The 12 Truths of Modern PR

October 11th, 2011 / 8:23 am

Today I spoke at the Dow Jones forum in Korea: “Information Explosion: from Burden to Blessing.” See below for a copy of my presentation:

View more presentations from Robert Pickard.

Categories: blog, speaking platforms
comments(0) Tags: asia, digital, korea, media, PR, social networks

Anna Hazare, India’s new PR superstar

September 3rd, 2011 / 5:43 am

by Bob Pickard

Last week when I was travelling to India, one story totally commanded the news: the hunger strike of social activist Anna Hazare, who was fasting to force pressure on the Indian government to enact a tough new anti-corruption law.

Day after day, every newspaper front page was dominated by coverage of the Anna protest, and in channel-surfing India’s many all-news TV networks, you would think there was nothing else going on in the world.

The Anna story received such massive publicity, to the extent that one can reasonably ask whether the media was just covering a phenomenon or actually also helping to create one for commercial purposes.

Certainly there were many conditions conducive for a craze, starting with a vast audience of consumers coveted by media organizations in a hyper-competitive news market (media of all kinds – including traditional and new – is growing in India).

As a country with a rising middle class that’s become increasingly fed-up with the negative consequences of corruption in society, India is surely ripe territory for such a popular protest. The middle class already numbers 160 million people and a study by India’s National Council for Applied Economic Research predicts it will explode in size to 267 million within five years (still a minority of India’s 1.2 billion people it should be noted).

Following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, Anna’s emphasis on nonviolent methods struck a chord and he seemingly achieved ‘societal alignment’ with communications content that resonated with popular sensibilities. His approach recalled the passion and success of storied protests from India’s independence movement (Indian Independence Day’s arrival on August 15^th was a timely milestone).

Conflict and contrast help drive the most vivid news coverage, and the government’s handling of the situation provided both for this story. Conflict: Anna was arrested at one point, which supplied grist for the media mill. Contrast: The fact that Anna shares in common with the Prime Minister an older age (both are in their 70s) provided ample opportunity for media to portray Anna as being vivified by ‘people power’ with the PM seeming wan and remote in comparison.

Momentum perceptions played a key role in the Anna story. Large and animated crowds were always in the backdrop, and later on as the hunger strike progressed, so were what seemed a bigger and bigger team of doctors tending to Anna. As the hero of the story became weaker, the apparent popular sentiment became stronger and larger at the same time owing to a classic ‘bandwagon effect.’

This created an audience-grabbing suspense; the question was: ‘will the government give in before Anna passes the point of no return?’ The prospect of a brave death draws a crowd in the media, especially if it is going to be on principle in support of a cause so many believe in.

This gripping drama, easy to follow and relentlessly repeated in the media, transfixed India and achieved world attention as few stories do (amplified and accelerated by social networks).

I don’t know if there was a public relations strategy devised and implemented by ‘Team Anna.’ If there was, I would give it high marks for results, because it looks like the Anna phenomenon is poised to effect political reforms and changes for the better.

Notes:

1. Thanks to Prema Sagar and Rahul Sharma for sharing their insights on this topic…both brilliant observers of the India public affairs scene.

2. I was already working on my Anna article when I saw this Reuters blog and thought the headline was perfect and so have repurposed it here in this post’s title.

Categories: blog
comments(0) Tags: celebrity, india, media, PR, sensationalism

New infographic of India’s digital scene

July 9th, 2011 / 2:16 am

Categories: infographics
comments(0) Tags: digital, india, infographic, internet, media, social media

Helping Asian brands go global

June 1st, 2011 / 7:51 am

Here’s my latest column as the current Asia-Pacific contributor to The Holmes Report’s ThinkTank section:

I first moved to Asia a decade ago. Those days, when people in the public relations business referred to ‘global multinationals,’ it was almost always in reference to Western companies communicating from the outside into Asia.

