institute of public relations of singapore · nus industry leaders forum dr jovina ng (back row,...

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INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC

RELATIONS OF SINGAPORE

In This Issue

Introduction to Public Relations and Mass Communication

Launch of Republic

Polytechnic-IPRS Student Chapter

TMC Academy Open

House: What’s there in the PR Industry?

IP Issues faced by PR

Practitioners PSB Collab X

Communication – The Future of Jobs in Digital First World

SMU-IPR Symposium:

Applied Research in Public Relations

IPRS-FCA Forum: How

Should PR Practitioners Approach Foreign Media?

NUS Industry Leaders

Forum Launch of PSB

Academy-IPRS Student Chapter

Professional Certificate

in Public Relations and Mass Communication Intake 02-2016

Issue No. 05/2016 September/December

An official publication of Institute of Public Relations of Singapore in PDF format, 12 pages only. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, micro-copying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) be reproduced in whole or part without prior permission from IPRS. The opinions and views in this newsletter do not reflect the official view of IPRS.

23 to 25 November 2016 – Introduction to Public Relations

and Mass Communication Course

The third intake of the three-day Introduction to Public Relations (PR) and Mass

Communication Course for 2016 saw about 20 participants learn more about PR

principles, techniques and best practices from a team of seasoned IPRS trainers, all

of whom are IPRS Accredited Members. The participants, most of whom were

practicing PR professionals, included some who hailed from Indonesia, Vietnam,

USA and the Middle East.

The trainers were: Mr Adrian Heng Director Communications & Marketing, Booqed

Limited; Mr Robert Conceicao, IPRS President and Managing Director, Majic

Communications; and Dr Jovina Ang, IPRS Council Member and Director,

Communicatio.

Adrian Heng Covering Media Relations.

Participants working on a group assignment on Crisis Communication which was covered by

Robert Conceicao.

(Continued on page 2)

Dr Jovina Ng (back row, fifth from the left) covered Integrated Marketing and PR Campaigns.

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The Republic Polytechnic (RP) became the sixth and the latest

tertiary institution to launch a Student Chapter with IPRS.

The launch event, attended by about 150 lecturers and students

from RP’s Schools of Management and Communication;

Hospitality; and Infocomm, comprised:

The signing of an MOU between Warren Wang, Director,

School of Management and Communication (SMC-RP) and

Robert Conceicao, IPRS President;

The presentation of Letters of Appointment to the office-

bearers of the inaugural RP-IPRS Student Chapter EXCO;

A sharing session on “Learn How to be a Social Media Pro” by

Lin Liangmin, Director, Marketing Communications,

W Singapore – Sentosa Cove, and IPRS Honorary Secretary.

The events were organized entirely by members of the Chapter and

supervised by their lecturers.

In his opening address, Warren Wang outlined what RP hoped to

achieve from the establishment of the Chapter and his hopes for a

successful partnership with IPRS.

Nicolas Yee, PR Account Coordinator, Chrysler Communications.

“I signed up for the Integrated Marketing & PR Campaigns module as I wanted to gain an insight into how PR campaigns

are shaped through theory and application. It gave me a better understanding of how I have to put myself into the shoes

of our target audience so that our key messages will resonate with them.

The most memorable part of the course was getting to know others who have a passion in

marketing and PR. I thoroughly enjoyed working closely with them and analyzing the different

business cases during our group discussions. I’ll definitely be taking away both knowledge and

friendships from this course!”

Look out for the next run of the course, which will tentatively run between 22 to 24 Feb 2017. For

more information, you may visit our website, email us at [email protected], or call 6534 1841.

22 November 2016 – Launch of Republic Polytechnic – IPRS Student Chapter

Left to right: Robert Conceicao and Warren Wang

The office-holders of the RP-IPRS Student Chapter Exco were appointed. They are (from left to right): Membership Chair, Kevin Brendan, Secretary, Auni Darwisyah, Vice President, Leon Lim and President, Teo Teck Kuan. (Continued on page 3)

Mohammad Hafiz, Head of Subdivision, Indonesia Financial Service Authority

“I found the course really interesting as I got to learn about the trainers' experiences. Although I

graduated with a Bachelor and Master degree in Public Relations, I joined this course in the

hope of learning from the trainers' professional experiences. I am glad to say that the course had

met my expectations."

mailto:[email protected]

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Robert Conceicao challenged the students to “go forward in the

PR industry, as it is your world.” He encouraged the students to

take ownership of their own future. To the EXCO of the

Chapter, Robert said that IPRS looked forward to what the

Chapter plans for the coming new year.

