PR is manipulative. We should own them. I don’t trust them.

So we’re in general agreement? We take PR with a grain of salt?

A PR plan is only worth one page.

The dreaded PR should go somewhere in the marketing mix.

What’s the cheapest in the marketing mix? PR. You can get free coverage just by sending a media release. You can do it yourself in an hour.

the dreaded PR: It’s manipulative and only good for media

If you follow my Twitter feed you might have seen my tweets on Friday about a presenter’s views on PR. If you don’t follow my Twitter account, why not? Follow me now.

The hour and a half presentation was delivered to a room of 20 or so lovely people attending the FIA’s Skills 2 fundraising course. This course is an intensive 3-day stream where fundraisers are up skilled in the ways to raise money and increase their success for their varying NFPs. Of course, as well as elements such as donor management and prospect research, there is a marketing and communications module.

The marketing and communications module is in my view, one of the most important for these participants. Many of who don’t have experience in basic public relations or marketing, and yet understand the relationship between branding and revenue generation.

So it was with great regret that the module turned out to be a fucking PR bashing, with personal and frankly, ill-informed views being lapped up by my course colleagues.

Before I go on, I will point out the facilitator, Kristofer Rogers, had some great insights to share to the group around marketing and what he called ‘communications’. The irony is that what he was talking about was actually what I and others understand to be strategic public relations.

But his perception was that PR was a separate, and inferior element in the marketing mix. He, as a marketer, asserted that PR was only good for media relations, and that the rest was manipulation and deception.

He even fucking brought out the recent Virgin Blue email error (you know, how they accidentally emailed their entire database with a Gold upgrade notification, only to correct it a couple of hours later. This database was 2 million people) and asked how many thought it was a PR stunt. A large proportion of the room put their hands up.

For Fucks Sake.

Now, hear this marketer. PR is not just about getting free coverage by sending a media release, which you can do yourself. I’ve posted about that here.

And, your views on PR as a manipulative, inauthentic way of communicating with people (whether they are donors, or any other stakeholders) is fucking ridiculous and to be frank, quite 1980’s.

If you want to throw stones, let’s look at marketing shall we?

Who invented impulse buying strategies, which encourages people (often who can least afford it) to buy items (often useless and completely not needed) on impulse?

Where did pester power come from? There are some very real questions around the ethics of advertising and marketing to children, and you just have to watch ‘Consuming Kids’ to be concerned. Another one I saw was ‘How the kids took over’. “The marketing assault is aimed not only at getting children to spend. Even companies who market adult products, such as cars, are enlisting children to help persuade their parents to buy the “right” brand. So how did the kids achieve such pull, and where is it leading?”

Marketing makes us fat. Would you really buy all that junk food, if you weren’t swamped in marketing of that perfect burger or how Coke Zero will improve your life?

See how easy it is to put out pretty wild claims, find a link or paper to support it and feel better about myself?

But, really, what this comes down to is two things:

1. Marketing and public relations are increasingly merging into one discipline
2. Public relations professionals need to stand up and correct shitheads that propagate our bad image.

Let’s look at marketing and public relations merging into a super power that will, I don’t doubt, take over the world one conversation at a time.

It’s only natural for disciplines to evolve such as public relations moving from the focus on media relations, to a new strategic management function focusing on two-way relationships with your publics.

As has marketing, which, as wikipedia explains, has undergone similar evolution including:

Robert Bartels in The History of Marketing Thought’ categorised the development of marketing theory decade by decade from the beginning of the 20th century thus:

• 1900s: discovery of basic concepts and their exploration
• 1910s: conceptualisation, classification and definition of terms
• 1920s: integration on the basis of principles
• 1930s: development of specialisation and variation in theory
• 1940s: reappraisal in the light of new demands and a more scientific approach
• 1950s: reconceptualisation in the light of managerialism, social development and quantitative approaches
• 1960s: differentiation on bases such as managerialism, holism, environmentalism, systems, and internationalism
• 1970s: socialisation; the adaptation of marketing to social change

With the growth in importance of marketing departments and their associated marketing managers, the field has become ripe for the propagation of management fads which do not always lend themselves to periodization.

The emerging field of marcomms is where the future of both marketing and public relations is.

Public Relations cannot operate without a marketing slant, and marketing increasingly understands that the theory of public relations is critical to an integrated and successful business. The argument needs to move away from my dick is bigger than yours, or who is the boss PR or marketing, and more into a symbiotic partnership.

To discount the benefits of either field is detrimental to achieving your objectives whether they are to sell more wine, or to raise funds or even to win your seat. Stop with the childish warring, and start asking yourself how you can leverage the ‘opposition’ to your advantage.

Marketers like Kristofer, need to let go of the power struggle and embrace change. Working with your strategic public relations professionals is not going to hurt your bottom dollar, but it might bruise your ego in the short-term.

Public relations needs to stand up and be heard

Yep I’m whining here about this particular marketer. But his views, sadly, are not unique. I’ve posted here about the need for PR to re-brand ourselves.

Other highly knowledgeable and experienced public relations professionals have also posted their views on the benefits and strategic outcomes PR can bring. Have a read of Trevor Young’s post here, and Craig Pearce’s insightful post here.

If that’s not enough for you, check out the PRIA’s wealth of knowledge here.

Now that you’re informed about what PR actually is, let’s explore how we can change perceptions.

It’s up to us to challenge and question people who hold ill-informed and naïve views. I did on Friday, in a passive way as I understood the 20 people there wouldn’t appreciate a standing debate over what is and isn’t public relations vs marketing.

However, I spoke with the FIA representative at the course, and will follow it up formally with them around liaising with the PRIA so they can understand the value of public relations in the fundraising mix. This may make a difference and influence their choice of trainers in the future.

But it is also up to all of us to carry the flag. If you’re aware of misconceptions or down right bullshit, why don’t you challenge it? Why don’t you advocate for what you and your job can really achieve?

At the end of the day though, this won’t change every person’s views on our industry. We need to be smarter about it. We need to outsmart the marketers and take over the world, one dodgy conference presenter at a time.

related posts

• how can PR increase accountability and where should it be located in an organisation? (10)
• a simple PR internal audit could save you from shit creek (2)
• the case for re-branding PR (4)