It's been a while since we first discussed this topic here and I think it's time it returned. I have toiled in Public Relations for around 95 years now and it still seems as if most of my friends — not to mention immediate family — have an innate trouble understanding exactly what I do. When I am speaking about a media interview, say on television, they assume I’m on camera. When I say I am working with a newspaper reporter on story, they ask me why my clients don’t just advertise in the publication because: ”PR and advertising are the same, right?” If it's a blogger I am helping with a post, they ask why I'm not the name on the homepage!
Many share these misconceptions because advertisements are familiar to them (thanks Mad Men) and PR is not. (In the new Hank Azaria show Free Agents , he works as a "publicist" but it's a prop--and it'll be gone in a few weeks.) Our friends and family definitely see that when a company wants people to know about a product or service they buy an ad in a magazine or piece together a TV commercial.
They anticipate ads aired during the Super Bowl and are aware how many millions are bet on these; most wait in anticipation to see and mock these less-than-creative spots during the event and then read nonstop chatter on which ads made the biggest impression. They understand advertising, but they don’t for the life of them get that the hype surrounding those ads is pure PR.
Shortly after starting in the trade, pre-Internet, a lady I knew told me that she could no longer watch cable news or read a periodical to relax and unwind. She claimed every time something came she found herself comparing the piece to her clients; thinking about stories that covered topics of interest; looking at mastheads and bylines for reporters that may be covering a new beat; listening or watching for ways to phrase a message or shoot B-roll footage.
She decided – not me – that advertising folks had it “easy” and that the primary difference between the disciplines is the position of the word placement (ahem). In some weird way she felt that advertisers have it easier because they “place ads” (place being the first word of the phrase). PR folks have to “secure placements,” indicating the intense upfront work required to get that secured.
She resented what we did and claimed it had little value and that the advertisers were America’s clear favorite. She whined a lot.
I explained that while advertising is more socially accepted among consumers and businesses, PR is more beneficial for those companies that did it right and for the consumers they targeted. [This lesson took some time to drive home.]
Through PR we do paint a bigger picture of the product, service or issue at hand. In the science of advertising, the time and space through which a company can communicate is limited to 30 seconds or a few column inches. Consumers view an ad and might consider it funny or clever, but if asked probably can't remember the product or service — just the awesome tagline or over-the-top graphics. In contrast, when the same consumers read an article in a newspaper, they remember the problem and the solution; experts quoted, and the publication in which the article appeared.
That’s power.
PR is also more than ever about education. As professionals, our job is to teach the media and the consumer (once we get to them) about a differentiator they are not aware of. More crucial to our economic safety is to educate our clients and/or bosses on why we make the choices we do and why subtlty works more than slapping people over the head.
We communicate with editors and reporters and bloggers and podcasters and bigmouths on behalf of folks who pay us. They should learn our process--and perhaps our Moms should too: We explain, forecast, and spot trends to see what the next big thing will be in technology, healthcare, fashion, politics or other buzzworthy topics. We build relationships with the media and others based not on the number of ads we buy but through accurate, honest, timely and relevant information (and education) provided by the professionals. No strings attached, except maybe a tweet in return!
PR is not about impressing people with witty taglines or state-of-the-art multi-media wizardly; it is not about entertainment or pizzazz. PR provides knowledge through which our targets can make decisions.
I’m glad it took me 95 years to figure this out. Do you get it now, Mom?
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Do you think PR as an industry is coming under threat form the likes of social media or will there always be a need for it? I am seeing a lot of PR agencies having to rethink themselves as print and traditional media comes under threat,
ReplyDeleteI think this business has to evolve but it's still about pitching. In the end everyone is selling something. We just have to learn to whom we are aiming at! That seems to be the problem with many PR firms that haven't gotten the memo yet ("interoffice," yet).
ReplyDeleteThere's much that people don't understand. There's the assumption from some of those who do understand a bit that PR=media relations solely, and of course that's not the case. Many people ask me what I publish when I tell them I'm a publicist. Some people think I spend all my time wining and dining.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, when I'm making small talk with people I'll never see again (like on vacation) I just don't want to explain what a publicist does, I just say I'm a kindergarten teacher.
kama, I'm sure sometimes you do feel like a Kindergarten teacher. I always tell people I work in PR and if they don't get it I say "Puerto Rico." Try it!
ReplyDeleteAs a young professional, new to the field, I’m surprised at the number of blank stares I get when I say I work in PR. I don't usually bother to elaborate.
ReplyDeleteTo Niall’s question, I think that there will always be a distinction between PR and advertising. Consumers will always seek out some form of media, and earned placements within that media is what PR will strive for. The medium isn’t the point. Traditional vs. social media doesn’t matter. People are skeptical about advertising, and they will always seek out people and stories. As mentioned in the original post, PR is about the bigger picture, putting the world into context for people. And like Richard said, we just need to evolve.