Many years ago I had a conversation with a reporter and we ended up talking about books. At one point he said, with genuine surprise in his voice, "I didn't think that you read." Being the PR trouper that I was, I managed to offer a gracious smile. But I was stunned. For a voracious reader like me, who's been reading classics before the age of ten, his remark was unexpected and offensive. How dare he?! I probably read more books during the first 15 years of my life than he ever will in his entire lifetime. And I’m not talking about paperback pop trash either.
But I suppose it's the pitfall of my occupation. PR people generally don't appear very bright to newsmen. And why should we? If we’re not pimping our latest press release, we’re bugging them to come to our client’s endless and sometimes, to be honest, mindless events. Our discipline prevents us from saying anything other than what’s acceptable to both clients and our own agency, always careful to appear friendly and neutral lest we betray what we really think. Even Facebook is heavily self-censored. What appears on our pages is generally acceptable pap. Nothing too controversial, language controlled (if we must swear, we use asterisks and only write innocuous cuss words like sh*t or d**n), photos sanitized (no drunk-ass pictures, nothing sleazy, no candid shots where we’re looking decidedly unglamorous), no political opinions, no commentaries on business issues, nothing in fact, that will give people an indication that we’re intelligent people. Of course it’s all standard rules of corporate behavior. Except that as PR practitioners, we set the bar higher for ourselves because we not only represent our agency, more importantly, we represent a multitude of clients, each with their unique standards of acceptable behavior. To be honest, it’s enough to make us a little schizophrenic. “Wooh look at me partying with a glass of whisky,” (because I represent a liquor brand); “Oh but notice that I don’t look at all like I’ve drunk a drop of this amber liquid and I’m still wearing a proper, non-skanky suit,” (because I also represent several corporate clients). “Oh wow, look at me running in Bonifacio High Street for some charity-or-other,” (sports apparel client plus do-gooding CSR points).
It's true that we’re not all that we appear to be despite what people think they know about us. For instance, I’m always irritated when I tell people that I work in PR and they immediately conclude, “Ah so ma-PR ka pala.” What the fuck does that mean anyway? That ALL I do is talk to ALL people ALL the time? That I’m a sleazy operator who’ll use gab or cash to get my way? So just because I have a sudden bug up my ass, here’s a rundown of some PR people myths that I’d like to dispel:
Myth #1 We’re highly sociable people
Most of us reached the top of our game because we’re brilliant campaign strategists, exceptional writers, excellent managers and hard-working tacticians. Yes, we have enough people skills to get along with clients and the media but it’s not like we’re scintillatingly vivacious 24/7. We can turn it on when the situation requires it but it’s not our default. You’d be surprised how many of us prefer to be alone most of the time.
Myth #2 We love making small talk
With the exception of a few airheads in our profession (I’ll get to them later), PR people are not natural chatterboxes. In fact, for many of us, the worst part of our job is attending press conferences and events where we’re required to talk to a lot of people. It’s extremely tedious work. If we had lip-readers in our events, we’d often be caught saying things to each other like: “Parang habag, ilayo mo na ko dito, nauubusan na ‘ko ng sasabihin”; or “Leche, di pa ba matatapos ‘tong event na ‘to, nangangawit na iyong mukha ko sa kakangiti.” All said through clenched smiles of course.
Myth #3 Our job consists mostly of going to parties
Just because you always see us in clubs or events doesn’t mean that that’s all we do. We’re not in these events because we’re unrepentant party animals, we’re there to work. When you see us going around talking to people, know that we are actually working, not partying. Oh and before that bangin’ whisky party in that stinky, pretentious club? Yes that’s right, we were working all day, answering emails, thinking up new campaigns, writing press releases, attending endless meetings, making phone calls, printing press kits, packing press give-ways and yes, making sure that the venue is ready and beautiful for your arrival. If we had our way, we’d rather just crawl into bed because after everything’s been said and done, after all that “partying” ‘til 4am, we still have to get up for a 7am presentation.
Myth #4 We’ll give in to (almost) anything
I can see how some media people could be tempted to see us as nothing more than well-dressed peddlers of press releases or glorified event hostesses who'll offer the sun, moon, every known star just to get a pick-up. After all. it’s the bulk of our interaction with them. And even on those rare occasions when we go out just to go out, we remain circumspect with our words and our actions, sharing only what we think they want to hear, not challenging offensive behavior because we believe, rightly or wrongly, that appearing friendly and indulgent is somehow a “goodwill investment” in the relationship. Well guess what, it can’t be a relationship worth “investing” in if the other party is a mean, self-aggrandizing, or sexist scum. It’s really ironic considering that PR practitioners are arguably the smartest, most opinionated, and most eloquent people in the communications industry. Although it certainly doesn’t help that we also have bimbo airheads within our ranks, girls who have nothing going for them except vacuous conversation, doltish giggles, cloying flattery, manic perkiness, a desperate need to be desired, and acres of make-up. But I suppose that even for the best of us, this desire to please, to be ever-conciliatory makes us forget when to draw the line between being gracious, offering an honest opinion, or just plainly declaring, “Shove your cheap innuendos up your ass, you fucking slimeball!”
Myth #5 We’re nothing but dumb corporate mouthpieces
Okay, before we were sucked into this soulless business we were actually writers, journalists, teachers, financial gurus, marketing practitioners. That press release that you’re basing your story on? We wrote that. That CEO speech you found so inspiring? We wrote that too. And that APAC business report on which you’re basing three of your top stories on? Yup, we did the data analysis and wrote the recommendations. That awesome viral campaign you’re sharing with all your friends? Uh-huh, we thought that up. Get the picture?
Myth #6 We’re liars
No we’re not. Truth has several dimensions and what we offer is truth that’s based on hard, established facts, along with conclusive studies and recommendations made by reputable, independent and globally-recognized organizations, as well as unbiased stakeholder experiences. Iyon na!
No comments:
Post a Comment