Trevor Morris

How to be creative

This is chapter is divded into three main parts: 1. How to create a creative environment 2. How to run a successful brainstorm 3. How to turn great ideas into effective PR activity

Factors influencing growth

It’s clear that the growing demand for Public Relations (PR) will ensure that the PR industry continues to grow in most parts of Asia. Indeed it will not only thrive in existing economic “hotspots” in India, China and elsewhere, but will increasingly spread into all parts of the Continent as PR becomes axiomatic for any sizeable organization. There is also already evidence in China that local PR firms have been managing to grow their businesses much faster than international firms, which still predominantly work for multinational clients. PR is no longer just an exotic import, but is growing naturally across Asia. However, developing a new business discipline imposes its own demands. We have outlined some below:

The future of PR

Where is PR heading? Is it, as advertising appears to have done already, reaching maturity and now heading for a middle age of declining health and whingeing? Will the critics of PR have their day and mount an effective backlash? Or will PR continue to grow, particularly in the new democracies and developing world? And if it does continue to grow, will it follow the currently dominant Anglo-Saxon model or take off in a new direction?

From PR to propaganda

We have jettisoned tradition and left the issue of definitions to Chapter 7. It is because we are confident that anyone, from members of the public to the most senior and experienced practitioner, understands what is meant by the term PR or public relations — at least in general or colloquial terms. But people have much more difficulty agreeing on a precise definition. Indeed, there are estimated to be more than 500 definitions of PR,1 and the fact that so many people have felt the need to try so hard to define it is telling.

In defence of PR

Throughout this book we have pointed to a range of problems that beset the PR industry. Many of the wounds are self-inflicted and therefore needless. PR for PR — the one area where the industry is in undoubted control of the purpose and not just the message — has not been a triumph. Before we are accused of being negative we want to make a stalwart defense of public relations (or whatever it chooses to call itself now or in the future!).

Lessons from history

The history of Public Relations (PR) may seem irrelevant to the needs of contemporary practitioners, and we do not intend to provide a great deal of it here. However, much of the knowledge which successful PR people use to good effect is drawn from history, even if they have acquired the information informally and certainly do not think of it as “History” as such. There are few, if any, scientific laws in PR. Instead people learn from their own and others’ experiences of PR work and acquire knowledge of the industry based on what they hear about its ups and downs. Much of what they do today and plan to do tomorrow is based on collective wisdom about what happened yesterday. Some significant themes emerge from PR’s history, and some of them are particularly important to understanding the way PR is developing in the New Europe today. So rather than present a story littered with names and dates, we will simply focus on issues which seem relevant which will help you understand the present and plan for the future.

Does PR work and is it good for us

Society demonstrably wants PR. More and more money is being spent on PR services. Businesses and politicians, charities, NGOs, educational organizations, and even churches and other religious bodies — all pour resources into PR. But does PR always work and is it always good for us? There are plenty of critics who see PR as a negative force in society: distorting markets, privileging the rich and powerful, encouraging mindless consumerism, and promoting a celebrity-fixated dumbing down of culture. Having earlier examined the political impact of PR, this chapter looks at the effectiveness and impact of PR in the economic and social fields.

The people in PR

So what kind of people work in PR? Why do they do it and what do they earn? And where do they come from?

Professional, but never a profession

So said Lord Chadlington, a grandee of the British PR industry, founder of the international PR firm Weber Shandwick, and member of the upper house of the UK legislature. A lot of people in public relations still share his view. All you need to get started is a desk, a computer, a phone, and “self confidence, a degree of social skill and an interest in the media.” 2

Girls, gurus, gays, and diversity

Public Relations is an overwhelmingly female occupation and yet its summit is still predominantly peopled by males. Why is this? Does it matter? What — if indeed anything needs doing — can be done about it?