There are quite a few misconceptions about what it actually entails to work in the public relations industry. The most common one is that PR is all about balloons and parties. It’s not. It’s also not easy, glamorous or pretty.
By Darren Gilbert
There are quite a few misconceptions about what it actually entails to work in the public relations industry. The most common one is that PR is all about balloons and parties. It’s not. It’s also not easy, glamorous or pretty. At least not all the time, according to Soapbox Communications managing director, Inky Dresner. PR is a lot of hard work, and tougher than what most people think. It is about maintaining relationships with the media and understanding your clients inside out. The problem is that there are many young professionals going into the industry believing the misconception rather than the reality.
It’s proving to be a headache for Dresner, who admits that this reputation has done the industry a disservice, resulting in the development of a gap or hole in PR. It’s not hard to understand why, though. If you need figures, you only have to turn to Soapbox Communications’ account assistant, Aisling Philips. Philips completed her higher diploma in PR in 2008 and of the 80-odd people that began it, only 20 finished. Why so few? According to Philips, they had realised that PR wasn’t for them. And that’s fine, because this is the thing: as Dresner points out, PR is not for everyone. But that is cold comfort to those within the industry.
“At the bottom, you have a lot [of graduates] coming in and they are not staying with the course. They are coming in with this misperception of what the industry is about and in the end, [they] leave disappointed [when they realise it’s the opposite].” Dresner isn’t the only one who believes this — Sarah Murchison, owner of LayerCake Recruitment, is just as quick to acknowledge the issue, adding that the gap is affecting every level within the industry, including senior management. “I was called up recently to put out an advert for a senior PR position. It’s a nightmare trying to find them because there aren’t as many as there should be.”
What you get will be a valuable industry slowly imploding on itself as the wrong people are placed in the wrong positions. My colleague, Samantha Cook wrote in more detail about whether or not PR graduates are properly trained in an article last year. Kirsten Hopwood-Smith, founder of Prestige Communications, adds that this will have an obvious consequence – the job won’t be done effectively. She also believes that it will have a disastrous overall effect on the reputation of an industry that is still not understood or fully appreciated. “[It needs to be understood that] this affects the whole industry and not just certain PR firms. We cannot settle for mediocrity [but should rather focus on being] the best at what we do and who we represent.”
Dresner lays it out straight. “I believe that some PR companies are masquerading as true PR agencies [that employ media and communication specialists]. If you want to sell yourself as a company that specialises in events, promotions and parties, then sell yourself as an event organiser rather, because that is what you are.” Meanwhile, Hopwood-Smith believes that too many companies representing top brands are employing inexperienced staff members to manage accounts at a fraction of the cost. It is what ultimately leads to bad management and poor results and PR losing face.
Mind you, there shouldn’t be any panic just yet. Yes, there is gap in the industry, but that doesn’t mean it is anywhere near to being a disaster. For Murchison, the solution comes down to encouraging and attracting the right people, while also identifying those with potential. Meanwhile, Dresner believes it’s also about understanding that PR is a professional career. It’s not “light and whimsical”, as she puts it. “I think also that those who offer courses should be specific in what the courses involve. PR is a lot of hard work [and] it should be treated like any other career.”
The good thing, according to Hopwood-Smith, is that more and more companies are adopting PR practices as part of their marketing strategies and brand development when compared to a few years ago. Meanwhile, a conversation with Dresner around the prospects of PR will leave you encouraged as the year ahead looks full of promise. “It is almost as if there has been a reintroduction of PR after a really dry 2011. I’d say there is definitely a buzz again.”
In order to keep that buzz going, though, the right people need to be involved. Misconceptions of the industry need to be laid bare and replaced with reality – however disconcerting that may seem. As Dresner concludes, “PR is not something you study because you don’t know what else to do. It’s a big job [that requires your full attention]. It’s a professional career.” If everyone approaches it like this, she believes that the ‘gap’ that is there won’t be as big as it is now.
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