| I can't tell you the number of times I've had clients, and | | | | of when they rather scornfully call public relations "spin." |
| sometimes employers, expect me, as a public relations | | | | But that's not what spin means. Spin means twisting |
| professional, to perform marketing and advertising | | | | reality to conform to a business' perception of itself. |
| activities. My answer was always, "OK." | | | | That's not what I'm talking about. I say, be who you |
| Maybe I should have educated them. Nah. As a | | | | are, and if you don't like who you are, change yourself, |
| freelance professional who got paid by the hour, or as | | | | not the public's perception. That's not to say that you |
| an employee who depended on her paycheck, I | | | | can't put a little eau de toilette behind your company's |
| figured, in this case, ignorance really was bliss. But now | | | | ears, or spritz a little Binaca around your latest product |
| that I don't depend on my freelance income or an | | | | introduction to get rid of its burrito breath, but for the |
| employee paycheck any more, I'll let you in on a little | | | | most part, honesty really is the best policy. Of course, it |
| secret: there is a big difference between these | | | | may be (and often is) the case that the public's |
| functions. | | | | negative perception is wrong. Da-da-ta-da! Public |
| Unlike marketing and advertising, public relations does | | | | relations to the rescue! |
| not attempt to sell but to convey information that will | | | | Public relations professionals begin to improve a |
| ultimately benefit the organization in one of three ways: | | | | negative perception by first uncovering the perception |
| 1) It will create or improve the public identity of an | | | | through market research, communications audits, polls, |
| organization, its products or services | | | | and surveys. It may be that QRS doesn't know why |
| 2) It will differentiate the organization (or its products or | | | | its sales have declined. An audit will help answer that |
| services) from its competitors | | | | question. |
| 3) It will position an organization (or its products or | | | | Once the negative perception is identified, PR pros |
| services) within its marketplace | | | | make sure that all public messages from that business |
| Let's look at how public relations creates or improves | | | | directly target (or negate) that negative perception. |
| the public identity of an organization. | | | | Remember your math: two negatives make a positive. |
| To create an identity, PR pros simply have to raise the | | | | Need an example? Let's say QRS sells rivets for |
| level of awareness of a company and do it in such a | | | | designer jeans. Their clients are the jean |
| way that when people hear the company name - let's | | | | manufacturers; their target audience includes these |
| call them QRS; XYZ is so over - they think, "Oh, yeah. | | | | manufacturers, trade publications for the denim |
| They sell rivets." Even better, when they think of rivets, | | | | industry, and rivet analysts (if there are such people). |
| they think of QRS. | | | | QRS discovers through an audit that there is a |
| PR pros raise visibility through systematically and | | | | perception that their rivets fall off. This perception is |
| strategically getting the company's name and products | | | | wrong. Through "independent, scientific research" |
| in front of the right people. The methods they use | | | | (where do they keep all these unfettered lab jockeys |
| depend on the audience, the client's wishes and the | | | | anyway?), QRS knows that its rivets have a 2 |
| client's budget: PR plans, press releases, press | | | | percent better "stick" than any other rivet |
| conferences, trade shows, direct mail campaigns, | | | | manufacturer out there. So the PR pros have their |
| media tours, special events, newsletters, brochures, | | | | assignment: communicate this fact to the target |
| and a whole host of other methods. We don't need to | | | | audience. They do this through the same methods we |
| spend more time on that because we still haven't | | | | discussed above: press releases, special events, trade |
| discussed the "improve" part of this first function: | | | | shows, etc. |
| create or improve the identity of an organization. | | | | Sounds pretty simple, and it is. It just takes a little |
| The "improve" part is what a lot of people are thinking | | | | investigating, and a lot of communicating. |