students in the first professional internal communications qualification in Bulgaria On 13th January 2010 ended the International scholarship competition for...

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Members of the CIPR have revealed, in research carried out by ComRes, that the PR industry has remained resilient in the face of the recession. 

This report, undertaken in partnership with ComRes, surveyed over 2,000 CIPR members and examines their views of the recession and how PR has fared in these challenging times.  

The results of the survey highlighted that many areas of the industry have continued to expand throughout the recession, with the greatest growth experienced in digital PR, followed by reputation management, crisis management and strategic planning.  

CIPR members were also asked to comment on the areas which they believe will experience the greatest decline over time.  Participants identified sponsorship, event management and branding and marketing as being under greatest threat.  

Get more information and read the full results of the research.

подобни статии:

1. Roberto Zangrandi*: In order to stay alive in the financial crisis PR industry should focus on no sophisticated but effective communication Interview with Roberto Zangrandi for CIPR Student’s blog by Galena...

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During 2009 Apeiron team told you stories about the Good Communicator. We hope that these stories were funny and edifying. Today we will tell you the story of the Good Old Man - Santa Claus.

The story begins like this:

We asked one person: ‘Do you believe in Santa Claus?’

‘No. I grew up long time ago,’ he told us and passed on.

We turned to a little girl. ‘What about you? Do you believe in Santa Claus?’

‘No,’ she replied. ‘Santa is some fabrication made up by our parents to make us behave more properly.’

Finally we stopped near a woman. Young woman wearing chequered coat. We asked her ‘Do you think Santa Claus is real?’.

‘Is he real?’, she cried out. ‘I don’t know. But the feeling that somebody thinks of you in one cold night is real. And that feeling warms our body and minds.’

We asked people other things too because we wanted to know if they still kept their memories of the Christmas magic. Their answers we transformed into Christmas tale. See it… 

But first, Apeiron team wishes you Merry Christmas and would like to remind you

Miracles may not happen every day, but the belief makes them real!

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