recently
elected
Executive
Committee
will
be
sworn
in
at
the
50th
anniversary
launch
Advertisement
The
Institute
of
Public
Relations
(IPR)
Ghana
is
51
years
old
this
year,
hurray!!!
For
good
reason,
the
golden
jubilee
anniversary
which
should
have
taken
place
last
year
is
being
marked
this
year
with
the
launch
on
Tuesday
July
16.
At
this
same
event,
to
be
held
at
the
Accra
City
Hotel,
the
swearing-in
of
the
recently
elected
Executive
Committee
(EXCO)
will
be
done.
The
date
for
the
belated
50th
anniversary
launch
was
strategically
chosen
to
coincide
with
the
World
Public
Relations
Day.
The
activity-full
celebrations
are
being
held
within
the
Institute’s
Annual
Public
Relations
(PR)
Week-
15th
to
19th
July,
2024
and
beyond.
These
activities
include;
Community
engagement
on
environmental
conservation,
time
with
PR
students,
IPR
Community
Gathering,
where
all
members
will
wear
IPR
T-Shirts
and
enjoy
knowledge
enhancement
through
humor-
a
fun
filled
activity,
titled,
“Ooops!
What
Happened?
From
the
information
I
have
read
so
far,
the
occasion
is
“designed
to
enable
members
share
the
joy
of
our
profession,
network,
build
and
deepen
professional
and
social
bonds
while
sharing
knowledge
and
enhancing
the
reputation
of
the
profession.”
I
have
also
gleaned
from
reading
materials
put
out
by
the
hard-working
new
EXCO
that
“the
week
also
provides
an
opportunity
to
educate
the
general
public
about
the
Public
Relations
profession
and
its
relevance
and
value
to
them.”
The
overarching
theme,
according
to
the
brief
I
sighted
is
“Public
Relations
for
Value
Creation.”
Cognisant
of
the
fact
that
Ghana’s
political
season
is
here,
a
key
focus
with
respect
to
value
creation
is
promoting
ethical
communication
for
peaceful
elections.
I
cut
my
Public
Relations
teeth
at
the
Nursing
and
Midwifery
Council
of
Ghana
(NMCG)
and
honed
my
skills
at
THE
communications
consultancy-
Stratcomm
Africa.
If
per
chance,
you
have
credited
me
with
some
level
of
creativity
in
your
thoughts,
Madam
Esther
Cobbah,
the
President
of
IPR
Ghana,
is
responsible
for
that.
She
demanded
it
from
me.
As
someone
who
practiced
the
profession
for
close
to
two
decades,
I
consider
this
an
opportunity
to
drum
home
the
value
of
Public
Relations
to
those
who
genuinely
seek
and
use
our
services.
Value
Creation
explained
Like
every
discipline
or
subject,
the
phrase
‘Value
Creation’
has
varied
explanations
depending
on
who
is
explaining.
One
that
I
liked
in
my
quest
to
write
this
piece
is
“the
act
of
putting
something
out
in
the
world
that
has
some
level
of
usefulness
for
other
people.”
This
definition
took
my
mind
to
the
biblical
“Neither
do
men
light
a
candle,
and
put
it
under
a
bushel,
but
on
a
candlestick;
and
it
giveth
light
unto
all
that
are
in
the
house.”-
Matthew
5:15.
Unfortunately,
the
above
biblical
prohibition
seems
to
be
the
norm
in
Ghana.
We
hire
PR
professionals
(Light
the
candle)
and
place
them
under
direct
reporting
lines
to
Human
Resource,
Administrative
or
Marketing
Managers
and
in
some
cases,
lawyers.
By
so
doing,
the
light
does
not
get
to
shine
to
all
that
are
in
the
house.
In
other
words,
the
value
(usefulness)
of
the
profession
is
lost,
not
only
on
those
who
hire
the
services
of
PR
officers,
but
also
those
who
should
benefit.
What
is
Public
Relations?
Similar
to
Value
Creation,
Public
Relations
has
been
defined
variously.
While
I
like
IPR
Ghana’s
definition
due
to
the
emphasis
it
places
on
it
being
a
‘Management
function’,
I
love
that
of
the
American
Public
Relations
Association
(APRA).
They
define
it
as
“a
strategic
communication
process
that
builds
mutually
beneficial
relationships
between
organizations
and
their
publics.”
The
key
elements
in
this
definition
are
Strategic
Communication,
Mutually
Beneficial,
and
Publics.
Strategic
Communication
describes
the
communication
principles,
strategies,
and
initiatives
used
to
further
an
organization’s
goals,
mission,
or
values.
Mutually
beneficial
relationship
refers
to
a
situation
where
each
party
in
the
relationship
shares
something
of
value
in
return
for
something
of
equal
and
comparable
value.
Publics
are
audiences
that
are
important
to
an
organisation.
They
include
customers
–
existing
and
potential;
employees
and
management,
investors,
media,
government,
suppliers,
opinion-formers
etc.
Obviously,
any
employee
tasked
with
the
above
scope
of
work
should
not
be
made
to
play
second
fiddle.
That
is
why
the
designation
of
Public
Relations
as
a
Management
Function
by
IPR
Ghana
is
apt.
