pr brief - september 2013
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The monthly newsletter of the Public Relations Society of JamaicaTRANSCRIPT
PR Brief Newsletter of the Public Relations Society of Jamaica
Volume 3 September, 2013
INSIDE Summer of Service—The King’s House
valuable connection with youth p.4
When Every Second Counts—2013
voiceover rates p.3
Cover photo:
Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen and Lady Allen
(third & fourth left) stand with winners of the 2013 I
Believe Initiative Summer of Service Competition
after the presentation ceremony at King’s House on
September 6. The two first place winners Mr
Abrahim Simmonds (second left) and Ms Angelica
Baker (third right) will attend the University of the
West Indies (UWI). The second place winners: Ms
Anna- Kay Grey (second right) and Ms Peta- Gaye
Ford (left) received one year scholarships to attend
the University of Technology and UWI respectively.
Ms Denecian Dennis (right) was the special prize
winner. She received a grant towards her accom-
modation at Mary Seacole Hall, UWI.
Today, corporate consultants
are expected to show that
they have received training in
social media for social mar-
keting or integrated marketing
communications. It is no long-
er only about who can write
and place content in the news-
papers and on broadcast
newscasts, but about who can
get the most likes, re-tweets,
follows, pins and shares; and if
all of those translate into men-
tions on-air by broadcasters
and celebrities.
This is but one indication of
the changing duties of the PR
professional in Jamaica—a
country that is still dominated
by traditional national mass
media platforms.
Contd. Page 2
STATE OF THE
PR PROFESSION
- a discussion
on salary trends
in UK, USA,
Jamaica Since about 2009, there has
been a rapid inclusion of digi-
tal or social media profession-
als employed in private and
public sector corporate
comms departments. The first
wave of social media profes-
sionals flexed their muscles
during the 2007 elections by
battling negative online feed-
back and promoting collateral
materials that enhanced the
image of their candidates and
parties.
2
Page 2 Volume 1, I ssue 1
Contd from Page 1
Looking at trends in the United Kingdom, the
2013 Annual Benchmarking Member Survey of
the Chartered Institute for Public Relations
(CIPR) notes that the practice is moving away
from media relations and that only one-third of
practitioners who were surveyed rank journal-
ists as contacts who have the most influence.
The report goes further to note that 88 per cent
of practitioners are spending their time on re-
search, planning and measurement; and that
they consider search engine marketing, web de-
sign and online customer service as priority are-
as.
Major concerns for the profession are redun-
dancies, frozen benefits and salaries; and oppor-
tunities for training.
In the USA, the 2013 Official PR Salary and Bo-
nus Report that is quoted by the Public Relations
Society of America (PRSA) considers nine major
areas of specialty in corporate PR: consumer,
corporate/financial,
health/medical/pharmaceutical, hi-tech, indus-
try, business to business marketing (B2B), inter-
nal communications, investor relations, pub-
lic/government affairs and social media).
The report notes that there was a nationwide
increase in salaries over 2012, which was a relief
as salaries declined nationwide by more than
27per cent as compared to 2011.
An executive vice president earned an average
annual salary of $161,800; a senior vice presi-
dent $138,500; a vice president $114,400; an
account supervisor $77,800; a senior account
executive $62,700 and an account executive
$52,200.
The UK based CIPR report showed that the me-
dian salary in the UK for PR workers is ₤52,000
Corporate PR salary trends..
per year, with a noted gap between men who earn
on average ₤62,000 and women who earn ₤46,000.
This was noted as possible evidence of a glass ceiling
for women, in an industry that is dominated by that
gender.
The most reliable information in Jamaica is taken
from the 2009 Jamaica Employers Federation (JEA)
survey; and the Government Revision of Salaries
2008-2010.
Using these reports, the highest recorded salary in
PR is in the private sector is $4.6M for a PR execu-
tive, while a deputy director general doubles that at
$8.4M.
The highest salary point in central government is
$2.36M, but parastatal bodies are not tied to this
guide.
An entry level comms professional starts at $655
thousand, which is just above a video technician at
$605 thousand and below a foreign affairs officer at
$849 thousand.
If Jamaica follows global trends, it can be expected
that the attention that is currently paid to securing
placement in mass media outlets will shift towards
working more closely with other departments to
achieve the business of the organisation. This will
include a stronger role with legal, finance and HR in
reputation management, and its associated disci-
pline crisis management; with the board in corpo-
rate social responsibility activities; in employee rela-
tions and also in investor and stakeholder relations.
Practitioners should also note that some 33.65% of
adult Jamaicans do not own any bank products -
they are unbanked, according to a study done
through the Centre of Excellence at the Mona
School of Business and Management, UWI. Mobile
financial solutions when it becomes available in Ja-
maica could possibly become another area for the
attention for the professional communicator. END
3
Page 3 Volume 1, I ssue 1
The sounds of the nation resound
not only in homes and places of
entertainment, but also resound
from many street corners and
markets as we share the news,
the events and music of the day.
Indeed in Jamaica, radio is still the
king of mass media.
A 2009 study conducted by re-
searchers at the Mona School of
Business and Management at the
University of the West Indies, led
by Dr Hopeton Dunn, proved this
again when the study found that
88% of households had a radio;
with 84% reporting that they had
televisions and 15% had the Inter-
net. See the table on page 4.
The PRSJ has not been able to get
the results for newspaper reader-
ship, but the Gleaner has a radio
station in its business model; and
has promised stockholders that
they will grow online subscription
and advertising revenue. The oth-
er daily national newspaper, The
Jamaica Observer, has also added
a radio station to its portfolio of
media platforms, again under-
scoring the importance of radio in
the Jamaican media mix.
