PR - a confused identity and an inferiority complex

In my experience, very few practitioners can do so in 15 words or less. Most will depart from defining it and deliver an essay that verges on being an apology for our existence.

It's not surprising that defining PR proves troublesome: there appears to be a wide divergence of opinion. Consider the following half-dozen, randomly compiled from a number of earnest, reputable sources - and remember, each is described as the definition of PR:

1. Using the news or business press to carry positive stories about your company or your products; cultivating a good relationship with local press representatives. (24 words)

2. Public relations is about reputation - the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. (22 words)

3. Public relations practice is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics. (23 words)

4. Public relations includes ongoing activities to ensure the overall company has a strong public image. Public relations activities include helping the public to understand the company and its products. Often, public relations are conducted through the media, that is, newspapers, television, magazines, etc. Public relations is often considered as one of the primary activities included in promotions. (57 words)

5. Three versions on the same theme

   • The art or science of establishing and promoting a favourable relationship with the public. (14 words)
     
   • The methods and activities employed to establish and promote a favourable relationship with the public. (15 words)
     
   • The degree of success obtained in achieving a favourable relationship with the public. (13 words)

6. Systematic effort to create and maintain goodwill of an organisation's various publics (customers, employees, investors, suppliers, etc.), usually through publicity and other non-paid forms of communication. These efforts may also include support of arts, charitable causes, education, sporting events, etc. (40 words)
   

Perceptions of the profession

From all of the above, it seems that (a) nobody clearly understands what we do, and (b) we are at a loss to tell them. Can this be true - or, ironically, have we been the victims of bad press? Let's face it, we haven't provided a coherent explanation for people to understand, and in consequence, as PR practitioners we have had to live with what others say about the profession.

Many of the perceptions are far from complimentary. For the news media, PR is a convenient canvas on which to paint a grubby picture of what we do: very rarely, if ever, is there a depiction of the accomplishments of PR professionals. PR is seen by some of the public as something less than respectable, employing devious strategies to persuade the public that wrong is right. Others see PR professionals as mind manipulators, rather than conveyors of truth.

Practitioners would be the first to concede that the power of PR is its ability to alter individual perception, resulting in changed behaviours and opinions. The purpose, however, is positive. The profession is bound by a code of conduct that stresses honesty above all else. But we are not above reproof: too often our conduct falls short of that code. Spin replaces truth; perception, reality; conquest, success.

Perhaps we need to look in the mirror and point a finger at ourselves. We are guilty of shoddy work, and that is unacceptable. Publicity? Anybody can churn out a few details about their event, take it to a reporter, answer a few questions, and see their story printed, or broadcast somewhere. It's not difficult.

We ask inexperienced practitioners to bite off more than they can chew, benefitting nobody. And then there are the charlatans - posing as pros, with no integrity and no training, paid for doing our work poorly and damaging the profession. You do not become a professional by being paid for doing something. You become a professional through education, experience and recognition by your peers as someone to be relied on to provide a service of high quality.

In today's world of instant revelation and ubiquitous opinion, where it is often difficult to detect the truthful from the untruthful, public relations practitioners need to be, and be seen to be, models of integrity.

Asserting ourselves

It's a fact that throughout decades, many PR practitioners have suffered from an inferiority complex in relation to other marketing professionals - especially those engaged in advertising. Having worked on both sides, I've seen how PR is relegated to an inferior role, but at the smart agencies, PR is beginning to stake more ground.

PR is not about taking orders from clients: it's about more powerfully articulating where clients need to go and becoming the partner that gets them there. In my opinion this is the obvious and natural place for PR to be - but it is time to shed our inferiority complex and assert ourselves. Where PR professionals come together with media planning agencies and advertising agencies, no one is going to hand us a leading role. We have to take it. We have the capability.

The vast majority of our colleagues are ethical and competent. We have an invaluable source of knowledge, influence and power and a commonality of purpose which, when focused, can make a significant impact. We also have an obligation to the public good because of the power we wield. Remember, too, that PR is a two-way street: not only do we present an organisation to the public, but we must also present the public back to the organisation, so that it understands how the public perceives our actions.

However, the profession's future effectiveness, and perhaps even its existence, depend on our taking well founded pride in what we do and making sure that the public understand it clearly, plainly and simply... preferably in 15 words or less.