Does anything go in PR?

Recently, in our small college town, a non-profit social agency (which I think is dedicated to providing food to the needy) held a fundraiser.  No one much paid much attention until a local paper covered the event and put a huge photo on the front page of young women stuffing money down the briefs of a male stripper.  The organization raised $900.   Many in the community wrote to the newspaper to say the photo was in poor taste.  That is, the photo caused a minor uproar.

How about the event itself?  Aside from raising a mere $900 – not all that much in my book, did this event do the organization any long-term good?  Was it, as we say, good PR?

I say  – no.  It’s a victim of an “anything goes” attitude that I think is irresponsible.  To itself.  Hey, it’s a do-good organization.  It’s kind of high-minded.  And as such, it should act in a manner in keeping with its mission of contributing to the social good.  Doing just about anything for $ undermines its reputation – its integrity.

This leads me to one of my pet peeves: that is, folks who hear one little bit of information on persuasion – for example, people respond to sexual appeals, or people respond to free stuff – and then apply these tiny shreds of information without thought or analysis indiscriminately, to any organization, and any promotional activity.

Real public relations requires thought, analysis, and  matching — matching the events and all communication to exactly who the organization is in the world.  It’s called relevance, it’s called integrity.   It’s called authenticity.  Be who you say you are.   That is how long-term credibility, trust, and reputation are built and maintained.

So –perhaps we should take a lesson from the little non profit that participated in more than just losing a stripper’s pants   – and think twice about losing reputation.  Does anything go in public relations?  I think not.

Real real and fake real — some differences between PR and advertising

Although this blog is called “making connections,” this time I’m working on a disconnect. What prompts this is a short video by Martin Lindstrom from Advertising Age (http://adage.com/brightcove/lineup.php?lineup=1182767334) in which Lindstrom talks about the “Authenticity Trend” in advertising. Lindstrom highlights the current popularity of ads faking the real — in this case by adding bleeps as if swear words were edited out of a “real” moment. (In short, faking “reality.”)

That’s something we in PR can’t afford to do. Scott McClellan, former White House spokesperson wrote a recent book on deception and faking reality. (You’ll find lots written on McClellan’s book, What Happened, Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, through a simple search – there are way too many links to list here.) Why can’t we in PR afford to fake reality? PR’s role is representing the organization, being the explainer, the credible source of information, the relationship-building interface between the organization and its stakeholders. And relationships are built on openness and trust.

Another reason what Linstrom had to say interested me was his saying that “real real is the best.” (It’s better than fake real… are you beginning to feel you are in some surreal space?). Well, in light of “real real” being the best — and McClellan’s apology and regret for his part in deceiving the media and us citizens — I am again encouraged that the Principles of Authentic Communication are the right rules for effective communication in today’s world which is hungry for true authenticity.

On Leadership and Public Relations

Some might object to putting those terms together – Leadership and PR.  Not me.  If done right, PR can serve a leadership role in organizations.  Not only in terms of communication, but also in terms of action.

 Some of my students learned that this week.  In their capstone PR course, working with actual clients, students faced the challenge of finding the right words to describe and characterize two organizations.  We’re talking vision, mission, programs here – who we are, our main goals in the world, and how we get there.  That’s  what many say leadership is – articulating the vision, getting people to buy in, building the path to get there.

OK – some will say that PR people don’t come up with the vision and mission, they only communicate it.   In my experience and in my students’ this week, good PR people dig down and discern the essentials.  They help organizations define themselves in a streamlined way so the core work of the organization is clear and leads on a straight path.

One of my favorite authors on leadership is Robert Terry, who wrote Authentic Leadership and the Seven Zones for Leadership (www.action-wheel.com).  He basically says an authentic leader is one who really sees what’s going on.  That is what good public relations professionals do – they see what is really going on and help the organization make sense of it, and help them say it out loud.

And when you say it out loud — “we are a company that believes in taking care of our customers,” for example – - then you must take action to do just that.  What sounds good generates actions that are good.   That’s leadership PR.

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