Why the world needs PR

As a recent college graduate, I always get asked two questions. 1. What did you major in? 2. What do you plan on doing with your life?

When I reply communication studies, I usually am met with a blank stare of “Umm…I have no idea what that is, so I’m just gonna stare until they explain what that is.”  So I then proceed to give some layman’s phrase such as “In a gist, I can communicate with others easily.”  This is met with an even more awkward stare/smirk. I know that they are then thinking “Wow! That guy just went to school to learn how to talk to people. What a waste.”

I just don’t want to bore them with my personal definition of communication, it is over their head. That is when the 2nd question is asked. To which I respond either public relations, integrated marketing communication, or digital media.

BAM! I just blew their mind away. I always get responses such as “Wow, that sounds hard! How exciting! I could never do that job! Cool!” This is when I smile a think to myself, “That’s right, it is hard, now if you could please retract that condescending smirk and thoughts, it would be greatly appreciated.” 🙂

This brings me to the topic: Why the world needs PR.

Why do we have PR? Can’t people just understand a company’s point of view and accept it? No.

PR is essential for an organization to succeed. The public’s perception of an organization can make the difference between financial success and failure. If you have a good image with the public, chances are they will be more willing to pay for your services. PR professionals help maintain this image, and without them, companies can and will founder. With this in mind, why does PR have such a negative connotation associated with it? I know why, it’s because of the media, PR’s double-edged sword.

Organizations need the media to cover all of the “good” things they are doing within the business  for the community. Unfortunately, “good things” don’t make “good stories & ratings.” This is why a negative story about an organization will always make headlines, which leads to the negative connotation of PR.  The general public thinks that PR is about covering things up, making things seem better than they really are, aka DECEPTION. The public only sees the bad that PR can do (sometimes just bad planning/press). Just look at Business Insiders 15 Biggest PR Disasters of the Decade  If any of these organizations had just consulted with their PR Department, some of these blunders could have been avoided.

Hence why the world needs PR. These professionals, such as myself, not only help maintain a positive image with the public, but also can help prevent an organization from making mistakes that lead to the incidents.

PR professionals should never be the first to be cut in bad economic times, even more so in this digital age. We are an incredibly valuable asset…but that is another topic for another time.