Taking PR to the Streets

Mannequins dressed in designer clothes…coming to life…holding laptops…walking through New York.

It may sound a little strange at first, but these were the components of Sony’s brilliant PR campaign “Mannequins take to the street” to promote its new VAIO Lifestyle PC.

Just take a look at this video to see it in action:

The mannequins made their way to nine different locations in the Manhattan area, spending the final two days of this ten day campaign in Bryant Park for fashion week.

Even though this spectacle was short-lived, I think it’s safe to say that it definitely made a huge impression. It’s creative, shocking, weird and cool….basically, it has the elements of a great PR campaign.

A Girl in the PR World

Have you ever wondered just how some PR practitioners got their jobs? What types of internships did they complete to get prepared for the PR world? How did they set themselves apart from all of the other job applicants?

Janna, now a PR practitioner at Thornley Fallis, talks about her journey into public relations in her post “A PR Girl’s Beginnings – Part 1 – How I Got Here” on the PR Girlz blog. She did not have any public relations experience or knowledge about social media, yet she was still savvy and creative enough to set herself out from the crowd and get the job – a lesson that we could all learn from in these rough times!

PR Girlz is a collective blog from the women who work at Thornley Fallis, a communications and public relations agency in Canada. Their posts cover a range of topics – from public relations current affairs to defeating the traditional stereotypes of what a PR girl does.

It is both fun and informative to read what these women have to say about their lives in the PR world, and this blog is definitely a must-read for females looking to pursue a career in public relations. Check it out!

Too Good To Be True?

We’re living in a tough economy these days, and companies are searching for new and innovative public relations strategies to help themselves out in any way that they can. Following this trend, Dr. Pepper announced last March that “everyone in America” would get a free Dr. Pepper if the new Guns N’ Roses album was released in 2008. It was a brilliant campaign that caught the attention of many, but it seems that it was just too good to be true. With frustrated customers and angry Guns N’ Roses band members, this public relations campaign that had so much potential has now turned Dr. Pepper into the bad guy. Check out this blog post from Jeremy Story of Story + Welch Strategic Public Relations to learn more about this public relations mishap.

The Power of PR

I was recently doing some reading for my gender communication class, and I came across an intriguing statement in my textbook. In Gendered Lives, Julia T. Wood states, “Advertising is very effective in convincing us that we need products to solve problems we are unaware of until some public relations campaign persuades us that something natural about us is really unnatural and unacceptable.” That really made me wonder about some things.

Would people be so afraid of aging if the public relations efforts for products like Botox and cosmetic procedures had not pervaded our society? Would individuals be so concerned with being skinny if we were not constantly hearing about the diets celebrities are using? I understand that public relations can do great things for people and companies, and it can form mutually beneficial relationships when done correctly. However, there are still many instances where the motives are questionable. Public relations practitioners have the ability to change people’s perceptions and opinions about many things, and we can only hope that they will make use of this power responsibly.

Chapter 9 Reading Notes

 

• A tactic is a public relations action developed to have a particular effect on an organization’s relationship with a specific public.

• Both messages and channels can be tactics. Typically, a tactic is a channel that has a message.

• A message can be sent through various channels including special events, controlled media, and uncontrolled media.

• In controlled media, we control the words, the images, when the message is sent, and how often it is repeated. We do not have power over these factors with uncontrolled media (usually news media).

• PR practitioners focus on six elements as they execute tactics: delegation, deadlines, quality control, communication within the team, communication with clients or supervisors, and constant evaluation.

Chapter 8 Reading Notes

• A good plan always starts with good research.

• There are three main types of public relations plans:
  • Ad hoc plan – an important but temporary plan
  • Standing plan – an on-going and long-term plan
  • Contingency plan - created for “what if” situations

• The reasons we plan:
  • To advance our organization toward the achievement of its values-based goals
  • To control the destiny of an organization through proactive measures
  • To show us what we know and what we do not
  • To obtain consensus and commitment on issues
  • To effectively use resources to help the organization fulfill its mission

• A written public relations plan has three components:
  • Goals
  • Objectives
  • Tactics

• In order to “sell” a public relations plan, it can be transformed into a larger and more informative document called a proposal.

