FPRA - Florida Public Relations Association Blog

This lunch was definitely interactive. Each table was a different topic and conference attendees had the opportunity to choose which discussion topic they wanted to participate in. I chose “Turning Competition into Collaboration – Building Relationships that Matter” led by Dee Zulauf, APR. In the PR field, building and maintaining relationships and collaborations is extremely important. Below are some of the positives, negatives and suggestions this group discussed.

• Relationships can be determined in the first 30 second, so first impressions are important.
• Reasons for collaborations may be fundraising, membership, etc.
• Some keys to creating collaboration:
- Finding organizations with common goals, objectives, publics, etc.
- Remember not to think about everyone else as a “competitor.”
- Like PR, collaborations are two-way relationships.
- Pairing logos together on publicity pieces can help build confidence among organizations collaborating.
- First step is more informal, individual meetings (with the organizations you want to collaborate with) and then formalize the process.
- Determine what creates the resistance against the collaborations (from the other organization as well as your own).
- Dispel fears.
- Make the effort mutually beneficial.
- Keep the enthusiasm and excitement.
- Remember not all collaborations work.
- Remember it’s a time-consuming process.
- Determine whether an informal or formal collaboration is better (based on the situation and the organizations involved).
- Specifically define the collaboration and communicate.
- You have to work on the image of the collaboration before you can move forward with a successful relationship.
- Remember that (when initiating a collaboration) you may have to take the lead. And yes, that means you may have to do most of the work (at least in the beginning).
- If it does not work the first time, keep trying and don’t.