At the mention of its name, eye balls bulge in ecstasy.
After all, it is one profession that guarantees meetings
with celebrities, and the crème de la crème in society.
with celebrities, and the crème de la crème in society.
No doubt, Public Relations cannot be spelt without a subtle
knowledge of parties or soirees. In short, it appears to be
glamour to the left, lavish lifestyle to the right.
In 2013, a 35
year old PR executive at Activison UK, makers
of Xbox game ‘CALL OF DUTY’ was
sentenced to 18 months
in prison and suspended for 2 years for embezzling funds
belonging to the company.
Her celebrity
lifestyle included an engagement party at an exclusive Central London venue, a
stay at a plush hotel with her fiancé and 3 designer shopping sprees.
It appeared she
was fearless in doing so, as she reportedly invited her boss to the engagement
party the company would later unknowingly pay for.
The story made headlines on
tabloids and trended on many news outlets in the UK.
Below is an
excerpt from the UK daily mail’s (www.dailymail.co.uk ) online version of the story, written
by Alex ward.
PR boss siphoned off £19,000 from Call
Of Duty manufacturers to pay for her engagement party and designer clothes
"A PR executive
working for the makers of Xbox game Call Of Duty siphoned off £18,963 to pay
for her engagement party, then party and designer shopping sprees".
"Kathryn Kirton,
35, was head of PR at Activision when she got carried away with the 'glamorous
and luxurious' world of public relations, Blackfriars Crown Court heard".
"She was in
charge of the budget for a major film premiere-style launch of the game, but
instead siphoned off thousands of pounds".
"She spent £9,437
at designer clothes store Reiss on one of three shopping trips along with
another £2,000 on a luxury hotel break for her then fiance Lee Kirton".
 |
Kathryn Kirton
Source(www.dailymail.co.uk)
|
The second
paragraph of Alex Ward’s article above seems to reinforce that notion. The
article admitted that in fact, there exists a glamourous and luxurious world in
Public Relations.
Even Judge John Hillen
who presided over the hearing stated unequivocally that "In the world of
PR, you are surrounded by luxury items. That is a reality for people working in
that industry”
Arguably, the
producers of the 1998 Home Box Office Inc.(HBC) romantic comedy series “sex and
the city” can be partly blamed for purporting this idea.
 |
| Kim Catrall played Samantha Jones in "Sex and The City" |
In the series,
Samantha Jones a 40 year old single woman, played by English-Canadian actress
Kim Catrall is friends with three other single ladies. She owns her own Public
Relations company, throws first class parties and attends her fair share of
them.
  |
| Samantha Jones's outfit are nothing short of the best designs. |
Her outfits are nothing short of the best designers in the world. Gucci,
Vivienne Westwood, you name them and her feet are always perfectly fitted in
Manolos, giving a one-sided face to the profession.
This is not to
suggest that being exquisitely dressed as a PR person is wrong, in fact, image
is everything in the profession and practitioners should endeavor to have a
high dress sense.
However, the
producers of Sex And The City committed a sin of omission. They failed to
highlight the other ‘P’ embedded in Public Relations, aside the Parties-
PRESSURES.
Instead, PR was portrayed as a look good, dress fly profession and
in-between both walls, a goldmine, where an effortless dig would make one rich.
But, PR is much
more than these. It is a profession
hinged on grave skills and abilities laced with professionalism and one needs
to constantly deal with the stress of the ‘glorious’ industry.
It sometimes
demands multi-tasking, researching, writing, Planning and distributing press
releases to target media.
Since the practitioner is the mouthpiece of the
organization and the client, a good communication skill (both verbal and
written) is of importance. PR professionals have no room for torturing the
English language.
A certain degree
of confidence is also needed because part of the job is talking to the media.
It is certainly not a career for wall flowers. At times one has to make
unplanned appearances in order to salvage a situation.
Again,
perception and crisis management cannot be ruled out of the role of a PR
person. When faced with crisis, time is of importance. Gone are the days of the
“No Comment” approach to dealing with crisis.
At such times,
eyes are sunken, lipsticks darkened, stilettos broken from running around and
hairs stand on end out of frustration.
Tact is demanded
of the practitioner in addressing such issues otherwise they may aggravate.
Additionally,
social media management cannot be overlooked 
in Public Relations. In fact, it
has become the most influential driving forces in PR today.
in Public Relations. In fact, it
has become the most influential driving forces in PR today.
Granted, Edward
Bernays and Ivy Lee both founding fathers of PR, set the pace in executing PR
via traditional media, but the trend is different today, thanks to social
media.
Other demanding
roles include, event organization, grassroots outreach, Corporate Social
Responsibility among others.
In the glaring
pressure, the PR practitioner must develop a thick skin to be able to surmount
the challenges of the profession, as well as take constructive criticism from
others.
Public
Relations may seem rosy, and appealing and even inviting as compared to other
professions.
But bear in
mind that if your idea of PR is the delusional Samantha Jones’s form of PR, of
parties, of pleasures and pleasantries, rest assured, once you’re in, somewhere
along the line, Samantha will forsake you and you will be faced with the harsh
realities of THE PRESSURES.
on point. What about the african region where PR is practiced?
ReplyDeleteThanks George. Although the instance cited is foreign, the general practice of public relations is not culture/region specific. So I believe Africans can learn from it as well.
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