As we sit in an era of rapid change and globalization, so should our communication efforts and approach.
Our guess of how PR tends to be generalised across other departments is that media coverage success automatically translates into brand recall or recognition? Or perhaps, we are only there to prepare ‘overly cautious statements’ on what one should be said or not in public. Truth?
- We’re not buying eyeballs, we guarantee the “Opportunity to see”.
What will garner attention outside of paid efforts? Perhaps something to care about and share? Naturally if you are within a segmented age group, or are interested in a certain topic, you will be more inclined to read and learn about the topic which concerns you. With the introduction of new media such as websites and mobile phones, traction and viewership will tend to take place more frequently. These “integrative communication devices” will undoubtedly increase the opportunity to see, but not necessarily the opportunity to care.
- Power beyond media relations.
We’re not ousting the traditional strategies of harnessing media relations efforts. That is still worth the weight of gold and still constitutes to our primary focus. Besides our primary role though, many businesses don’t understand the role that public relations play. A discourse according to Graham (2005) is composed of signs; and practices that systematically form the objects of which they speak. In practice, it structures our understanding on knowledge, social practice and shapes our views.
As such, knowing the diverse audiences and having the knowledge of a society’s culture, beliefs, values and attitudes will shape the way we translate our PR efforts. There is no use creating a PR campaign of a certain discourse, to influence a target audience outside of their relevance. So that’s where we come in to devising creative initiatives, and specially curating activities for our client’s objectives.
- We don’t carefully script everything but we take due caution in our approach.
Fine, you caught our bluff, we actually do prepare everything in advance and we would probably think of 101 ways to avert an issue. That’s what we’re here for yes? Our cautious approach means that we carefully script our responses. Results? Predictability and consistent outcomes.
Sure, globalisation has significantly changed the way PR practitioners communicate because of the increasing need to converse with diverse global publics. This is widely seen in today’s society where there is an increasing relevance in cross-national trading and communication, an example would be the BRexit situation (We’ll save that topic for another day). With the PR discipline becoming increasingly vital, our efforts have effectively synergized and integrated well with various macro-categories in the overall structure of a business.
- We want to be there for you.
Yes, you got that right. We want to be there for you. From the start of the creative process, to building traditional strategies and digital activations for our clients’ ultimate goals. Clients increasingly understand that communication is a multichannel process – digital and experiential spaces. When you have an overall idea, reaching all platforms beyond media would certainly amplify and accelerate the PR pace.
- The ultimate question, does it work?
Many a times, the common question we get is tracking the true benefits of PR, or the prospects of investing in a PR programme. Does it work? Well if you’re on the fence of quantifying other marketing tactics like advertising as to PR, there are many ways we quantify measurable results to meet our client’s expectations. Though not felt in full force or not yet considered an ‘overnight success’, PR still remains largely relevant, but demands a greater sensitivity to external cultural nuances because of the rootedness in certain perspectives and traditions, which imposes a style of communication approach.
To learn more about how PR can help you achieve your objectives, call us to find out more information.
By Keith Jonathan
Graham, L. J. (2005). Discourse analysis and the critical use of Foucault.