O’Conall Street

Irish News day on O’Conall Street.

Ireland’s reputation damaged by Lisbon no

Many of us will be packing our bags and heading for drier and sunnier parts of the European Union this summer. Don’t be surprised if a local or fellow tourist gives you an ear full when you tell them you are Irish. The fact is the national reputation, (the vast majority of our continental cousins are not for distinguishing between North and South), is in the gutter. Ireland, once everyone’s favourite member state is now the problem spoilt child, rich thanks to Europe, yet now turning its back on it.

We can trace the ‘yes’ campaign’s failure to poor communications and above all a fractured and unconvincing messaging. The ‘no’ campaign may have been an eclectic coalition of right wing libertarians, highly nationalistic republicans and a small number of very conservative and committed religious types, but they did succeed in casting enough doubt in the electorate’s mind to turn very many ‘don’t know’ voters into ‘no’ voters.

The second communications lesson is that reputation matters to a country and what goes on inside its borders can damage standing beyond them.

Eurobarometer, the European research body, carried out exit polls which found support for the no campaign highest amongst non-skilled workers, those out of work and students. Women also rejected the treaty by a much higher margin then men. These were the very same people who returned Bertie Ahern to power at the last election.

The tragedy of the outcome is that the Lisbon Treaty strengthens the opportunities for small member states to exercise real influence and it allows for member states to protect key areas of national importance, particularly those laws based on a national moral consensus, like abortion for example. The other irony is that it improves the business opportunities in the EU and does not threaten Ireland’s fiscal regime – a message which some in the business community (which voted yes) appears to have accepted during the campaign.

Andy Pollak, the Director of the Centre for Cross Border Studies, pointed out last week that the result is bad for the island of Ireland as a whole. He points to the 446,000 people in Northern Ireland and the Irish Border Region who have benefited from EU funded projects in the past decade, with nearly 90,000 gaining qualifications and over 22,000 engaging in reconciliation activities. Yet these constituencies returned some of the largest no votes.

Invest Northern Ireland chairman, Stephen Kingon, told a conference recently of the plethora of North/South business bodies and initiatives that have sprung up to help make the island of Ireland more competitive internationally. These include InterTradeIreland, the IBEC-CBI Joint Business Council (funded by the EU), the North/South Roundtable Group, the North/South Business Enterprise Group, joint North-South trade missions and the cross-border financial services initiative announced in April by Peter Robinson and Brian Cowen. All operating within a framework for cross border cooperation made possible by the EU.

Where to from here then?

I think there is little doubt the Irish government will be asked to hold another referendum, probably before the European elections next June. The question is how do they ensure they set the agenda?

The answer is simple – they need to ask a question that allows the electorate to focus on the big picture. In other words does Ireland want to be a full partner or a semi detached member of the EU?

In Northern Ireland we need the EU more than we may realise. On this island we can little afford to remove ourselves from a project which has been so good for us. Globally the need for a strong European voice on issues like human rights, the environment and security has never been greater.

Fearghal O’Boyle, a friend of mine from Donegal left an incisive comment on my blog when I posted on this issue last week. I’ll give him the last word:

“Down in my local on Sunday watching Armagh and Cavan, the usual loudmouth was going on about how great a result the No vote was, a usually quieter denzien looked up from his paper and said he had voted Yes. ‘Why?’ roared the loudmouthed patriot, The Quiet Man looked him cooly in the eye, with perhaps a hint of pity for his neighbour, ‘Because this is no time to be messing about.’

How right he was.”

I have been asked to speak at a Royal Irish Academy seminar on geoscience tomorrow in Parliament Buildings which is being led by Garth Earls, the Director of the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, and have been canvassing expert opinion on how to best illustrate the gap between many scientists and the press. Dr Marie Cowan, the British Geological Survey’s communications manager pointed me to a very useful report on science and society which was published earlier this year by Research Councils UK.

