Left behind? No!

As our “New media” team gave the group presentation last week, we answered the question: has PR left behind by new media?

The answer is: No.

Even in the pitch of our online PR campaign on new media module, we still considered how to combined new media options with tradition media.

Thanks for Reuven’s great lectures and my lovely classmates’ fabulous performance (especially the brainstorm section) in the past classes.

Since our last class will be in the second life, the virtual world, I would like add some additional details to our group presentation. This is the text for my podcast assignment and the last reflective log as well.

The PR industry has not been slow to adapt the new media options.

With the emergence of new media, some people may say that ‘the PR industry has been slow to adapt the new media options’.

Different thinkers have taken almost completely opposite views about this. Some hold the opinion that the PR industry is being forced to adapt to new media slowly. Others, however, take a very different position. They argue that PR practitioners embraced new media a long time ago and understand the changing dynamics.

Well, who is right in this debate? I tend to agree with the second opinion.

The level of PR professionals in new media today is much higher than it ever was before, and involves a much wider range of practical skills and services.

First of all, I would like to see new media or social media as opportunities rather than threats in the quest to manage, improve or protect a company or brand reputation.

New media offer PR new business opportunities. Advantages for PR practitioners include the convenience and accessibility of online media, plus the many options available to monitor public trends. In these ways, PR firms charge clients for additional services. New media is a very good add-on business in the PR world.

Furthermore, I believe that the PR industry is exploring the new media rather than simply adapt to its options.The nature of Public relations is about communications, and the PR industry is considered as a deliberate and creative industry. In fact, the PR industry learns to quickly adapt to change, typically faster than other traditional industries.

PR industry has explored the use of new media in many combinations since its birth. It also connected new media and itself, and the fact that the global PR industry is booming is evidence of fast adaptation.

Secondly, PR practitioners grow up with new media together, and also develop new media.

It is already a very common thing that PR practitioners and PR firms use new media tools such as the Web, Podcasts, Rss, Social Networking etc. to enhance the value of PR campaigns. For example, some PR agencies like Text100 have opened their 30th office in the virtual world “The Second Life” in 2006.

Thirdly, the research and education of new media in the PR industry have never stopped.

If you search for “PR and new media” in Google, you will get 22,500,000 results. Today, besides crisis management and reputation management, digital media relations and grassroots PR have become new specialties within the field of public relations as well.

PR education already includes online PR such as writing online press release and creating PR campaigns in social networking. PRWeek, the leading weekly magazine in the PR industry, introduced a technology news page on their websites in 2006.

These facts all prove the new media rise in the PR industry.

There is no doubt that the new media is becoming increasingly important in the PR world, affecting almost every aspect of PR practitioners’ live.

For better or worse, we are being propelled into a new order that maybe no one fully understands, but I believe that the PR industry has not been left behind the new media waves, and new media is generating growth within the PR industry itself.

New Media Presentation for PR Course-Something about New Media

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The rise of CSR around the world

I was quite surprise today about the “dark Google” home page saying: “We’ve turned the light off, now it’s your turn.”

Google changed its home page to “strongly support the Earth Hour campaign”, which is a global event designed to spread awareness of global climate change and save energy.

What a nice try!

Not only did this increase the search giant’s CSR performance, but it also increased the power of World Wildlife Fund’s global Earth Hour campaign.

In addition to this, Google released the following statement:

“Why did Google choose this specific organization?”

Although we can't guarantee either a placement on the Google homepage or even a response to every query, we do read every email we receive and welcome your ideas of organizations that you believe we should feature. ”

This confirms that Google is willing to be more socially and environmentally responsible, driving innovation in every aspect of society.

Last week, during our group exercise for choosing dissertation topics, the CSR group came up with a topic of how environmentally unfriendly China is, although they didn’t have any Chinese students in their group.

How did they come up with this topic then?

Every day, the Western media reports comment on how China is the 2^nd most polluting country after the USA and that it is using more and more resources.

If we look at China as a corporation, its CSR should be focused on improving its reputation with people and improving their understanding of environmental issues.

How can they improve their PR? Like Google, they should use their global influence to establish their ethical image at home as well as abroad, helping to drive projects.

