David Armano has a great blog and I stumbled across an image he designed that I thought was amazing...
I think this image hits the nail on the head. Basic brand building, from a PR perspective (and ideally from a marketing perspective also) is all about positive interactions, consistency, credibility, authenticity and trust.
This is why I've always considered PR to be one part technical skills, one part hard work and one part art. I say art because you can give 100 PR people the same task and end up with 100 different results along a spectrum of bad to great.
The angles you take in pitching reporters, the manner in which you discuss the potential of a story with a reporter who is interest, the way in which you manage your contacts, the manner in which you prep your spokespersons, and the list goes on... there are so many variables that are intricately tied to the unique style of each PR person.
It's funny, I recently had a friend tell me about a compliment they received in their job. They have a very high stress, deadline intensive, herding cats type of job. The compliment they received was how they were able to get so many people to work together smoothly, people who normally dislike each other and don't work well together at all.
Yet this trait that was complimented would never show up in a job description. No one would ever hire someone based on this trait. And yet, it's probably the most valuable element to this person's success. Yes, technically they are top notch and they work their butt off, but it's this individual factor that makes the huge difference in their work environment.
PR is similar. Can you really build positive interactions, develop credibility, communicate authenticity and establish trust simply through traditional PR techniques? I would argue you can't, not through technique alone. I'd argue there is an element to PR that simply can't be taught and it rests in a PR person's style across dozens of critical variables such as honesty, respect, empathy, critical thinking ability, and creative predispositions just to name a few.
Anyway, loved the image and think that it should be on the wall of anyone doing PR. Ask yourself - is the way you are doing PR, from how you answer the phone to how you send an email, exemplifying the traits that will lead to brand loyalty?
This is why I've always considered PR to be one part technical skills, one part hard work and one part art. I say art because you can give 100 PR people the same task and end up with 100 different results along a spectrum of bad to great.
The angles you take in pitching reporters, the manner in which you discuss the potential of a story with a reporter who is interest, the way in which you manage your contacts, the manner in which you prep your spokespersons, and the list goes on... there are so many variables that are intricately tied to the unique style of each PR person.
It's funny, I recently had a friend tell me about a compliment they received in their job. They have a very high stress, deadline intensive, herding cats type of job. The compliment they received was how they were able to get so many people to work together smoothly, people who normally dislike each other and don't work well together at all.
Yet this trait that was complimented would never show up in a job description. No one would ever hire someone based on this trait. And yet, it's probably the most valuable element to this person's success. Yes, technically they are top notch and they work their butt off, but it's this individual factor that makes the huge difference in their work environment.
PR is similar. Can you really build positive interactions, develop credibility, communicate authenticity and establish trust simply through traditional PR techniques? I would argue you can't, not through technique alone. I'd argue there is an element to PR that simply can't be taught and it rests in a PR person's style across dozens of critical variables such as honesty, respect, empathy, critical thinking ability, and creative predispositions just to name a few.
Anyway, loved the image and think that it should be on the wall of anyone doing PR. Ask yourself - is the way you are doing PR, from how you answer the phone to how you send an email, exemplifying the traits that will lead to brand loyalty?
Comments
Post a Comment