I’ll be using some of the findings in my presentation but was taken by the positive trend in public perceptions of science.  Through the 1990’s and early noughites public scepticism of science was at very high levels. Fueled by Chernobyl, Foot and Mouth and the perception that science had become too close to business many scientists and institutions responded by distancing themselves from public debate and the media in general although this trend is slowly changing.

My research for tomorrow’s speech threw up another great story, that of Carl Sagan, which highlights the internal barriers to communication within the scientific community.

In 1992, the astronomer, author of twenty books translated worldwide, an enormously successful television series and a Hollywood film, was denied membership to the National Academy of Sciences.

In fact he was not able to raise the required two-thirds vote from its members. Director of the Laboratory of Planetary Studies at Cornell University, Sagan had distinguished himself for the calculation of the greenhouse effect on Venus, for his studies on the surface of Mars and on the oceans of Titan, Saturn’s large moon. Too many colleagues turned up their noses at his tireless activity in spreading scientific news, which had made him, perhaps the most famous scientist in the United States, and one of the most vibrant defenders of science in the world.

Two years later the National Academy of Sciences reconsidered its vote, honouring him with the Public Welfare Medal. Sagan had brilliantly challenged two important prejudices which besiege scientists that choose to communicate with
the general public: the idea that scientists who do are distracted from their “real” work – research – and the idea that scientists are not able to express themselves clearly, as if their mental universe were so far from the common man that at the very least they need a “translator”.

The smoking ban is now well established across these islands yet there seems to be little drop in the numbers who remain addicted to the infamous weed.

 Josh Gilbert,a New York colleague and source of many a good blog picked up on an interesting New York Times story on this issue last week. 

The NYT covers a study to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine that finds there is a significant social factor at work in kicking the habit. It follows an earlier paper by the same authors that determined there was also a big social factor in weight loss.

According to Josh the research points to the enormous opportunity in healthcare communications to more and more create programs that defeat isolation, encourage participation, build community, and don’t just educate patients about treatment therapies but help improve health outcomes through facilitating advocacy.

The application of complex adaptive networks is becoming more popular amongst communications specialists and is driving our business proposition here at Weber Shandwick.

It’s Irish News article day again. See below this month’s piece. 

I was in Venice last week a made a little bit of history. Weber Shandwick became the first Public Relations agency from the North of Ireland to win a SABRE, the European Public Relations Award. We were also the only Irish winners on the night. Anyway, back to the city with no cars, where life and art intermingle and where every street has a story to tell.

There is an amazing painting in the Doge’s Palace, San Marco, depicting the battle of Lepanto - an epic encounter between the Christian and Ottoman (Turkish) forces and an important milestone of that period in history. On the day the Christians won out and by the time Andrea Vincentino came to depict the battle from the Venetian perspective he was very careful not to create a scene which was demeaning to the Turks. Instead this great master of the sixteenth century painted two brave fleets in man to man combat. The Venetians were a trading people and there was business to be done. They may have defeated the Turks at sea but did not want to humiliate them in the Piazza di San Marco when they came to engage in commerce. Being magnanimous in victory and defeat was one of the great strengths of the Venetian republic.

What’s this got to do with communications? Well there is a minister in our Executive who could take a lesson or two from the Venetians. As our kids get ready for the summer, education in Northern Ireland is in crisis and many are arguing that crisis has been fuelled by how the minister has chosen to communicate or not communicate her plans for the future of selection.

Caitriona Ruane made a fundamental mistake of communications ten days ago when, out of the blue, she published proposals to break the deadlock on the issue without in anyway preparing the ground for what she was about to say. This was not a problem that crept up behind her by surprise, for over a year now the minister has failed to engage in a meaningful debate about her vision for the future and bring with her those on the other side of the argument.

In communications victories are not solutions. The art of good consensus politics is the art of good communications. You identify the key stakeholder groups, analyse and understand who will support you and why and then set about trying to persuade those against you of the benefits of your argument. You also keep as much of your communications as possible in private. Public debate too early is certain to result in failure. At the end of the day the media want a story, not necessarily a solution. Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting you can bring all the people with you all the time but on an issue as important and central to life as this one the minister should have been aiming to bring the majority of parents at least as well as a majority in the assembly with her.

