Power to the (PR) People

With close to 30 years working in the public relations profession, sometimes with mixed feelings about my career choice, I am going to get this off my chest loud and clear: The next time someone disparages the public relations field or publicists in front of me, I am going to speak my mind and not mince words. “Power to the PR People.”

At LDNY seminar

I am in the middle of promoting my book, Getting Things Off My Chest: A Survivor’s Guide to Staying Fearless and Fabulous in the Face of Breast Cancer.” The experience has given me new respect for skilled publicists. It is not an easy job, and a public relations professional with the right media strategy and the right connections can make a big difference. I see more than ever the value of experienced and connected public relations professionals as I roll up my sleeves and pitch my story and my book. I have had producers tell me they need to speak with my publicist and not me, the author. Forget that I have more than two decades of experience working with media setting up interviews for dozens of clients.

In defense of the public relations profession:

We are the first to be called for damage control when the media starts pouncing on our clients when they have a problem. Yet, we are the first to be let go when our clients’ businesses falter or when there is new leadership coming in and “going in a different direction” or seeking “fresh new ideas.” We are the first to be blamed when something goes wrong and the last to be thanked when something goes right. Some people think we plan parties for a living or take writers to expensive lunches every day or can drop everything and make reservations for you at the hottest restaurant, Broadway play or hotel with just a phone call. Prospects ask to pick my brain for ideas when I pitch their business. Yet, I cannot begin to tell you the number of times no one bothers to pick up the phone to inform me they didn’t pick us for the assignment. My favorite all-time comment (from a former client) was “We like to have PR agencies pitch us just so we can get some new ideas to use.”

I started as a journalist before moving into the public relations business. Many journalists turn to public relations when their jobs have been eliminated. Journalists who abruptly brushed me off when I called them have years later called to ask me for a job or a job reference. In the same ironic thread, when I told a managing editor whom I’ve know for years that I was writing a book her response was, “I didn’t know you could write.” Writing is my business and close to 70 percent of my work.

Journalists take the press releases we write and pen the words as their own. It’s expected in the PR world, but we’d be accused of plagiarism if we used someone else’s words in what we write. Journalists don’t like taking PR calls (pitches), but get annoyed if they are not called back immediately to help with a story (usually at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday). PR pros are expected to take media or clients’ calls and emails at any time of the day or night as if we are attached to our hand helds at all times. A journalist at a large daily newspaper called my cell phone on my wedding day (a Saturday) to fact check a story and didn’t bother to congratulate me when I told her I was preparing for my wedding in four hours.

Clients think they have the greatest idea on earth to which The New York Times and Wall Street Journal will give major coverage. Half the time the idea is off strategy or not newsworthy and our job is to craft a solid plan to make a story worthy of attention. It’s the public relations pro’s job to set the record straight when the client gets it wrong. We are also the first to clean up any media mess that our clients make when they try to do their own publicity. And finally, we are the first people asked to donate goods and services for charitable events and causes because “We know you know everyone and have the time to help our organization.” And we generally serve up in the name of serving our community even though that “time” does cost us money.

So why the bad rap…and bad attitude toward publicists?

During my career I’ve been pushed out of photos, spit at by fake media party crashers and bumped from certain invitation lists because I work in public relations. Last month a media colleague introduced a new member of a prestigious professional women’s organization we both belong to as “She one of the few publicists I respect.” Some acknowledgment.

Like all professional services, be it lawyers, CPAs, stockbrokers, etc., there are some who shine and some who do not. In fact I think the only service profession disparaged as much as public relations is the legal profession. I once met with the owner of a “top PR firm in New York” to discuss a business arrangement. I would swear he’d pimp his own mother to pump up his annual billings. He was no fit for me. On the flip side, I have colleagues in this business as genuine and as hard working as they come when it comes to delivering great results for clients who too often don’t appreciate what it takes to run a successful campaign.

Good public relations pros are trained writers, skilled communicators, smart strategists and creative thinkers. We can spin a story or an entire campaign from just threads of information. We develop strong stamina from the long hours, thick skin from the rejections and a healthy sense of humor to offset stress. For every time I groan and grimace about the work I also remember some of the amazing people I’ve worked with and the programs I have developed that made an impact. I work in an industry that tests your skills, stretches your creativity, and can do some good for the community and numerous causes.

Many of the skills I developed as a public relations agency owner helped me manage my cancer diagnosis, which I discuss in my book. The strategist in me assembled the right experts for the best advice; the event planner in me made lists to stay organized; the communicator in me crafted the messages I wanted to convey to the people in my life; the tactician in me assigned my husband David to be my official spokesperson to make sure we controlled my story. And finally, the writer in me came out with a new voice.

I didn’t tell my clients about my cancer diagnosis until 2011, a year after treatment ended and two years after my diagnosis. I was afraid they would abandon my PR ship and my business would sink, When I finally told my clients one said to me, “I wish we had known; we wouldn’t have treated you so badly.” My question was, “Why were you treating me badly in the first place?”

Looking back at my career I am proud of work in public relations and grateful for the lasting friendships I have made. Many of my PR colleagues have stepped forward to support me with my book launch, introducing me to media, sending releases and attending my speaking engagements and events. We enjoy connecting, respect each other’s careers and step in when we know a colleague needs a hand.

Public relations is, among other things, about building and communicating an image for a brand or entity. But I think the public relations profession needs to burnish its own image.

And, If you ever think public relations is a waste of time or money for delivering results…….Just go try to buy a Cronut.