What are PR agencies doing with their spare time? PR bosses may be as busy as ever, but their staff probably are not. Many have been furloughed, of course.
Since there is not much new business activity and even less travel between meetings, there is surely capacity to do something good.
Maitland, for example, has been working pro-bono with SalutetheNHS.org, Ron Dennis’s venture to serve 1 million meals to NHS workers over the next three months.
Others are doing similar things and report back that the boost to staff morale has been huge. Asked in the future what they did during the crisis, the flaks now have a decent answer.
Maitland boss Neil Bennett says: “PR may not be a vital skill that saves lives. But it has its uses even in these dark times, and it is good to remember that.”
Roxhill (our joint sponsors) has launched The Community PR Initiative, to put professional flaks in touch with charities, NHS Trusts and not-for-profits that need communications help.
So far 150 PR’s have registered and the CPRI is already helping out 46 organisations.
Nick Payne, co-founder, says: “Our aim is clear, we want to help charities, local authorities and other organisations with support to get their messages out at a critical time for people’s health.”
It’s a good plan.
You can register here.
