Public Relations is often misconstrued. Here, we share the three misconceptions of what it means to be a publicist.
Public relations (PR) practitioners have often been misunderstood for the work they do. To many, PR is a life of excitement and high life and associated with gifts, drinking and socialising with beautiful people. However, truth be told, working in a PR agency is a demanding and stressful job that requires much professionalism, skills and knowledge. Here are the 3 common misconceptions of PR debunked:
1. PR is not glamorous: PR is hard work
Wine and dine is not PR work. It is, however, at times, a part of persistent hard work that has been going on behind the scenes. Even during some seemingly glamorous events, PR agents are in fact still working and keeping on their toes to ensure the event runs smoothly. Right from the moment of pitching to a client and clinching a deal, be it for food and beverage (F&B) PR to consumer lifestyle PR, a professional PR team has to focus and commit to delivering the best results they can achieve through months of meticulous and diligent research, planning, execution and follow-ups. Instead of clearing your evenings for red carpet and martinis, you might very well find yourself constantly thinking of ways to improve the minute different minute details of a campaign or upcoming event and churning out reports.
2. PR is not master of none: PR knows what works
The PR industry stretches across many different fields, from fashion PR, medical healthcare PR, event PR to hospitality and tourism PR. Even though there are specific skill sets for each of these, which thus conveys the portrayal of being a jack of all trades, it is a misconception that a PR professional is a master of none. PR practitioners are to be experts in navigating the political, technological, economic and sociocultural nuances of each country or locality in order to deliver appropriate and effective messages and plans for desired outcomes. The ability to leverage the different networks of knowledge and resources sets a PR practitioner apart from being a know-it-all to being an effective master strategist.
3. PR is not about the good-looking ones: PR is about the ones with attitude
While good looks are to some extent a natural plus when networking in social events, they can only get one so far. The quality of results ultimately boils down to attitude. Work ethics, discipline and diligence are all part and parcel of being a professional PR agent clients respect. Besides, in this age where digital PR is becoming more prevalent and more work has to be done online, it is the internal makeup of the person that would speak volume. The attractiveness of chiseled jawlines and on-fleek eyebrows really does fail in comparison to that of a well-executed social media campaign. Remember, statistics over cosmetics!
