There was a recent post about a pitch someone made to the media that used the London Riots as it's intro. A lot of PR people cringe when they see something like this, and rightly so.
It got me thinking though, something no one ever talks about is how not all PR professionals are the same. Unlike other professions which are regulated by rigid processes, PR opens itself up to all different styles of PR. This is the result of the multifaceted nature of the job and the different creative strategies one can implement.
When one says they practice PR it's almost like saying one is a football player. Ok, great, you play football, but what kind of football player are you? The quarterback? A linebacker? A punter? And as we all know, while they are all 'football players' their approach to the game is completely different.
In light of this, I thought I'd take a moment to identify some of the different PR styles that I've encountered during my career. The following list doesn't suggest we should pigeon hole people in to one style, because most PR pros are talented across all styles, but they nonetheless tend to approach problems with a dominant style.
So here's my take on the different types of PR styles out there (with pros and cons to each):
1. The Processor (think Obama - although originally everyone thought he was #3)
The processor is someone that is highly focused on processes. These folks tend to believe that the most important thing you can do is come up with a good, detailed, concensus-driven plan that articulates every action that will be taken and who is responsible for what.
They tend to believe that their job security lies with being the one that provides guidance and direction to operational resources (ie. without me everything would be a mess).
Pros: Great at getting management support / buy-in for an initiative
Cons: Lacks flexibility once the plan is inacted; inability to react on the fly; heavily reliant on the PR team members for non-process elements of the job.
2. The Pitcher (think Larry King)
The pitcher tend to focus on relationships.They generally believe that everything is secondary to the actual process of engaging with the stakeholders. They generally operate based on a 'push' model versus a 'pull' model of generating public interest.
The pitcher tends to believe that their job security lies in their rolodex and ability to step up during the high pressure situation of interacting with the media (ie. without me you wouldn't know who to talk to or how to talk to them).
Pros: Constantly seeking out media placement opportunities; when it comes time to engaging the media they show no fear or hestitation and jump to action
Cons: Generally find the 'traditional' element of PR boring, which can lead to sub-standard press release and communications plans. Will often find 'team meetings' a waste of time.
3. The Risk Taker (aka the dreamer) (think Gandhi)
The Risk Taker is someone that is always looking for the big breakthrough. They tend to assess all PR activities within the context of whether they ultimate lead to a moment of glory. The risk taker may also sometimes be called 'the dreamer' because their end goal, too many, may seem unattainable at first.
The risk taker tends to believe that their job security ultimately lies in some moment of glory, where they far exceed and surpass everyone's expectations (ie. if you want to become something more than what you presently are you can't do it without me.)
Pros: Act as agents of change that will push people far outside their comfort zones which can ultimately lead to transformative brand success
Cons: Requires sustained motivation and buy-in from management; additionally, creating high expectations makes the bar for failure seem much lower than if you seed management and staff with low expectations (something risk takers tend not to do); can burn-out trying to attain their goal.
4. The Writer (think... no one... the writer tends to operate behind the scenes)
The writer tends to be a PR person that believes that what you say in writing is the most important communications element in terms of influencing stakeholders. They tend to be the go-to-person for news releases, annual reports, and comuniques. They may not be the best strategist or relationship builder, but they are superstars when it comes to building out the underlying messaging infrastructure.
The writer tends to believe that their job security ultimately lies in being able to articulate what others cannot and generating key messages that resonate with external and internal audiences (ie. good luck being taken seriously when people don't even understand what you are saying in your press release.)
Pros: Can articulate what others cannot; critical to all external-facing communications vehicles (web site, news releases, etc.)
Cons: Tend to be introverted and don't particularly enjoy the engagement process with external stakeholders. They often find 'verbal' communication sloppy and awkward and prefer time alone to craft their messages.
5. The Supporter (think...Robin to Batman)
The supporter tends to look for initiatives others are leading and jump on board to help out. They are great team players and tend to focus on doing their pieces of the puzzle well.
The supporter tends to believe that their job security lies in helping others achieve success (ie. without me everything would take twice as long to complete).
Pros: A resource you can always trust on to help move things forward
Cons: Without direction they tend to idle
6. The Outsourcer
The outsourcer tends to be a PR person that doesn't actually do anything themselves, but excels in gathering the right experts together to accomplish the given goal. Many PR folks often shun the outsourcer as not truly being a PR professional since they tend not to excel in traditional areas. Yet, for businesses spending hundreds of thousands on their PR agency or other communications services the outsourcer can make all the difference in the world.
How many situations do you know of where companies spend tons of money on outsourcing services and get horrible service in return. The reason? Odds are they didn't have a PR outsourcer doing the outsourcing.