Recently, there was a project launched by the Mayor of London to give out free energy-saving light bulbs to London. They claimed that it would save up to 700,000 tons of CO2 a year. I believe that projects like these can be easily replicated in countries such as China, not only increasing its reputation, but also doing a great deal for the environment.

Recently, our guest lecturer Adam Garfunkel talked about the reasons why companies are reluctant to embrace CSR.

5 things companies say when talking about CSR:

- “I can’t believe that lot are getting so much credit for what they’re doing.”

- “We’ve been doing this stuff for ages, it’s just that nobody knows about it.”

- “People don’t understand how difficult this stuff is…”

- “We’d rather not talk about the bad stuff.”

- “Ooh we can’t say that, that’s commercially confidential.”

These are all true with the Chinese government and as a whole, it lacks “ambition, vision, courage and communication skills” in this area.

But, we’re improving…

Recently, China banned the use of plastic bags, something that the British government is planning to consider in the near future.

According to Reuters Beijing:

“China launched a surprise crackdown on plastic bags on Tuesday, banning production of ultra-thin bags and forbidding its supermarkets and shops from handing out free carriers from June 1.”

It has long been known that plastic bags are not only being wasted most of the time, but they are also incredibly hard to recycle.

A saleswoman shows a cany shopping basket at a supermarket in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Aug.31, 2006. The supermarket invited the customers to use the cany baskets instead of the plastic bags for shopping. The customer could bring one renewable and refundable cany basket home by paying 15 yuan deposit. Source:People Daily online

In order to save resources and try to improve its environmental image, the Chinese government has passed legislation that:

- Forbids supermarkets and shops from giving out free plastic carriers.

- Discourage the production of plastic bags

A few points from the public announcement were:

- "Our country consumes huge amounts of plastic bags every year. While providing convenience to consumers, they have also caused serious pollution, and waste of energy and resources, because of excessive use and inadequate recycling," the announcement said

- The finance authorities should consider adjusting taxes to discourage the production and sale of plastic bags and to provide incentives to the recycling industry.

- Chinese people use up to three billion plastic bags daily.

My take: What does the third party say about it?

- “A surprise crackdown” (Reuters)

- That surprise move - which went further than anything done by the US, the UK and many other developed nations - was hailed by Greenpeace, Earthwatch and other green groups as a sign of growing environmental awareness in China.(Guardian)

As with any story there are two sides to it. Although the ban has helped to reduce the use of plastic bags, 20,000 factory workers will have an uncertain future.

PR and Diversity?

How to enhance communications skills in the increasingly diverse UK?

Guest speaker Zena Martin from Acknowledge Communications gave us a lively presentation about this.

It is quite interesting that hear an opinion from a PR practitioner who used to work in the US before moving to London.

Zena Marti addressed the difference of multi-cultural communication practice between US and the UK.

It was inspiring to have this international approach in PR context and heard many benefits of join a diverse PR agency.

It is more stimulating that when I read Colin Byrne's article in PRWeek, Industry needs to reflect social diversity , which pointed out another interesting topic: PR industry’s diversity.

He mentioned that

Of the 113 photographs of British PR professionals featured, 112 were white. Just one was black or Asian.

To put this into perspective, of the 400 applicants to Weber Shandwick’s annual trainee recruitment programme, 80 % were white, 9% were Asian and only 4 % were black.

It was also mentioned that “this is hardly representative of our multicultural society” and suggested that “a bit more diversity in terms of race and social background would be healthy for an industry now at the heart of consumer, media and social change”.

Artists & Diversity_Sources:Deepindub.org http://www.deepindub.org/promomix001-diversity/

I have a mixed feeling about this, since I previously mentioned in my blog entry Three views on Feminisation of PR and its consequences that I was told that if we look at the PR industry in the UK as a person, it would be a pretty young blond white woman.

How hard could it be to enter the UK PR industry and make it more diverse? One of the reasons that I love London is that it is a city with cultural diversity. Hopefully the industry won’t disappoint too much.

Reference: Colin Byrne: Industry needs to reflect social diversity , PRWeek 06-Mar-08