Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms launches its Blog

January 22, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms

Are you interested in knowing more about the public relations consulting industry in Canada? Then you will want to subscribe to a new blog launched by the recently formed Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms (CCPRF).

The CCPRF is the organization that represents public relations consulting firms in Canada. Its membership is restricted to the principals of the firms. So, it will be worth watching this blog to see if it develops as a place where the senior officers of its members talk about important issues facing the industry.

Disclosure: If you’ve wondered why I haven’t posted on ProPR for the past several days and if you noticed the name on the first post on the CCPRF blog …. Thornley Fallis is a member of the CCPRF and I spent my spare time the last few days finalizing the CCPRF blog and getting it up and operating. So, I’m hopeful that this new blog will in fact flourish.

Cohn & Wolfe acquires Courtney Rainey

January 16, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

Passing the Torch

News today that independent PR firm, Courtney Rainey, has been acquired by Cohn & Wolfe. Cohn & Wolfe operates in Canada as the conflict agency of National PR. (In a separate transaction several years back, Burson Marstellar acquired 20% of National.)

Courtney Rainey has been headed up by founder Susanne Courtney and Sharon Rainey. They will join Cohn and Wolfe as Senior Vice Presidents.
Both Courtney and Rainey have played an active role in founding and shaping the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms. Their energy and dedication will be missed by the other members of the CCPRF.

* Thanks to Julie Rusciolelli for the tip to this move.

The full text of the release announcing the acquisition follows:

TORONTO, Ontario – January 16, 2007 – Cohn & Wolfe | Canada announced today the acquisition of Courtney Rainey Group Inc. and the integration of its 13 employees with the 55 employees of Cohn & Wolfe’s Toronto office.

The new organization will offer clients of both firms access to an enhanced team of public relations professionals and to a broader array of communications services. It will operate under the Cohn & Wolfe name, leveraging the brand’s strong reputation for creativity and communications excellence as well as its international network of offices.

The merged firm’s clients include leading corporations from the corporate, financial, healthcare, technology and consumer products sectors.

Founded as Courtney Public Relations Inc. in 1999 by Susanne Courtney, the firm became Courtney Rainey Group in 2002, one year after Sharon Rainey joined as partner.

“Courtney Rainey is a great addition to our team,” said Carol Panasiuk, executive vice president and general manager of Cohn & Wolfe’s Toronto office. “It’s a like-minded firm that over the past seven years has established a strong and loyal client base, and delivered results-driven programs and flawless execution for both Canadian and U.S. organizations.”

“Our common commitment to senior, hands-on counsel, in-depth sectoral expertise, creativity and cultural fit is what makes this such a great move for both firms,” said Susanne Courtney. “Our team is looking forward to integrating with a more fully resourced organization and our clients will benefit from an enhanced offering, including the same high quality service Courtney Rainey Group has always delivered.”

The move will see Susanne Courtney and Sharon Rainey become senior vice-presidents of Cohn & Wolfe and members of the management team led by Ms. Panasiuk.
In October 2006, Cohn & Wolfe | Canada acquired Extend Communications in Calgary which now operates under the name Cohn & Wolfe | Calgary. With the acquisition of Courtney Rainey, Cohn & Wolfe | Canada now has 85 employees in its Toronto, Montreal and Calgary offices. It is wholly-owned by RES PUBLICA Consulting Group, which is also the, parent company of NATIONAL Public Relations. Cohn &Wolfe | Canada is an affiliate of Cohn & Wolfe Worldwide, a leading international firm with 12 offices around the globe, providing business results and marketing communications solutions to clients in a wide range of business sectors.

Strumpette has thin skin; gives me the treatment

January 14, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

Chris Clarke wrote something in the Blog Herald that Strumpette didn’t like. In a post in the Blog Herald on Friday, Chris wrote,

The PR community online is still growing. According to our official scorekeeper Constantin Basturea, the community almost doubled in 2006 to 630. Terrific, right? One would hope that with more PR blogs, the industry would be increasing it’s awareness of social media. More PR bloggers means more individuals telling their friends and colleagues, “Check out my blog.” Sadly, the second most-trafficked PR blogs is the self-appointed potty-mouthed ombudswoman of the PR community, Strumpette. Even when we do good, the bad stuff seems to stand out above the rest.

Well, it seems that Strumpette, used to visiting criticism on others, has a pretty thin skin. Chris’ post is time-stamped 11:00 January 12. At 11:15, my telephone rang and the first words I heard were, “Joe, it’s Brian Connolly.” Brian wanted to complain to me about what Chris had written. You see, I’m Chris’ employer and Brian felt that I was responsible for Chris’ scepticism about the merits of Strumpette.