Chapter 7 Reading Notes

 

• Today’s public relations practitioners are recognizing the importance of being able to apply numerical figures to the evaluations of their efforts. Documentation from a research perspective helps to validate their work.

• Research and evaluation are closely linked in the public relations process. They address the issues of what we think we know and what we don’t know.

• Developing a research strategy involves asking two questions:
  • What do I want to know?
  • How will I gather that information?

• Four major categories of public relations research exist:
  • Client research
  • Stakeholder research
  • Problem-opportunity research
  • Evaluation research
• Research can be defined as formal (gives an accurate view of reality) or as informal (gives an accurate view of some portion of reality). There are also five research practices often used by public relations practitioners:
  • Secondary (library) research
  • Feedback research
  • Communication audits
  • Focus groups
  • Survey research

Chapter 3 Reading Notes

 

• The development of what we know as public relations today stemmed from social trends that occurred in our nation.

• The ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights was a vital event for the history of public relations because it is what allowed us to have the freedom of expression that we take full advantage of today.

• People of the past shaped what PR is today. Lee added credibility and ethics to the realm of public relations, while Bernays gave the discipline a name.

• Public relations practitioners have become more visible to the general public in recent times.

Lessons From PR History

 

Knowing about the history of public relations, or any profession for that matter, makes one more informed to participate in that area. The text talked about how Theodore Roosevelt took the initiative to create ties with reporters and made conscious efforts to influence what would be considered news. This demonstrated how clever PR tactics throughout history have had the ability to make or break someone who is a public figure, even before it was formally referred to as public relations. Another interesting example was the instance where Ralph Nader worked to change how GM operated. This incident provided proof that the previous one-way communication concept of PR was changing and that people did have the growing power to influence businesses and government organizations. We learn from the past experiences of others to see what worked and what did not.

PR history also teaches us how the profession got to the point that it is at today. By understanding why public relations came about and how attitudes about it have changed over time, one can have a better understanding of the importance of public relations and how it should ideally be carried out in an attempt to keep the peace while maintaining ethical standards. The realm of public relations was developed because public opinion became important, and public relations has stood the test of time because public opinion is an issue that has maintained its significance and influence.

Skills Needed in Public Relations

 

Before I went looking for PR job ads, I knew I would find a lot with the usual list of skills needed. Being able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing, having experience with basic computer programs, and being organized are qualifications for many jobs out there. However, reading about the necessary skills for a job in public relations revealed just how demanding this profession can be.

Some of the skills that stuck out to me included:

• Be self-motivated to complete tasks
• Ability to develop and maintain relationships
• Proactive approach to the job
• Ability to be an active team-player
• Be comfortable in a fast-paced environment
• Possess strong problem solving skills

Looking at job ads made it very evident that working in public relations is tough work. Individuals must possess excellent communication skills, meet strict deadlines, often work without much supervision, and do it all while remaining composed in a fast-paced industry. I do think that I possess a lot of the skills that PR employers are looking for. I’m very good at motivating myself to get things done in a timely manner. I am also skilled at working well with others in the workplace. At my internship this past summer, there were three event interns and we worked on almost every project together. It takes a little getting used to at first, but it turned out to be a good learning experience. There are also some skills that I could improve on. I can always work at advancing my problem solving abilities, and I think that it would take some time for me to get adjusted to working in such a fast-paced industry.

Preparation is key to being successful in the dynamic PR world, and I think that this class will definitely make me more prepared for such situations if I choose to go into the realm of public relations. My past internships taught me a lot about getting ready to go out into the workplace, and I am quite sure that my initial jobs after graduation will teach me much more as well. I think that I will benefit the most through any real world experience that I get. By keeping up with what is going on in PR and what potential employers are seeking as well, I think that I can keep myself informed and make improvements that will make me a qualified candidate.