PRMR Inc. Blogs

While catching up on my reading, I came across the story “Creativity Crisis” in the Public Relations Society of America’s Strategist Journal, Spring 2012. It spoke of public relations professionals getting high marks from their executives and business leaders for their “relationship building, political acumen, compelling writing and good strategy”. For creativity however, they looked elsewhere.

This would probably explain why graphic design in Public Relations firms is so hard to sell. When I first started my business I was given all the pitfalls of having an in-house designer and a shopping list of pr agencies who had abandoned this position after a few tries.

Discussion 3.

Having dealt with the perception of Sir Roy based on his controversial May Day 2012 comments and historical vantage points in my last blog I now continue this topic with the toughie, which is the public’s perception of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. I have found Prime Minister Stuart to be one Barbados’ most honest and thoughtful Prime Ministers. 

As a reputation specialist I am always tracking with interest the public’s response to issues.

Discussion 1.

The economic crisis has herald a worrying paradigm for the consumer and that is the reemergence of monopolies. With small businesses crumbling under the economic pressure, large conglomerates are taking the opportunity to buy up limping companies to build capacity.

Dr Alfred Sparman has changed the face of Health Promotions in Barbados forever. Pushing the envelop, the entrepreneurial cardiologist whose entry to Barbados in 2001 was met with some resistance, has on top of this, made many turn to the fraternity’s professional code of conduct with regard to advertising.

Granted there is need for some research on the code and its rationale. My first thoughts however, as a student of communications, is that it is antiquated and has no place in our new capitalist society. What is so innately horrible about advertising that local professional codes of practice for doctors, lawyers and architects prevent them from doing so? This archaic rule maintains the status quo and gives the Establishment the edge, enforcing a level of conformity and conservatism that is speedily disappearing from the Bajan everyday reality.

My blog post this week is more up Mariama’s street, she being a Christian, but when I stumbled on RD Magazine’s Blog Post on “Five Social Media Trends That are reshaping Religion,” I could not help but think about the meeting we had just last week with the PR Manager of the Barbados Port Inc., Freida Nicholls and her telling us that church is not the same without her ipad since she uses her Bible app in church, which she prefers to the physical bible.

Wherever you go now in churches, Reverends and Pastors are using tablets to deliver their messages. The Reverend at the Christ Church Parish Church, Canon Noel Burke has taken this even further by being a regular on twitter - very revolutionary for an Anglican priest. His status reads: “I love God, my family, technology and Coffee”.

Now I understand totally why I am spending so much money on hair colour every week trying to keep up with my rapidly greying head of hair. According to PR Newser, it’s my job to blame! PRNewser has quoted CareerCast list of best, worst, most stressful, and least stressful jobs for 2012. At number seven on the most stressful list is the PR executive. My dream job, My passion!

I could not help but jump all over this “I love JetBlue -- Customer Service Done Right” story in Forbes, especially after Mariama brought up the topic of customer service in her blog last week. Being a bit of a flight snob myself, Jet Blue never appealed to me because there is no business class service. The current economic climate however forced me to revaluate how I spend my money and since the back and front of the plane arrives at the same time, I made the decision that flying first/business class was one of those non-essential luxuries that could be cut.

In 2010, when I packed my bags and headed off to Vancouver to pursue my ABC accreditation I decided to give Jet Blue a try - The wonderful equalizer plane that has everyone on the same level.

This is a wonderful age to be living in - electricity, telephony, air travel, Satelites in outer space, A Black American President and now a blind woman, President of the Barbados Senate. Good going Kerry-Ann Ifill. This is brilliant on 2 counts: first female President and a differently abled person to boot.