From the doldrums of ignominy to the distinction of becoming
‘integral’ to the clients’ marketing mix, Public Relations’ journey to the
boardroom has been agonizingly long for PR practitioners and loathsome by the
rest of the communications hacks, including colleagues from advertising and
collaborators from the Media.
Thankfully, it seems that the end is nigh, the destination
is within reach, PR’s path to the summit can be opposed, yet not obstructed.
According to some,
PR is a support function. At least they
have an opinion and they are free to express it, albeit at the expense of their own credibility and professional posthumous
fame.
But the majority of the advertising lot– from client service
account managers to creatives and from digital designers to media planners – cannot
offer any judgment other than a yawn perhaps and a pair of watery blank eyes in
an effort to mask their ignorance simply because they haven’t got a clue.
It’s frustrating to those of us who simply must waste eons
of manpower hours in meaningless ‘integrated’ campaign planning meetings where
PR is in the agenda, usually at the bottom and always out of time.
It’s even more frustrating when PR is actually being discussed
only to realise that the discussion isn’t about PR at all, but about PR the way
they perceive it.
I call this PRustration
- the fatigue and mental drainage experienced
by PR professionals when put in the presence of fellow communicators who offer
an opinion or a PoV, (or even a yawn) for PR strategies and tactics.
Surely we can make this new word official, right? Just
highlight the word and add it on your MS dictionary, I promise you, it works.
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