PR is was IS my chosen profession.** For the past couple weeks, the term ‘PR’ has been tossed around a lot, in ways 1) not good and B) not accurate, which has me in a mood.
What PR Is.
The Public Relations Society of America defines public relations as “shaping and framing public perception.” Practitioners do so by “engaging and building relationships with key stakeholders.”
Internal, Marketing, Corporate, and Brand Communications, as well as Social Media and DUH, Media Relations are all part of Public Relations. Other PR definitions include HR and Employee Relations, Investor Relations, Government Relations and Public Affairs.
Public Relations is the work of making sure an organization’s communications works for the organization. It’s about outcomes and results, earned ROI and reputation that serves a company’s best interests – In. A. Positive. Way.
What PR is Not. (Hint: THAT.)
And now, a look back on Scaramucci's full time as White House communications director: pic.twitter.com/cgT9FB0mtm
— Ryan Parker (@TheRyanParker) July 31, 2017
Scaramucci’s tenure as WH Communications Director was not relationship building, nor communicating with stakeholders. It wasn’t engagement, and most importantly, it had nothing to do with strategy from a well-thought out communications plan.
What happened those 10 days doesn’t even qualify as a fair representation of media relations. This was an organizational failure that became a PR problem. It was not Public Relations. Period.
Failure, head-meet-desk failure, that’s what happens when organizations think that effective communications aren’t essential to success. See also: what you get when you don’t hire a professional.
While Public Relations can be many things, what he did or attempted to do wasn’t one of them. Omitting some of Mr. Scaramucci’s more colorful phraseology (any X-Files fans reading?), comparing what I do to that sort of unprofessionalism is insulting. So please, stop calling it PR.
Politics and trolling aside: Is it just me?