News Bulletin – August 06
Posted in News on July 31st, 2006Pondering about the future of Public Relations in Ireland
http://www.pkellypr.com/blog/2006/0606/pondering-about-the-future-of-public-relations-in-ireland/
When anyone ever mentions the future of Public Relations, the ensuing conversation typically revolves around the Internet and how it will affect our industry. In Ireland, the Internet might not immediately spring to mind, but words like blog and Bebo are slowly becoming part of our vocabulary.
The main challenge facing the Irish PR industry in my opinion though is the growing diversity in our society. The Central Statistics Office recently announced that there is an increase of 90,000 people working in the country. Of that 90,000, over half of the figure can be accounted for by foreign workers. These figures might seem like chump change to international readers of this website, but they are anything but insignificant to a nation that has a population of only four million people.
Apparently there are more languages spoken in Dublin than any other city in the world. Personally I don’t believe that, but all the same it does highlight a key challenge facing the public relations profession – the lack of diversity within our ranks. More importantly though, we have little knowledge about the multitude of communities popping up in our midst, so how are we meant to assist organisations to communicate with them?
Numerous publications are starting to appear to cater for these new audiences such as the Polski Herald, the Polish version of a leading Irish title, the Evening Herald. However, some of these publications are fly-by-nights and other are very difficult to liaise with from a PR perspective. Our industry can’t seem to communicate with media organisations that operate in our own native tongue Gaeilge, so the prospect of dealing with Chinese or Brasilian ones is quite daunting.
I hate saying it, but the Internet might just be a way of solving this particular problem. There’s so much hype about blogs, podcasts, etc, but there really doesn’t seem to be a better fit for communicating with the new entrants into our society. A lot of migrants use the Internet so they can keep in touch with their families at home.
Given that these workers are starting to spread out across the country rather than simply being stuck in Dublin, the Internet offers more of an efficient communications channel due to the fact that the cultural newsletters currently in existence don’t have the same distribution power as mainstream titles. However, we’ll start running into the same problems as many other industries due to the poor broadband infrastructure across the country.
Either way, it’s in our interests to help develop and form these channels. Not only so that we will be familiar with the medium, but also so we can forge closer links to the various communities and develop an understanding about them.
We still have to bear in mind the subtle differences between our cultures. For example, all the talk in Ireland around the Internet is about Bebo, the social networking website, which is far more popular here than MySpace, which many US teens use. If we are to go down the route of using the web to communicate with these audiences, we’ll need to learn how they use the net. For example, Bebo is a useless tool if trying to communicate with Brasilians as another social networking website, Orkut, is far more popular in that community.
Mediaforum.ie – Must read for those with an interest in the Irish media or communications industry
I don’t normally simply link to a new website I have begun to read, but in this instance I think www.mediaforum.ie deserves to be highlighted. Anyone involved in the communications industry in Ireland or that is interested in the Irish media should visit this website.
It was created as a space for balanced debate about the media in Ireland. Although it is relatively new, the few pieces of commentary already posted are indicative of the high quality to expect. Here are some of the highlights:
A variety of submissions as part of the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland’s consultation on a new Code of Programming Standards have been posted on the site. I found Comhlamh’s submission to be particularly interesting. It highlights the contrast in protecting the privacy of patients in hospitals in Ireland and developing countries.
Michael McMahon’s article ‘Technology vs Quality‘ is an insightful look at the future of TV and questions how and whether developments in technology are going to impact on the quality of programming available for us to actually watch?
I’m looking forward to seeing how the website develops and will be eagerly reading new articles if what has been posted thus far is indicative of the ongoing quality.
PR Is Just Smart Business
http://www.blizzardinformation.com/pr/pr_is_just_smart_business.php
The name of the game is doing our part to achieve manage- ment’s objectives. And public relations best practice – properly applied – does just that.
How? The driving force is public relations’ fundamental premise which promises to harness your most important external audiences in a way that actually helps reach those very same business objectives.
Just look at that premise: “People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving- to-desired-action those people whose behaviors affect the organization, the public relations mission is accomplished.”
It strongly suggests that without the understanding of who and what your organization is all about, the behaviors of those important external audiences may hinder your efforts and, left unattended, tie your organization in knots.
This sentence sums up the bottom line. When public relations alters key audience perceptions, then reaches, persuades and moves them to an action you desire, it clearly helps achieve management’s objectives.
Do you enjoy that kind of support? You can if you employ a program along these lines.
Decide at the start which outside audiences display behaviours that most impact your organization, and list them. We’ll concentrate here on that #1 external audience you believe has the greatest effect on your operations. Of course, other audiences may need your attention as well.
The obvious first step is to find out how members of that “public,” as we call them, actually perceive your organization. The best and quickest way to do this is to interact with those people and ask questions that probe their perceptions. Listen carefully for negative observations and remain alert to factual errors, inaccuracies, misperceptions and even rumours.
