THE REPUTATION MANAGER

Should Public Relations Re-Brand Itself As Propaganda?

22/5/2013

 
Picture
Propaganda's troubled past has left an indelible stain on the art and craft of influencing people - a stain that's still visible today. 

The word itself is problematic, especially if you take into consideration Wikipedia's definition:

"Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed towards influencing the attitude of the community toward some cause or position by presenting only one side of an argument. 
Propaganda is usually repeated and dispersed over a wide variety of media in order to create the chosen result in audience attitudes."

Compare this to the Wikipedia definition of 'public relations':

"The practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization and the public [which] may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment.
The aim of public relations by a company often is to persuade the public, investors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders to maintain a certain point of view about it, its leadership, products, or of political decisions. Common activities include speaking at conferences, winning industry awards, working with the press, and employee communication."


Bar the "presenting one side of an argument" line, there really isn't much of a difference between the two definitions. 

In practice, there is no difference at all.

Maybe that's why the 'new propagandists', (i.e. public relations practitioners) are finding it next-to-impossible to change age-old views and prejudices and convince people that it is a respectable profession. 


It would be naive to paint a totally rosy picture of 'PRs' - after all, we've had too many stories of out of control spin, skulduggery and other scandalous behaviour.  

In some cases, public relations activities may have hindered, rather than helped a situation. There have been documented cases where PR campaigns have also had a seriously negative impact on democracy. 

Perhaps this explains why, when 'public relations' is mentioned in some quarters, there still seems to be an instantaneous judgement by others of 'rabid spin doctoring' or 'lying for a living'. 

I'm sure that covert information is still being disseminated from dark rooms in secret locations filled with unsmiling bureaucrats in suits, remotely directing armies of automatons to spread lies designed to control the minds of the masses. 

But, in the age of social media, these methods are risky and face a fearless and formidable response from people numbered in the hundreds of millions. Along with activists, they provide round-the-clock checks and balances on public relations activity  that make being found out and publicly exposed highly likely, thus not worth the cost to an organisation's or government's reputation.

In my experience and from my observations, public relations is more effectively used as a force for 'good', rather than 'evil'. 

Given some of the obvious benefits of PR/propaganda, especially in highlighting issues of public concern and benefit, I think - on balance - it deserves to secure its place alongside other 'considered' professions (e.g. in medicine, law and education).

So, where do we go from here?

The British Library is currently staging the Propaganda: Power & Persuasion exhibition in London (17th May - 17th September) which focuses on 'international state propaganda from the 20th and 21st centuries. From leaflet drops to tweets, for intentions good and bad.' 

It's a fascinating area of study which has prompted me to ask two questions: 

- Is it time to take ownership of this troublesome word and update it for the Twitter and Facebook age? 

- Should public relations re-brand itself as propaganda?

Of course, it won't be easy. Because of its provenance, the term will probably always be used pejoratively by critics. But I think that with consistent use, 'promotion' and enthusiasm from people working in the field, it could actually capture people's imaginations and ultimately prove to be more effective and authoritative than 'public relations' which can often seem inadequate, despite its crucial role in modern communication. 

The simple title of 'propagandist' could theoretically gobble up all of those roles performed under the general heading of 'marketing & communications': E.g. Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Communications, Brand Champion....even Reputation Manager!

Admittedly, a little tongue-in-cheek, but I think that it's worth thinking about.

This could be the ideal time for you to embrace the 'inner propagandist' in you!


Say it loud and say it proud: 


"My name is [Insert your name here] and I'm a propagandist!



Comments are closed.

    Blog

    The Reputation Manager
    Thoughts on customer service, communication and, of course, reputation management.

