Alison OwenHead of PR at BDB

International business-to-business PR specialistwww. bdb.co.uk @bdbmarketing @alisonmowen

Summary What is PR – a classic definition Different career opportunities PR vs advertising Is it for me? A typical day The changing media landscape Career choice?

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What is PR? Reputation management

– what you do

– what you say

– what others say about you

Planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and understanding between an organisation and its publics

Presenting a company favourably– Shaping information

– Targeting

– Engaging relevant audiences

Different career opportunities

Agency vs in-house Agency

– Small business or global network– Broad spread of clients – across different

sectors– Variety of work / disciplines

In-house– Corporate culture– Clear career path– Focused – usually core sector / related

sectors

Consumer vs B2B– Consumer (B2C)

– Brand you may have heard of– Products/services more accessible– Entry level usually junior– Media challenges– Faster pace / project turnover– Can be more UK-focused

– B2B– Often more technical– Can offer better opportunity for

progression– Media challenges– Longer term / longer lead times– Can be more international

PR vs advertising “News is what somebody somewhere wants to

suppress. Everything else is advertising.” Lord Northcliffe

Advertising– Hard-hitting

Space paid for Raising awareness Quicker results

Public relations– Softer skill

Editorial space free but earned on merit Shaping attitude Long term results

Editorial promotions / advertorials– Blurring lines

Is it for me? Personable

– Build relationships Good copywriter

– Variety of material Organised

– Good time management / deadlines Good memory

– Lots of projects ongoing– Eye for detail

Flexible– Late nights / travel

Initiative– Self starter

Creative ‘Passion for PR’

Don’t rule it out Don’t necessarily need a PR / marketing

communications degree– Scientists– Linguists– Humanities

A typical day? No such thing! Maybe

– Editor ring-round to ‘sell-in’ a story– Client meeting about a forthcoming event– Compile and evaluate a clippings report– Research for a new business pitch– Attend an exhibition to represent a client– Take part in a brainstorming session for

future project– Put together press lists for new product

launch – Research / draft press release– ...

The changing media landscape

Safeguarding reputation Transparent environment

– Instant / global

No reputation is bulletproof– “When everyone has a blog or Facebook entry,

everyone is a publisher

– “Your reputation is going to get set in stone so much earlier…a digital fingerprint that never gets erased”

Thomas Friedman, New York Times

How has PR changed? New digital channels

– Accelerated pace of working– Fragmented media– New skills / tactics

New influencers– Engagement

It’s all in the story Discipline of PR remains the same Creating a consistent message thread

– Across fragmented media

Engages audience– Relevant message

Create and protect

corporate reputation

The power of social media Influence of bloggers

The power of social media

Headline news

Fast growing career choice

Corporate reputation is critical– PR is booming

$10bn business in 2011 1

Employs 66,000 people worldwide 1

Growing at 8% pa 1

– PR ranked no 5 “Hot Careers to Watch 2013” 2

1 Holmes Report, 20112 prnewsonline, 27 Dec 2012

Any questions?