Posts

PR in the News: The Need for PR in International Companies

Image
      Today, the entire world is integrated, connected by the internet, social media, and international operating companies. E-commerce has propelled this as well, helping to also create a global society of consumers (Seitel, 2019). The consumer class continues to expand, desiring bigger houses, cars, and nonessential goods. This can be largely beneficial for companies, as they are able to spread brand awareness and have a worldwide reach to new customers. However, in times of trouble, word can spread fast. The increase in consumption has led to companies expanding to meet consumer needs. These companies now face pressure to act ethically in the eyes of consumers. When these companies fall short, word spreads to the global public through different media channels, leading some consumers to have negative perceptions of the company. This is why public relations strategies are even more necessary today; the “public eye” that these companies are in is now worldwide. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

PR in the News: The Internal Public, an Organization’s Employees

Image
       For many companies, public relations often relates to the perception of the company, its values, and products or services in the eye of the public. Management and PR teams are constantly looking at statistics, working to creating media content, and spending money on improving their brand image. One of the most important parts of any company, however, is public relations with the internal public, or an organization’s employees. Recently, businesses have experienced a significant decline in trust from their internal public due to a few factors. Income inequality, the pace of downsizing and layoffs, the globalization of commerce, and frequent workplace changes are all issues that have gained traction and cause uncertainty among employees, leading them to have less trust in their employers (Seitel, 2019). This shows how essential public relations and communication is within an organization, to build trust and honest relationships with employees. Internal PR s...
Post a Comment
Read more

PR and Social Media - Halifax

Image
          It has been claimed that the most dangerous device known to man or woman is a 280-character instant messaging social medium named Twitter, or “X” as it is now also referred to (Seitel, 2019). The wrong messaging or perceived message from a tweet can be devastating for an individual or company. There are over 368 million monthly users on twitter, and with features like the “retweet” button or being able to “quote tweet” other’s posts allow for these messages to spread like wildfire (Dean, 2023). If the public’s opinion on the tweet backfires, this could result in a loss of sales for the company, damaged reputation, and even a loss of jobs for those involved.           One example of the weight that a 280-character tweet can hold comes from a British banking brand called Halifax. The company put out a post on Twitter with the caption “Pronouns matter” underneath a photo of a name badge with pronouns under the employee...
Post a Comment
Read more

PR in the News: Ethics and PR – Shein

Image
      It is said that within an organization, public relations practitioners must be the standard bearers of corporate ethical initiatives. PR agency advisors must also always counsel clients ethically, towards honesty and accuracy rather than lying and hiding. The Council of Public Relations Firms’ board of directors created a code of ethics and principles that outlines the ethical standards of the public relations profession (Seitel, 2019). A link to the full document outlining the PR Council’s Code of Ethics and Principles can be found here .       One company that has faced backlash and questioning on their ethics is Shein. Shein is a fast-fashion retailer that has climbed to tremendous popularity recently based on their huge variety of items available and their low prices. Shein’s target consumers consist mainly of Generation Z individuals. Recently, many target consumers have begun to question the impact of the company on the bus...
Post a Comment
Read more

PR in the News: PR Professionals and Influencing Public Opinion

Image
  Public opinion is like public relations based on the fact that there are a lot of differing definitions of the topic. The best way to understand public opinion is to separate the two terms. Public refers to a group of people that share a common interest in a subject, and opinion is the expression of an attitude on a particular topic. When attitudes strengthen, they become opinions. When opinions strengthen, they lead to actions. Public relations professionals often work to try and influence the public’s opinion on certain topics, and they do this by understanding certain “laws” of public opinion. The laws are listed below.   1.       Opinion is highly sensitive to important events. 2.       Opinion is generally determined more by events than by words—unless those words are themselves interpreted as an event. 3.       At critical times, people become more sensitive to the adequacy of their le...
Post a Comment
Read more