PR, PR, PR Sweetie Darling…

In PR we are often accused of using ‘PR speak’. Basically, we apparently put a gloss on everything – person, place, product, etc. In essence no matter how bad that thing might be, to us, it’s bloody brilliant and the world needs to know.

This isn’t necessarily an accurate representation, but it’s a common one. Whilst watching a DVD last weekend it occurred to me that we’re not helped by arguably the UK’s most famous PR, Eddie Monsoon of Ab Fab fame, who once tried to convince the world that plastic, cheap-looking but ludicrously expensive sunglasses with interchangeable lenses in various shapes and colours, were the next big thing. ‘Pop Specs’, as Eddie called them while trying to sell the concept to her daughter, didn’t take off… thankfully!

What I’m trying to say is that the public has a image of PRs which isn’t always true. So I decided to do some very basic research. I asked a few friends and family: ‘when I tell you I’m a PR, what exactly do you think I do?’ Below are the answers… and some musings on each.

  • Friend working in marketing – ‘You do the same as us but you’re paid less’ (I’m not sure that’s true – but I’ll damn well be checking!)

  • Aunt – ‘You look after the CEO’ (That’s a PA – common mistake)

  • Journalist friend – ‘You do the stuff we don’t have the resources to do anymore – like finding and writing a story. You call it a press release, I call it a copy and paste job’ (I won’t name names here)

  • Fellow PR – ‘We find the stories within the information our clients give us. Then we tailor those stories so they become useful to the press, and of interest to their readers. We essentially handle our clients’ reputations and ensure that what they are saying will help drive their sales forward’ (That is a very PR-y explanation)

  • Parent – ‘You meet clients for lunches and you drink a lot of champagne’ (Thanks again Ms Jennifer Saunders)

  • Grandparent – ‘I haven’t got a clue to be honest. But you talk about it all the time’ (Refreshingly honest)

The list goes on. But what my ‘findings’ told me is that very few people know what PRs do. So the question is how can PRs change the public’s perception of us? Do we need to PR ourselves, so to speak? And, in fact, do we really need to? Would we want people to know the truth, or do we prefer the glamorous ideas Ab Fab puts forward?

Personally I don’t mind being compared to Eddie – it’s better than explaining to people that the job is not as champers-oriented as I was led to believe when deciding which career to plump for at Uni. Plus, my friend the journo (quoted above) is often compared to Patsy which is far, far worse.