“We are excited to be a part of the Chapter. Over the next two

years, me and my team aim to tap on IPRS’ expertise to create

new networking opportunities and activities for RP students and

staff. Through this collaboration with IPRS, students and staff

can stay up-to-date on industry happenings and, expand their

knowledge on PR practices and establish new relationships with

industry partners,” said Teo Teck Kuan, President, RP-IPRS

Student Chapter.

For example, the hotel developed content that shared its guests’ “passion points” instead of focusing on what the hotel had

to offer. Liangmin closed her presentation with this parting words: “The content doesn’t change. The business doesn’t

change. It is up to you to recreate the content.”

This article was contributed by Kevin Brendan, Membership Chair, RP-IPRS Student Chapter.

Lin Liangmin presenting “Learn How to be a Social Media

Pro”.

19 November 2016 - TMC Academy Open House: What’s there in the PR Industry?

Left to right: Robert Conceicao

and Dr Chin Kon Yuen

(continued on page 4)

The TMC Academy, which launched a Student Chapter with IPRS on 17 August 2016, held an Open House which saw

President, IPRS, Robert Conceicao, being invited to share with the students present what the opportunities were in the PR

industry.

Robert highlighted the different pathways in the PR industry; the nature of job, both in-house PR and in a PR consultancy;

and provided sound advice on how fresh graduates could enter the industry.

Among the audience were Dr. Chin Kon Yuen, Chairman, TMC Academy, and Lee Dongho, President, TMC Academy-IPRS

Student Chapter.

In her presentation, Liangmin shared insights on how W Hotel

developed content for social media to attract potential

customers.

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Here is what a participant, Oleg Gerts, from Vladivostok (Russia), a student of TMC Academy/

University of Northampton, had to say:

"Through Robert’s presentation I’ve gotten lots of insights about PR and how the industry operates.

Robert’s style of presentation was charismatic. It has actually interested me to look at PR as a career

option."


The article was contributed by an IPRS Volunteer, Shweta Ajit Kumar. Shweta is pursuing her Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Accounting & Finance from the University of London, Singapore.

27 October 2016 – IP Issues faced by PR Practitioners

Samuel highlighted two types of IP that PR professionals usually encountered:

copyrights and trademarks.

Copyright arises upon creation and cannot be registered. If a piece of work is

original (independent creation), connected with Singapore, and is expressed in

physical format, it is a copyright. Since it can’t be registered, how then can PR

professionals protect their ideas?

Samuel shared the following best practices to protect original works and ideas,

and how to prevent the risk of infringing the IP rights of others:

Mark works with a formal copyright claim

Protect ideas during pitching through non-disclosure license of agreement

To avoid the risk of infringing others’ IPRs, do proper research before pitching

and avoid re-using same pieces of work twice

Some of the legal challenges related to Intellectual Property (IP) can sometimes be a very slippery slope for Public

Relations (PR) professionals.

IPRS Honorary Legal Advisor, Samuel Yuen, Managing Director, Yuen Law LLC, shared what IP is all about - how PR

professionals can make better use of their IP rights and how to control the commercial exploitation of these rights.

In his presentation, Samuel referred to IP as “intangible assets; such as inventions: literary and artistic works, designs, and

symbols, names and images used in commerce.”

To illustrate the relevance of IP to PR professionals, Samuel used the example of “idea theft”, where clients take the ideas

and run it as their own, or simply appoint another PR agency to execute the same concept for a lower price. “With a

plethora of pitches in the market, it is important for PR professionals to understand IP to protect their works and to

prevent the risk of infringing other people’s IPRs. The law protects IP; it gives monopolistic right over one’s original work,” said

Samuel.

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With new digital and social media channels changing the way brands work with the media today, industries have opened up a

new wave of opportunities to connect with customers, making jobs in Marketing and Public Relations more exciting than ever,

but also ever more challenging to stay relevant.

The Forum was organized by PSB Academy in collaboration with IPRS, the University of Newcastle Singapore (UONS) and

Ogilvy Public Relations, and supported by Young NTUC. It invited a panel of seasoned PR professionals to share insights

with a younger generation of aspiring PR professionals. About 120 participants, mainly students, attended the Forum.

IPRS Accredited Member, Tham Kok Wing, Senior Vice President, Engagement & Integration, Asia Pacific, Ruder Finn Asia,

spoke on “Tectonic Shifts in a Digital Led World”. He highlighted two main types of people: Digital Immigrants, or people who

were adjusting to the digital world, and Digital Natives, young people who have been brought up in the digital world. His

advice to the students on how to stay on top:


This article was contributed by an IPRS Volunteer, Gabriela Gunawan, a Public Relations and Journalism graduate of University of Newcastle, Singapore, who hails from Jakarta (Indonesia).

