PR Brief Newsletter of the Public Relations Society of Jamaica

Volume 3 September, 2013

INSIDE Summer of Service—The King’s House

valuable connection with youth p.4

When Every Second Counts—2013

voiceover rates p.3

Cover photo:

Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen and Lady Allen

(third & fourth left) stand with winners of the 2013 I

Believe Initiative Summer of Service Competition

after the presentation ceremony at King’s House on

September 6. The two first place winners Mr

Abrahim Simmonds (second left) and Ms Angelica

Baker (third right) will attend the University of the

West Indies (UWI). The second place winners: Ms

Anna- Kay Grey (second right) and Ms Peta- Gaye

Ford (left) received one year scholarships to attend

the University of Technology and UWI respectively.

Ms Denecian Dennis (right) was the special prize

winner. She received a grant towards her accom-

modation at Mary Seacole Hall, UWI.

Today, corporate consultants

are expected to show that

they have received training in

social media for social mar-

keting or integrated marketing

communications. It is no long-

er only about who can write

and place content in the news-

papers and on broadcast

newscasts, but about who can

get the most likes, re-tweets,

follows, pins and shares; and if

all of those translate into men-

tions on-air by broadcasters

and celebrities.

This is but one indication of

the changing duties of the PR

professional in Jamaica—a

country that is still dominated

by traditional national mass

media platforms.

Contd. Page 2

STATE OF THE

PR PROFESSION

- a discussion

on salary trends

in UK, USA,

Jamaica Since about 2009, there has

been a rapid inclusion of digi-

tal or social media profession-

als employed in private and

public sector corporate

comms departments. The first

wave of social media profes-

sionals flexed their muscles

during the 2007 elections by

battling negative online feed-

back and promoting collateral

materials that enhanced the

image of their candidates and

parties.

2

Page 2 Volume 1, I ssue 1

Contd from Page 1

Looking at trends in the United Kingdom, the

2013 Annual Benchmarking Member Survey of

the Chartered Institute for Public Relations

(CIPR) notes that the practice is moving away

from media relations and that only one-third of

practitioners who were surveyed rank journal-

ists as contacts who have the most influence.

The report goes further to note that 88 per cent

of practitioners are spending their time on re-

search, planning and measurement; and that

they consider search engine marketing, web de-

sign and online customer service as priority are-

as.

Major concerns for the profession are redun-

dancies, frozen benefits and salaries; and oppor-

tunities for training.

In the USA, the 2013 Official PR Salary and Bo-

nus Report that is quoted by the Public Relations

Society of America (PRSA) considers nine major

areas of specialty in corporate PR: consumer,

corporate/financial,

health/medical/pharmaceutical, hi-tech, indus-

try, business to business marketing (B2B), inter-

nal communications, investor relations, pub-

lic/government affairs and social media).

The report notes that there was a nationwide

increase in salaries over 2012, which was a relief

as salaries declined nationwide by more than

27per cent as compared to 2011.

An executive vice president earned an average

annual salary of $161,800; a senior vice presi-

dent $138,500; a vice president $114,400; an

account supervisor $77,800; a senior account

executive $62,700 and an account executive

$52,200.

The UK based CIPR report showed that the me-

dian salary in the UK for PR workers is ₤52,000

Corporate PR salary trends..

per year, with a noted gap between men who earn

on average ₤62,000 and women who earn ₤46,000.

This was noted as possible evidence of a glass ceiling

for women, in an industry that is dominated by that

gender.

The most reliable information in Jamaica is taken

from the 2009 Jamaica Employers Federation (JEA)

survey; and the Government Revision of Salaries

2008-2010.

Using these reports, the highest recorded salary in

PR is in the private sector is $4.6M for a PR execu-

tive, while a deputy director general doubles that at

$8.4M.

The highest salary point in central government is

$2.36M, but parastatal bodies are not tied to this

guide.

An entry level comms professional starts at $655

thousand, which is just above a video technician at

$605 thousand and below a foreign affairs officer at

$849 thousand.

If Jamaica follows global trends, it can be expected

that the attention that is currently paid to securing

placement in mass media outlets will shift towards

working more closely with other departments to

achieve the business of the organisation. This will

include a stronger role with legal, finance and HR in

reputation management, and its associated disci-

pline crisis management; with the board in corpo-

rate social responsibility activities; in employee rela-

tions and also in investor and stakeholder relations.

Practitioners should also note that some 33.65% of

adult Jamaicans do not own any bank products -

they are unbanked, according to a study done

through the Centre of Excellence at the Mona

School of Business and Management, UWI. Mobile

financial solutions when it becomes available in Ja-

maica could possibly become another area for the

attention for the professional communicator. END

3

Page 3 Volume 1, I ssue 1

The sounds of the nation resound

not only in homes and places of

entertainment, but also resound

from many street corners and

markets as we share the news,

the events and music of the day.

Indeed in Jamaica, radio is still the

king of mass media.

A 2009 study conducted by re-

searchers at the Mona School of

Business and Management at the

University of the West Indies, led

by Dr Hopeton Dunn, proved this

again when the study found that

88% of households had a radio;

with 84% reporting that they had

televisions and 15% had the Inter-

net. See the table on page 4.

The PRSJ has not been able to get

the results for newspaper reader-

ship, but the Gleaner has a radio

station in its business model; and

has promised stockholders that

they will grow online subscription

and advertising revenue. The oth-

er daily national newspaper, The

Jamaica Observer, has also added

a radio station to its portfolio of

media platforms, again under-

scoring the importance of radio in

the Jamaican media mix.

