It has been frustrating for me as a business owner when I work with people who only have PR backgrounds, people who have often been referred to as “gurus” in the field, yet arrive with of a lack of practical business sense.

Understanding the importance of cash flow, sales cycles and keeping sustainable practices in business should be a part of a PR professionals background.

If a PR person or entity does not understand that, I value the advice I get a lot less.

On the point of education, well, the world moves too fast to expect much from a school in any area of media. Media professionals, including those in PR, have to be people that are proven fast learners with a passion for development, and fresh strategy.

PR to a large extent is an ability to interpret social trends and translate them into a friendly message. Therefore I’d rather have someone that came with that natural ability and a background in commerce, or and entrepreneurial spirit.

Creative is king in PR, and as far as I have witnessed, being creative is an ability that is developed over a lifetime, not a few years in College.

Social Media has toppled old practices in a few years, and the communications platforms we are using now, and will be using in the future combined with the heightened public access to information because of web 2.0, are shaping new constructs for what good PR is daily — Fact is — This comment board is a perfect example of how we evolving right now –

The confusion between a publicist, someone who acts as mediators for the media, and a professional who helps build ‘public relationships’ still remains. It’s a legacy of mass media, advertising, and many major PR agencies themselves, I believe.

Having worked client side in PR I have always had to argue the case in business terms that the rest of the organisation speaks. However, having worked with many global agency PRs I am not yet convinced of their ability to meet the challenge.

However, I do believe that PR as a discipline is best placed to meet the challenges in social media today IF, and it’s a big ‘if’, PR can get it’s head out of the mass media relations headset and start talking in a way that clients recognise as adding value to business goals. I talk a little about this on my blog post here: http://tinyurl.com/nr5nnf

The next few years will be very interesting indeed!

Steve Seager
Online pr and communications consultant
The Netherlands

PR (Communications) whatever we want to title it will remain robust as long as we facilitate a better understanding and appreciation for what we do, our clients and represent them with clarity, conciseness and honesty. If we continue to do that, it will help debunk the prevailing myths and demistify the process. After all, good PR is not rocket science – but it does require a lot of knowledge on a lot of interrelated disciplines which include business, politics,sociology and psychology – beyond media communications.

Joe Troxler
Communications & Media Consultant
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

We said, “Great! We can recommend a publicist. That’s not what we do.”

If we’re not affecting our client’s business growth (and there IS a way to do it through communication), we’re doing our entire industry a disservice.

I agree with what Mr. Yann said about our industry needing to focus a lot more on advocacy, however I also think that western countries should take a close look at how PR in the Middle East and Mediterranean (etc.) countries has evolved, because advocacy and badvocacy is what has driven the industry to grow so fast and spill over international borders with so much ease.

@OmniPax

Thanks for weighing in with your perspective and for sharing a little about what’s going on behind the scenes at PRSA. It’s appreciated!

Within too many organizations and integrated marketing agencies, PR is often undervalued. Some executives seem to think PR stands for Press Release and that’s about it. During my career I’ve overheard or been involved in conversations about that topic and many times. Usually it involves us complaining about others not getting it. I wrote this post to point out two things:

1. We don’t always help our own cause in turning around that mindset. I understand why some marketing types view PR with a less than stellar lens because I’ve seen the PR people with whom they work in action.

2. We can identify areas that we have control over where we can step up our game to show the value we bring, versus just complaining about it not being appreciated.

Whether we’re talking about the broader value PR brings to the table or just media relations, though, I think we’d all agree that there is always room for improvement. And that, while some are ridiculously talented, many others just do what it takes to skate by while complaining that PR is held in better regards.

Thanks again!

Great post (regardless of what PRDaily says).

There are a few things that the public relations industry should be asking its professionals:

– When someone asks, “What do you do for a living?” can you explain it clearly and concisely?

– Are you frustrated by references that equate public relations to publicity?

– Do you correct those who refer to our craft as spin, our professionals as flacks, and our currency as misrepresentation and disinformation?

More so than ever before, the perception and comprehension of public relations are suffering. But at the same time, public relations is more vital than ever before, given the explosion of consumer engagement through new and social media, the collapse of reputation and trust in major institutions, and the evolving needs and concerns of corporate CEOs.

One of the things that PRSA is working on is an industry advocacy program to foster more accurate and better-informed internal and external perceptions of public relations’ roles, outcomes, and value. The effort will be aimed at changing attitudes and driving industry acceptance and growth.

Of course, we need the industry’s buy-in and support if the effort is going to succeed.

Cheers,

Arthur Yann

Arthur is vice president of public relations for the Public Relations Society of America.