25.07.2024 By Andy Rohr, Global Head of Technology.

A Love Letter to Public Relations Pros.

The other day, I found myself thinking about our profession as well as common traits we tend to share as generalist PR practitioners – our strengths and our foibles. I’ve come to realize they are really two sides of the same coin.  As we’re into the dog days of summer – one of the rare periods when we often get a little time for reflection – I wanted to put pen to paper about this. More importantly, I wanted to share some love and appreciation for this industry and the people I work with, past and present.

A few observations about our cohort:

First: The vast majority of us are empaths.  This is a core characteristic of the most effective practitioners. After all, the ability to put ourselves into the shoes of the people we’re trying to reach is what makes us effective and persuasive communicators.

Second: Despite a Hollywood-perpetuated idea of PR flack as slick and always camera-ready, most of us (perhaps ironically) loathe the spotlight or calling attention to ourselves. We’re much happier behind the scenes – focused on helping our clients or the business leaders we support.

Finally:  A good percentage of us are people pleasers.  This can also work in our favor professionally – particularly as we juggle different priorities of multiple clients or business stakeholders.  There is no better person than a PR person to diplomatically lead a meeting with people who have competing ideas or agendas – and ensure those people walk away feeling aligned and positive.

So, all of this sounds pretty good, right?  If we boil it down, we’re thoughtful, conscientious folks who are tremendously attuned to the perceptions and sensibilities of others.

But on the other side of the coin – these same characteristics can mean we show up in a deferential way. Or – worse – not fully value ourselves and the impact we have. The fact is, most of us wear many hats on any given day.  Media relations expert. Exec comms strategist.  Digital content leader. The list goes on. It can be difficult to explain what we do – and our modest nature makes us less inclined to do so. We’re great at advocating for others and telling their stories. Not so much for ourselves.  My parents still don’t know what I do and it’s been decades now.

And given the chameleon-like nature of our jobs, we run the risk of internalizing a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ kind of mentality.

Over the years I’ve listened to many discussions centered on how PR can, or should, evolve to absorb work traditionally tied to the advertising sector. As opposed to doubling down our abilities to create stories and campaigns rooted in an earned-first sensibility.  I’ve taken part in projects with integrated teams where non-PR people have taken the lead developing the comms section of the plan – “We’ll put out a press release and then have an event with a children’s choir singing in Times Square!!”  And though we politely elevate the creativity and the strategy, I think we can’t help but ingest a bit of the poisonous idea that anybody can do what we do.

One of the gifts of getting older is having more confidence, forged from real life experience. I understand the special value we bring as problem solvers with an expansive toolkit.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with fantastic marketing and advertising colleagues on programs who appreciate how deeply we understand our client’s business. Not just their comms or marketing objectives but their business goals. And not only their goals, but the goals of their customers.  I’ve worked within wonderful integrated teams where the central creative concept came from us – the PR people – rooted in our understanding of the audience and animated by our creativity.

I’ve had the chance to work with amazing clients from the marketing side of the fence, who remark on our ability to pivot messaging and stories so that they are genuinely relevant to the people we want to engage with.  They are impressed by the speed at which we work. After all, we’ve come up in a world where toe-curling deadlines are just the norm.

The fact is, if you’ve made a career in this profession, you possess a multitude of remarkable abilities.  Let’s ensure we show up at the table with the same confidence as our marketing and advertising colleagues.  Let’s ensure our voices are heard when we counsel senior leaders.  Let’s not let it slide the next time our mom tells someone that we’re smart and that we could’ve gone into law.  (That one might be just personal to me…)

If there’s anybody in university reading this who is interested in a career in comms and PR: don’t believe the haters.  I remember friends on campus teasing – “Oh, are you off to your lunches and lies 101?!”  The fact is, if you love learning, if you love the idea of every working day being different, and if you embrace opportunities where strategy and creativity come together, this is likely a great career path for you.

It was 100% that way for me.

When I stepped into my first proper PR job I had the feeling that I had found my people. Smart, hard-working, fun and decent. I still feel that way.

But we can be hard on ourselves. So I wanted to spread a little love.