In this week when we celebrate our 40th anniversary, I look back to 1971 when I set up Action PR. At that time the world was a very different place; no internet, no mobile phones and certainly no iPad! Times were challenging but exciting and my vision was to build a business that was to become the first full service public relations consultancy in the emerging markets.  Now those same emerging markets are not only the focus of global attention but also drive the global economy. As the company grew we found that, while we offered our clients effective communications combined with strong local knowledge, we also had to help educate local media and other influencers to understand the value of what we were doing. At first and in some countries this was quite a struggle, especially with highly regulated, even censored, local media. Now digital communications and social media have cut through these obstacles taking us into a new world of openness and change. There are still challenges to be faced, some of a very different kind to those we faced 40 years ago. But the difference now is that the Action team of professionals in over 40 countries have never been more effective, more professional or more committed. We should be proud of what we have achieved over the last 40 years, proud of our long standing client relationships and proud that we work with some of the world’s leading brands and organisations.  I salute all the Action team whether you are working in the heat of the Middle East, the cosmopolitan cities of Eastern Europe or the heady political world of Brussels. Here’s to the next 40 years of Action!

August 31^st has (unofficially) been set as International Blog Day, an initiative of blogday.org since 2005. BlogDay is an opportunity for each blogger to recommend 5 blogs that he or she finds interesting, along with a short description and a link for each blog.

As blogs and bloggers are an integral part of how we all receive, process and use information, we wanted to pay homage to local blogs that stand out from the crowd in some our markets, and share them with you. Here are 5 blogs, by country, that our local offices reckon are worth reading (most blogs have a focus either on PR and communications, our clients’ industries, or are just plain interesting):

BAHRAIN Blogs

1. Mahmood’s Den (Political / General Interest)

2. Bint Battuta in Bahrain (Social)

3. Babbling Bahrania (General Interest)

4. Birding Bahrain (Wildlife)

5. Lost in Bahrain (Personal / Humorous)

BULGARIAN Blogs

1. Izbrano (Technology/ Gadgets)

2. Salted Lemons (Cooking)

3. Kreativen (Online Marketing & Social Media)

4. Auto Equipment (Automotive)

5. Lets Gym (Health & Sports)

CYPRUS Blogs

1. I Pellara en POLLON Logion (Financial / Politics)

2. Chrysanthos Tsouroullis (Politics / General Interest)

3. Sometimes YES Sometimes NO (Public Relations)

4. Sports Gazette (Sports)

5. Charalambos Theopemptou – Epitropos Perivallontos (Ecology / Environment)

GREECE Blogs

1. Athensville (City Life)

2. Fashion Architect (Fashion)

3. Enteka (General Interest)

4. A,mpa? (Lifestyle)

5. Iparhoume…Siniparhoume (Journalism / Society)

KUWAIT Blogs

1. 248AM (Social)

2. Frankom (General Interest)

3. Q8 Black Market (Entertainment/ Events)

4. 4th Ring Road (General Interest)