The reality has been that over the past year her inability to engage and communicate effectively with the many stakeholders in this debate has resulted in common ground being lost. Angela Smyth, the New Labour direst rule minister, had got all the key stakeholder groups and the point where they agreed on a series of broad principles. That there would be some form of selection at 14, that there were demographic realities which everyone needed to accept and that the identities, particularly, religious the ethos of schools would be protected in the future. From what I understand this consensus remained in broad terms following the St Andrews negotiations in the preparation for government committee at the Assembly.

In simple communications terms the obvious thing for the new minister to have done would be to widen this consensus across the broad population thus copper fastening it, enabling her to tackle the difficult issues of detail from a position of strength. Instead she appeared to go to ground for twelve months.

As it is we are not just at a cross roads but in the middle of a stand off. It will be difficult for her to negotiate her way out of this one but negotiate she must and in negotiations, all things being equal, it is generally the party that can invoke popular support that carries the day. If I were the minister I would be thinking about how I can make my opponents feel like they came up with the solution for when the battle comes to be recorded all sides need to be able to walk away with their heads held high.

I am just back at my hotel from the European PR Awards in Venice and I could not feel prouder.

Weber Shandwick Belfast tonight became the first Northern Ireland agency ever to win a SABRE Award and the only agency from the island of Ireland to collect a top prize for excellence in PR this year. Our award came for our work with IKEA, advising the global retail on the planning application for its very first store in Ireland. Sonya Cassidy, Chris Brown and Stephen McGrath can feel well satisfied that their work is considered the best in Europe.

Across the continent our colleagues are celebrating too. We were the biggest winners of the night collecting seven SABRES. The rooftop garden at the Hilton Stucky Molino will be bopping into the early hours. I’m off to bed and looking forward to getting some sightseeing in before heading back with the trophy to the emerald isle.

O’Conall Street is going back to its roots and heading for Europe tonight. Venice is the destination and the excuse are the SABRE Awards, Europe’s PR Oscars, which Weber Shandwick is the only Irish agency shortlisted for. All will be revealed on Thursday night.

Elsewhere the turkey is for the oven. Dustin is out of Europe. His talent rejected at the first hurdle. That is the end of that one. Tonight the island of Ireland will unite in its rejection of Chelsea Football Club. From the Ballymoney to Bantry Bay the red army is our army.

Alex Ferguson has a selection dilemma. With all 24 players fit and ready for the game of the year he will have a job picking not just his first team but also his substitutes.Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Heaton, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Brown, Neville, O’Shea, Silvestre, Pique, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Hargreaves, Anderson, Fletcher, Park, Nani, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Saha, Welbeck are the current inheritors of the great red shirts. This is their night to make history.

Paul Scholes has already been promised a place in the starting line-up after missing the 1999 European Cup victory through suspension while Ryan Giggs is poised to overtake Bobby Charlton’s record of 758 appearances for the club.

According to SportingLife.com, Diego Maradona is backing United tonight. Maradona will support Manchester United in Wednesday’s Champions League final against Chelsea because of Carlos Tevez.

The former Argentina great admitted he will turn into a United fan for one day because he wants Tevez to win the Champions League in Moscow.

Speaking in Cannes, where Maradona is promoting the film ‘Maradona’ by the Bosnian director Emir Kusturica, he said: “I think Manchester will beat Chelsea. My friend Carlitos (Tevez) plays there.

“I think Manchester win tomorrow, even though I have quite a lot of friends in several teams.”

With the hand of God on our side we can’t go wrong. Do us proud lads.

I’ll wake in Venice and let you know what I think.

Over 100 international business leaders are tucking into the Ulster Fry this morning preparing for the big investment conference. The day got off to a good start in Weber Shandwick with two of our global clients’ CEOs leading the Good Morning Ulster interviews. Nortel and All State are examples of companies which invested in the North some time ago and are happy to stay on.

