This post is about my job as a PR (Public Relations) Practitioner and about the media.
I was browsing through Jobstreet today to browse through on the market demand for PR jobs and stumbled across an entry which read "PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER (PART TIME) and it caught my attention because of the "part time"? I thought it meant "Just for an event" job.
This is what the job is for:
We seek for FEMALE promoters / models in between 18 to 25 yrs old who can have drinks together with sales executive & our potential clients from 8:30pm to 11:30pm, once or twice a week. Your experience as a model/promoter is a plus. Please send your portfolio of photos / resume to: pubrelation888@yahoo.com
......... I was speechless. Now I know why people always think that PR = GRO. If you google the word PR, in simple words, this is a summary of what PR is all about = Communication with various sectors of the public to influence their attitudes and opinions in the interest of promoting a person, product or idea.
In other words, if you have a message you want the public to be aware of and the best way is of course through the media, you go through PR to get to the media.
MESSAGE ---> PR ---> MEDIA ---> PUBLIC
So no, we are not GRO's. We do not entertain clients by drinking with them. If we were GRO's, why did I have to study 4 years to get a Bachelor Degree?
On Monday (June 23) I went to a Panel Forum with the topic being: Engaging Conventional & New Media Tools for Maximum Impact. The panel members were the Deputy Executive Editor of The Star, Head External Communications of TNB and Senior Manager of Starcom IP.
After the Elections 08, the government realize the "power" of the new media, i.e. BLOGS. All 3 panel members had an opinion of their own about the conventional and new media.
On April 17, 2008, I launched an Australian media monitoring company in KL. What sets them far apart is that they not only monitor the traditional media but the social media as well (Blogs, YouTube, etc) which NONE of the media monitoring companies in Malaysia is doing & it works because what blogs say about you today is influential.
At the end of the forum, I kept a few things in mind which the panel mentioned:
1. Bloggers have no rules. They write whatever they want and that worries "people". Newspapers on the other hand will get in serious trouble for the things Jeff Ooi writes.
2. The Deputy Editor of The Star says that we, especially for PR practitioners should not treat bloggers as a media. We should know how to differentiate the political bloggers and the social bloggers. Example: Rockybru vs Kenny Sia.
3. When dealing with social bloggers, treat them like a kindergarten class. Explain to them about your business and product before saying "go ahead with the write up".
Like it or not, bloggers have the power. Whatever they write or however they write it, it creates an impact. Malaysia has about 500,000 active bloggers ranking the country among the highest in the world and it is still on the rise.
Now, doesn't that tell you something?
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