PR-ing our PR work to non-PR folks

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Last month at a networking dinner in Toronto, I coincidentally shared a table with two fellow PR consultants. Our conversation drifted to how executives in corporations do not actually understand what PR people can do for them.

The conversation went on a predictable course: lamentation of how difficult it is to explain to others what PR people do, let alone what we are capable of doing. There was the self-congratulatory we-do-so-many-things idea, the we-are-so-inexpensive-compared to-others idea and the usual other clichés.

But we three agreed that it is extremely difficult to explain what PR does.

I couldn’t help but wonder then, what we are actually doing in PR. After all, isn’t the PR professional’s core competency to “package” complex ideas into attractive, bite-sized packages so that others can easily understand them?

This, I think is the crux of the problem with the PR industry and it gives rise to findings such as the recently-released study on “How Executives in Large Companies Perceive PR: A Ground-breaking Survey of over 300 Stakeholders Outside the Comms Function.”

The study found that 40% of executives don’t think PR delivers good value. It also found that business leaders have a poor understanding of PR, with 20% of them not knowing what PR stands for.

According to the report, over a third of executives admitted that they did not have a good understanding of what the PR function does within their business, with the survey finding that generally, the larger the company, the lower the understanding of PR. Respondents were also asked to name the business functions they had the strongest understanding of and only 15% of participants put communications in their top five.

This is pretty damning for an industry whose job is to help build brand awareness and influence audience behaviors for companies. 

Two questions PR professionals might need to ask themselves:

  1. Is the corporate narrative and messages we craft often times too self-serving and unconvincing? The truth is that many messages are just corporate speak that do not answer the “so what?” question that is posed silently by their audiences. Such messages convince nobody, are not “talkable” and serve as a placebo for themselves and their clients.
  2. Are we taking ourselves seriously enough and earning a seat at the table?  PR can be a nebulous concept as it can mean so many things depending on the context. But it can also have significant power and sway amongst the C-level, when clearly articulated and demonstrated. Trying to comprehensively explain PR is a losing proposition as it is not straightforward. A better way is to first pique their interest and show the value.

Hence when I am confronted by the PR-industry dreaded question: “So what do you do in PR?” I usually quote the words that my first boss always said: “We make anything complicated sound simple; anything simple sound important.”

Bang. They’re caught when you say that. They take at least half a second to turn it over in their heads and they usually smile at the novelty of the answer. Many then inquire with their eyes or words, “What do you mean?”

That’s when you know that you have their attention, hook, line and sink, and you go ahead to explain various aspects of PR that are relevant to them.

If the PR industry wants to be understood it must start with an ability to encapsulate what it does into an intriguingly compact and attractive package. Crafting such messages is crucial. In fact, messaging is one of the core aspects to PR: what to tell, who to tell and how to tell it. We are story tellers, and people’s understanding of our story is essential to the profession’s success.

Content Development

Effective, creative content is at the core of what we do. From B2B and B2C, our expertise spans article writing and storytelling, editorial planning, key messaging, video production and more. And we help ensure that your content gets seen. We amplify your brand’s story through an integrated, custom content strategy across digital, print, social and broadcast channels. We maximize owned, earned and paid media to amplify your message, making sure it gets in front of the right audience to drive the results you want.

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Corporate Communications

An integral part of any business, your brand reputation and corporate communication sets the tone with the public, your clients, employees and stakeholders – and we make sure you get the tone right. BlueSky helps you understand what matters to your audiences – both external and internal – and develops meaningful programs that resonate. We help clients with crisis and issues management, employee and executive communications, community relations and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Whether it’s a workplace fundraiser event, an annual report, infographics, HR video or speechwriting, we help you share your message with relevant stakeholders.

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Social Media

Social media demands an always on, two-way communication, transparency, and authentic interaction. More importantly, it demands strategy. We’ve managed social communities, developed social media guidelines and created engaging, impactful content, whether a short Instagram caption or long-form executive-published posts on LinkedIn. Through social listening tools and insights, we can make sure you’re talking about what matters most to your audience, and that your online and traditional PR efforts are integrated seamlessly and effectively.

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Public Affairs & Advocacy

Our in-depth experience providing integrated government relations, public affairs and strategic communications tailored to your needs helps our clients navigate the public policy process in order to successfully achieve central objectives. We work with you to better position your priorities within the current political landscape to ensure you’re able to gain the ear of key decision-makers and reach your goals.

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Influencer Marketing

When it comes to social influencers it’s not about who has the biggest audience, but about engagement, trust and authentic connection. We leverage valued relationships with nano- to celebrity-level creators, working collaboratively to ensure they deliver quality content that resonates with your target audience and is on-point with your brand messaging. Our winning formula requires a thoughtful approach that combines the right people, the right content and the right distribution to maximize engagement and drive impact at scale. You’ll see the results in our campaign evaluations – supported by numbers that exceed industry average performance.

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Media Relations & Media Training

In an environment that is increasingly pay-to-play, earned media remains the holy grail of coverage for brand credibility. Over the years we’ve developed solid relationships with traditional and online media, and we know the elements of success for securing interest from trusted journalists at top-notch publications. We excel at crafting tailored, compelling stories that help keep your brand top-of-mind across print, broadcast and digital channels. You’ll see the results through our media measurement and reporting and assess your share of voice (SOV) among competitors.

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