The importance of knowing why
I receive many weekly updates and listserv messages about current events in public relations. Two of the most common entries are news about people who are being recruited from one organization to another, and which companies are being hired by different clients. In light of the readings this week, what occurs to me is that these high-profile people and firms must really understand the psychology and communication processes underlying effective public relations management.
Let’s begin with a simple example where some agencies are now re-focusing on providing creative solutions for their clients rather than deliverables – ads, events, and so forth. In the Washington Post was “Advertising's New Idea: Don't Push the Product; Pull the Consumer Instead”. The concept is not new but the application is very innovative, changing the consulting agency’s relationship with clients. Naked Communications “has nothing invested in any particular solution and nothing to gain by telling its clients to spend more rather than less, its pitch is that it can offer the least-biased, most-cost-effective solutions. The message resonates with companies dissatisfied by the payoff from traditional advertising” (¶5). These non-traditional agencies represent a new audience that requires a new way of looking at communication and communication processes in order to effectively solve a client’s problem or meet an opportunity. Obviously, advertising is focused on persuasion, so it’s a little different.
How will these agencies impact the traditional public relations agency - or will they?
Do you think there are any of the theories or approaches in this week’s readings that are more important to consider from this perspective? What other questions did you have from the readings that we should discuss as a group?
posted by prteacher @ 9/24/2006 05:15:00 PM
5 Comments:
I’m probably going against the grain by saying that I think it’s a great idea. What company wouldn’t jump on paying an agency based on how well their company profits? And since when is it a bad idea to try to come up with new and innovative ways to reach people? With media changing, I think that the concepts and approaches for reaching the target publics must change as well – magazine ads and TV spots just won’t cut it anymore with the ever-growing electronic age.
If we look at the diffusing information, the agencies that are joining with Naked Communications and others are clearly innovators (Cutlip, Center and Broom, 2006, p. 205). I agree with Lakeisha that public relations professionals would be an asset to this type of company because they can bring much needed experience and expertise in understanding the different methods of reaching their publics.
With so many public relations focusing on marketing PR, the battle for the fields between public relations and advertising isn’t something new nor will it be a quick fade away. Advertising and public relations have a similar body of theory, which is basically to persuade people, change their attitudes and opinions, and finally alter behaviors. Since both practice of field roots down to communication backgrounds, many concepts overlap.
The main theme for Naked Communications and other innovative advertising agencies focus on providing “consulting information” to reach market consumers most efficiently via appropriate media channels. The world has changed since the first concept of advertising appeared. Hence, this new transform of an advertising agency to an “effective communications consulting agency” was bound to happen sooner or later.
However, this phenomenon is not a threat to public relations practitioners. Like Lakeisha pointed out, effective communication vitally links with in-depth research of the publics, environmental issues, media coverage and so forth. Public relations practitioners indeed have been well aware of this, given the amount of time we focus on situation analysis and literature reviews. Furthermore, the concept of “public” is still vague for advertising people: it’s “consumers” for crying out loud!
All in all, the consulting provided by “innovative advertising agencies” is likely to lack genuine intentions: they focus on “pulling the consumer”, not “building relationships and managing organizations.” Advertising was meant to be providing persuasion information
So consumers will buy the product. Public relations is about maintaining beneficial relationships. Solutions lacking in-depth background information of the publics are bound to be one-time. This sounds rather as an opportunity for PR people to shine.
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Thoroughly designed communication counts, but what about the obviousness?
My comment is somewhat irrelevant to the topic that Dr. Robinson raised in her posting, however, I though this might be worth having a close look in regards to this week’s reading. The two articles are about the issues around Natascha Kampusch, Austrian kidnap victim who turned media sensation. (FYI, Natascha Kampusch was abducted at the age of 10 and remained in custody of her kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil, for more than eight years, until she escaped on 23 August 2006.) These two articles tell in detail that she is fully supported by the public relations professionals before and during every occasion of public appearance.
FROM PRISONER TO MEDIA STAR-Natascha Kampusch's Eager Helpers (SPIEGEL magazine, Germany)
Natascha picks PR to market her story (The Sunday Times, UK)
Dietmar Ecker, a public relations professional who is working for Natascha, tells in the interview with SPIEGEL magazine that they have thoroughly designed the communication process: what message or image of Natascha should present; what channel they utilize to expose her story; what kind of impression they expect from the receiver. It is very interesting to read what he says about the mechanisms of sensational events. He tells when the public starts to lose their attention and when public opinion takes shape. He reveals every process and strategy of public communication. (¶ 17, 18)
Now, here’s my question: Is it safe to say out loud and reveal the strategy? Certainly, thoroughly designed communication counts, but what about the obviousness? Wouldn’t it have a negative impact on communication effectiveness when the beans are spilled?
Non-traditional advertising agencies are finding creative ways to reach an increasingly unreceptive audience. I believe this new advertising focus will have several repercussions on public relations. Some of the non-traditional advertising agencies mentioned that they charge for their services based on measurable outcome they contributed to the client’s bottom line, rather than simply billing by the hour. This may encourage more demand for bottom line measurements of public relations contribution to an organization, which can be difficult to gauge. Because public relations is (hopefully) less focused on the one size fits all campaign rut that some advertising agencies were stuck in, I don’t know that we will see a great upsurge in non-traditional public relations firms. I hope that as professionals, we recognize that solutions must be tailored to individual clients. As the target audience for many organizations shifts to Generation X, Generation Y, the Millennials and beyond, I wonder if we will see increased demand for public relations practitioners to function more in an activist role. I also believe that the technician role will have to change to keep up with the new media revolution to ensure that we are effectively reaching our audience.
The theory that seems most applicable to this new idea of consulting is Communication Effects and the idea of helping to construct the way an organization is perceived. Going forward, I believe there will be a greater focus on corporate social and financial responsibility. Public relations professionals will be key communicating to publics the ways in which their client is maintaining high ethical standards, with regards to both their investors and the environment around them.
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