'PR - Myth or Reality?'

22nd February 2006

Brooklands College

Steve Walker, PR Director for Oracle gave an informative and very clear presentation on what PR was, and as importantly helped explode some of the myths that cling to the profession. 50 members attended the event, a continuation of the branch’s very popular 101 back-to-basics presentations.

The evening opened with Dan MacNamara , our branch chair presenting students awards to 3 of West Surrey’s top students from the CIM summer exams The floor was then handed to Steve who used many examples in his comprehensive overview of Public Relations. From MacDonalds and the ‘mac-libel’ case through to JK Rowling and her work in highlighting the plight of Romanian orphans the presentation was both practical and topical.

Although concerned that his presentation was largely based on his own experience with Oracle the general principles highlighted by Steve were easy to apply to many organisations and situations. Fittingly, for such a well-attended event the evening was rounded off by a business card raffle the prizes being, we are told, some of the finest beers in Britain!

What did the attendees say?

Of the ~50 attendees at the event we received feedback forms from 31

• Over 80% of respondents were positive in their assessment of their interest in the event, it’s relevance to them and their overall impression of the event. The remainder of responses were neutral on these aspects there were no negative scores
• Some 65% of responses were positive in their assessment of the welcome they received, the administration of the event and their rating of the method and style of Steve Walker, the presenter
• Views on the refreshments were 60% positive and 40% neutral
• 26% of responses were positive about the room facilities, 52% were neutral and 23% were negative. Of the 31 respondents some 12 were moved to comment on how cold the room/hall was
• Other significant comments (5) related to Steve’s presentation which was regarded as 'relevant', 'refreshing', 'engaging' with some good advice and tips. One attendee felt he was too self-effacing

By Tony Bennett - 28th February 2006