“The State of PRSA and the Membership Value Proposition” – Linda Thomas Brooks, CEO, PRSA

By Mark Pompilio

“You saw the map of all the PRSA districts,” said Linda, who combined her QuickStart address with an event that day at her alma mater, The Ohio State University.  “I can’t have any favorites, but let me say I was born and raised in the Midwest. Whenever I come back to the Midwest, I feel like I’m coming home. Thanks for inviting me; this is fun.”

Embracing the conference theme, emerging opportunities and challenges of AI. 

“New and evolving technologies are having significant impact,” she said. “How you are monitoring it: ‘Oh my God we’re terrified,’ ‘We’re kind of monitoring it,’ or ‘We don’t know what to think about it.’ ”

She reminded conference attendees about the PRSA AI resource page.

“I came in during the middle of COVID, a tricky time to join the organization – we did an enormous amount of Zoom that first year.  Membership had been declining even before COVID. I’m really happy to tell you PRSA membership is at the highest level, both for national as well as chapters. We’re happy to see that.”

Focus on PRSA Code of Ethics

“I grew up not in comms but on the marketing side. The really interesting conversation is how all different part of the comms world are coalescent.  I’m actually convinced that comms people are going to run the world!

“On the advertising side of the helm, in the last decade at least, all emphasis has been on the ad side –

but what has ceded is the core knowledge of communication strategy. It takes strategy to run this crazy, coalescent world we’re all in. They will run the table because we need communications.

“That’s why the focus on the Code of Ethics, especially as we look at where information comes from and if something is a credible source. Representing truth is really important and getting really, really difficult. We’re creating tools to help you do that.

How do you do that?

“At GM, they said ‘best in class braking.’ I asked, have the attorneys signed off on that claim?’ At some point, you have to take your client or your boss’s word.  Multiply that by all that is going on in the world. How do I ask these questions? Helping each other through these challenges is the most important thing you can be doing right now.”

How do we embed all the knowledge and perspective of people coming up in the business?

“This is what we do: 14 sections, 18,000 members, 100+ chapters.

“Statement of values – and the “ETHICS MATTER” PRSA sticker. I slapped it on my PRSA laptop. I’m up in Toronto, I’m going through airport security… all laptops go through at the same time. The agent picked up mine and said who is ‘ethics matter?’ It will save you!”

Resources: Ethics page, ethics in communications community, MyPRSA; PRsay blog

“Send us issues and what you are doing about it, and we’ll add it to our page. It includes AI insights: guidelines, tips and best practices.”

Chapter resource – DocShare

“We completed a re-architecture and addition to the chapter portal, DocShare. It’s the best place for your record retention; chapter rosters are updated in real time. If a drop comes in, you’ll know about it and you can send out a message. Chapters showing the most growth are also the heaviest users of these resources. Non-members in your chapter geography are put in your prospect list. National is marketing to them, but chapters can too.”

Update your chapter profile: 1) It helps us understand membership profile; 2) It helps us focus on area diversity.

Q&A Portion

How long do dropped members stay in the system? “Go into dropped members and you will see 3 or 4 time frames; we have them for a while, but not beyond 10 years.”

Dropped member become prospective? “Sometimes – not those who say they have left business – but do keep some in for a while; always coded they were a member.  Can pull former member list.”

Is there access to lists of chapter members dropped? “Can always call us. Can’t guarantee you can get it, but we will help with a lot of it. If interested, we can add a list as a standard report.”

Chapter reports: membership (new, dropped, reinstated)

Monthly Chapter Toolkits: graphics/promos for events; membership ads, SM posts, recruitment tools

Why belong?

“Every job I’ve had has come from PRSA members… I met my husband through a PRSA friend. Connections are so wide. It’s a collective of what we are doing out there in the business world.

Group membership – “We implemented it in the last year.  Department of 50 – can put them in the system with a price break. Smaller group packages – there is a bit of a price break, not a ton of room.”

Talk about investment – “Not just dues and money.  It’s to invest in your career. If you make an investment, you want a return on your investment. We did a member value assessment. How much value are you getting back? With the programs invested in, etc., the average member saw 3.8 times return. If I was a financial planner, you would give me all your money because that’s a great return!”

Any sense of percentage of membership subsidized by employer? “We don’t – we have indications anecdotal of members who left because of loss of subsidy. We do have hardship programs for members.”