It frustrates me just a tad when I come across a businessperson who doesn’t quite get PR or even worse, writes it off as marketing. Then commences my passionate lecture on the value of PR and difference between marketing and advertising which everyone is so familiar with. Of course, my frustration will not be detected and you wouldn’t even know you received a lecture.
In essence, public relations is about managing perceptions… establishing mutually beneficial relationships between an organisation on the one hand, and specific people on the other. This managing of perceptions and building of relationships can only happen through communication. It is here that the science of PR meets the art. PR’s most valuable contribution to an organisation’s success lies in its ability to create and innovate.
Sorry dudes, but marketing and advertising on its own is so yesterday. These days anyone can not only smell an ad miles away, but are prone to ignoring it. People want to express, want to be listened to, want to engage in what is being offered. And with social networks evolving our communication platforms like never before, we find connection in unprecedented ways. Gone are the days of “business as usual”.
Designer PR calls for the taking of risks, authenticity, adaptability, innovation and creation… the very stuff that keeps us moving forward. Can the business of today really afford to miss this boat?
(Pic: http://is.gd/gur4R)
