During the course of the last few months, both work and personal work-related pursuits have had me questioning what it is I actually do, as well as – more importantly – the impact thereof. What, if anything, would happen if I fell off the face of the Earth? Or if the entire craft that is Public Relations dwindled into a lack of existence? The more I thought about it, the more I circled back to the idea of purpose. What is our Purpose as PR professionals? How do we contribute to the world? This year, as Steve Shepperson-Smith, the new President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) (the world's only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners) set out his focus areas or vision for what the CIPR would aim for in the year. Some of the key points that resonated for me are: “We're talking a lot about shaping society this year.” “The CIPR believes in social mobility.” “We want to demonstrate that PR is a force for good.” “In an era of fake news and low institutional trust, the CIPR’s mission of effective and ethical communication is as important as ever.”.The first almost sums it up – the industry is duty bound to act responsibly in helping shape better societies. If we vanished as a collective, the notable lack in progress should be just that: notable. If the PR representative or function of a business or an organisation is not in the decision-making room, then leadership should know this is an inherent risk factor. The reputation of a business can oftentimes be the very thing that protects an organisation from crumbling, serving as a veritable chainmail or armour in tough times, and acting as a blanket support for opportunity too. So why aren’t we making the most of the very people who help enforce this crucial aspect in an organisation? And why isn’t this a measure or metric in every single leadership scorecard as it should be? Serious or playful, done well, sound Public Relations efforts and practice – not just managing press and writing press releases – can shape perceptions, inspire connections, and build the right collaborations. Even our beloved fried chicken can completely win hearts and minds in hopes that they protect their brand in greasy times. About 4 years ago, KFC ran out of chicken in the majority of their 870 UK & Ireland restaurants due to delivery delays from their warehouses. Their PR and marketing team were quick to act, but doing so was in itself made easier by the fact that the brand already had an incredible share of voice and was beloved for their playful engagement with customers and members of the public for decades already. Building on an already full sentiment tank, KFC quickly became FCK, with supporting adverts in press and in their infamous buckets, truly owning their FCK up. .Supporting this, they judiciously maintained their website so customers could check in for the chicken status of their local eatery and kept on top of the news in real time by answering questions via social media in a truly human and engaging way – exactly what loyal friend chicken fans would expect of their beloved brand. Frustrations were hard to hold on to, for coupling that existing sentiment with even great action and engagement made even the iratest customer grease his troubles away. In fact, social engagement and brand affinity were galvanised even better, and they continue to proactively invest in strengthening their reputation date. Bodies like the CIPR are great in guiding this sort of perception around PR itself, but the onus is on PR folks to actually deliver, right?So, what’s the impact of what we do in PR? Whether it is in supporting corporate or retail, we can build the reputation, goodwill, affinity and sentiment of a business or brand up to not only attract less risk and issue, but even weatherproof or futureproof them from inevitable issues when they do arise. And that’s a responsibility we cannot and should not take lightly. Indeed, it is something any leader would be foolish not to make the most of, lest they want more FCK ups than they need further down the road.
During the course of the last few months, both work and personal work-related pursuits have had me questioning what it is I actually do, as well as – more importantly – the impact thereof. What, if anything, would happen if I fell off the face of the Earth? Or if the entire craft that is Public Relations dwindled into a lack of existence? The more I thought about it, the more I circled back to the idea of purpose. What is our Purpose as PR professionals? How do we contribute to the world? This year, as Steve Shepperson-Smith, the new President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) (the world's only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners) set out his focus areas or vision for what the CIPR would aim for in the year. Some of the key points that resonated for me are: “We're talking a lot about shaping society this year.” “The CIPR believes in social mobility.” “We want to demonstrate that PR is a force for good.” “In an era of fake news and low institutional trust, the CIPR’s mission of effective and ethical communication is as important as ever.”.The first almost sums it up – the industry is duty bound to act responsibly in helping shape better societies. If we vanished as a collective, the notable lack in progress should be just that: notable. If the PR representative or function of a business or an organisation is not in the decision-making room, then leadership should know this is an inherent risk factor. The reputation of a business can oftentimes be the very thing that protects an organisation from crumbling, serving as a veritable chainmail or armour in tough times, and acting as a blanket support for opportunity too. So why aren’t we making the most of the very people who help enforce this crucial aspect in an organisation? And why isn’t this a measure or metric in every single leadership scorecard as it should be? Serious or playful, done well, sound Public Relations efforts and practice – not just managing press and writing press releases – can shape perceptions, inspire connections, and build the right collaborations. Even our beloved fried chicken can completely win hearts and minds in hopes that they protect their brand in greasy times. About 4 years ago, KFC ran out of chicken in the majority of their 870 UK & Ireland restaurants due to delivery delays from their warehouses. Their PR and marketing team were quick to act, but doing so was in itself made easier by the fact that the brand already had an incredible share of voice and was beloved for their playful engagement with customers and members of the public for decades already. Building on an already full sentiment tank, KFC quickly became FCK, with supporting adverts in press and in their infamous buckets, truly owning their FCK up. .Supporting this, they judiciously maintained their website so customers could check in for the chicken status of their local eatery and kept on top of the news in real time by answering questions via social media in a truly human and engaging way – exactly what loyal friend chicken fans would expect of their beloved brand. Frustrations were hard to hold on to, for coupling that existing sentiment with even great action and engagement made even the iratest customer grease his troubles away. In fact, social engagement and brand affinity were galvanised even better, and they continue to proactively invest in strengthening their reputation date. Bodies like the CIPR are great in guiding this sort of perception around PR itself, but the onus is on PR folks to actually deliver, right?So, what’s the impact of what we do in PR? Whether it is in supporting corporate or retail, we can build the reputation, goodwill, affinity and sentiment of a business or brand up to not only attract less risk and issue, but even weatherproof or futureproof them from inevitable issues when they do arise. And that’s a responsibility we cannot and should not take lightly. Indeed, it is something any leader would be foolish not to make the most of, lest they want more FCK ups than they need further down the road.
