I think the two key points to remember from this week's readings were misconceptions of the public towards the field of public relations and the frameworks in the practice of public relations.
Public relations, on the surface, may seem like a simple field of work. This is because there is not much exposure on it to garner positive views from the publics. The misconceptions are also caused by the "what you see is what you get" saying.
The frameworks are not to be used too rigidly because the practice of public relations require a lot of adaptability to circumstances which may be predicted or unforeseen. After all, the main idea of public relations is to act as the bridge betwwen the corporation and the public.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that the amount of effort behind a produced media release, planned event, or even a prepared speech is often unnoticed. It is also undermined by the confusing nature of a public relations manager with an advertiser, marketer, etcetera. Consideration of the corporation's interests must be prioritised at all times but the interests of the public must not be neglected either. The public acts as one of the driving forces of the corporation therefore, there is a need to satisfy them in order to attract them as loyal patrons, attain their trust, and so on.
2 comments:
Firstly, I definitely agree with what you meant by the saying "what you see is what you get". People have a fixed mindset about their perception on ideas.It is their own philosophy. While at times, PR practice tries to improve on their image to be in favour of its audience, they often fail.Similarly to Journalism, they are rated to be one of the least respected/trusted persons in the field. However, at least knowing that they still need us as a bridge connecting the organization to the masses to deliver information, manage events and what not,there is not reason to fret because we do what we love best - relating with people.
And at the end of the day, like you have mentioned, just as long as they are "loyal patrons" to our organization, it keeps our money coming in as well :)
I'm intrigued by the use of the word "respect" in your comment. It makes me wonder whether it is a must to be respected by the public or is it only a bonus.
Ms Nair did an excellent job of clarifying that for us when she gave the following scenario:
Company A provides great services but unfortunately made an error one day. Company B provides lousy services and made an error the same day. Which one of them will the client choose to continue associations with?
Definitely company A will still hold the client's trust and be forgiven. Company B would not stand a chance.
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