5. Some Contrast (General Interest)

KYRGYZSTAN Blogs

1. Mirsulzhan Namazaliev (Social Media, General Interest)

2. Discovering of Environment of Central Asia (Environment, Science)

3. Kloop Media (General Interest, PR)

4. Bugulab (Design, Art)

5. Bektour Iskender (General Interest, Political)

LATVIA Blogs

1. Slava Se (Personal)

2. Telecommunication and IT, Juris Kaža (IT and Telecommunications)

3. Stuff-n-Style (Fashion)

4. Public Relations, Marketing, Ingars Rudzitis (PR, Marketing)

5. Ansis Egle (Tourism, Personal)

LITHUANIA Blogs

1. Dansu Dansu (Marketing & Communications)

2. Marketer.lt (Internet Marketing)

3. Uagadugu (TV News)

4. Mediana.lt (Sociology, market research)

5. Komunikacija Facebook’e (Social media news)

OMAN Blogs

1. Muscat Confidential (Current Affairs)

ROMANIA Blogs

1. Comanescu (Media)

2. Cristian Manafu (Social Media)

3. Puterea Comunicarii (Media, Communications & CSR)

4. Return to the com(m)unity (Media & Advertising)

5. PR Wave Blog (PR & Communications)

RUSSIA Blogs

1. Drugoi in Russia (Social & Political Photo/Video Blog)

2. Sergey Dolya’s Blog (Travel and Tourism)

3. IT Blog (Information Technology)

4. Medvedev in Russia (Political)

5. Mikhail Prokhorov Blog (General Interest)

SERBIA Blogs

1. Dragan Varagic (e-Business, e-Marketing, Online PR)

2. Basta Balkana (Lifestyle/ General Interest)

3. Svet Nauke (Science)

4. Veza Blog (Online Marketing)

5. Trzisno Resenje (Economy)

UAE Blogs

1. Informed Comment (Middle Eastern and Islamic Affairs)

2. Life in Dubai (Dubai Economy/ General)

3. Hellwa Fashion (Fashion & Lifestyle)

4. Something To Chew (Advertising / Design)

5. Arabian Money (Finance & Economy)

A big thank you to the contributors of this blog post: Rohan Shanker (Bahrain), Toni Stankova (Bulgaria), Dimitris Ioannides (Cyprus), Panayiotis Othonos (Cyprus), Angeliki Kiofiri (Greece), Amina Al Jarery (Kuwait), Elira Turdubaeva (Kyrgyzstan), Marija Makarevicha (Latvia), Jolita Jukneviciute (Lithuania), Camelia Cristache (Romania), Ruxandra Scortea (Romania), Grigory Lugovoy (Russia), Anna Vavilova (Russia), Srdjan Crnogorac (Serbia), David Baker (Oman and UAE), Meredith Carson (UAE).

Any blogs you’d like to recommend? Add them to the comments section along with their country of origin. Happy Blog Day!

Question for entrepreneurs: Do you take public relations into account when handling your communications tactics?

If the answer is no, then you really should be giving the matter some thought.

The communications tactics you apply to the promotion of your business must interact with each other, in order to achieve the desired changes in the behaviour of the specific targeted groups who are vital for success.

If you adopt a comprehensive public relations strategy and combine it with effective tactics, it will lead where you want – changes in perceptions, shifts in behaviours, and customer satisfaction.

The truth is that no company/ organization can succeed today if the behaviour of its most important clients/consumers is not corresponding to the organization’s set of objectives. For your business, this means that public relations professionals must change someone’s behaviour if they are looking to help you achieve your goals and succeed.

This is why public relations executives seek to shape, change or enhance public opinion; approaching, persuading and mobilizing the people whose behaviour affects the business.

Often, entrepreneurs focus their attention on the immediate impact of their tactics. For example, how was a speech accepted? What kind of impressions did a press release create? How was their business portrayed in newspapers or on TV? How did the public react to a specific event?

Of course, these reactions are perfectly understandable. However, the question you have to keep in mind is: Why exactly am I applying these tactics? Am I applying these various public relations tactics just because I am enthused with the idea of press releases, special events and giving speeches?

Obviously, the answer should be no.

Tactics should be applied to achieve a change in behaviour.

To evaluate the changes we bring to behaviour and determine the level of success of our basic public relations programme, we must look for the evidence which shows that behaviour has actually changed. Such evidence will start to show online, in print and television media coverage, in letters to editors, the consumers’ reactions, and so on.

The fundamental power of public relations gives a particular weight to each tactic chosen to convey a certain message to the targeted audience.

Does your tactic contribute significantly and actively in changing perceptions and behaviours of an audience? If the answer is no, then the simple truth is that it should be discarded and replaced by a tactic which will produce results.

Source: sigmalive.com/simerini/news/local/173541

Cyprus has just seen its first digital media revolution – and I don’t just mean the random facebook account or a quick laugh on YouTube. Even if you weren’t involved in the pan-Cypriot online protest against the 2+ lanes that shook the very foundations of this government initiative, you would have heard about it, or at the very least received the e-mail. When the Ministry of Transportation picked the busiest street in Nicosia and decided to make a 2+ lane, which means that you can only be in that lane if there are 2 or more people in the car, or if you are driving a taxi or a bus, the digital world responded fast…and furiously.