The outsourcer tends to view their job security as ultimately lying in the ability to manage the complexities of multi-vendor outsourcing services (ie. good luck herding all these cats without me, you'll just be pissing your money away).
Pros: Excellent at getting an ROI out of outsourced services and keeping them focused on servicing the organizations needs
Cons: Tend to thrive only in large corporations that engage in extensive outsourcing; tend not to have their own opinions (often meet every operational challenge with 'let me check with so and so')
So there you have it. Hopefully I haven't missed any. There are all kinds of blends of PR folks based on these dominant traits (and within each trait there are those who are competent and those who are incompetent). There are also many more traits that PR folks have that aren't listed here (these are just the macro-categories that I've run across).
I would consider myself to be very strong across all these categories (as all good PR people will be), but there's no question that my most dominent trait is #4 (The Risk Taker).
While completely non-empirical, I'd wager a guess that as far as dominent traits go the PR population would break down as follows:
The Processor (30%)
The Pitcher (5%)
The Risk Taker (5%)
The Writer (25%)
The Supporter (33%)
The Outsourcer (2%)
Next time you are talking with someone in PR pay attention to where they steer the conversation. You'll quickly see how they tend to steer it towards things that relate to one of the above categories, reflecting what they believe to the most important element of the PR process.
Ask a PR person what they think of Obama and they'll respond with...
He needs a better/different game plan (the processor)
He need to get out there and motivate the public (the pitcher)
He needs to go all-in and fight back against the Republicans and the congress (the risk taker)
He needs to articulate what his game plan is better (the writer)
He needs new people around him to help him solve this (the supporter)
He need to bring in experts to help him figure what to do (the outsourcer)
The truth is, Obama probably needs to do all these things. But depending on the dominent trait of the PR person responding to this question, you'll get a different focus on what is most important (and if acted upon, different strategies for moving forward).
When hiring a PR person you want someone with strength across ALL these areas, but you should also take the time to figure out which of these areas are they MOST dominant in because it will heavily influence how they go about building out your brand and reputation in the market.
If you have a PR team you should also know what each of their dominant traits are. The Writer may be the most competent on your team (and so slated for promotion), but that doesn't mean you should have them on a track to ultimately take on a processor-style role (as that would take them away from their strength and put them in a position that they don't feel most comfortable in).
Knowing what kind of PR professional you are is an important step in understanding why you may often times find yourself at odds with other PR professionals and make it much easier for your to resolve those differences of opinion.
It got me thinking though, something no one ever talks about is how not all PR professionals are the same. Unlike other professions which are regulated by rigid processes, PR opens itself up to all different styles of PR. This is the result of the multifaceted nature of the job and the different creative strategies one can implement.
When one says they practice PR it's almost like saying one is a football player. Ok, great, you play football, but what kind of football player are you? The quarterback? A linebacker? A punter? And as we all know, while they are all 'football players' their approach to the game is completely different.
In light of this, I thought I'd take a moment to identify some of the different PR styles that I've encountered during my career. The following list doesn't suggest we should pigeon hole people in to one style, because most PR pros are talented across all styles, but they nonetheless tend to approach problems with a dominant style.
So here's my take on the different types of PR styles out there (with pros and cons to each):
1. The Processor (think Obama - although originally everyone thought he was #3)
The processor is someone that is highly focused on processes. These folks tend to believe that the most important thing you can do is come up with a good, detailed, concensus-driven plan that articulates every action that will be taken and who is responsible for what.
They tend to believe that their job security lies with being the one that provides guidance and direction to operational resources (ie. without me everything would be a mess).
Pros: Great at getting management support / buy-in for an initiative
Cons: Lacks flexibility once the plan is inacted; inability to react on the fly; heavily reliant on the PR team members for non-process elements of the job.
2. The Pitcher (think Larry King)
The pitcher tend to focus on relationships.They generally believe that everything is secondary to the actual process of engaging with the stakeholders. They generally operate based on a 'push' model versus a 'pull' model of generating public interest.
The pitcher tends to believe that their job security lies in their rolodex and ability to step up during the high pressure situation of interacting with the media (ie. without me you wouldn't know who to talk to or how to talk to them).
Pros: Constantly seeking out media placement opportunities; when it comes time to engaging the media they show no fear or hestitation and jump to action
Cons: Generally find the 'traditional' element of PR boring, which can lead to sub-standard press release and communications plans. Will often find 'team meetings' a waste of time.
3. The Risk Taker (aka the dreamer) (think Gandhi)
The Risk Taker is someone that is always looking for the big breakthrough. They tend to assess all PR activities within the context of whether they ultimate lead to a moment of glory. The risk taker may also sometimes be called 'the dreamer' because their end goal, too many, may seem unattainable at first.
