Business Case for Public Relations is Your Membership Dollars at Work

By Fran Stephenson

            Around the time of the International Conference, PRSA National launched an internal advocacy campaign, called the Business Casefor Public Relations.  And just in time, too.  As technology expands the scope of our profession and the continued reputation of organizations continues to erode, now more than ever -- AS A PROFESSION—we need to demonstrate that we create value and care about the ethics which guide our actions.

But this is more just a bunch of words and anaction plan. Already, the dedicated section on the PRSA Web site [http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/BusinessCase/] is filled with resources to assist professionals in addressing value,measurement and excellence in the field. 

Before you do any other reading in our field, go there and check out your new resources. An entire section on value includes readings about the same.  Case studies are organized by subject matter and focus.  The resources are incredibly rich and this is just the beginning. 

PRSA also recognizes that many attempts have been made to measure what we do and that the effectiveness of those measurements is far from consistent.  In an attempt to bring us all together on measurement standards, a measurement task force (also on the site) is working on recommendations.  Task Force members are an august group and have broad-based experience in our field.  Check out their bios and photos on the site too. 

A call to action section has been added to help professionals figure out where they belong in this scheme and learning opportunities are also listed here.

The Business Case for Public Relations is good news for Public Relations pros who need to stand in front of executives in a competitive business environment and answer the question “why?”  Bookmark it today!