Monday, March 09, 2009

Sensitivity at all time high!

Too many PR people thought issuing press releases, talking on the phone, sending emails and never executing a program with measurable objectives was enough. Too bad. lots of people will lose their "jobs" but it's about time. I don't mean to sound cruel, but the days of PR being this ethereal, cloud of mystery must be die and remain dead - even when the good times return.

Good PR is about building relationships - with customers, shareholders, regulators, community, etc. Too often, PR people got wrapped up in the tactic and lost the strategy of why the tactic mattered. I often hear the short-sighted say "issue the PR (meaning press release)" and the questions will go away. And when the PR, crafted by the legal team, fans the flames - the public relations team has to put out the fire or be fired.

It's hard -- in this economy and any other economy -- to realize that the value of WHAT you do is NOT in HOW you do it, but WHY you do it. And once you've done it, can we measure how close the tactic got us to the end goal?