Hi everyone. So my last blog discussed the different forms that PR takes within the company where I am doing my placement. The Communications team I am mostly sitting with is newly developed, so there are still many PR functions being performed by many other different positions within the company. I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ‘float’ between the different departments to see what other PR activities take place in the agency and be able to group it all together under a PR umbrella that I can identify thanks to all my studies. It seems the reason there has not previously been one dedicated PR role for the whole agency is that the company is a sales organisation; any role that is not considered as profit earning has thus traditionally been seen as a cost. This has been big lesson number 2 in consolidating a large portion of our learning about the PR function; it must always be measurable through monitoring and evaluation! The benefits of a PR function, within private industry focussed on profits, can then be really justified; even in the eyes of the most sceptical bottom-line driven MD! My prac placement is showing me how crucial it is for PR to prove its worth (and as quickly as possible!) particularly within a profit driven organisation! The good news is that the emergence of the new Communications role within this sales organisation is an indication of a new trend as I discussed in my last blog. Despite how far PR has come....I think we all still need to work hard to show people just what we are made of, and the possibilities of PR. And we can absolutely do it!
Thanks for reading :)
Sarah Harrison
Curtin Bentley
2 comments:
Hi.I am Toshna from the Mauritius campus.I completely agree with you.PR is still not valued for its true worth.In Mauritius PR is a newly developed field and it is often mistaken to be guest relations.In the hotel I am working too,some colleagues had this misunderstanding but when they saw the works I did like the Fact sheet and the way i organised the birthday ceremony they were impressed and recognized this was a professional field and not just guest relations.PR has a long way to go before people know its worth and I think that as the ambassadors of PR,we are the one who are responsible to make PR known and respected and erase any bad impression people may have on our profession like PR means spin-weavers or liars.See you.
Hi guys,
I too agree with this post and think its a very valid point. Unlike you, I am not working in the private sector, but with a non-profit organisation.
I definately agree that all PR practitioners seem to have to justify their work in organisation, but I guess the advantage working in a company that generates profit, is that you can prove your worth if your startegies have a direct affect on profit. As you said, as long as your PR work is measurable and able to be evaluated, then you can definately prove its worth.
Working in non-profit, I have definately noticed a lack of respect almost for the amount of work the communications team does for the organisation. By not generating profit, we have finite resources and therefore need to work in the most cost effective ways. The success of the organisation relies on the generation of publicity and sponsorship, something which is not done easily in such a competitive industry.
PR practitioners are definately undervalued, and until practitioners dont need to justify their work, it feels as though the profession won't be taken seriously.
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