All of this is changing, and changing very fast: large numbers of rising Asian multinationals are starting to communicate on a truly global basis as never before, and even the reluctant Japanese companies – faced with a dire, declining domestic marketplace – see the urgent need to aggressively invest in international PR.

Based on the statistics, we shouldn’t be too surprised. According to a new Forbes list published last year, a whopping 34% of the world’s top 2,000 companies are now based in Asia.

Maybe most of these 689 companies are generally unknown around the world. But often for imitative reasons following what the old Western multinationals have done before them, these new Asian multinationals increasingly believe that communications can help them build profile and secure competitive advantage. Thus many are asking themselves: “What is PR and how can we use it to help achieve our commercial objectives overseas?” Given the enormous potential that this market represents, the opportunities for the PR industry are compelling and we in the agency business had better be ready to provide some convincing answers.

I can tell you right now that while this next-generation multinational communications market is going through the roof and will be substantial, capitalizing on this trend is without a doubt among the toughest challenges in PR consulting.

Those lacking patience and perseverance need not apply for this kind of work. Quite a few of these ascendant multinationals are complete newcomers to modern marketing, and so convincing them to conduct pioneering PR campaigns can be a daunting proposition to say the least.

Cultivating relationships carefully, understanding the cultural elements in play, starting slowly with a few often underfunded projects to build confidence, and checking arrogant attitudes at the door are all prerequisites to success.

Keeping in mind that inside many an Asian corporation saving ‘face’ can be much more important than Facebook, social media represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

On the one hand, it can be difficult to persuade conservative executives accustomed to exercising the prerogative of top-down control that nowadays the credibility of communication comes from peer-to-peer conversation with people who expect to be heard. But on the other hand, because digital is by definition about data, now we can furnish the tangibility of numbers and proof of PR’s power to make the abstract elements of communications more understood in a clear way that commands greater budgetary resources.

Dynamic talent combinations agency-side are key; that means world calibre foreigners with face-to-face relationship interface in the Asian headquarters cities, working in tandem with senior Asians posted in key Western markets. In the past, it’s just been the former, but now the latter is de rigueur for firms serious about surfing the next wave of commercial opportunity in the world of PR.

This is a picture of me and my colleague Margaret Key with my good friend and former client Michael Choo of Kia Motors Corporation. Back in 2002 when I lived in Seoul, Kia become the first rising Asian multinational I counseled on international communications. It was among the toughest and most satisfying assignments of my public relations career.

Categories: Asia
comments(0) Tags: asia, asian multinationals, b-m, holmes, media, PR

NK provocation a chance to enhance Korea’s brand power

December 20th, 2010 / 6:33 pm

The North Korean surprise artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island will not influence Korea’s positive national brand image.

“Korean society was not deterred by the North Korean forces’ provocation, and neither was I, having arrived only seven days after the incident,” explained Bob Pickard, the President and CEO of leading communications consultancy Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific.

Events like this used to have a significant impact on foreign investment. However, things unfolded quite differently this time in Korea. Pickard considered the successful hosting of the G-20 summit as one of the reasons. According to Pickard, foreigners now know Korea given its recent role as the host of the G-20 summit and they also view Korea as a developed country.

“Korea’s geopolitically unstable image was improved by intensive efforts before and after the G-20 summit,” said Pickard. The situation may have been different if the North Korea provocation had occurred before the G-20.

Pickard stressed that Korea should not settle for the status quo. “Korea should focus on making ‘positive contrast’ with North Korea as one of its key brand management strategies and communicate consistently,” said Pickard. He explained that issues should not be centered on negative content, such as North Korean provocations or damage to South Korea. Instead, the ‘positive contrast’ should emphasize the strong attributes of South Korea.

He explained that South Korea should build a ‘mind and smart thinking’ image to reflect sharp contrast with North Korea’s ‘muscle and brute force’ and promote an open image against the traditionally closed stance of North Korea. “Without even mentioning North Korea in the process, the ‘positive contrast’ is made by promoting the strong attributes of South Korea,” Pickard added.

