from: Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning. Christians, Clifford. 2001.

The fairytale definition of a gift is, giving something without expecting anything in return. However, this rarely (if ever) happens. Most of the time people give gifts expecting something in return. They might not realize it, but it is true. When people give they expect something back. This something could be thanks and appreciation, recognition, or simply another gift.

Many companies give donations for charitable causes but not without a purpose. Their name or logo is splashed around the media for people to see. For example, Home Depot donates materials and time from their employees from their store to Habitat for Humanity. Exxon/Mobile donates money to protect tigers and their habitat, in respect for their logo.

Is it Ethical?

The question the statement above raises, is it ethical for companies to give so that their company is seen in a positive light? In my personal opinion, yes, it is. If we as people give expecting something in return, then why can’t companies do it? It is hard for publics to really understand the true motive behind a company, so who are we to judge? Even if the motive behind the donation is not up to par, it is still helping organizations and/or people.

Who Uses it?

TOMS, a shoe company, donates a pair of shoes to those in need for every pair that is bought. Their whole business was built around this foundation. Blake Mycoskie, founder, was traveling through Argentina and befriended some children there, who did not have shoes to protect their feet. This is a video posted by TOMS:

For ideas and direction on this topic, take a look at these websites

Here

Here

and

Here

Creative Commons is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright. Companies such as Flickr, Wikipedia, DeviantArt and various others use CC’s licenses. In a post by TopRank’s online marketing blog it says “A CC license bridges the gap between full copyright and the public domain.” This can be a great tool for PR professionals who want to distribute their work and here’s why:

Encourages

No matter what, if you have a good idea it will probably be used. Why not make the best of it? A Creative Commons license encourages others to others to use your work as long as attribution is given to you, the creator.

Recognizes

When other’s are using and giving you credit for your work, it spreads your name for you. In Adam Singer’s blog he wrote “My goal with art shifted to purely enjoying the process, and I didn’t even worry about promoting it. And believe it or not, that’s when the real magic started to happen.”

Gives

A CC license gives the creator control over how their work is spread. They can make sure their work is distributed verbatim, or let others change it up little as long as the creator receives the credit. A license can also be setup so that people cannot profit from the work . You have complete control.

Facebook/Myspace

Facebook and Myspace is a huge phenomenon and most people have at least one of them, many maintain both. It is a quick, easy, and free way of networking between friends and organizations. Organizations can start an “event” or a “group” on these sites and be able to share messages and images quickly and easily between their coworkers.

RSS Feeds

RSS stands for really simple syndication. Earlier in this blog, I mention that people want more information at a faster pace more than ever. RSS feeds allows people to subscribe to a website and automatically get the new information that is posted at any time. In a crisis situation, an organization can keep the public constantly informed quickly and efficiently.

Youtube

Youtube is a great resource on the Internet. Organizations are able to post videos to their public for free. Also, they are able to add placements in others videos. Depending on the video, the ad might be free. Nowadays people are also starting to do vlogs, video blogs.

Blogs

Most big companies have them. They can post issues and announce up and coming projects. Here, companies may also go into more detail for the people that care about that. Viewers are able to leave comments, this adds to the credibility.

Email

I feel like this is a very over looked tool. Emails has become a social norm.  It would be a bit strange to find someone in the working world without his or her own email address. This is a quick and efficient way of sending information directly to someone (or to a group).

As much as we hate spam in our email, it can be seen as beneficial for a company. They are able to send a message to a large group of people without having to spend too much money.

While it is not the job of a PR practitioner to solve the crisis, they do play a big role in the communications process. In the textbook Public Relations Strategies and Tactics it says “Public relations professionals must develop communication strategies and processes to influence the course of conflicts to the benefit of the organization and, when possible, to the benefit of the organization’s many constituents.”

While there are many things a Public relations professional must do during a crisis, here are 3 that I view as the most important:

Be Honest

During a crisis, ethics can and probably will be challenged. Crises might put a practitioner and their client into a moral dilemma. In Public relations, there is no accreditation so your reputation is one of the most valuable things to your career.

Being honest could also help you and the organization. When Tylenol went through a major crisis, they owned up to the situation. They recalled all the products and it nearly destroyed their company. However, it showed that they could be trusted. In the end, Tylenol became a hero and the PR professional probably made a great name for themselves.

Be Patient and Flexible

The Contingency Theory of Conflict Management has two basic principles, the plan could change and there are many variables that influence which stance an organization must take. A PR professional has to be patient and flexible to be ready and willing to change up the game plan and to flow with the variables tossed their way.