That
is
to
say,
the
place
of
the
Public
Relations,
Public
Affairs,
Corporate
Communication
or
Reputation
Manager
is
in
the
Executive
Management
Team
and
by
extension,
a
seat
at
the
Board
meeting
in
advisory
capacity.
This
is
critical
because
if
he
or
she
is
present
in
a
Board
meeting,
while
the
Finance
Manager
is
presenting
his
case
for
increase
in
fees
and
charges
or
prices,
or
the
Marketing
Manager
is
proposing
what
may
be
deemed
innovative
ideas
about
touchpoints
in
order
to
increase
sales,
he
or
she
will,
as
a
duty
for
which
his
or
her
salary
is
paid,
avert
everybody’s
mind
to
the
possible
adverse
impact
of
those
decisions
on
the
customers-
existing
and
potential.
If
this
input
is
acknowledged
and
mandated,
he
or
she
will
then
use
the
strategic
communication
principles
aforementioned
to
ensure
that
the
relationship
with
the
publics
remains
mutually
beneficial
even
if
the
proposals
are
implemented.
For
example,
by
falling
on
the
logic
in
the
inoculation
theory,
the
PR
Manager
could
suggest
that
instead
of
a
big
increment
in
price
of
say
5%,
a
graduated
approach
of
2,
2,
1
percentage
increases
over
the
intended
period
may
be
more
acceptable
to
the
customers
than
the
one-off
raise.
By
this
advice,
a
public
backlash
will
definitely
be
avoided.
And
if
the
‘innovative’
touchpoint
proposed
by
the
Marketing
Manager
of
an
alcoholic
beverage
manufacturing
firm
is
a
marketing
activation
at
church
picnics,
the
PR
Manager
could
use
stakeholder
analysis
to
advise
that
such
a
tactic
could
be
deployed
in
orthodox
churches,
but
not
the
charismatic
ones.
That’s
because
the
audience
analysis
will
reveal
that
some
members
of
Anglican,
Presbyterian
and
Methodist
congregations
drink
alcohol
during
such
social
events.
Clearly,
the
reputational
damage
that
would
have
been
caused
by
making
such
a
proposal
to
the
leadership
of
the
Church
of
Pentecost,
Action
Faith
Chapel
or
Perez
Chapel
would
be
averted.
The
stakeholder
analysis
would
also
disclose
that
for
members
of
these
religious
groupings,
non-alcoholic
drinks
are
more
suitable.
A
strategic
decision
could
thus
be
taken
at
the
Board
level
to
cater
to
this
need
by
venturing
into
manufacturing
what
we
refer
to
in
Ghana
as
‘soft
drinks.’
Likewise,
if
Public
Affairs
Managers
at
the
various
Ministries,
Departments
and
Agencies
(MDAs)
are
given
a
seat
in
the
Board
room,
they
will
bring
their
publics-centred
perspectives
to
bear
on
the
formulation
and
implementation
of
the
numerous
policies
and
programmes
in
order
to
make
them
more
acceptable
to
the
intended
audience.
Therefore,
in
mathematical
terms,
Board
decisions
–
Public
Relations
input
=
stakeholder
backlash.
Recent
examples
abound
in
Ghana.
However,
today
is
a
happy
day,
so
I
keep
the
joyous
mood.
It’s
time
to
go
From
the
foregoing,
it
goes
without
saying
that
it
is
organisations
whose
managers
recognize
the
importance
of
their
publics-
clients,
customers
or
stakeholders
to
their
survival,
which
reap
the
value
that
Public
Relations
creates.
Moreso,
when
Public
Relations
is
given
a
voice
during
Board
meetings.
It
is
true
that
Public
Relations
costs
money,
but
brings
in
none
directly.
However,
if
‘Image
Is
Everything’,
as
touted
by
the
Institute
of
Public
Relations
Ghana
is
anything
to
go
by,
then
‘Everything’
could
include
the
fact
that
the
mutually
beneficial
relationship
fostered
by
the
Public
Relations
professional
engenders
a
positive
image
for
the
company,
which
makes
existing
customers
continue
to
patronize
and
potential
ones
get
attracted
to
its
products
or
services
for
sustained
custom,
hence
enhanced
bottom-line.
Typical
of
Public
Relations
practitioners,
an
environmental
scan
has
been
conducted
in
celebrating
the
50th
anniversary.
Thus,
recognizing
that
this
is
an
election
year,
characterized
by
potential
for
destructive
communications
by
political
communicators
and
the
general
public,
the
EXCO
of
IPR
intends
to
dedicate
some
attention
to
ethical
communication
during
the
celebrations.
To
this
end,
the
focus
is
on
projecting
the
value
of
effective
Public
Relations
as
a
means
of
ensuring
violence
-free
elections.
As
the
week-long
activities
get
rolled
out,
one
cannot
help
but
commend
the
efforts
of
the
forebears
of
IPR
Ghana-
those
who
established,
those
who
continued
and
those
who
sustained
it
till
today.
Fifty
years,
nay
51
years
of
any
organization
is
worth
celebrating.
So,
from
now
until
the
last
activity
is
over,
we
the
members
of
IPR
Ghana
shall
make
merry
even
as
we
ponder
over
how
best
to
improve
our
Value
Creation
prowess.
Shalom
–
That’s
goodbye
in
Hebrew
Let
God
Lead!
Follow
Him
directly,
not
through
any
human.