Why PR is Underrated

Lapses in communication

PR requires a bit of tenacity to get right. I am still trying to come to terms with it. The key is understanding public relations is actually communication and not hoping for anything more. The goal of the PR is actually to create another level of communication between him / herself and the client and him / herself and the designer so that they can understand each other because they do not speak the same language.

Which sounds pretty simple. But it isn’t. Because the nature of the business person who values PR, marketing and advertising means that they are generally incredibly busy. They are also generally not the best communicators. They are, after all, business people, and not PRs.

The nature of the designer or creative is generally an acquired taste. I mean that with respect- it is a statement of fact, not a judgement. Designers usually cannot follow more than one train of thought or instruction, and they usually get all caught up in whatever they are working with at the time. They read but generally do not respond to requests, and may very well be actioning them, they just don’t communicate that to anyone until they have finished. While most professionals use their professional know-how to educate and inform clients when their expectations are unreasonable, designers will refrain from communicating this and scoff at the ignorance of the client.

Here are my tips at surviving a career in public relations:

1. Use a numbered list when communicating more than idea at a time
PRs, it appears, have a bit more of a capacity to work through an email which contains more than one instruction / piece of information. Clients and designers do not. While the art of crafting a paragraph is a skill appreciated by PRs, journalists and media professionals, it throws an invisibility cloak over itself when seen by the eyes of a designer or small business owner. Use short sentences. Do not use bullet points. Use a numbered list. Where possible make the list a different colour. Despite these tips you will find it only on very rare occasions that anyone ever makes it to the end of the list. When that happens, record date and time. For the rest of the time, refer to point three. The logic? While neither may be able to work from top to bottom, they generally both understand numbers.

2. Chasing the deadline is your problem
Regardless of whether the designer misses the deadline or the client never supplies the vital parts of the project. Don’t just tell them both when the deadline, lay out your expectations and hope for the best. On some very important occasions it may serve you to go to the place of work of the designer. And remain there until the project is finished. Really.

3. Follow up on number one because of number two
Yes, there are only three things. Three nearly-impossible things to achieve and survive times x clients times x designers times x projects. Ha ha.

Note- I use the words generally and usually a lot in this blog post. The use of these words is intended diplomatically, not to demonstrate generalisation, because they generally apply to all designers and business owners I have worked with to date, and because I would like to continue to work with them going forward.