The word spread quickly as popular blogs openly criticized the initiative and avid readers sent the link to all their friends and co workers, who in turn sent it to their friends and co workers, who subsequently sent it to all their friends and co workers, and by the end of the first week of the “trial period” the whole of Cyprus had openly spoken against the 2+ lane. Online petitions were signed by the thousands as many joined the NO to the “2+ Lane” in Nicosia group on facebook, and the result couldn’t have been more satisfactory; less than a month since the initiative was launched, it was officially scrapped.

Source: foukou.blogspot.com/2009/06/2.html

This turn of events opens the floor to many questions about how the digital world is changing the way people think and act. Are the days of demonstrating on the streets over? Can they be replaced by digital demonstrations from the comfort of our desks? And more specifically, could this have been avoided if the government had employed a more digital-friendly Public Relations strategy? Are blogs, twitter, facebook and YouTube the new picket line?

In this new digital era, the lines between demonstration, crisis and revolution are blurring fast and furiously. It is time to think fast, think loud, and take digital ACTION…

A few of the most frequently asked questions made by clients (current or prospective) that are new to the whole PR industry and its effectiveness, are what makes a successful public relations programme? What does it cost? Does my company really need it? Can I do it myself? etc.

A successful public relations programme involves a number of activities that will help a company/organization to stand out from its competitors. We all know that paid advertising increases name recognition; BUT good media relations (PR) increases credibility. When people read a story about the excellence of a company/ organization in a newspaper or see a positive story on TV, they are much more likely to have a favourable opinion of the company/organization. PR increases credibility, it helps the client to attract those who want the best. When people have heard of you and have a favourable impression of you, it is easier to attract and hold their attention while you tell your story. I think we all agree on that. If people believe that you are the best, they will understand why it is worth paying your price, no matter what that price is. All a company/organization needs to do is to contact the right PR agency (Action PR Group) and with the right brief allow the industry experts to put together a plan with goals and objectives. Define the target audiences and the target messages. The PR agency will plan how its media relations programme will fit with the clients other marketing communications programmes.

How much will it cost? Definitely a lot less than advertising! Does my company really need it? If you are not 100% happy with your company’s brand awareness, revenue and exposure then I guess the answer is YES! Can I do it myself? Can you swim safely alongside a great white shark, or better yet can you fly? The answer is definitely NO, but you can always try!

Unless you are a celebrity, good public relations just doesn’t happen on its own. It takes a lot of skill, and consistent hard work, over a period of time. It’s part art, part science and when practiced correctly the results can be very rewarding. The bottom line: PR, vs other marketing communication tools, delivers the most bang for your buck!

I was recently invited to participate at a roundtable discussion of the 7th Communications Conference in Nicosia, Cyprus, organised by IMH, one of the largest conference organisers in the country.

For the first time in its seven-year history, the conference was dedicated to public relations and, ultimately, the importance of this industry within the Cyprus market.

As with many conferences of this type some presentations included theory and interesting methodologies (sometimes not applicable in real life) and some consisted of interesting examples of theory in practice (again not so relevant to different markets).

The roundtable in which I participated bought together some of the talent from the PR world in Cyprus, including advertising agencies that have PR departments, clients (that have corp. comm. divisions), journalists and a standalone independent PR agency (Action).

For those who came to find out about what PR is and what it can do for them in Cyprus, I fear they may left the conference feeling somewhat confused. Perhaps too many people sharing too many views.  On the whole, though, it was a good effort in identifying various pitfalls and opportunities within the Cyprus PR industry.

One comment which raised a few eyebrows was that PR wasn’t defined as sharply as it could be and that it covers too many topics…. . For those who want an example of a clearly defined, independent answer, check out the Public Relations Consultants Association’s (PRCA’s) here.  The PRCA also has an excellent series of Best Practice guides for those considering the use of PR agencies.

Images from the Conference:

Participants of the conference

Action’s own, David Baker, Country Manager UAE, who was one of the presenters at the conference.

Part of the speakers panel, including yours truly.

Images courtesy of IMH, copyright 2009.

Stephen Davies, Online PR Strategist, Managing Director of 3WPR, long-time PR Blogger and also Online Consultant for Action, was interviewed by InBusiness, the top business magazine in Cyprus for their August 2009 issue. The interview covers a range of topics on digital PR and social media, such as how they can contribute to individuals and businesses, and how the model of public relations has changed with the use of social media etc.

You can read the interview here in English or click on the image below for the published Greek version.