Membership Benefits

Membership in the Council of Public Relations Firms comes with many benefits.  Here are just a few of the many programs and initiatives our members take advantage of.
 
Free Access to Major Industry Studies and Data ($1,000 - $5,000 value)*
Two of the most important surveys conducted by the Council are the Annual Business Benchmark Study and the Benefits and Compensation Study. Members consistently cite these two reports as the most important member benefits.
  • The Annual Business Benchmark Survey: This is an unrivaled source of comparative financial data for firms of all sizes.  Based on input from close to 100 public relations firms and managed by the Council’s CFO Roundtable, this report analyzes dozens of financial metrics that provide a perspective on the firm’s financial health and management performances.
  • The Benefits and Compensation Study, with Deloitte: A major study conducted every two years that compiles data such as salaries, billing rates and benefits against a wide range of criteria including job title, firm size and geography.

*Both studies, which would cost an individual firm thousands of dollars to conduct, are free to participating member firms.

Participation and Inclusion in Business Development Initiatives
Find-A-Firm – The Council’s database of member firms that offers clients seeking to hire a public relations firm a means to search the Council member list by several categories and services.  Members average an additional 1,600 visits to their website per year from their Find-a-Firm profile.

RFP Builder - Addressing the need for a more productive and efficient way to conduct a public relations firm search, the Council developed RFP Builder, an online tool that makes it easier for an organization to design a Request for Proposal (RFP) and conduct an agency search.  After creating the RFP, clients are directed to Find-a-Firm where they can create a short list of Council member agencies to choose from.

 
Discounts on Leadership Development Programs and Networking Events
Members are offered discounted rates to Council programs such as: 

Critical Issues Forum – The Councils’ signature annual event attracts public relations industry leaders from across the country for discussions on the most pressing issues facing agency leaders and their firms. Past keynote speakers have included leaders from media, business and politics, including: David Gergen, CNN political analyst and former advisor to four U.S. Presidents, Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor, NBC Nightly News, former Clinton press secretary, Mike McCurry;,former Wall Street Journal publisher, Gordon Crovitz, former John Hancock CEO, David D’Alessandro, and program moderators, both former Harvard Business School professors, Jeffrey Rayport and Len Schlesinger.
 
 
 
Harvard Leadership Program - Since 2004, the Council of Public Relations Firms and Harvard’s Dr. Ashish Nanda have collaborated to create a professional development program for agency executives that is peerless in our industry.  This two-day, Harvard case-driven leadership program is perennially the highest rated  by our members.
 
High Point Series – Addressing the need to provide management training for the professionals who staff, and may someday run, public relations firms, the Council had developed the High Point Series.  Launched in 2010, this series is designed to help mid-level professionals develop their leadership skills, the High Point Series consists of six modules:
 
  • Motivating and Managing Your Team
  • Understanding the Finances of Your Business
  • Managing and Counseling Clients
  • Business Development
  • Ideas and Innovation
  • Agency Leadership
 
Breakfast Roundtables
Regional networking opportunities for agency managers, held in 8-12 markets each year

Special Insurance Rates
As a result of our strategic partnership with the 4A’s, Council members are entitled to enroll in special group insurance discount programs.  Members who enroll in the Council’s group insurance programs may actually save enough on their premium to cover the cost of their Council dues. For instance, while the percentage is subject to change, the dividends that participating firms received in 2009 equaled between 75% and 177% of their annual Council membership dues.

Member-Only Online Resources
In addition to all the FREE resources the Council provides the industry on this site, Council members have exclusive access to several proprietary documents and data, including:
  • Group insurance discounts: Information on special group rates for Council members
  • Legal documents: Essential documents and contracts related to managing a public relations firm, provided by Davis & Gilbert, LLP
  • Standard Client/Agency documents: Documents and contracts designed to help guide client-agency relationships, created by the Council's Client Advisory Committee
  • Quick Surveys: Member-only surveys that help the Council and its members get a pulse of the industry, quarter by quarter
  • Chairman's Letters: Member correspondence and updates, from the desk of the Council Chairman

 

 

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