The Public Relations Blog

Ethical implications of using this favored PR tool

Several Axia Public Relation team members, including me, began our communications-based careers as journalists, serving as media gatekeepers. This added expertise often comes into play when counseling the clients we represent as public relations practitioners. We’re bound not only to the Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics, but to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. Each derivative, interestingly enough, shares a multitude of overlapping guidelines – one of which focuses on the use of the phrase “off the record.”

To those unfamiliar with the parlance, “off the record” is a public relations tool used by any individual (source) who wants to share information strictly as background or context when speaking with a member of the media.

Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, has the unique, highly intelligent and egotistical personality type some dub as a “cavalier CEO.”

A public relations professional’s job, like many others, comes with various stressors and road bumps that we must sensitively navigate to benefit the greater good. On the red carpet, few see the sweaty PR pro lugging mountains of company collateral, promotional swag and schedule binders to a trade event. Our jobs aren’t always glamorous and are frequently littered with deadlines, quick-turn requests and, of course, constant rejection from media.

In addition to September’s status as Ethics Awareness Month, the arrival of fall signals the beginning of professional and collegiate football, tailgating and, of course, the return of the NFL to news headlines. However, those headlines aren’t exclusively focused on superstars, injuries and scores; rather, the spotlight illuminates a 2015 scandal (“Deflate-gate”) that rocked the NFL mere months after several players’ public domestic violence incidences.

Media fame, whether or not it’s the result of a scandal, acts like a proverbial carrot dangled before business owners and investors who flock to it like moths to a flame. Intense paparazzi-style blitzes follow, especially when an ordinary organization takes on a high-profile staff member. Many companies fall prey to “hiring stunts” with very little actual return on investment beyond initial get-it-quick publicity.

A public relations mentor of mine spent many years hammering home a philosophy that he lived by not only professionally, but personally: the THINK principle, which serves as a series of governing rules for communication.

Public relations professionals are trained communications experts often sought after to convey information with clarity, but when I first heard this philosophy, I found it rather perplexing. Is it really possible to hold to these principles with each sentence we utter? It seems like an awful lot to consider. The THINK philosophy is outlined as follows:

PR explains how to leverage this powerful tool

We’ve all seen those wonderfully warm and fuzzy stories on the news or social media that highlight how a waitress received a $1,000 tip from a complete stranger or an ill child got a special, unexpected visit from his favorite celebrity. These random acts of kindness (RAKs) move the human spirit and are said to restore faith in humanity.

Public relations and politics are naturally and inherently linked. Think back to the 2008 presidential race: A relatively unknown candidate, Barack Obama, seemed to emerge from nowhere, hitting front pages of magazines and grabbing newspaper headlines almost overnight. Add to that his very strategic and targeted social media efforts and, lo and behold, Obama was suddenly front and center and made his way straight to the White House as the 44th President of the United States.

How did this relatively unknown politician catapult himself with such amazing precision?

PR lays out three key tips

Not long ago, we wrote about hashtags and the reasons why the popular trackable communication tactic is quickly becoming a favorite tool in the business realm. To that end, some business owners may not yet know how to effectively use them. Below are a few tips on how to best use hashtags.

Understanding is the first step toward effectively leveraging

New media professionals enter the industry with an innate passion for keeping people informed – although most probably don’t realize that keeping people informed is now a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week commitment.

Public relations can do wonders for any business. However, there are plenty of technology professionals who could care less about marketing and often consider it a waste of resources.

It comes down to a discrepancy in priorities. Engineers and technology aficionados alike want resources dedicated to building, designing, developing and coding; meanwhile, venture capital firms, angel investors, boards of directors and executives charged with creating reputations, building brands and increasing bottom lines would much rather focus on new business development, marketing and sales.