Of course as economy Minister, Nigel Dodds, said the elephant in the room remains the uncompetitive rate of corporation tax in NI versus the Republic. It would help greatly if the British government acknowledged this by granting a preferential rate to NI. In the meantime there is plenty the North can offer in terms of economic advantage.

There is an interesting report in today’s Belfast Telegraph on the relative cost of living in Belfast and Dublin. Mercer Consulting in their annual survey of major cities found that Belfast is 40% cheaper than Dublin which is rapidly becoming  very, very expensive place to live. This is something potential investors will note and could well mitigate the tax differentials between the two jurisdictions.

Watched the Apprentice last night. I hope our VIP visitors gave it a miss. All those qualifications and not an ounce of intelligence between them. Maybe I’m getting old and cranky but you would expect a bunch of super dooper graduates to know what kosher chicken was. Me thinks a little less time in front of the mirror and little more with their face in a book would be a good start.

Great to see Brian Lenihan promoted to Finance Minister. He is a class act and deserving of promotion. It will be interesting to watch this legal eagle with serious government pedigree navigate his way through a very challenge brief.

Off to do some work now.  

It’s Irish News day again. This month I am focusing on internal communications and its influence over staff morale.

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Employee retention – particularly related to high-performing individuals – is an increasing challenge for organisations on these islands. Turnover takes a toll on the morale of existing staff, on business continuity and productivity. Ultimately, the loss of talent hits a company’s bottom line. There is a strategy for countering attrition: the practice of effective employee communication. And we know it works, by the company it keeps among those best-in-class organisations in Europe, Asia and North America.

The traditional Achilles’ heel for employee communications practitioners has been their struggle to link effective internal communication with performance and retention. Insidedge, surveyed 600 employees North and South to try and understand better the impact of communications on their attitudes.

The results were startling. In Northern Ireland 38 percent and in Republic of Ireland 32 percent of those surveyed expected to leave their current employment in the foreseeable future, while an overwhelming 74 percent of all Northern Ireland and 80 percent of RoI interviewees indicated that an improvement in communications would positively influence them to remain with their employers.

The findings also reinforce a commonly held belief: Employees trust face-to-face communication the most. The most trusted sources of information for Irish employees are their immediate day-to-day supervisors, immediate colleagues and senior employees who can mentor and advise them, regardless of title. Each of these has greater influence on behaviour and commitment than more common sources such as newsletters, email and intranets.

Unfortunately, all too many companies rely on non-personal forms of communication, instead of equipping and expecting their managers to communicate. Sensing a void of information, employees turn to each other to interpret company decisions and actions, and misinformation based on opinion becomes ‘fact’ to employees thanks to the legendary bush telegraph.

The survey indicated that the top-three most useful and effective ways to communicate with employees in Ireland are small workgroup or departmental meetings, led by division heads and/or immediate supervisors; open-door policies, suggestion boxes and other ways employees can take initiative to communicate with management; and informal get-togethers where employees can talk and exchange ideas.

Improving how you communicate is one part of the battle. Equally important is what and when you communicate. Ensuring that the information you share is accurate, timely, truthful and complete – and that employees have the opportunity to participate in an open dialogue – is the other half.

So, as you think about your plans for employee communications, keep a few things in mind. Listen to your employees. Regular research – whether through staff surveys, periodic and targeted focus groups or even event-specific feedback forms – provides an insight into what people care most about. By knowing what your employees believe you are better equipped to address their concerns, and in turn, build their trust. Just as external research guides the decisions you make in marketing to customers and consumers, employee research should guide your plans for internal communication.

Build a manager-as-supervisor culture. Study after study shows that managers and supervisors are vital communicators. Yet, so many companies fail to take advantage. It’s not enough to give your supervisors information.

Put your people first. How often has your company launched a new product, broadcast or published a new marketing campaign, or announced a new strategic direction without telling your employees who are the people who have to sell your products, represent your brand and execute your strategies? Have a plan to share important information with your employees first, so that they are ready to respond when customers call. Don’t let your people hear about new initiatives on the radio, TV or in the newspaper before they hear it from you!

