UCD Careers Week

Ciara Kennedy

Wilson Hartnell Public Relations

10th February 2011

What is PR?

What is PR?

"Public relations is the planned andsustained effort to establish and

maintain goodwill andunderstanding between an

organisation and its publics“

Institute of Public Relations, UK

Skills Required• Excellent writing skills• Strategic thinking• Interest in media / current affairs• Effective communications• Creativity• Time Management• Presentation skills• Energy and Enthusiasm

A Typical Day?

• No such thing in PR!

• Time management, ability to prioritise

Photocall

Media Relations

Stakeholder Engagement

Media Monitoring

Crisis Management

Design & Print

Campaign Planning

Press Releases

Digital

Client Services

Specialist Areas of PR

• Consumer

• Healthcare

• Lifestyle

• Sport

• Corporate

• Technology

• Public Affairs

• Digital

Agency or In-house?

• Same skill set required• Agency / Consultancy

– Level of client services – Portfolio of clients

• In-house– In-depth knowledge of industry sector– Reporting to Marketing Director, Head

of Corporate Affairs, Head of Communications

PR Qualifications

• Masters in PR– DIT, Aungier Street (one year, full time)

• Diploma in PR– Full-time / Part-time– Fitzwilliam Institute, European Institute

of Communications, Rathmines College, Dun Laoghaire College of Further Education

• Work Experience

Getting into PR

• Formal Qualifications

• Work Experience

• Opportunities through hobbies / interests

• Internship Programmes

Roles and Salaries

• Average gross salaries / guideline bands• Commensurate with experience • Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII)

website cites salaries as;– Entry level graduate: €20,000 - €23,500– Account Executive: €23,500 - €32,500– Account Manager: €32,500 - €50,000– Account Director: €50,000 - €65,000– Divisional Directors: €65,000 - €85,000

PRII

• Public Relations Institute of Ireland• Promotes the professional practice of PR

in Ireland• Best interests of people working in PR • Examinations / Qualifications• Training Workshops• Job Vacancies• www.prii.ie

WHPR

• Consistently ranked in top three agencies– Established 1973 as WHPR, acquired by

Ogilvy in 1984• 40 full time PR executives, plus external

consultants and shared support• Award winning programmes• Part of Ogilvy PR Worldwide• Member of the Public Relations

Consultants Association (PRCA)

Some of our clients

How I got here…

Some recent campaigns…

Lundbeck ‘Lean on Me’ Campaign

Pfizer / Arthritis Ireland ‘Easy To Use’ Campaign

Bayer ’50 Years of the Pill’ Campaign

Advice / Tips

• Work experience / internship

• Evaluate role of PR in context of other marketing disciplines

• It’s 99% hard work - don’t go into PR thinking it’s all fun and parties!

• PRII / MII websites and events