“Three adjectives that describe Korea’s national brand image are: dynamic, passionate, and fast. Korea can succeed by employing different national branding strategies based on these images,” said Pickard.

Categories: publicity
comments(0) Tags: image, korea, media, PR

Interview with China’s PR Magazine

August 21st, 2010 / 7:00 am

A few weeks ago while in Beijing, I was interviewed by China’s PR Magazine. Click here for the English translation.

Categories: publicity
comments(0) Tags: china, evidence-based, media, PR, publicity

The wide world of PR Week

May 10th, 2010 / 11:00 pm

It’s super to see how the new PR Week global edition seems to be flourishing.

For different reasons, I’ve been a fan of both the US and UK PR Week publications for years, but as each is so geared to the American and British domestic audiences (respectively), there was a gigantic ‘rest of the world’ blind spot between them and now we have a fresh source of international PR news content.

Indeed, I’ve been fortunate of late to provide commentary on PR Week’s market focus reports for Canada and for Japan.

Considering the increasingly worldwide nature of communications consulting, there surely should be more room for quality journalism in this space and now we have another key player.

Categories: PR industry
comments(1) Tags: global, media, PR

How the art of PR is becoming a science

April 24th, 2010 / 3:08 am

On April 23rd, I gave a speech to the 5th Annual Opinion Mining Workshop in Seoul. Attended by 150 academics, marketers, and social media thought leaders, the event was hosted by Daumsoft, a very exciting Korean company that among other things provides ultra-advanced business intelligence-gathering and media monitoring systems using their text mining technology. Here’s a copy of the presentation that I delivered:

How the art of PR is becoming a science

Related blog post: The art of mapping the science of PR

Categories: measurement, speaking platforms
comments(0) Tags: digital, digital storytelling, korea, measurement, media, modern, PR

PR as a weapon of conflict in the news

December 9th, 2009 / 3:17 pm

When public relations (PR) is mentioned in the news media, have you noticed the aggressive headline or story contexts in which the PR expression occurs? I have, and since I started looking for especially military applications of the term, I’ve been amazed how PR is widely depicted as a weapon of conflict in the media. So, just for fun, I did Google news archival searches for the last 30 years and found a rising tide of the warlike presence of PR:

News, as a packaged media product, generally markets the story of conflict between different sides, and it seems as though contests between opposing forces must have winners and losers:

Even if it’s not one side versus another, PR often appears in the news as a shocking or destructive element:

In general, over the past several decades, public relations has experienced a much higher media profile and all the charts — which are an inexact but crude gauge — show generally similar trends. I hope this evidences a sign of increased professional regard for public relations, but sometimes it seems that PR in the media is seen as something to respect but often as much to be feared.

Categories: blog, news
comments(1) Tags: language, media, news, PR, war

Speak first to avoid persistent myths

December 3rd, 2009 / 12:15 pm

This Washington Post article contains conclusions that PR professionals, journalists and an informed public need to know about what they consume from the media. For example:

“The research also highlights the disturbing reality that once an idea has been implanted in people’s minds, it can be difficult to dislodge.”
“Denials inherently require repeating the bad information, which may be one reason they can paradoxically reinforce it. Indeed, repetition seems to be a key culprit. Things that are repeated often become more accessible in memory, and one of the brain’s subconscious rules of thumb is that easily recalled things are true.”
“Many easily remembered things, in fact, such as one’s birthday or a pet’s name, are indeed true. But someone trying to manipulate public opinion can take advantage of this aspect of brain functioning. In politics and elsewhere, this means that whoever makes the first assertion about something has a large advantage over everyone who denies it later.”
“Furthermore, a new experiment by Kimberlee Weaver at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and others shows that hearing the same thing over and over again from one source can have the same effect as hearing that thing from many different people — the brain gets tricked into thinking it has heard a piece of information from multiple, independent sources, even when it has not.”

Categories: bulletin
comments(0) Tags: crisis communications, media, messages, myths, psychology, repetition