26 October 2016 - PSB Academy: Collab X Communication: The Future of Jobs in

Digital - First World

Here’s what a participant had to say about the lunchtime talk:

Joanna Wong, Assistant Director, Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals and IPRS Honorary Treasurer: "A

very insightful talk. Samuel brought to light the legal implications of the many issues that PR practitioners face in their daily

work, regardless of how minute some may seem. I finally understood the rationale of having to update the copyright year in

the website - an administrative matter many PR practitioners do but don't necessarily know of the legal implications behind

it."

Dr Rama Venkatasawmy, Lecturer, The

University of Newcastle Singapore,

delivered a very informative talk on “Big

Data in the Future of Communications

and Creative Industries”. He explained

what Big Data is and how it is affecting the

world. He emphasized that PR

practitioners must be able to incorporate

digital data into their work and articulated

Big Data’s ethical considerations in the

Communication industry.

Understand yourself

Get to know people who are similar

and those who are different from you

Know what’s happening around you.

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Sara Pereira, Director, Ogilvy & Mather

Singapore, presented “The Business of

Content and the Art of Storytelling “. She

explained, through real-life examples, the

importance of branding; how to attract

people to your brand; and how some

companies dealt with issues that threatened their

brand. Sara ended with this statement: “You have

to be very confident in what you do.”

Here is what a couple of the participants had to say:

Zoe Cusi, a PSB Academy student, “The industry is fast moving and active, so it is best to sharpen your skills and be constantly open to learning.”

Gabriella Sugiarto, a Communication graduate from University of Newcastle, “The talk has motivated me a lot. Digital media has opened new opportunities for me. I am looking

forward to this opportunity.”

The article was contributed by two IPRS Volunteers: Shweta Ajit Kumar (Below left) (a

Bachelor of Science (Hons.) student in Accounting & Finance, University of London, Singapore, and Manisha Jawarilal Jain (Below right), a Bachelor of Communication student (Double Majors in Public Relations and Journalism) at the University of Newcastle,

Singapore.

The Forum ended off with a panel discussion with

most questions being on how to find a job and

what does it take to join the PR industry. The

panelists emphasized that students must be

hungry to learn; must have the right attitude; and

should take the initiative to network!

13 October 2016 - SMU-IPR Symposium: Applied Research in Public Relations

IPRS supported a Symposium on Applied Research in Public Relations that was jointly organized

by Singapore Management University (SMU) and Institute of Public Relations (IPR) and held at

SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business. Five IPRS Accredited Members - IPRS President,

Robert Conceicao; two past IPRS Presidents, Gregory Tan, Principal Consultant, BSG

Communications, and K Bhavani, Managing Director, International PR Training Pte Ltd; IPRS

Council Member, Dr Jovina Ang; and Tham Moon Yee, Managing Director, Stratagem

Consultants Pte Ltd, were among the IPRS Members and associates who attended the

symposium.

Dr Gregor Halff

welcoming the presenters

and guests to the

symposium.


Panel Members (from Left to Right): Chong Ee Rong, Managing Director,

Ogilvy Public Relation Singapore and IPRS Accredited Member, Tham Kok

Wing, Marcus Loh, Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Communications,

PSB Academy and IPRS Accredited Member, Sara Pereira and Dr Rama

Venkatasawmy.

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There were insightful presentations on Communication-related topics by seven renowned

international researchers:

1. David Ashton, Managing Director, Brunswick Insight

Topic: The Future of the Communication Function Structure

2. Sungjong Roh, Assistant Professor, Corporate Communication Group, Lee Kong Chian

School of Business, SMU

Topic: Tell Your Right Hand What Your Left Hand Will Do: How the Timing of Corporate

Social Responsibility Disclosure Influences Consumer Evaluation

3. Dr Sarab Kochhar, Director of Research, IPR

Topic: From Content to Context: Reshaping Employee Engagement

4. Soojin Kim, Assistant Professor, Corporate Communication Group, Lee Kong Chian


Topic: Unpacking Public Sentiment Toward the Government: How Government

Communication Strategies Affect Public Engagement, Cynicism, and Word of Mouth

Behavior in South Korea

5. Dr Tina McCorkindale, President & CEO, IPR and Dr Gregor Halff, Deputy Dean

(Programmes), Lee Kong Chian School of Business, SMU

Topic: What Competencies Does the PR Industry Need in Future? Results of the Global