Give it to them straight. Most companies are more than eager to share good news with their people, and to celebrate in success. People also want to hear the bad news, no matter how difficult it might be to take. Sooner or later, the word is going to get out. Wouldn’t you prefer that your employees hear it straight from you, than through the grapevine? Have a plan to share all of your news with your people. They will trust you more if you are willing to share not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly with them.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has honoured Northern Ireland’s leading journalists at this year’s Coca Cola-sponsored Press and Broadcast Awards.

A total of 19 awards were presented at Friday’s gala ceremony compèred by RTE’s Miriam O’Callaghan at the Hastings Europa Hotel, Belfast.

The event’s top award - the Coca Cola CIPR Northern Ireland Journalist of the Year – went to David McKittrick, Ireland correspondent of The Independent. The Daily Newspaper of the Year award was won by the Irish News while the County Down Spectator picked up the Weekly Newspaper of the Year title.

Other top winners included Martin Breen for Scoop of the Year and Print News Journalist of the Year and the Belfast Telegraph’s Chrissie Russell who was named Newcomer of the Year title and winner of the Martin O’Hagan Memorial Bursary.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Malcolm Brodie who held the position of sports editor of the Belfast Telegraph for more than 40 years until he retired from full time work at the paper in 1991.

In addition to the coveted title of Journalist of the Year, David McKittrick was also named Feature Journalist of the Year. The judging panel described him as:

“A brilliant commentator on Northern Ireland’s rapidly changing history who finds new ways to reflect life in the Province to a wider audience. He has moved with the times to shine his journalistic light into unexpected corners. David is a journalist with insight and superb style that you are compelled to read to the last paragraph.” 

The panel also paid tribute to the Newspaper of the Year, the Irish News which it described as an elegant, serious newspaper that is required reading. The citation read:

“It continues to evolve as society changes, providing a comprehensive package of news, features and special sections that reflects the new Northern Ireland community. Tabloid in format, it retains its serious values as it broadens its scope.  It is a paper of record with serious interest and a good news sense.”

Meanwhile, in a close-run contest, The County Down Spectator took the Weekly Newspaper of the Year category because, the judging panel said, “it is a traditional local newspaper that is brilliantly executed.”

“Retaining solid local newspaper values and easy to read, it has all the news the community could want and displays an ability and agility to respond to breaking news on deadline.”

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Maire Campbell, public affairs and communications manager of main sponsor, Coca Cola Bottlers (Ulster) Ltd, congratulated all those who had taken part.

“As a global brand operating locally, genuine community investment is a strategic priority for us, and we are honored to pledge our support to the CIPR Press and Broadcast Awards 2008/9.

“We are pleased to pay tribute to the many talented individuals from the world of press and broadcast in Northern Ireland,” added Maire.

Conall McDevitt, chair of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) NI thanked Coca Cola for sponsoring the awards along with the event’s associate sponsors Belleek Living, Bombardier, Harrison Photography, MCI Belfast, Musgrave Retail Partners NI, Phoenix Natural Gas, SBD Events, S Hill and Company, Smarts and Spar. 
 
Conall commented: “I thank each and every member of the media who entered the press and broadcast awards which are the only ones anywhere in these islands to be organised by the public relations profession
 
“Your determination to compete and your desire to excel has characterised this occasion since its inception 15 years ago.
 
“Thank you for making this night a special one. And most of all, for filling our lives with news and gossip and something to argue about,” added Conall.

