Global Public Relations Trends
PR as we know it is taking on new trends and PR practitioners are taking on a new meaning. In order to meet the current needs and demands of the global market, PR is venturing off into different specialties. On a greater scale, technology is also related to the global trend in the PR arena. Back in the day, PR specialist focused on communicating the right message to the public. While that is still true, a more methodical approach is used today. PR professionals are becoming strategist with a business edge. The old method of practicing PR is changing rapidly. The new PR trend focuses on counsel and research.
PR covers many facets in business and in our lives. With this in mind, people interoperate it differently. By having a more specialized profession under the PR umbrella, organizations and people will rep the benefits of a situation or issue (newsroom thesis). Some of the specialized areas with PR professionals include issue management, public affairs, investor relations, employee communication and event management. For example, investor relations professionals that represent international traded companies are responsible for providing information, to regulators, banks, security analysts and trade press.
They are expected to work with internal and external auditors and board committees while shielding the economic status of the company. Worldwide, integration has become very prevalent for the reason that public relations and advertising are fostered in private segments and governments for years. A perfect example is child slavery in the Ivorian Coca fields. As the scope of PR expands, other areas will become specialized like tactics and techniques. For instance a news release can cause problems for the company if the PR professional is not culturally literate or sensitive to the differences.
Without cultural knowledge and understanding information can intended publics and other kingdoms (newsroom thesis). . Technology is another global PR trend. Intranets and e-mails have revolutionized internal communication within business industry. Considering, that information passes through different time zones and countries, E-mails sent by PR practitioners are at risk for misinterpretation. This could be caused by slang usage and grammar. For example, slang used in the U. S. may have a different meaning in another county or improper grammar can cause a different tone.
Because PR people act as a liaison by representing the organization, it is critical that the intended message gets received. E-mails can generate gossip faster than a wild fire and sometimes the damage is horrific. Having A PR person in place can be vital to the success of the company. In a Michigan incident, a rumor behind an e-mail cost a restaurant owner half his business. Apparently, Arabs who worked in the restaurant were celebrating the 9-11 events as they took place. Of course, this was not true but people today are still boycotting the place. The poor owner had no PR person. A similar occurrence happened at Duncan Donuts.
Employees at the New Jersey location were clapping and happy about the 9-11 events and an e-mail was generated. PR officials discovered that the e-mail was false and generated a correction to all receiving participants of the e-mail. Hence, the problem was resolved. They had a PR representative (snopes. com). Investing organizations interact globally by means of live web conferences, chats. This allows everyone to become involved immediately while providing instant feed back. Websites adds as another avenue for companies to except customer complaints or concerns and view concurrent information on their business.
For instance, perspective students can view college campuses without leaving their living rooms (newsroom thesis). . It is greatly recognized in today’s society that publicity has more impact on people then advertising. People are overwhelmed with advertising everyday. People see advertising plastered on billboards, commercials and magazine ads. Consumers have learned to ignore them. They just don’t present good credibility anymore. Advertising companies are wasting money. Publicity is part of the era. Word of mouth is more contagious and has a better response from the public.
Amazon was built on word of mouth and Volvo generated profits based on a media release mentioning safety. Publicity generates a more genuine representation of the company, person or product. This provides an unbiased view free of biased beliefs or opinions. Pro-active planning is essential in any business strategy. Issues management utilizes this step in various ways and it is important to follow a plane that highlights key objectives that handle the crises. Being pro-active can generate positive results in accomplishing the intended goals professionally and responsibility.
Crises management is applied in urgent areas that involve immediate attention and reduce panic and confusion with the internal and external publics. A good example of a crisis within an establishment is a sudden toxic spill. Pro- active measures are taken to formulate a plane to remedy the problem. By following the main ingredients and using critical thinking skills and techniques, a disastrous issue can turn into a more positive ending. Without these step in place, a business can lose revenues and possibly tarnish their reputation. PR has had some positive and negative affects in my workplace.
A recent incident happened between me, a coworker and a patient. It was a very busy day and the doctor was running behind schedule. Patients were upset and angry because of the long wait times. I was asked to handle a disgruntle patient. I handled the problem by keeping in mind that I represent the Kaiser organization and that patient care and quality care are important. I took the liberty to refund the patients co-pay of twenty dollars in order to provide comfort and ease. The patient was happy and stayed for the appointment. A colleague was furious that I gave money back to the patient, found my behavior unethical.
In fact, the employee argued with the patient refusing any form accommodation. This was bad PR from the employee and projected a negative tone in customer service. After the episode, I quickly approached management with the issue and voiced my concerns. I stressed that giving twenty dollars back to the patient is saving face and creating good relations. It was not the patient’s fault that the doctor was running late. I mentioned by ignoring the frustrations of the patient, we as health care professionals are not validating the needs of the patient or taking responsibility of ore own actions. A policy was enforced based on this incident.
Patients that wait more then thirty minutes are able to receive a refund on their co-pay, if the doctor is running behind. The physician must sign off on the registration form granting approval. We as health care professionals, now have the ability and flexibility to make decisions that benefit the patient. PR is like the cornflakes without the milk. Without PR in our businesses and in our daily lives, information and communication will become soggy and the taste of life will weaken. The changing global trends in PR have helped our society survive in a culturally diverse market bridging relations locally and around the world.
