Today is a special day for us PR practitioners all over the World.
I am sure that you all are aware that July 16 has been chosen as the World PR Day to honour Ivy Ledbetter Lee, considered the founder of modern public relations. July 16th is his birthday.
The theme of World PR Day this year is Truth, Trust and Transparency.
The three Ts joining with the fourth T-called theme has placed a great responsibility on all PR professionals.
Each of the three Ts has an important bearing on PR. The three Ts are also closely interconnected.
For PR professionals fact-based information is the truth. That leads to the second T called Trust.
Truth is the foundation of Trust. Once truth and trust have found their moorings, transparency takes place smoothly.
The truth may not always be good or positive. As PR professionals the best way to handle such a situation is to face it honestly. Be honest about the challenges we face and the mistakes we commit. I am sure that such an approach would help us in winning the trust of the people with whom we are dealing or interacting. The process also ensures transparency in all our dealings.
This brings to me Omawumi Ogbe, managing partner of GLG Communications, the fastest-growing PR & Communication agency in Nigeria. According to Ogbe “P in the PR represents People”. She is right. The most effective strategy and the plan would be of no use in the absence of the right people to implement them. We needed to handle people with care and compassion. The people should be taken into confidence so that they develop the art of PR & Communication most efficiently. We should be aware that every person with a smartphone is a potential communicator.
Be it our office colleagues, neighbours or even passerby. Any one of them could create goodwill or havoc for you and your organisation.
Public Relations or PR is one of the ingredients of what is called communication. The art of communication has undergone tremendous changes with the advent of the digital revolution. The tyranny of the single medium such as print, TV or Radio is over. As I said earlier anyone with a smartphone is a communicator. The PR professional is faced with the challenge of producing the most effective communication messages suitable for a converging media ecosystem covering print, visual and voice platforms.
That’s the mantra of effective communication today. World PR Day offers us an opportunity to discuss these issues and the future scope of the profession by opting for the latest and most effective methods of communication.
This speech was made by the National President at the Inauguration of World PR Day at Ocean Pearl Hotel, Mangalore by Dr M Vijayakumar, Vice Chancellor of Yenepaya University in the presence of Cannute Jeevan Punto Secretary PRCI Mangalore Chapter, Rudalf Norohna, Public Relations Officer, Mangalore Refineries, Pasupathi Sharma, Karnataka State Head.
Anything that is fake can’t be associated with PR. The first and foremost requirement of effective PR is trust.