2007/08 COCA COLA CIPR PRESS AND BROADCAST AWARD WINNERS

Coca Cola CIPR Lifetime achievement award.
Winner - Malcolm Brodie

Coca Cola CIPR Journalist of the Year (sponsor: Coca Cola).
Winner David McKittrick - The Independent

Coca Cola CIPR Newspaper of the Year (sponsor: Coca Cola)
Winner - Irish News 
Sunday newspaper of the Year - Sunday World 
Daily newspaper of the Year - Irish News

Coca Cola CIPR Weekly newspaper of the Year (sponsor: Musgrave Retail Partners NI) 
Winner - County Down Spectator

Coca Cola CIPR Scoop of the Year (sponsor: SBD Events)   
Winner - Martin Breen*, News of the World

Coca Cola CIPR Print news journalist of the Year (sponsor: CIPR)   
Winner - Martin Breen*, News of the World
Daily print news journalist - David Gordon, Belfast Telegraph
Sunday print news journalist - Martin Breen*, News of the World

Coca Cola CIPR News website of the Year (sponsor: CIPR)   
Winner - Commmunity Telegraph

Coca Cola CIPR Weekly newspaper journalist of the Year (sponsor: Phoenix Natural Gas)  
Winner - Mark McKelvey, Ulster Herald

Coca Cola CIPR Business journalist of the Year (sponsor: S Hill and Company)
Winner - James Stinson, Irish News
Broadcast business journalist - Yvette Shapiro, BBC
Print business journalist - James Stinson, Irish News

Coca Cola CIPR Sports journalist of the Year (sponsor: CIPR)   
Winner - Denise Watson, BBC
Broadcast sports journalist - Denise Watson, BBC
Print sports journalist - Jim Gracey, Sunday Life

Coca Cola CIPR Current affairs/news broadcaster of the Year (sponsor: MCI Belfast)
Winner - Stephen Nolan, BBC
Radio current affairs broadcaster - Stephen Nolan, BBC
TV current affairs broadcaster - Kevin Magee, BBC

Coca Cola CIPR Magazine or supplement of the Year (sponsor: Bombardier)
Winner - 24/7 section, Belfast Telegraph
Magazine - Ulster Tatler Interiors, Ulster Journals 
Supplement - 24/7 section, Belfast Telegraph

Coca Cola CIPR Feature journalist of the Year (sponsor: Spar)
Winner - David McKittrick, The Independent
Broadcast feature journalist - Chris Page, BBC
Print feature journalist - David McKittrick, The Independent

Coca Cola CIPR Specialist journalist of the Year (sponsor: Belleek Living)
Winner - Paula Mackin, Sunday World
Broadcast specialist journalist - Dot Kirby, BBC
Print specialist journalist - Paula Mackin, Sunday World

Coca Cola CIPR Production journalist of the Year (sponsor: Harrison Photography)
Winner - Jeremy Kirker, Irish News

* Martin Breen is now employed by Sunday Life
Coca Cola CIPR Current affairs programme of the Year (sponsor: CIPR)
Winner - The Pit Bull Sting, Spotlight, BBC

Coca Cola CIPR Cameran/crew of the Year (sponsor: CIPR)
Winner - John Vernard, UTV

Coca Cola CIPR Photographer of the Year (sponsor: Smarts)  
Winner - William Cherry, Press Eye

Coca Cola CIPR Martin O’Hagan Memorial Bursary Newcomer of the Year
Winner - Chrissie Russell, Belfast Telegraph
Broadcast newcomer - Barry Weir, Citybeat
Print newcomer - Chrissie Russell, Belfast Telegraph
 

Mick Fealty, aka Slugger O’Toole, dropped by O’Conall Street (Weber Shandwick’s Belfast Office) for a chat and a coffee last week. We thought we would record a short conversation with him about Irish blogging, the future of online newspapers and the emergence of the ‘author’ brand. We also pressed him on whether Slugger will fill the void for quality political blogging south of the border.

It was a spur of the moment thing so sorry about the audio and the slightly disjointed questioning. Mick’s incisive analysis make up for that though.  

Meanwhile Brian Cowen is in the North today to announce IFSC jobs for Belfast. Varney gave us nothing. At least Dublin is trying to bend the rules to get some quality investment North. They won’t be HQ jobs but will be very welcome none the less. All this only strengthens further the case for a harmonised corporation tax rate on the island of Ireland.