Create a Dark Site

Ed Lee, a blogger and PR professional on his blog defined a dark site as “a pre-developed, non-public Web site that can be published to the live Web in the event of a crisis.”

Bottom line is to be prepared. Problems will happen and crisis might occur, but as a PR professional it is wise to alaways be prepared. Communications managers should expect the worst, but hope for the best.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

In this theory, the audience chooses the message that is received or acted upon. This is the only theory that gives the power to the audience. They influence the media. An example of this would be something as simple as changing the channel when a commercial comes on. The person does not want to watch it, so they don’t. They pick what they receive.

Agenda-Setting Hypothesis

In this theory, the media does not tell people what to think or do, but rather what to think about. Most journalists feel that this is the most accurate theory. For example, something like Obama becoming the first black president is definitely going to be reported by every newspaper in the country. While each paper might report it with their own view, it is all still the same message. So whether a person reads CNN or the Washington Post, they are lead to consider what is the most important.

Related?

These two theories in some ways go hand in hand. While the power is not given in the Agenda-Setting hypothesis, it gives people the ability to think about it. Thoughts and idea might lead to action. This is where the Uses and Gratifications theory comes into play. A person might hear a story, think about it, and respond to it. Whether they write a letter out of disagreement or ignoring the situation all together, it is an action out of response.

There is no certification needed in order to be a public relations practitioner. So many see PR as a trade rather than a trade rather than a profession. The good thing about this is that anyone can practice corporate communications. On the other hand, because just about anyone can practice, public relations lacks credibility. There is no real accountability.

The Goal

The main goal is simple, to raise awareness of public relations overall. In return, this could validate public relations as a profession.

The Plan

1. Find a hero
Event Management Service Inc. (EMSI) lists some tips to generate PR for a business. One of the points is to make yourself known as an “expert.” It says, “… Media follows the media.” Generally it is understood that a good corporate communicator is behind the scenes. If their name is not mentioned, then they did a good job. However, this might have to change. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) should look to promote communicators or practitioners should step out of the shadows and become public figures. People do not trust whom they don’t know.

Looking back to Aristotle, he believed there were three forms of persuasion. They were, logos (an appeal to logic/reason), pathos (an appeal to emotion) and ethos (an appeal based on the speaker’s character). Ethos was viewed as the most powerful of the 3. A speaker’s character cannot be determined if there is no character to be seen. Faces in the media would give audiences people they know, and eventually trust.

2. Accreditation
I talked about accreditation in my previous post “is it worth it?” While there is a test by the PRSA, it is not mandatory for people to practice public relations.

Making the test mandatory would be beneficial for practitioners because it would raise salary levels. It would no longer be a trade, but rather a certified profession. In addition, this would also benefit the publics’ view on PR. There would be some sort of checks and balances established to make sure communicators would practice ethically. Publics could trust practitioners because they know more than the communicator’s reputation is at stake. Their license and career is too.

Final Thoughts

While all of this is easy to say/write, all of us need to understand that it would be very difficult to do. If this were taken into action, it would be a long road for it to be successful. Public figures do not gain trust over night and making a certification is not easy. There are many obstacles but with patience, it just might work.

The test is called APR (Accredited in Public Relations). The PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) describes it as “a mark of distinction for public relations professionals who demonstrate their commitment to the profession and to its ethical practice, and who are selected based on broad knowledge, strategic perspective, and sound professional judgment.”

Why is Accreditation Important?

Accreditation is important because it teaches and strengthens what a public relations practitioner already knows. There is a certain set of skills needed in order to succeed in PR. Some of these skills are listed in my previous post All We Need is. Because the PRSSA recommends that practitioners should have at least 5 years of experience, it would also be a refreshing way to reinforce the foundations that were set in the past (college degree).

The problem with the APR right now is that nobody knows about it. It is kind of funny that an accreditation for public relations needs some PR. Here are some ways to raise awareness.

Promote the Test

This should be very obvious. The PRSA should create awareness by trying to announce their product. Not only should they focus on people who want to go into public relations but also to other businesses and even the general public. Let people know that something like this exists and why it is good. Potential clients can’t buy what they don’t know.

Promote PRSA

The PRSA also needs to look into promoting themselves. This almost goes hand in hand with promoting the test. They should be seen as an organization with legitimate importance. Make the general public know who they are and how they work. The more prestige the organization receives, the more their test will be given.