      Contact Seltzer

    Click to submit
    Subscribe to Newsletter
    Subscribe to Blog feed

    Archives

    November 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All
    Abercrombie & Fitch
    Abortion
    About
    Abuse Of Authority
    Advocates
    Altruist
    Amazon
    Android
    Ann Barnes
    Apology
    Apple
    Archive
    Articles
    B2c
    Back To Work
    Bankers
    Banking Commission
    Bbc
    Beauty
    Blogger
    Blogging
    Blogs
    Blog Writing
    Body Language
    Bonus
    Boomerangs
    Brain
    Brand
    Brand Advocacy
    Branding
    Bribery
    Brightest Flashlight
    British Children
    British Government
    British Library
    Bse
    Business
    Business Leaders
    Buyers
    Cait Reilly
    Career
    Careerist
    Careers
    Catholic Church
    Celebrities
    Censorship
    Ceo
    Change Mechanism
    Channel 4
    Character
    Cheat Sheet
    Chief Executives
    Children
    Citizenship
    Clout
    Cocaine
    Collusion
    Committee
    Commons
    Communication
    Competitive Intelligence
    Conflict Of Interest
    Connected Countries
    Connector
    Consumer
    Consumers
    Content
    Content Curation
    Content Marketing
    Controversy
    Corporate Ethics
    Corporate Reputation
    Corporate Scandals
    Corporate Social Responsibility
    Corruption
    Cosmetic Surgery
    Cost Of Living
    Credibility
    Credit Crunch
    Crime
    Crisis
    Crisis Management
    Customer Experience
    Customer Loyalty
    Customer Relationship Management
    Customer Retention
    Customers
    Customer Service
    Customer Service Training
    Cyber-bullying
    Cybercrime
    Cyber Crime
    Cyber Shame
    Damage
    Dangerous Neighbourhoods
    David Cameron
    Death Penalty
    Design
    Designer
    Dick Fuld
    Digital Marketing
    Digital Memory
    Direct Mail
    Disappear Online
    Dispatches
    Don't Blame Facebook
    Dropbox
    East St Louis
    Ecommerce
    Economic Crime
    Economy
    Education
    Eliane Glaser
    Endorsement
    Errors
    Etiquette
    European Court Of Justice
    Experts
    Facebook
    Facts
    Fascism
    Federal Trade Commission
    Financial Crisis
    Financial Fraud
    Francois Hollande
    Franklin
    Fraud
    Friends
    Ftc
    Get Real
    Gifts
    Global Warming
    Gmb
    Goldenshores Technologies
    Google
    Google+
    Government
    Guest Blogging
    Harvard
    Hbos
    Headlines
    Healthcare
    Hipster
    Honesty
    Horsemeat
    Hospitality
    Ian Duncan Smith
    Illegal Disclosure
    Illinois
    Illiteracy
    Independence
    Influence
    Influencers
    Infographic
    Infographics
    Information Graphics
    Instagram
    Integrity
    Internet
    Internet Presence Management
    Interviewers
    James Caan
    James Crosby
    Jargon
    Jerome Cahuzac
    Job
    Job Candidates
    Jobs
    John Mearsheimer
    Journalism
    Journalists
    Kent
    Klout
    Labour
    Laptop
    Leader
    Leadership
    League Table
    Learning
    Legalizing Marijuana
    Lehman Bros
    Lehman Brothers
    Liberal Democrats
    Lies
    Linkedin
    Lobbying
    Local Authority
    Logo
    Lying
    Mad Cow Disease
    Malaysian Airlines
    Management Speak
    Margaret Thatcher
    Marketing
    Mary Portas
    Massachusetts
    Meat
    Meltdown
    Mental Health
    Merit
    MH370
    Microexpressions
    Micro Expressions
    Millennials
    Millwall
    Mis-selling
    Mit
    Mobile
    Mobile Phones
    Money
    Money Laundering
    Money Saving Expert
    Mothers Index
    Myths
    Negative Comments
    Negative Results
    Negative Reviews
    Neighborhoods
    Netflix
    Newcastle
    New Pope
    Newspapers
    Next
    Nigel Farage
    North Korea
    Nuclear
    Objections
    Offer
    Ofgem
    Online
    Online Hate
    Online Image
    Online Reputation
    Online Reputation Management
    Online Reviews
    Onlne Population
    Orm
    Pandora
    Paolo Di Canio
    Paranoia
    Parents
    Paris Brown
    Pay
    People
    Perceptions
    Personal Brand
    Personal Branding
    Personal Brand Management
    Photographs
    Photos
    Pinterest
    Places
    Plastic Surgery
    Please Press 1
    Police
    Politicians
    Politics
    Polls
    Posting
    Poundland
    Pr
    Pre-employment Checks
    Pre-employment Screening
    Press Kits
    Privacy
    Products
    Professions
    Professor David Nutt
    Profile
    Propaganda
    Prospects
    Psychology
    Public Opinion
    Public Relations
    Public Sector
    Public Speaking
    Purchasing Decisions
    Rachel Botsman
    Ranking
    Real-Time Marketing
    Recession
    Recruitment
    Red Card
    Referendum
    Relationship
    Relationships
    Reporter
    Reputation
    Reputation Management
    Reputation Suicide
    Respect
    Resume
    Retail
    Retailers
    Rhetoric
    Right To Be Forgotten
    Rss
    Rude Retailers
    Rules
    Save The Children
    Say No To 0870
    Scandal
    Scandals
    Schools
    Scotland
    Scottish And Southern Electricity
    Scottish Independence
    Search Engine
    Search Engine Optimization
    Search Engines
    Secrets
    Selectives
    Selfies
    Seo
    Shop Assistant
    Skype
    Slave Labour
    Small Business
    Sms
    Social Bookmarking
    Social Customer Service
    Social IQ
    Social Media
    Social Media
    Social Media Effects
    Social Media Fails
    Social Media Policy
    Social Networks
    Social Performance
    Social Responsibility
    Spin
    Sse
    Stakeholders
    State Of The World's Mothers
    Stem Cell Research
    Storytelling
    Strategic Communications
    Strategic Risk
    Sunderland Fc
    Survey
    Tablets
    TD Canada Trust
    Tefal
    Terrorism
    The Reputation Manager
    The Reputation Manager Report
    Transparency
    Transparency International
    Trolls
    Trust
    Trustworthiness
    Truth
    Tumblr
    Tweeting
    Tweets
    Twitter
    Uk Government
    Ukip
    Ukmail
    Uk Mail Group
    Unicef
    United Airlines
    User Data
    Victims
    Vimeo
    Vote Rigging
    War
    Weasel Words
    Web
    Website
    White Collar Crime
    Wh Smith
    Wolfson
    Writing
    Yahoo
    Yorkshire Building Society
    Youth
    Youtube
    You Tube

    RSS Feed


Seltzer Cole (c) 2013-2018
Photos used under Creative Commons from Kris Krug, ~Merete, mark sebastian, R_SH, krossbow, Jacqui 1686, Official U.S. Navy Imagery, Doug Hay, steve p2008, Mypoorbrain, roberthuffstutter, Images_of_Money, Leanne1985, stu_spivack, huangjiahui, Victor1558, fati_flor, [puamelia], Kieran Lynam, ssoosay, gcoldironjr2003, jem, Toronto Public Library Special Collections, abraham.williams, pshegubj, Southern Arkansas University, katieblench, Neighborhood Nini