These responses enable you to create a public relations goal aimed directly at correcting the damaging perceptions, especially misconceptions and inaccuracies.
Now, you get to select one of three available opinion strategies that show you how you will reach your goal: create opinion where there may be none; change existing opinion, or reinforce it. Your public relations goal will lead you to the proper strategy selection.
The meat of the program is usually the message you will send to members of your target audience. After all, that message will be charged with the task of altering people’s perceptions, and that means it must be persuasive and compelling. It must also be as clear as possible, and contain the facts and figures needed to repair the perception damage. In short, your message must be believable. You might also run it by a few members of your target audience to be sure it has the desired effect on the perception you are striving to alter.
Moving your message to many members of your #1 external audience requires aggressive and carefully targeted communications tactics. Public relations is fortunate to have dozens of such tactics from which to choose. For example, radio and newspaper interviews, letters-to-the-editor, face-to- face meetings and speeches. Or you might select tactics such as facility tours, brochures, community meetings, special events and promotional activity.
In due course, after your communications tactics have spread your message far and wide, you will want to know if you are making any progress. Experience shows that remonitoring your target audience is a must.
You will want to ask the same questions of audience members you used during your data gathering exercise at the start of the program.
Your objective, however, will be different. Now, you will be looking for signs that the offending perception has begun to be altered in the direction you desire. Should more work be necessary, a possible change in the mix and frequency of your communications tactics can be made. And, of course, you would want to review your message for clarity, impact and direction, especially with regard to your supporting facts and figures.
Because we know that predictable behaviors tend to follow changes in perception, your carefully planned public relations effort is well-positioned to create key audience support for management initiatives.
Advertising and PR
http://www.blizzardinformation.com/exhibitions/advertising_and_pr.php
What Is The Difference Between Advertising and PR? Advertising and PR are two different functions, however, many business do not know the difference. Since spending your advertising budget and your PR budget effectively is crucial, how can you expect to accomplish this important goal unless you understand the difference?
When thinking of advertising, billboards, glossy spreads, quarter-page newspaper advertisements and other forms of highly visible promotional material comes to mind. This is clearly advertising. Branding or creating a well-recognized presence for your company is a clear example of effective advertising. Business cards with pizzazz are a form of advertising.
What, then, is PR? Public relations are those things that must be accomplished to let the world know who you are and what your company offers. Press releases, news conferences, professional networking and exhibitions or trade shows are examples of PR work. PR is not as flashy as advertising but it is every bit as important. Effective Advertising and PR In today’s competitive marketplace, it is crucial to spend every bit of your advertising and PR budget strategically. Public relations can provide a mix that uses advertising but also enhances the efforts of your advertising dollar.
It has long been a “supposed fact” in business that word of mouth is the best advertising. This is not necessarily true. It is an unfortunate fact that a customer who has an exceptional experience dealing with your
business will tell one or two people about their experience. A customer who has a bad experience will tell at least a dozen people and your business gets negative advertising.
Word of mouth is, however, one of the most effective PR tools available. Offering school tours, sponsoring science fairs or children’s’ sports teams, volunteering for public speaking opportunities, attending trade shows or presenting at conferences are rather inexpensive ways to build a wealth of good will and put your name out front.
Have you noticed that television commercials for a product often run a 15 to 30 second advertisement of a really great advertisement and within a few weeks shorten the advertisement to the most important 5 to 10 seconds? The reason is that the initial advertising is meant to brand the product or service and associate the advertisement and the product or service in your mind. It works very well – provided you have really memorable advertisements.
The PR industry needs to use Social Media to develop, rather than to simply make money.
One of the most frustrating things about reading PR blogs is that most commentators talk about how the profession has changed overnight, rather than pointing out that it is evolving like other industries. It is claimed that if we don’t adapt and embrace new trends like word-of-mouthing marketing in its various guises such as blogs or consumer evanglism, then we will go out of business…at least that’s what some people would like us to believe.
This might hold true were it not for the fact that we aren’t fully at grips with existing mediums of communications such as print or broadcast media. While social media offers a new way to communicate with different audiences, PR professionals should also use the Internet to improve their skills, not simply to make some extra money. For example, I’ve never seen the inside of a newsroom. Thanks to the Spokesman-Review in the US, I can watch editorial meetings after the paper took the decision to streaming the meetings live online.
Some people say that every PR consultancy should start blogging and offer Social Media services to all their clients. I still insist that Social Media tools aren’t for everyone and they should be used where appropriate. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be reading blogs or following podcasts, etc where they helps us develop as professionals. The Spokesman-Review’s editorial meetings is just one example of this. Every junior that enters the PR industry should be forced to watch them as part of their training and development in order to gain a better understanding of how the media work. If we don’t learn from the past then we’re doomed to keep making the same mistakes in the future.
