Public Relation Profession

Question: Discuss about the Public Relation Profession. Answer: Introduction: Definition of Public Relation (PR) Profession Public Relation (PR) is the process of maintaining healthy and active relationship between a recognised individual or any organisation with public (audience). Public relations mainly deal with the public views about the organisation and that its main aim is to create and maintain a positive image (Osborne, Radnor and Nasi, 2013, pp.135). This relationship needs to be maintained in accordance with the requirement and expectation of public, employee, stakeholder, and customer. PR specialists must have good communication skill for publicity and brand management, such that organisational objectives can be achieved in terms of gaining market competitiveness as well as attractiveness (Al Ariss and Crowley-Henry, 2013, pp.78). Background Information The scope of present discussion is focused on the optimal public relation practices that are requisite for organisational success. Furthermore, these studies were correlated with the visionary practice and actions of the celebrity couple Roxy Jacenko and Oliver Curtis. Roxy Jacenko, from Australia, is an author, socialite, and owner of a PR agency. Her husband, Oliver Curtis works as an insider trade professional in a financial institute. Currently, he is in Parklea Prison due to certain issues (not discussed in this report). Roxy is one of the well-known business women in Australia and is called as the PR Queen Roxy Jacenko in Sydney, by virtue of her professional success (Financial Review, 2016). As a public figure, she is capable of collecting attention for her clients as well as for herself. Roxy is the owner of the very well-known PR agency in Sydney known as Sweaty Betty PR. Roxy was an average student in her school day, but she dreamt of being an entrepreneur in her future (Ro xy Jacenko - Sweaty Betty PR). At the age of 14, she started working for a part time job at McDonalds. This job helped her to gain experience and develop strategic vision, which in turn helped her to operate her responsibility at the company in a systematic way. In the later stage of life, Roxy worked as a receptionist for Mark Keighery. Even this job also helped her to gain experience and motivate her to become an entrepreneur (Public Relations and Communications, 2016). Best Public Relation (PR) Practices As mentioned in the above section, PR is the process to enhance the relationship and information flow between the organisations with the concerned audience, through effective practices. Optimal PR practices to be used for better and efficient communication are as follows: Clear articulation of prospects in front of media: It is important to convey clear, accurate and concise information before the media. It is necessary to drag the attention of the reporter toward ones story using 5 Ws and H such as which include Why, When, Where, What, When and How (Thunnissen, Boselie and Fruytier, 2013, pp.326). Accurate identification of media to outreach the information: It is necessary to identify the correct and proper media source to outreach the information to the public. Conveying accurate information to the right media is required to reach the information to the audience (Scherer, Palazzo and Seidl, 2013, pp.259). Fragmenting the aimed audiences: Various types of audiences must be marked and divided into categories such as customers, business partners, and suppliers. This will be helpful in supplementing accurate information to appropriate segment (Al Ariss, A. and Crowley-Henry, M., 2013, pp.78). Connecting with various tools: Nowadays social media is the most useful source to convey the information. Hence, for the purpose of maintaining public relationship connecting with media and also directly to public the various social platforms available are twitter, facebook, blogs and LinkedIn. Additionally, radio, television, and newspaper also serve as an excellent source for promotion (Caganova, 2015, pp.51). Listing of media: There should be a list of media so that there would not be any confusion regarding the interaction with the media. It is always better to interact with the media personally to deliver the story (Scherer, Palazzo and Seidl, 2013, pp.259). Updating the profile: It is paramount for any well-known personality or for reputed business, to prepare a well-organised profile for the public to look into. Along with that, it is necessary to update the profile regularly, so that that public will get correct and latest news (Cornelissen, 2014). Maintaining relationship: Creating and maintaining a relationship with the media is one of the best PR practices. Building and maintaining relationship requires both time and Hence it should be done with a lot of patience. Reporters need to be treated as a friend, and this helps to create bonding (Cornelissen, 2014). Honesty: Honesty is the foremost quality required in the PR practices. Accurate and genuine data needs to be provided to the media and to the public. Determination of information regarding public: Determining the public views and opinions relating to the organisation through various sources. Analysing results: PR professionals should evaluate different results from campaign, events, interviews and advertisements. They conduct campaigns to influence and change the perception of, mainly targeted publics (Al Ariss, A. and Crowley-Henry, M., 2013, pp.78). Roxys Role at a Publicist Roxy first worked as public relations for Diesel Company and later on at the age of 24, she decided to open her own PR agency named Sweaty Betty PR. With time the PR agency grew up and till now it has been reported that the PR firm has an income of around $10 million turnovers per year (Financial Review, 2016). For being a successful PR, she replied very quickly to media emails. She wanted that media should follow her not because of her best products, rather because of her talent and efficiency. Earlier she made mistakes by representing around 150 brands through her PR agency, which proved to be a blunder for her career. Later she revised her mistake and reduced the number to around 70 brands which include Oliver Peoples, Harris Scarfes, and celebrities like Maude Garrett (McMahon, N. 2016). According to her, she wanted to represent few numbers of brands and all should have different stories and according to that, she can send that number of media releases. There was a point in time when she decided to sell Sweaty Betty PR. Significant turnover has once become a topic of concern for her business. Now she employs only 18 people in her team. She is quite obsessive and irrational in nature, which people may like or dislike as a team leader. As a person, she describes herself to be harsh from outside but soft from inside. She is quite active in social media and an active user of Instagram (Public Relations and Communications, 2016). Comparison of PR Practices by Roxy with the Optimal Training Approach In contrast to the PR practices used above, Roxys PR practices are significant that makes her success achievement possible. To become an independent entrepreneur, both experience as well as capital is equally necessary. To set up a PR agency, Roxy had gathered experiences from her past jobs that are by working for a part time job at McDonalds and working as PR for Diesel Company. She knows very well the importance of media for her agency and hence treats them very nicely (McMahon, N. 2016). Being a publicist and a PR consultant, Roxy is always in contact with the media and has given many interviews with media. She has done a few television reality shows which helped her to gain popularity among public. Being a good PR, she is always interested in her audience and tries to attract and gain the attention of public (Public Relations and Communications, 2016). One of the outstanding prospects of PR practice is to be active in social media, which is precisely followed by Roxy (Osborne, Radnor and Nasi, 2013, pp.135). She immediately responds to media and public through email, Facebook, Twitter, Blog and is an active user of Instagram (McMahon, N. 2016). But sometimes being the leader she is obsessive and irrational in nature which might create tension between her and her staffs, but in spite of this, she is soft from inside. Overall, her active engagement in information management and communication with media is the key to her success as a publicist (Financial Review, 2016). References: Al Ariss, A. and Crowley-Henry, M., 2013. Self-initiated expatriation and migration in the management literature: Present theorizations and future research directions. Career Development International, 18(1), pp.78-96. Caganova, D., Cambal, M. and Weidlichova Luptakova, S., 2015. Intercultural managementtrend of contemporary globalized world. Elektronika ir Elektrotechnika, 102(6), pp.51-54. Cornelissen, J., 2014. Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice. Sage. Financial Review. Roxy Jacenko: 'It was like I was on trial', 2016. Retrieved from https://www.afr.com/news/roxy-jacenko-it-was-like-i-was-on-trial-20160821-gqxltt Dated 23 Aug 2016. Osborne, S.P., Radnor, Z. and Nasi, G., 2013. A new theory for public service management? Toward a (public) service-dominant approach. The American Review of Public Administration, 43(2), pp.135-158. McMahon, N. 2016. 60 Minutes hits new low with Roxy Jacenko interview. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/60-minutes-hits-new-low-with-roxy-jacenko-interview-20160821-gqxtga.html Dated 23 Aug 2016. Public Relations and Communications - Roxy Jacenko Retrieved from https://au.linkedin.com/in/roxy-jacenko-1780336 Dated 23 Aug 2016. Roxy Jacenko - Sweaty Betty PR. Retrieved from www.sweatybettypr.com/roxy-jacenko/ Dated 23 Aug 2016. Scherer, A.G., Palazzo, G. and Seidl, D., 2013. Managing legitimacy in complex and heterogeneous environments: Sustainable development in a globalized world. Journal of Management Studies, 50(2), pp.259-284. Thunnissen, M., Boselie, P. and Fruytier, B., 2013. Talent management and the relevance of context: Towards a pluralistic approach. Human Resource Management Review, 23(4), pp.326-336.