The risk taker tends to believe that their job security ultimately lies in some moment of glory, where they far exceed and surpass everyone's expectations (ie. if you want to become something more than what you presently are you can't do it without me.)
Pros: Act as agents of change that will push people far outside their comfort zones which can ultimately lead to transformative brand success
Cons: Requires sustained motivation and buy-in from management; additionally, creating high expectations makes the bar for failure seem much lower than if you seed management and staff with low expectations (something risk takers tend not to do); can burn-out trying to attain their goal.
4. The Writer (think... no one... the writer tends to operate behind the scenes)
The writer tends to be a PR person that believes that what you say in writing is the most important communications element in terms of influencing stakeholders. They tend to be the go-to-person for news releases, annual reports, and comuniques. They may not be the best strategist or relationship builder, but they are superstars when it comes to building out the underlying messaging infrastructure.
The writer tends to believe that their job security ultimately lies in being able to articulate what others cannot and generating key messages that resonate with external and internal audiences (ie. good luck being taken seriously when people don't even understand what you are saying in your press release.)
Pros: Can articulate what others cannot; critical to all external-facing communications vehicles (web site, news releases, etc.)
Cons: Tend to be introverted and don't particularly enjoy the engagement process with external stakeholders. They often find 'verbal' communication sloppy and awkward and prefer time alone to craft their messages.
5. The Supporter (think...Robin to Batman)
The supporter tends to look for initiatives others are leading and jump on board to help out. They are great team players and tend to focus on doing their pieces of the puzzle well.
The supporter tends to believe that their job security lies in helping others achieve success (ie. without me everything would take twice as long to complete).
Pros: A resource you can always trust on to help move things forward
Cons: Without direction they tend to idle
6. The Outsourcer
The outsourcer tends to be a PR person that doesn't actually do anything themselves, but excels in gathering the right experts together to accomplish the given goal. Many PR folks often shun the outsourcer as not truly being a PR professional since they tend not to excel in traditional areas. Yet, for businesses spending hundreds of thousands on their PR agency or other communications services the outsourcer can make all the difference in the world.
How many situations do you know of where companies spend tons of money on outsourcing services and get horrible service in return. The reason? Odds are they didn't have a PR outsourcer doing the outsourcing.
The outsourcer tends to view their job security as ultimately lying in the ability to manage the complexities of multi-vendor outsourcing services (ie. good luck herding all these cats without me, you'll just be pissing your money away).
Pros: Excellent at getting an ROI out of outsourced services and keeping them focused on servicing the organizations needs
Cons: Tend to thrive only in large corporations that engage in extensive outsourcing; tend not to have their own opinions (often meet every operational challenge with 'let me check with so and so')
So there you have it. Hopefully I haven't missed any. There are all kinds of blends of PR folks based on these dominant traits (and within each trait there are those who are competent and those who are incompetent). There are also many more traits that PR folks have that aren't listed here (these are just the macro-categories that I've run across).
I would consider myself to be very strong across all these categories (as all good PR people will be), but there's no question that my most dominent trait is #4 (The Risk Taker).
While completely non-empirical, I'd wager a guess that as far as dominent traits go the PR population would break down as follows:
The Processor (30%)
The Pitcher (5%)
The Risk Taker (5%)
The Writer (25%)
The Supporter (33%)
The Outsourcer (2%)
Next time you are talking with someone in PR pay attention to where they steer the conversation. You'll quickly see how they tend to steer it towards things that relate to one of the above categories, reflecting what they believe to the most important element of the PR process.
Ask a PR person what they think of Obama and they'll respond with...
He needs a better/different game plan (the processor)
He need to get out there and motivate the public (the pitcher)
He needs to go all-in and fight back against the Republicans and the congress (the risk taker)
He needs to articulate what his game plan is better (the writer)
He needs new people around him to help him solve this (the supporter)
He need to bring in experts to help him figure what to do (the outsourcer)
The truth is, Obama probably needs to do all these things. But depending on the dominent trait of the PR person responding to this question, you'll get a different focus on what is most important (and if acted upon, different strategies for moving forward).
When hiring a PR person you want someone with strength across ALL these areas, but you should also take the time to figure out which of these areas are they MOST dominant in because it will heavily influence how they go about building out your brand and reputation in the market.
If you have a PR team you should also know what each of their dominant traits are. The Writer may be the most competent on your team (and so slated for promotion), but that doesn't mean you should have them on a track to ultimately take on a processor-style role (as that would take them away from their strength and put them in a position that they don't feel most comfortable in).
Knowing what kind of PR professional you are is an important step in understanding why you may often times find yourself at odds with other PR professionals and make it much easier for your to resolve those differences of opinion.
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