Does PR Accreditation Matter?
Posted on | October 8, 2008 | brett turner
Remember when the word “marketing” used to mean advertising, public relations, sales, research and all other forms of communications? It still does to some people, but most, especially Fortune 500 companies, understand the difference amongst communications disciplines. That understanding is also trickling down to the grassroots levels thanks to integrated marketing communications agencies and our brethren in the corporate communications, non-profit and government sectors.
With that paradigm change, expertise and mastery of a specific discipline is more important than ever. Just think about other professions – doctors, attorneys, architects, realtors. They are all specialists. Sure they have to work with other specialists, as do we, but they are the experts in their field of study. Now, so are those in the communications profession, which is why differentiating oneself amongst your peers is so important.
Let’s take my discipline, public relations, for example. With a growing and better understanding of what PR practitioners do – from strategic development and crisis communications, to C-level executive counseling – most clients want to know how experienced and credible their spokespeople are going to be. Let’s face it: we are going to, in many times, be the face and voice of your company or product or be advising your spokesperson.
Not only does expertise matter, but more and more clients are starting to ask for it. They are demanding more strategic, sophisticated communications counsel, as well as a want of professional certification as hiring and promotional criteria in the U.S. and abroad become more competitive. In the PR profession the highest level that one can obtain is called accreditation. It is signified with an ‘APR’ designation by one’s name. Fewer than 25 percent of PR practitioners are accredited.
Accreditation is the hallmark of the public relations profession and signifies mastery of the public relations body of knowledge and the holder’s commitment to ethical behavior. It demonstrates broad knowledge, experience and professional judgment in the field. APR demonstrates that individuals have the knowledge, ethics and experience to set them apart.
To earn the APR designation, one must pass an examination that consists of an oral presentation to a panel of senior-level PR pros and pass an exam that tests 60 specific knowledge areas from within 10 areas of professional practice such as research, planning, implementing and evaluating programs; ethics and law; communication models and theory; business literacy; management skills; crisis communications management; media relations; information technology; history; and advanced communication skills.
It doesn’t mean that you can’t be successful if you don’t have it, but it’s the equivalent of working with an accountant who is a CPA or an architect that is AIA. There is an instant credibility that you are working with a seasoned and proven pro when that designation is beside your name. And those designations are making more and more of a difference.
Brett Turner, APR, is Public Relations Director of Jackson-Dawson Marketing Solutions in Greenville, S.C. Turner is President-Elect of the South Carolina Chapter of PRSA and also serves as the Chapter’s Accreditation chair.
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