The spinners, they keep on spinning...
by
Dana Gornitzki
on Fri 21 Jul 2006 08:16 AM EDT
Joost’s entry on trust is quite poignant on the last day of this discussion.
First, think of the term public relations and its function would seem to be pretty obvious…the truth is, talk about PR with a journalist for example and you’ll evoke a whole array of emotions. The reality is, it’s a booming business and has evolved especially over the last 20 years. Spin-off businesses such as media training have also boomed – those politicians we see on late night news have more than often (probably always, on second thought) have been briefed before interviews to cover the types of questions they may be asked and the appropriate answers to match.
Trust is a huge element of public relations. Yesterday, an article came out in the
Metro relevant to this notion. Do consumers trust brands that have celebrity endorsements? According to this piece at least (and not surprisingly), people are more liable to trust friends and family, even blogs that they consider trustworthy.
Good old-fashioned word of mouth.
At the end of the day, public relations is a touch and go function – sometimes, the simplest of concepts fly when more intricate high-budget campaigns flop. There is a need, even more and more…but communicating in a more clever way.
It is ironic, as Joost remarked in his entry, that those who work in PR and marketing are at the core of producing these conversations and – very often – work with the media insiders (perhaps, even more ironic)…If trust is at the core, it’s important to communicate in a more clever way and always consider the end consequence.
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