Where do we stand?

Hello World!

Just a quick recap;

I am currently doing my internship at a Media and Public Relations Communication Consultancy firm. In my previous post, entitled “Unlearn what you learn!?”, I talked mostly about the gap between what we learned during the course of our studies and what really happens when working in the PR industry.

So back to today’s post!

Recently, I had the opportunity to take part in a conference held for one of the company’s client. The consultancy was in charge of the pre-event communication process with the guests and was also present on the day itself for recording purposes and last minute fine-tuning.

The communication activities included checking if invitation emails had been received, whether the individual had gone through the formalities, and if ever the person was not free, try to find another person who could attend and record the contact details.

On the day of the conference itself, we were present to finalise any last minute issue related to the conference. We also welcomed the guests, ensured that their attendance was recorded and distributed name tags and branded goods.

The main experience I gained from this event was how a consultancy interacts with a client organisation. However, I also realised that the potential and importance of PR may still not be properly understood nor maximised by some firms. The issue is that PR may sometimes be seen as only a tool for one-off/one-way communication and not as a boundary spanner between a company and its public.

Though there’s one important aspect to consider in this particular context, the PR role is being endorsed by an external party and not by an internal department of the client company. Thus, it could have led the client to perceive the consultancy as only a short-term service provider who caters for their immediate needs in regards to this particular conference.

It nevertheless does shed a light on the relationship between a consultancy and its clients. Consultancies do have long-term clients with whom they work on a regular basis and where they act as boundary spanners. However, they also have other clients who may only require their services on singular events or on an as per-need basis.

Thus showing that PR consultancies role may vary and that even though the idealistic role of the PR practitioner is portrayed as being those who create and sustain a relationship between an organisation and its public, in some cases, the practitioner’s role would depend largely on the actual relationship between the organisation and the practitioner, and ultimately what that organisation expects from them.

So that’s it for today.

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Until next time, I wish you the Best!!