With a radio spectrum that is al-

ready pressured to the limit, the

Broadcasting Commission’s web-

site notes that there are 29 radio

license holders , most of which

are using the FM band, and most

broadcast to a national audience.

It is within this reality that voiceo-

ver talent can demand ever-

higher rates for his or her brand

of sound.

A short survey done by the PRSJ

show that the rates have not fro-

zen, but are shifting ever up-

wards.

For commercials and public ser-

vice announcements that are

billed by the second, trained

emerging talent can ask for

$400—$500/second for a success-

ful recording; mid range fees of

$600-$700/second are paid to

competent practitioners whose

voices are familiar or who have a

unique sound or accent that is

needed for the project.

Top billing talent are usually local

celebrities such as broadcasters,

recording artistes, actors or who

have voices that deliver what ad-

vertisers value as a bankable

sound. This select group confi-

dently charge $800 to $1,000 per

second. There are one or two who

can ask some clients for more.

These are the voices that sales-

men and women swear by, saying

that they add authenticity to a

product, or who are simply con-

vincing to a Jamaican audience,

and can sell anything.

Many communications practition-

ers have voiceover skills and do

voiceover work for their organisa-

tion such as automated telephone

recordings and radio projects.

At the end of the day this is fine,

but it is always a useful business

practice to be able to put a finan-

cial value on time and on creative

talent. END

When every second cost$ Current rates for voice talent

4

Page 4 Volume 1, I ssue 1

UWI, ECLAC, OSILAC, Canada, STATIN

Communications professionals working on sum-

mertime youth engagement projects are fostering

potentially long-lasting and positive interactions

between organisations and their publics.

King’s House recently concluded its Summer of

Service Competition (SOS), which is a part of the

Governor-General’s I Believe Initiative. It prompted

youth volunteerism as an opportunity to compete

for scholarships and grants at local universities.

The SOS partnerships with universities and the pri-

vate sector secured prizes for two, three-year

scholarships, two one-year scholarships and three

financial support prizes. Governor-General, Sir

Patrick Allen presented the top five prizes at King’s

House on September 6, 2013.

The two first prizes of 3-year scholarships granted

by the University of the West Indies (UWI) went to

social work student Abrahim Simmonds and sec-

ond year medical student, Angelica Baker. Second

prize winner Anna-Kay Grey, received the Universi-

ty of Technology (UTECH) one-year scholarship,

while Peta-Gaye Ford won the private sector’s

one-year scholarship to UWI. Denecian Dennis, ac-

tuarial science student at UWI, was awarded a spe-

cial prize; and there were also two third prizes of

grants for educational materials. Those went to

first-year UWI students, Anthony Jones and

Shanekah Ricketts.

Sir Patrick encouraged the winners to “use the op-

portunities for educational advancement wisely

and continue to demonstrate a spirit of volunteer-

ism.”

The SOS partners are UWI, UTECH, Mr. Christopher

Issa, Kingston Bookshop, Lasco, Mafessanti Build-

ers and Contractors, JNBS, Scotiabank Jamaica, the

Sandals Foundation and LIME.

King’s House SUMMER OF SERVICE —

a valuable and long lasting connection with youth

5

Corporate Canapé Communications Director at the Ministry of Education is journalist and communications educator Mr

Byron Buckley. Congratulations to Public Relations and Communications Officer Mrs Sheryl Bromfield

for acting in the position for an extended period.

Miss Jodi Ann Brown is now the Communications Officer at the Ministry of Justice. Miss Brown was for-

merly with the Media Monitoring Unit of the Office of the Prime Minister and also worked closely with

the protocol department on special assignments.

Mr Oliver Watt has left the Jamaica National Heritage Trust on a new assignment within the Ministry of

Youth and Culture to strengthen the newly established Children’s Division.

Journalist Mrs Latoya Minott Hall has moved on from the RJR communications group.

Post Base Salary Report

Communication Specialist IE1 Entry level officer

$655K - $778K 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries

Communication Specialist IE2 $770K -$915K 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries

Communication Specialist IE3 $914K - $1.08M 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries

Communication Specialist IE4 $1.26 -$ 1.49 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries

Communication Specialist IE5 $1.63 -$ 1.93 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries

Communication Specialist IE6 Communication Specialist

$1.98 - $2.36 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries

Corporate PR - Liabilities Institution $2.66M - $2.69M Jamaica Employers Federation 2009 Salary Benefits Survey

Corp Comms Exec - Financial Institu-tion

$4.6M Jamaica Employers Federation 2009 Salary Benefits Survey

Other Posts – for comparison Entry level Audio Visual Production $609K -$ 723K 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries

Entry level in the Foreign Service 849K - 723K 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries

Executive Manager $4.69M - $5.58K 2008 - 2010 Government Revision of Salaries

Deputy Director General $8.42M Jamaica JA Employers Federation 2009 Salary Benefits Sur-vey

Bonus (Additional Compensation) Corporate Communication Executive - Financial Institution

2% - 20% JA Employers Federation 2009 Salary Benefits Sur-vey

6

The Public Relations Society of Jamaica

https://sites.google.com/site/gojamaicapr/home

Facebook: Public Relations Society of Jamaica

Twitter: @PRSJm

Blogs:

http://publicrelationssocietyofjamaica.blogspot.com/

P.O.8240, CSO, Kingston

COMMUNICATORS CONFERENCEKingston, JAMAICA

February 20 –21 2014

Promoting a profession of cutting-edge learners

Umbrellas transformed a section of St William

Grant Downtown, Kingston into a colonnade for

the Jamaica Deposit Insurance Company’s Fi-

nancial Markets Fair in August. Event planning

services were led by Millicent Lynch.