Make it Mandatory

This is an extreme suggestion but it is one that makes sense. Just like lawyers, PR practitioners would have to take the test and be licensed. Not only would this raise awareness for the test but it would bring the respect that public relations is due.

In addition, a license would also help monitor practices. Practitioners would be required to be honest and ethical or lose their license to practice. On a blog by David Reich he quotes the former chairman of the Global Alliance for Public Relations. Toni Muzi Falconi said “government regulations make sense when they seek to ensure acceptable degrees of quality, fairness, timeliness, soundness and transparency of communication from… organizations that have demonstrable influence on voter, consumer and citizen attitudes, opinions or behaviors. From this perspective I believe it’s fair to say that just about every form of public relations activity today bears such impact, thus requiring overall regulation.”

EDUCATION

I found that many of the best jobs require a college degree. Some jobs are more specific and prefer you to have a certain degree like this one for Fuddruckers.

Having a college degree is valued because lets face it, that’s how the world is. All jokes aside, in college you develop a great foundation for all the knowledge and skills that you will need to pick up along the way.

EXPERIENCE

Many high profile and great paying jobs require you to have a certain amount of experience. They want to know that you have a successful track record in public relations and can get the job done.

WRITING

I once heard from someone working in public relations that “if you can write, you can find work.” This is a skill that seems to be essential to any job in public relations. This job for MTV Networks requires you to not just be comfortable with writing, but to be an expert at it. Coming up with a great idea is one thing, but you also need to be able to articulate it.

SOCIAL SKILLS

It is important to learn to work with others as a team. Also, you need to be able to communicate your thoughts and ideas to your teammates. This has been a requirement in every job posting I have looked at (in different words, but the same message).

This skill is also very important when dealing with your company’s client and/or target audience. If you reread the requirements for the MTV Network job it actually lists that the applicant be articulate. The ability to hold a real conversation is a skill that some people think would be easy but it is something we could all work on.

BACKGROUND IN MUSIC

This one is obviously more specialized compared to the other skills. I personally have an interest in music and look for opportunities in this field. This entertainment relations position for Gibson is a great example.

When choosing a company to work for, at times their target audience is narrow. This is why some businesses prefer you to have a special set of skills. You have to really know about the product in order to sell it.

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

This coming from me, a student is one thing, but here is a video made by Michigan State University’s branch of PRSSA. It is an interview of Danielle Weller (someone working in PR) giving some good advice to all of us. She reinforces many of the skills and traits I believe are needed to be successful.

I agree with the statement above and believe the “hierarchy” should be public relations, advertising, and then marketing (bias noted). However, that does not necessarily mean that there should be less interest in marketing or advertising compared to public relations. There should be strong partnership and investment in all three. The explanation of my choice will be explained but in order to really understand this concept, one must first have to know the definitions and job descriptions for all three.

What is Public Relations?

Merriam Webster says that public relations is the business of inducing the public to have understanding for and goodwill toward a person, firm, or institution. It focuses on many different audiences through earned media. Because the media is earned, it is not controlled. Public relations primary focus is to shift the public’s perception and to inform them. It is not directly related to sales.

What is Advertising?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, advertising is the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements. It is mainly focused on consumers but it can be used for bigger audiences like voters. As the definition states, it uses paid announcements that are controlled. Like public relations, advertising tries to change opinions and let the public know about products and issues.

What is Marketing?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines marketing as the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service. It targets consumers, adjusting to the 4 P’s (Product, Place, Price, and Promotion). Like advertising, marketing uses controlled paid messages through the media. What makes marketing unique is that, it is directly related to sales.

Why Should Public Relations Lead the Way?

In regards to the opening statement, it seems that the answer lies within the quote. Public relations focuses on the broadest audience in comparison to advertising and marketing. Advertising and marketing seem to be more specialized on specific audiences. With public relations leading the attack, they can collaborate easier with adverting and marketing. This works because, the audiences that marketing and advertising wants to reach out to are the ones PR want to reach. However, it does not work the other way around.

In an article by Gareth Davies posted on marketingpilgrim.com it says that consumers start their search for a product by realizing they are in need and then consider the brand names that they know. This is shown in the picture below.

While advertising does play a big role in making sure the business is recognized, its focus is still narrower than public relations. A company’s IMC (Intergrated Marketing Communications) should be like the picture. Taking the shape of a funnel, as the target audience gets smaller, so should the position of the department. Clients should mold themselves to adapt to consumer behavior.

credit to marketingpilgrim.com

The picture shows how a consumer thinks when selecting a product.