Brian and I had a good long conversation. He made his points. Articulately. With some passion. He argued the importance in society of dissension. I listened and did not disagree with that. But I did tell him that I have a problem with people who attack the character of others from behind a veil of anonymity.

We had a good conversation that gave me some points to consider, but that did not persuade me to endorse Strumpette’s approach.

Well, a few minutes ago, I felt the fury of a Strumpette scorned. One of the anonymous Strumpettes has just written an attack piece targeted squarely at me, my firm and our approach to social media.

None of us will find total agreement with everything we say. There is merit in thinking through and expressing ideas and having them challenged. That’s how we learn. That’s how we move forward. That’s how we grow.

Social media provides channels through which new voices may be heard. Some will be intelligent and perceptive. Some will entertain. Some will educate. Others will seek to titillate and to appeal to baser instincts.

So, I’ve just had my Strumpette moment. It’s not nice. I have some scratches.

Time to move on.

We're looking for senior people to join our team

January 14, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

A short plug for Thornley Fallis: We’re searching for senior people in our Toronto office.

December was a great month for our health care team. They retained a major account and won an assignment from another new client. But this means more work for us now. So, we are looking for a senior communicator who can help us to deliver outstanding work for these clients.

Michael O’Connor Clarke also is searching for an Account Director who will help us to continue to grow during the coming year. Account Directors are our top tier practitioners. So, this is a great opportunity for someone who has already demonstrated success and now wants to take a leadership position with a growing consulting firm.

If you know of someone who might be interested in either of these positions, please ask them to look at the job descriptions on our website. We’ll work hard to make this a smart career move for the right person.

Third Monday social media meetups to resume on January 15

January 9, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

We’re kicking off the 2007 Third Monday season with a special panel of Ottawa-based social media experts who will lead a discussion of what’s hot, what’s working, what’s not and what’s ahead.

Colin McKay, Ian Ketcheson and Brendan Hodgson will prime the discussion with their views and perspectives. Then it’s over to us for a wide open discussion of what we think is on the horizon for social media this year. In government. In business. What lies in store for PR and marketing?

New location: We’ve moved this session to the Clocktower Brew Pub on Bank Street south of the Queensway.

If you’re in Ottawa on Monday, January 15, please join us for this discussion. You can let us know you’re coming by RSVPing at Third Monday on meetup.com

Problem with WordPress 2.0.6 and Akismet

January 9, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

I upgraded yesterday afternoon to WordPress 2.0.6. I have Akismet installed.

And now Akismet is treating ALL Comments on my site as SPAM. Legitimate comments are being sent directly into the SPAM folder and not showing up in my Moderation queue.

Has anyone else had this problem? Do you know of a fix for it?

This is a joke, right?

January 8, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

I still don’t quite know what to make of Strumpette. Sometimes the ad hominem attacks are contemptuous. Sometimes, the insight is penetrating.

But today, she demonstrated why I should view her blog as an ongoing send up. Pro PR ranked within spitting distance of bloggers like Jeaneane Sessum, Jeremy Pepper, David Parmet, Mike Manuel, Stuart Bruce and Susan Getgood? It must be April Fool.

But thanks, Amanda, for bringing a smile to my face. It’s good to know that you care!

Calling all Canadian corporate bloggers

January 4, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

Dave Forde is conducting a survey of Canadian corporate bloggers perceptions of blogging and how it fits into their communication and marketing strategies. He’ll be publishing the results on his blog.

The survey should take less than five minutes to complete. So, if you are a Canadian corporate blogger, please go to the survey link in Dave’s post and then watch his blog for the results.

From Naked Conversations to Global Neighborhoods

January 4, 2007 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

Shel Israel reminded us yesterday that Naked Conversations left the printers one year ago.

This caused me to pull my well-used copy off my book shelf and scan it again. Yes, social media has evolved rapidly in the past year. I’m sure that if the book were written today, Shel and Robert would give substantial treatment to podcasting and video blogging. (Heck, Robert’s now living la vida vlogging!) However, the book has held up remarkably well and I’m keeping it on my “must read first” list for clients and friends who want to be introduced to social media.

Now Shel is on to his next project, Global Neighborhoods (or Neighbourhoods for those of us in Canada and the U.K.). And to recognize this new project, he’s rebranded the Naked Conversations blog as the Global Neighborhoods blog and a new domain name.

Shel has already begun the process of asking readers of the blog for comments on the new book’s publisher’s overview and table of contents. If you haven’t taken a look at this, have a read and offer Shel your comments. Naked Conversations incorporated a great deal of reader-generated content and I’m sure that Shel will incorporate reader comments and suggestions into his new book.