Communications Report

6. Yeo Su Lin, Assistant Professor, Corporate Communication Group, Lee Kong Chian


Topic: Asian Multiculturalism in Communication: Impact of Culture in the Practice of PR

in Singapore

David Ashton

Sungjong Roh

Dr Sarab Kochhar Soojin Kim

Dr Tina McCorkindale

Yeo Su Lin

12 October 2016 – IPRS-FCA Forum: How Should PR Practitioners Approach Foreign

The Forum, a collaboration between the Foreign Correspondents Association (FCA) and IPRS, was held at Copthorne King ’s

Hotel, and brought together 60 participants from IPRS and FCA. The panelists were Manfred Rist, Bureau Chief, Neue

Zurcher Zeitung, and Ilka Gobius, Managing Director, Pinpoint Public Relations. Dr. Gregor Halff, Professor of Corporate

Communication Practice, Singapore Management University and IPRS Co-opted Council Member, was the moderator.


“You can only pitch a story if you can earn the trust of the journalists, editors and media,” shared Manfred. He added that it

was important for PR practitioners to pitch based on the journalist’s persona. This meant being aware as to whom you are

pitching to.

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Both panelists highlighted the importance of building relationships with the media and cited the following:

Relationships between PR professionals and the media should be straightforward, and based on mutual trust and goals;

A good rule of thumb in email pitches is to employ simple English when writing subject lines and striking a balance

between brevity and specific description of the pitch;

The audience is now more knowledgeable;

PR practitioners have to make their pitches newsworthy by adding relevant, timely, and interesting context to their

stories.

The forum ended with a candid Q&A session. When asked for examples of good pitches, Ilka shared that PR professionals

need to do their research on the media they are pitching to so as to ensure that the media is relevant to their clients. They

should research on the reporters/editors so that they approach the right individuals with their story. Manfred added, “If you

target your journalist and publication very precisely, it also means you’ve identified precisely the media outlets that fits your

target audience.”

Left to right: Manfred Rist, Dr Gregor Halff and Illka Gobius.


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5 October 2016 - NUS Industry Leaders Forum

The second session, on “Latest developments, Trends

and Issues in Communications”, saw Michelle Huiling Li,

Director, Ogilvy PR, and IPRS Council Member, Eric

Chan, Managing Director, PR Communications Pte. Ltd,

share their experiences with clients. The panelists

shared that with the advance of digital technology, PR

practitioners must keep an open mind and adapt to the

ever-changing landscape. They must never stop

learning to stay connected and be relevant, always!

The NUS-CNM signed an MOU with IPRS in August

2016 that saw the launch of its Student Chapter.

Left to Right: Ng Chip Keng, Dr Chitra Rajaram, Mabel Phoon and Adrian Heng.

Michelle Huiling Li engaging the students.

The National University of Singapore (NUS)’s Communication and New Media Department (CNM) held an Industry Leaders

Forum at Kent Ridge which saw two panel discussions, both moderated by Adrian Heng, Director Communications &

Marketing, Booqed Limited and IPRS Accredited Member.

The first session, on “What every fresh graduate needs to know to get a job in Communication and succeed in it” saw a panel

comprising industry veterans, Dr Chitra Rajaram, Head Community Segment (Malay & Indian) Mediacorp, Mabel Phoon,

Executive Vice President, International Client Services, Weber Shandwick, and IPRS Accredited Member, Ng Chip Keng,

Director, RTL Communications and Investor Relations, share their personal experiences when they first entered the PR

industry. A common ground they all had: a positive learning attitude and a willingness to take on all challenges positively!

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5 October 2016 – Launch of PSB Academy-IPRS Student Chapter

“The launch of the PSBA-IPRS Student Chapter brings together a perfect

confluence of interest for IPRS, PSBA and most importantly, the students.

While the Chapter marks a milestone in our industry engagement efforts,

PSBA is in a great position to be scaling from a solid track record of

graduating students who are sought after by industry,” said Marcus Loh, Vice

President of Marketing and Corporate Communication at PSB Academy, and

an IPRS Accredited Member.

Left to right: Derrick Chang and Robert

Conceicao.

PSB Academy (PSBA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore

(IPRS) to launch a Student Chapter, making it the fifth tertiary institution to form a Student Chapter with IPRS. The MOU was

signed by Derrick Chang, Acting CEO, PSBA and Robert Conceicao, President, IPRS, at PSB Academy, and was witnessed

by about 60 members of the PSBA’s academic team and students.

