End of the road for motor industry PR - or time to step up a gear?  That's the proposition addressed by speakers at the 2009 MIPAA Business Academy PR Masterclass at the London Transport Museum.

Feedback from the Masterclass has been fantastic - with most attendees rating it 5 out of 5 for meeting expectations and value for money (averages: 4.5 + 4.8) and everyone saying they would recommend future workshops. 

Special praise for the day came for Paul Willis, Director, Centre for Public Relations Studies, Leeds Business School, whose academic perspective highlighted the challenges and opportunities facing PR today.  Access the speakers' presentations by logging in to the members' area - or check out our report of the day which follows: 

The MIPAA PR Masterclass is intended to be one day in the year when members can take time out from the day job and reflect on the bigger picture of their function and where the profession is heading.  This year, MIPAA chairman, Gabi Whitfield introduced an impressive line-up of keynote speakers with different perspectives on the future of motor industry PR:

The impact of the rise in online communications: strategic opportunity or the death of PR?		What's wrong with automotive PR? - a media perspective		Adapt or die – do PR practitioners have the skills to survive?		What do CEOs want? – the perspective on PR from top leadership
Rowan Stanfield of C&M		Gavin Green, motoring journalist		Paul Willis, Director, Centre for Public Relations Studies, Leeds Business School		Joe Greenwell, Ford of Europe chairman – and Ford of Europe vice president, governmental affairs
Rowan underlined the effectiveness of online expertise  by reference to the value of metrics as a research tool and to measure of PR’s effectiveness online.  She believes a new online service offering is required to lead clients in a New Media landscape - a thought-provoking presentation.  See Rowan's blog post: http://tr.im/p50W		This was the ultimate “customer review” as Gavin had sought the input from half a dozen other top motoring writers to add to his own insightful opinions.  Naming names, he revealed the good and bad of motor industry PR – and having spent time working “on the dark side” in PR at Jaguar, he spoke from a clear position of understanding the challenges.  Trust and relationships were the keywords – with a parting thought that the best PRs are getting better and the worst are getting worse.		Paul presented lots of evidence supporting PR as a strategic management function – his prerequisite for survival.  He argued that PR had a role to play in terms of an organisation’s societal and corporate strategy – not least in the face of four key drivers in the current zeitgeist that are a threat and an opportunity for PR.		As that all too rare breed – a CEO with a PR background, Joe provided a real understanding of what value PR can bring at the highest level. Identifying himself as a champion of PR, demonstrated how the support of senior executives is secured  by demonstrating PR's value in managing the reputation and establishing leadership positions for both the CEO and the organisation.

MIPAA's thanks go to the speakers for meeting the challenge of provoking members to think outside the day job and to the participants for adding to the debate and further stimulating thought.

If you missed the PR Masterclass, check out our programme of MIPAA Business Academy workshops for 2009/10 which will build on this great insight into the fast track ahead.