PR: A client's viewpoint
Link: The Submarine.
PR is not dishonest. Not quite. In fact, the reason the best PR firms are so effective is precisely that they aren't dishonest. They give reporters genuinely valuable information. A good PR firm won't bug reporters just because the client tells them to; they've worked hard to build their credibility with reporters, and they don't want to destroy it by feeding them mere propaganda.
If anyone is dishonest, it's the reporters. The main reason PR firms exist is that reporters are lazy. Or, to put it more nicely, overworked. Really they ought to be out there digging up stories for themselves. But it's so tempting to sit in their offices and let PR firms bring the stories to them. After all, they know good PR firms won't lie to them.
A good flatterer doesn't lie, but tells his victim selective truths (what a nice color your eyes are). Good PR firms use the same strategy: they give reporters stories that are true, but whose truth favors their clients.
If this is what good PR firms do, there are very, very few good PR firms out there.
Posted by: Simon Sharwood | 25 November 2005 at 10:47 AM
Very, very few
Posted by: Trevor Cook | 25 November 2005 at 10:50 AM
Good post Trevor, thanks for the link.
Posted by: Stuart Bruce | 25 November 2005 at 08:13 PM
The Submarine is a great piece and should be read by all pr pros -- and journalists.
Posted by: Scott | 27 November 2005 at 07:20 AM