I get these e-mails about Public Relations issues and trends from PRSA, so I thought I would share some of them with you. There was this one article about teenagers and twittering. According to a Morgan Stanley analyst “teenagers aren’t using twitter.” The basis of this statement comes from the company’s 15 year old intern who says that, “[teenagers] resent intrusive advertising on billboards, television and the Internet and they are willing to chase content and music across platforms and devices such as mobile phones and Apple Inc.’s IPod. They do not listen to the radio, preferring music Websites that stream music for free and allow them to choose their songs. They are “very reluctant” to pay for music and 80 percent download it illegally. Most have never bought a CD”. Now, this really isn’t a study as only one teenager was involved, but is this true? My friends and I all use twitter, I can’t think of very many people who haven’t at least opened an account, but I wonder if we still fit into the “teenager” category. The report said that “teenagers don’t use Twitter, the short-form Web messaging service…they realize that their ‘tweets’ are pointless as no one is viewing their profile.” But isn’t that the point? I am in college and I think twitter is primarily popular in college and the business world. But that’s how Facebook started out. Only college students used it; it took a while before High School teenagers joined, but they did join. I still enjoy old fashioned advertising on billboards and television, but I do resent some overly intrusive internet advertisements, I think those drive everyone crazy. Most of my friends and I still listen to the radio and we still buy CD’s or at least remember buying CD’s. It’s hard to think that there is a generation below ours that won’t even remember the time before the internet boom. I mean I can remember the first day I signed on to the World Wide Web; it took about a half an hour, and we couldn’t use our phone while we used the internet. Now it seems like kids are born with cell phones in their hands that have internet access built in. Public Relations is definitely changing quickly, and with the technological advances, it divides markets up even more. High school students are vastly different than college students, who are vastly different than college graduates who are vastly different than college graduates with a stable career… The way each group uses social media is so diverse that we need to hear from members of each to understand their trends.
See the entire article here http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aG2UIb23pNQ0
I also found this statement to be interesting: “Public relations students can write like advertisers or marketers, but advertisers and marketers cannot write like public relations practitioners." It was written by Jarrett Cocharo, a senior at the University of Alabama and the PRSA summer intern. I was thinking about this and I suppose it’s true. My major at Chapman University is Public Relations and Advertising. Usually students in that major at Chapman pick either one as their emphasis. I have been struggling to figure out which one I want to focus on. Right now, I am leaning towards PR. It just seems so much more broad. This statement reinforced that. I mean, someone who only studied advertising would definitely not be able to work in the PR field. They wouldn’t even know the first thing about writing a press release. But advertising is something that public relations practitioners may utilize sometimes. Copy writing can be used for both, but press releases are only used for PR. Cocharo also stressed that it is important that PR students build an online identity with Facebook, twitter, and Linkedin (I just opened a LinkedIn account after reading that.) PR and Ad is an increasingly attractive career path, making it more competitive with each year. To stay ahead of the game these things are just the essentials.
Read the entire post here http://www.prssa.org/blog/?p=224
Social media is at that the cornerstone of the field and sometimes I feel us students may be a little obsessed, it’s nice to see that we are on the right path after reading articles like Cocharo’s. It’s also important to put things in perspective by seeing articles like the one from Morgan Stanley.
Well, I am going to play the devil's advocate here and if I do offend I apologize in advance.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read the above statement, the first thought that came to my mind was that the speaker of the comment was being an elitist and trying to increase his value as an employee. He seems to be suggesting that as a Public Relations Specialist he is superior to a Marketer because he has all the skills of a Marketer and more. Well since nothing exists by itself, let us see how he came up with this (what I perceive to be a flawed) idea.
Now I am not extremely knowledgeable about marketing and PR as I should be so I cannot make a conclusive judgment. If going on the basis of what I do know, both of the two specialize in information control in order to persuade others. If I am wrong correct me. My second point is how hard is it to learn how to write a Press release? I imagine its not entirely that difficult to learn. So if that is the only difference between the two, then PR is nothing more than a specialization of Advertising and Marketing.
If that is the case, wouldn't it make more sense to major in one of the two and then major in a separate field in order to offer a better deal to future employers?
Thanks for the comment; I was hoping to hear some debate on this subject. I’m not one hundred percent in support of the above comment, so it’s good to hear some feedback. I know there are misconceptions about the subjects of PR, Advertising, and marketing, so first, I’ll just explain the distinction between the three. PR is not a specialization of advertising, but it is a specialization of marketing. There are four parts to the marketing mix: Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. Promotion specifically includes advertising, Public Relations, sales promotion, and personal selling. My comments on the statement were directed more at the separation of PR and advertising, but I agree, it is a little elitist to say that PR students can write like advertisers or marketers, but advertisers and marketers can’t write like PR practitioners.
ReplyDeleteI personally know PR students who are working in the marketing field, I myself am interning in marketing, but very rarely do I see marketing majors working at a PR firm. It has to do with the way each subject is taught. Students majoring in the promotions aspect learn the basics of marketing, because we have to understand it before we delve into the subsection of PR or advertising. Marketing majors go a lot more in depth about all of the parts, but since PR and advertising are small aspects in the overall subject, they wouldn’t have learned all of the skills.
The main difference between advertising and PR is that advertising is paid for and PR is not. Advertisers are a lot more selective about their messages because they pay for every inch of an ad, every second of a TV spot, and every click of an internet ad. Public Relations practitioners mainly write and send press releases, but I only used that as one example, they also pitch stories to reporters, create press kits, write speeches for clients, set up press conferences, create contact lists, utilize social media and much more.
It is true that anyone could learn to write a Press Release, but it does take a certain amount of knowledge in the field to create a well written one. I’ve seen several case studies of people working in the field that created horrible press releases. If you don’t even have a basic knowledge of the “do’s and don’ts”, a reporter won’t even get past the headline of your press release, let alone run a story on the subject you are trying to pitch. An advertiser could learn how to write Press Releases, but the above comment was made in response to those looking for a job. A marketing major or advertising major would not have the skills to write a proper press release unless they double majored or minored in Public Relations. If they were to try to apply at a PR firm, they would most likely not get the job, because PR Firms expect its applicants to already know how to write a well written Press Release. If you follow the link to the entire comment Jarrett Cocharo made, he was talking about students looking for a career in PR. He was saying that if students can’t find a job that is specifically PR related, then they should broaden their horizons by applying to advertising or marketing jobs. The reason he gave was the above comment. PR students could definitely get a job in marketing, and many do. Advertising might be harder for a PR student to get without a double major or minor in advertising.
And yes, it does make sense to major in one and then major in a separate field. At my school the PR and Ad major is not a double major, it’s one joint major; whether you emphasize in one or the other, you graduate with a degree in Public Relations and Advertising; and many students at Chapman, me including, major in PR and Ad and double major or minor in art, marketing, business, music, theater, television, communications, or journalism, to name a few. Jarrett Cocharo actually suggests choosing a “minor or a second major that interests you and that enhances your skills.”
I hope that all made sense, and just didn’t sound like I was rambling. You made some good points and I appreciate your comment.