That's Just Good PR

I’ve recently noticed when I tell people I work in PR they say one of two things. “So that’s like marketing and advertising right?” or “So you’re always trying to make people look good.”

The answer to both of those is yes… and no.

PR is like marketing and advertising in the same way that your buddy recommending a restaurant is like a billboard. They both tell you to go eat somewhere, but you’re more likely to take your friends recommendation.

PR is also about making your client look good, but not in the way most people imagine – there is way more to public relations than saying you’re sorry when you’ve done something wrong or screwed something up.

Let’s face it, the problem with PR is that you really only ever hear about it when something goes wrong. But real, honest to goodness PR, is rarely about big flashy campaigns and “spinning” the latest bad news. Real public relations is about building relationships with the outlets and sources people trust.

Now I don’t want to discount the great campaigns or the wonderful examples of crisis management PR out there, after all, a great PR program is only as good as its worst moment, but I’d like to draw attention to the fact that we are presented with good PR all the time, we just don’t realize it – and that’s the point.

With limited exception, when PR is done right, you shouldn’t even know it was even there.