This winter, as part of my professional development at AKCG – Public Relations Counselors, I participated in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Philadelphia Chapter’s Public Relations Institute.  

PR Institute is a 10-week talent development program for communications professionals looking to strengthen and develop their skills, and network with fellow Philadelphia-area communications professionals.  

During four in-person sessions, participants learn about a variety of communications topics from industry professionals as they simultaneously work to build a strategic public relations plan for a real client. 

As an Associate at AKCG, I’ve worked with my team to develop metrics-driven PR plans while sharpening my media relations skills through active pitching, press release writing and regular engagement with members of the media. At this stage, I felt more than ready to apply my knowledge – and gain further hands-on learning – at PR Institute. 

Professional Presentations  

The communications landscape is constantly evolving and requires a continuously growing skill set. While specializing in one area, such as media relations, social media or crisis communications, can be beneficial, having a well-rounded understanding of the field is essential for a successful career in public relations. As a media relations practitioner, I work collaboratively with my AKCG peers who specialize in crisis communications; however, PR Institute allowed me another view of different communications disciplines, helping shape my knowledge of the full PR continuum. 

During PR Institute, industry professionals from across the region visited to provide their insights into various aspects of public relations including digital storytelling, AI in PR, crisis communication and market research. 

Every topic built my industry knowledge and helped my team build a stronger, more comprehensive public relations plan for our assigned client, Broad Street Love.  

Philadelphia Client 

PR Institute participants are split into teams tasked with creating a public relations plan for a real Philadelphia non-profit client, which the client receives at no cost when the course is complete.  

Broad Street Love, located in Center City, provides a number of services to those experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia, including meals, clothing, hygiene products, medical care and a mailing address.  

Broad Street Love hosted the Institute, giving participants the opportunity to see its day-to-day operations up close. Just as we do with clients at AKCG, PR Institute teams dove into the project and uncovered Broad Street Love’s opportunities for reputational growth. 

Building a Public Relations Plan 

At AKCG, our PR plans are built with bottom-line business goals in mind. As an Associate, I am most focused on executing the tactics my team develops to reach our clients’ reputational goals. This experience with PR Institute allowed me to exercise more of the strategic planning steps that we typically handle for AKCG clients. 

In building a public relations plan, a key first step is to conduct research to inform the plan’s objectives, strategies and tactics. Throughout the two months of the PR Institute, our team conducted the following research: 

• An in-depth interview with Kate Fox about the organization’s current position, priorities and definition of success.  

• An in-depth interview with an industry professional who had previously worked in partnership with Broad Street Love.  

• A competitive analysis breaking down the branding, services and revenue of other Philadelphia nonprofits.  

• A case study showcasing a successful public relations campaign from a similar organization, Project HOME.  

• Secondary research on the psychology behind donation choice.  

We concluded that Broad Street Love had a strong internal identity but that identity was not evident to the public and set the following goal for our proposed campaign: increase local awareness about Broad Street Love and convert that awareness into donations through careful, considerate storytelling.  

Next, we moved on to identifying target audiences. Based on our research, our team created two distinct audience profiles: a higher net worth donor with local political connections and a young middle-class professional with the desire to make a positive impact on the local community.  

Finally, we conducted PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Tech, Legal and Environmental) and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analyses to reinforce our research and highlight any external factors that may influence campaign results. 

From there, we created objectives, strategies and tactics in line with our overall strategic goal. Consistent with our lesson topics, we focused on earned media, social media, branding, risk management and metrics.  

We also created three ambitious but realistic “Big Ideas,” influenced by AKCG’s strategy of showing both understanding of client needs and innovative thinking.  

We produced deliverables to back up our tactics, including a media list, editorial calendar, social media posts and newsletter.  

Finally, we put everything together with a proposed budget, timeline and evaluation plan.  

Presenting a Public Relations Plan 

My team’s public relations plan was built upon hundreds of hours of work – all unbeknownst to the client. After all, a good PR plan is only as effective as its delivery.  

I’ve presented various content to clients as an Associate; still, presenting a plan to a client was a newer experience for me, and one that will only improve as I continue to grow as a practitioner. My team ran through our presentation multiple times, making sure we fell within the time limit while sharing all necessary information. We made sure to keep the tone casual but dove into the extent of our work. We backed up any questions that came our way with information from our plan, including a few curveball questions.  

The Bottom Line: We Won! 

Ultimately, our team created the winning public relations plan. Besides the bragging rights that come with winning, it was great to be able to apply my skillset toward a meaningful project while continuing to learn and grow.  

Some key skills I strengthened include: 

• Connecting a communications goal to appropriate objectives, strategies and tactics.  

• Conducting research to help formulate and back up a strategic plan.  

• Setting budgetary expectations.  

• Expressing the value of earned media when it is not always easily measured.  

• Hitting curveball questions and challenges.  

At AKCG, our team is encouraged to be curious and to grow our skillsets. Through opportunities like PR Institute, I have been able to hone my communications skills and develop professionally. 

My piece of advice – participate in “extracurriculars” in your field through local organizations such as PRSA and PPRA. This is a great way to build leadership experience and skills that will benefit you as you progress in your career.