Talk:EPublic Relations

Relocated from article page -- as this was authored by the PRIA and it will date quickly I have relocated it here -- perhaps a rewritten and condensed version should be incorporated. But I'm out of time for the moment.--Bob Burton 00:23, 11 Apr 2005 (EDT)

Taken from an email
HOW TO BEAT ACTIVISTS AT THEIR OWN GAME

Canadian PR consultant Ross Irvine will conduct a half-day PRIA seminar on Tuesday 19 April on the best strategies to win against activists.

President of Vancouver-based firm, ePublic Relations Ltd, Ross advises clients on how to use activists? own street-smart tactics in response to their campaigns. He believes activists are winning more and more mining, agriculture, social and consumer issues.

Activists believe they know what is best for us - they have assumed moral leadership on many issues globally and they pressure businesses, governments and society to embrace their ideology.

They often recruit high-profile supporters to their causes, such as academics, media personalities and stars from the entertainment world. For instance, well-known local author Tim Winton was enlisted to support the ?Save Ningaloo Reef? campaign last year in WA. Activists are hugely successful communicators. Measures of PR success - story placements, number of interviews, shifts in public opinion, legislation       supporting their agenda ? show that activists not only get their messages heard, but also acted upon. The Internet is central to their activities because it enables them to pass information around the world instantly to each other to use against their targets. In Australia, activists have beaten all the efforts of public relations practitioners and consultants from well-funded biotechnology companies to           prevent the introduction of GMO (genetically modified organisms) crops in most of the country. In the past 12 months the governments of WA, Victoria, NSW and South Australia have either banned GMO crops altogether or severely limited trials of GMO grains such as canola. Activist groups are also known as special interest groups, lobby groups or NGOs (non-government organisations). It is estimated there are 50,000 NGOs in the world.

Ross will show how to understand the new activist mindset, how activists use their networks, and the tools they use to win their battles. He will explain how to outflank the attackers and ensure activist organisations meet community standards of accountability and transparency.

The seminar and a panel discussion will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel from 9.00am to 12noon on Tuesday 19 April. Contact the PRIA WA secretariat on priawa@bigpond.com for registrations and enquiries