May PR be with you Neka PR bude s vama

Odnose s javnošću često se smatra dijelom marketinga, ali PR stručnjaci misle da je njihovo mjesto uz upravu, da bi joj bili pri ruci pri oblikovanju poruka upućenih javnosti.

Not so long ago, an ambitious young woman decided to start a PR (Public Relations) agency in a big Croatian city. Knowing that PR can make, save or destroy a company’s reputation, depending on the education, experience and creativity of its practitioners, she had no reasons to doubt that her pioneer work in that city would bear fruit. But she was mistaken. Local firms, including some large companies which already had problems with adverse publicity, didn’t see PR services as necessary, making it hard for a newly-founded PR agency to thrive. These companies may not have recognised the power of PR, but big players – like Coca-Cola or Nike – did and used it to their advantage.

The US Institute of Public Relations defines PR as “the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics”. In the process of informing the publics of any changes and moves of a company or an organisation, its PR tries to create and maintain a positive public image, popularise successes and downplay any failures or mistakes. While multinationals usually have their own PR or communications departments, smaller companies often hire specialised PR agencies. But PR is not to be found in the corporate sector only – government bodies, trade associations, unions, NGOs and, of course politicians, all carry out PR activities. These include submitting to editors of trade publications feature articles covering their industry or business in general, exhibiting at trade fairs and speaking at industry conferences, preparing press kits and press releases, networking, helping local communities, etc.

Let us take a closer look at one of the above mentioned big players – Coca-Cola. At the threshold of a new millennium, Coca-Cola’s dominant position in the world beverage market seemed beyond question. And then in 1999, hundreds of people in Belgium and France became ill after drinking Coke. PR was not quick to react, waiting for the results of an investigation. They did, however, published a number of full-page advertisements in European newspapers, claiming that the quality of Coke was “irreproachable”. It was only a semi-success. But when the investigation proved that it was the cans that were contaminated and not the drink itself, Coca-Cola organised a spectacular public relations coup, offering a free one-and-a-half litre bottle of Coke to every Belgium’s citizen. Its reputation was restored and Coke was back in shops. This is a good example of PR in a crisis situation. Never avoid speaking to the public when a crisis occurs – if there is no evidence why something happened, show empathy and promise to take action. Silence can be interpreted as a denial of responsibility. Lies and manipulation are not something PRs of integrity would allow themselves. That is usually reserved for the infamous “spin doctors” – masters of spin. Spin is a pejorative term used to describe manipulative tactics whose aim is to present a person or situation in a favourable way, suppressing any awkward facts. The techniques of spin include selectively presenting facts and figures, ambiguity in public statements and careful choice of timing in the release of certain news. A famous example of the latter practice involves Jo Moore, a British government press officer, who on 11/9 2001 sent an e-mail of the following content: “It’s now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury”. The fury that followed made her resign.