With a radio spectrum that is al-
ready pressured to the limit, the
Broadcasting Commission’s web-
site notes that there are 29 radio
license holders , most of which
are using the FM band, and most
broadcast to a national audience.
It is within this reality that voiceo-
ver talent can demand ever-
higher rates for his or her brand
of sound.
A short survey done by the PRSJ
show that the rates have not fro-
zen, but are shifting ever up-
wards.
For commercials and public ser-
vice announcements that are
billed by the second, trained
emerging talent can ask for
$400—$500/second for a success-
ful recording; mid range fees of
$600-$700/second are paid to
competent practitioners whose
voices are familiar or who have a
unique sound or accent that is
needed for the project.
Top billing talent are usually local
celebrities such as broadcasters,
recording artistes, actors or who
have voices that deliver what ad-
vertisers value as a bankable
sound. This select group confi-
dently charge $800 to $1,000 per
second. There are one or two who
can ask some clients for more.
These are the voices that sales-
men and women swear by, saying
that they add authenticity to a
product, or who are simply con-
vincing to a Jamaican audience,
and can sell anything.
Many communications practition-
ers have voiceover skills and do
voiceover work for their organisa-
tion such as automated telephone
recordings and radio projects.
At the end of the day this is fine,
but it is always a useful business
practice to be able to put a finan-
cial value on time and on creative
talent. END
When every second cost$ Current rates for voice talent
4
Page 4 Volume 1, I ssue 1
UWI, ECLAC, OSILAC, Canada, STATIN
Communications professionals working on sum-
mertime youth engagement projects are fostering
potentially long-lasting and positive interactions
between organisations and their publics.
King’s House recently concluded its Summer of
Service Competition (SOS), which is a part of the
Governor-General’s I Believe Initiative. It prompted
youth volunteerism as an opportunity to compete
for scholarships and grants at local universities.
The SOS partnerships with universities and the pri-
vate sector secured prizes for two, three-year
scholarships, two one-year scholarships and three
financial support prizes. Governor-General, Sir
Patrick Allen presented the top five prizes at King’s
House on September 6, 2013.
The two first prizes of 3-year scholarships granted
by the University of the West Indies (UWI) went to
social work student Abrahim Simmonds and sec-
ond year medical student, Angelica Baker. Second
prize winner Anna-Kay Grey, received the Universi-
ty of Technology (UTECH) one-year scholarship,
while Peta-Gaye Ford won the private sector’s
one-year scholarship to UWI. Denecian Dennis, ac-
tuarial science student at UWI, was awarded a spe-
cial prize; and there were also two third prizes of
grants for educational materials. Those went to
first-year UWI students, Anthony Jones and
Shanekah Ricketts.
Sir Patrick encouraged the winners to “use the op-
portunities for educational advancement wisely
and continue to demonstrate a spirit of volunteer-
ism.”
The SOS partners are UWI, UTECH, Mr. Christopher
Issa, Kingston Bookshop, Lasco, Mafessanti Build-
ers and Contractors, JNBS, Scotiabank Jamaica, the
Sandals Foundation and LIME.
King’s House SUMMER OF SERVICE —
a valuable and long lasting connection with youth
5
Corporate Canapé Communications Director at the Ministry of Education is journalist and communications educator Mr
Byron Buckley. Congratulations to Public Relations and Communications Officer Mrs Sheryl Bromfield
for acting in the position for an extended period.
Miss Jodi Ann Brown is now the Communications Officer at the Ministry of Justice. Miss Brown was for-
merly with the Media Monitoring Unit of the Office of the Prime Minister and also worked closely with
the protocol department on special assignments.
Mr Oliver Watt has left the Jamaica National Heritage Trust on a new assignment within the Ministry of
Youth and Culture to strengthen the newly established Children’s Division.
Journalist Mrs Latoya Minott Hall has moved on from the RJR communications group.
Post Base Salary Report
Communication Specialist IE1 Entry level officer
$655K - $778K 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries
Communication Specialist IE2 $770K -$915K 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries
Communication Specialist IE3 $914K - $1.08M 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries
Communication Specialist IE4 $1.26 -$ 1.49 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries
Communication Specialist IE5 $1.63 -$ 1.93 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries
Communication Specialist IE6 Communication Specialist
$1.98 - $2.36 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries
Corporate PR - Liabilities Institution $2.66M - $2.69M Jamaica Employers Federation 2009 Salary Benefits Survey
Corp Comms Exec - Financial Institu-tion
$4.6M Jamaica Employers Federation 2009 Salary Benefits Survey
Other Posts – for comparison Entry level Audio Visual Production $609K -$ 723K 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries
Entry level in the Foreign Service 849K - 723K 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries
Executive Manager $4.69M - $5.58K 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries
Deputy Director General $8.42M Jamaica JA Employers Federation 2009 Salary Benefits Sur-vey
Bonus (Additional Compensation) Corporate Communication Executive - Financial Institution
2% - 20% JA Employers Federation 2009 Salary Benefits Sur-vey
6
The Public Relations Society of Jamaica
https://sites.google.com/site/gojamaicapr/home
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Twitter: @PRSJm
Blogs:
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P.O.8240, CSO, Kingston
COMMUNICATORS CONFERENCEKingston, JAMAICA
February 20 –21 2014
Promoting a profession of cutting-edge learners
Umbrellas transformed a section of St William
Grant Downtown, Kingston into a colonnade for
the Jamaica Deposit Insurance Company’s Fi-
nancial Markets Fair in August. Event planning
services were led by Millicent Lynch.