Top Hat Founder Receives Accreditation in Public Relations (APR)

We are proud to announce that our Founder & Head of Client Success, Ben Butler, has received his Accreditation in Public Relations (APR). This is the public relations industry’s only post-graduate certification and is held by less than 20-percent of practitioners.

Also by doing so, he has earned the privilege of adding APR after his name.

“I can’t even begin to express my excitement to share this announcement,” said Butler. “This is, and will always be, one of the top highlights of my career.”

About APR

The APR accreditation program was founded in 1964 by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and is governed by the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB). It seeks to measure a professional’s knowledge and application of communication theory by measuring 14 key competency areas:

Research (Concepts)
Research (Application)
Analytical Skills
Strategic Thinking
Planning
Audience Identification
Diversity
Implementation
Evaluation of Communications Programs
Integrity
Ethical Behavior
First Amendment Issues
Privacy Issues
Other Legal Matters

About Ben Butler, APR

In his communications career, Butler has served as a marketing and public relations practitioner for a motorsports complex, national vice president of public relations for the Public Relations Student Society of America, director of inbound partnerships for GuavaBox, an inbound marketing agency and head of communications for DoInbound, a software startup. He brings these diverse experiences to lead the charge here at Top Hat as client services director.

As part of our high-communication client servicing model, the Head of Client Success manages all client relations from first contact from final fulfillment.

About Top Hat

We’re an award-winning, fully integrated marketing communications firm in Pittsburgh. We help our clients understand their ideal customers and embrace that knowledge to build compelling brands, digital destinations and laser-focused communications strategies. The result? Outrageous success.

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