The aim of the MOU is to enable PSBA students to gain access to thought

leaders in the Communication industry and to help students to bridge the gap

between education and the working world. PSBA students studying Public

Relations, Marketing, Business, and other relevant subjects, will be eligible to

join the Chapter and benefit from mentorship, networking, support and

internship opportunities with IPRS’ senior practitioners.

In his address, Robert shared how Public Relations and Communication are

today a vital part of all industries and sectors. Robert said, “IPRS is pleased to

partner with PSB Academy in the development of students for the industry.

Through this Chapter, students will be given access to IPRS’ events to

network with Accredited Members and experienced professionals who are

today shaping the industry.”

Professional Certificate in Public Relations and Mass Communication Intake 02-2016

IPRS ran its second intake of the Professional Certificate in Public Relations and Mass Communication course for 2016

between August and November. Participants were exposed to a wide range of knowledge in an interactive mode, and given

the opportunity to learn from seasoned PR professionals, all of whom were IPRS Accredited Members.



This insightful course drew a very clear picture of how PR and Communication could assist the participants in their

respective career paths, and hopefully, inspire them to be more engaged and better prepared for the fast-changing world of

Communication.

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Here’s what two of the participants had to say about the course:

Ms. Chew Wanlin Serene, Executive, Public Affairs, Division of Communications,

LASALLE College of the Arts Limited:

“For a Certificate course, this is one of the most holistic program in Communication.

Every week, I always step out of the class with refreshing insights and enlightening

stories based on the trainers’ experiences. They demonstrated a good understanding

of the subjects, and were passionate about it. All the trainers made the content come

alive with their own experiences and made the topics applicable to anyone in

Communication.”


Ms. Sum Hew Mun:

“I was intrigued by the course which made me sign up for it. I have always been keen to learn how

PR and Communication affect us in the workplace. The topics covered were applicable to any work

environment. The trainers were very experienced. They were very open which helped us have a

better understanding of the topics. I will certainly recommend this course to anyone who is keen to

learn about PR and Mass Communication.”

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2015/2017 Council

President Robert CONCEICAO Vice-President Christina CHEANG Honorary Secretary LIN Liangmin Honorary Treasurer Joanna WONG Council Members Edgar LEE Eric CHAN Gerald DE COTTA Dr Jovina ANG Lily LIM Mike LIEW Dr Gregor HALFF (Co-opted) Stephen FORSHAW (Co-opted) Honorary Legal Advisor Samuel YUEN

Contact Us

Have any queries or feedback for us?

43A South Bridge Road Singapore 058677 Tel: +65 6534 1841 Fax: +65 6534 4691 Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/iprs.group

To join us, visit

www.iprs.org.sg for more

information.

For any enquiries on our

privacy policy, please write to:

Institute of Public Relations of

Singapore (IPRS)

43A South Bridge Road

Singapore 058677

Email: [email protected]

Calendar of Events DECEMBER 2016

Early December – launch of 14th PRISM Awards – call for nominations

19 – IPRS visits Google Singapore – For IPRS Members only. (T)

JANUARY 2017

Mid-Jan – Combined IPRS Student Chapter Party (T)

FEBRUARY 2017

22 - 24 – Intake 01/2016 - Introduction to Public Relations & Mass Communication (T)

MARCH 2017

1 – PRISM Awards 2017 Gala Night

27 – Launch of IPRS Professional Certificate in Public Relations and Mass Communication (T)

Late March – IPRS 47th Annual General Meeting and IPRS Council 2017/2019 Elections

*(T) -Tentative

For more details on the above events, kindly contact the IPRS Secretariat at 6534 1841 or email [email protected].

The Secretariat Manager : Lennette KOH Finance & Accounts : Darissa GUAH Executive : Jack CHONG

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IPRS Welcomes New Members! On behalf of the IPRS President and Council 2015/2017, a warm welcome to our new Members who joined us between August and November 2016: Corporate Members

PSB Academy Pte. Ltd PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency Economic Development Board Akzo Nobel Paints (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd Full Members

Ms Heng Yi-Hui Eden, Public Relations Officer, Lum Chang Building Contractors Pte. Ltd

Mr Ho Tjin Charn Bernard, Lecturer & Senior Manager, Public Relations/Outreach, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Associate Member

Mr Lu Zhiwei Chris, Communications Manager, AdAsia Holdings Pte. Ltd

Affiliate Member

Mr Thomas Spencer Harper, Manager, Marketing & Communications, National University of Singapore, Centre of the Arts

Season’s Greetings

On behalf of the President and Council 2015/2017, and the IPRS Secretariat, our warmest wishes to one and all for the holiday season. May you have a great year ahead in 2017!

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/iprs.group



http://www.iprs.org.sg

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