Sunday June 22 2008

PUBLIC Relations (PR) is one of the hottest jobs in Ireland at the moment but not for all the right reasons. In the past, television shows like Absolutely Fabulous and Sex and the City have portrayed PR as a glamourous field of parties, where women have a glass of bubbly in one hand and a cell phone in the other and swank around chatting up journalists. Isn't it ironic how the main purpose of PR is to get good press and avoid bad press but PR itself has been the victim of bad publicity over the years?

Such images of PR executive Samantha Jones from Sex and the City, who radiates confidence in everything she does -- whether it's landing a star client or getting a table at the trendiest restaurant in town -- have done nothing to help the public understand or respect the functions of PR or dispel the notion that it is a lightweight function of party planners. One senior practitioner called it: "the misconception is that public relations is about blowing up balloons or at its worst lying and misguiding the public." To make matters worse there are many disparaging terms used to describe PR practitioners such as "spin doctor" or "flack".

Paul Allen of leading PR firm Paul Allen Associates would hate to be starting out at the bottom of the PR ladder these days as he feels it's so competitive. He deals with serious issues of the day such as crisis management and reputation management and has no time for the fluffy stuff as he puts it. He said: "There are many misconceptions out there about the industry because there are certain types of PR which attract certain individuals who only want to get into the newspapers and turn up at the opening of an envelope. They crave publicity for themselves rather than their clients."

Allen defends the industry and comments on the hard work and sweat which professionals put into the job. He said: "PR is a difficult marketplace to enter into. There are enormous amounts of 'peer pressure' to try to get into the industry and once in, the stakes are high and the work is results driven. People are not there just for the popularity stakes."

To reinforce how today's young PR executives are on the rise and how seriously they take their careers, I spoke to three young ladies from leading public relations firms and let them explain to me the misconceptions that surround their industry and what the PR game is really about.

Justine Luykx works as an Account Executive in the Consumer Division of Slattery Communications managing campaigns for Irish and international clients. Justine agrees that it is a female dominated area which has unfairly bred certain stereotypes. She said: "There is a perception that girls working in PR walk around in Jimmy Choos or Manolos with a clipboard attached to their arms and a mic headset attached to their heads, but this couldn't be further from the truth. We do use headsets on occasion at events in big venues and the same goes for clipboards but the majority of the time; we are at our desks or meeting clients. We work to deliver results for our clients. Perhaps the idea of Samantha Jones from Sex and the City as a PR consultant holds true for PR in New York, but thankfully it is a very different picture in Ireland."

Juliet Ward is another young lady in the industry working as PR manager for Innocent Drinks in Ireland. She believes there are misconceptions about every industry, from lawyers to doctors to builders but unfortunately for those outside the PR industry it comes down to the banal image of glamourous people drinking champagne and exchanging air-kisses at parties. Juliet adds: "I think the biggest misconception is that PR is easy. It is far from easy, it involves long hours in the office and to be able to combine strategic, business-oriented thinking with creative and innovative ideas to generate real results for their brand or client."

According to Juliet, the PR industry in Ireland is blessed with a pool of very well educated professionals. She says: "With multiple post-graduate courses now specialising in PR, the high standard of knowledge held by people at entry level means that there is high competition to enter the PR industry in Ireland."

Juliet adds: "Of course there's the odd 'you call that work?' moment when you're outsourcing something a bit quirky like a ten-foot high real sponge cake or hand-painting egg cups for a press drop but then that is only one, small side of PR that gives rise to the misconceptions out there. They're definitely outweighed by the work that goes into the business side of PR like the strategic planning; media and shareholder relations; reputation management; financial aspects; campaign and crisis management."

Sarah Williams is a PR Consultant in the Consumer and Brands Division of Murray Consultants, whose working day reflects how there is no such thing as a 'typical' day in the industry. She said: "I could be doing anything from organising press trips to a luxury hotel, planning a viral PR campaign for a client podcast or organising a press conference with leading GAA players in Croke Park."

Sarah feels PR is more about effective communication campaigns than partying. She said: "You could be out seven nights a week if you really wanted to be, but I only go to events if they have a direct relevance to one of my clients or if a friend is hosting the event. In saying that, events are enjoyable and also serve as a great networking opportunity with media and other PR professionals -- which can lead to future opportunities for clients. It is vital to keep abreast of new trends all the time and to constantly explore and read a variety of media and bring your findings and learnings to bear on behalf of your clients."

So hopefully we are beginning to figure out how PR professionals have more in common with strategists than they do with the cocktail swilling glitterati and they will no longer have to justify and defend what it is they do.

Gerry Davis, the man in the know, is the Chief Executive of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland. He said: "I genuinely believe that most people who've ever bothered to think about it understand the need for professional communication and see public relations as an essential and strategic function. Just take a look at the public relations campaigns short-listed in this Thursday's PR Excellence Awards and you'll get a good flavour of what professional communication is all about and the range of organisations that employ PR professionals and who understand its value and impact."

PR is misunderstood. It hasn't been given the seriousness it deserves as an industry and it is not for the faint-hearted. But no one put it better than the real professional in her field Joanne Byrne, Co-founder and Director of Presence PR when she said: "People often don't know what PR can achieve if handled in the right way. There are many preconceptions but maybe that's our own fault. I firmly believe we should be more proactive in selling our industry. I mean -- that's what we do for clients every day so we should be able to do it for ourselves."