Films and videos
Films are giving way now to videos as a PR method of communicating, for videos are generally cheaper and can be easily seen by many more people. Film and video companies exist who will do the script, production and distribution of such materials. A good understanding of video making and its potential will help you in your PR work.
Education as a public relations activity
Commercial enterprises, such as banks and food manufacturers, may all have educational PR programs, as do some non commercial organizations such as the British Dental Association and the Health Education Council. One major educationally based public relations campaign mounted in recent years was that for Information Technology Year on behalf of the Government.
Some banks in the past have distributed banking educational games devised for use in school to teach young people about banking and the use of money. The attachment of a particular bank's name to the game generates goodwill from teachers and parents today's customers and helps recognition of the bank among students at an early age tomorrow's customers. This benevolent commercialism does little harm, but educationalists rightly want only that which really serves their students' interests.
One campaign by a leading washing powder manufacturer went into schools with an educational program because it was an effective way of reaching the mothers who were its prime target. An educational lesson was devised involving each primary school child with a colored card of a house. The child had to take the card home and get different fabric cuttings from her or his Mum. These were brought back to school and curtains and rugs were cut out of the fabrics for the house, each being labeled as to the fiber, e.g. wool, cotton, silk, polyester, nylon. The teacher then involved the class in discussions about these fabrics and the fibres in them. This became an excellent and creative lesson. One has only to think of the remarkable story of growing, harvesting, and weaving cotton with its social and industrial history to realize the enormous learning potential of such a project. The child involved the mother at home in the project by hunting out scraps of fabric, discussing what they were, and then bringing back home the finished house. A teaching pack was sent separately to the teacher for her use in this project. In this way three different groups were used, each linking with the other the teacher who is both an opinion former and a consumer, the child who learns about the manufacturer and may become a potential future customer and who acts as a messenger to the mother who is the manufacturer's prime commercial and marketing target.
Financial public relations
This specialty has been the big growth area for PR in recent years. You will need a degree or professional qualifications, preferably law or accountancy, unless you are already an established financial journalist or parliamentarian. Your work will cover the following main areas:
Maintaining the confidence of a company's shareholders, investment analysts, and the media by a regular flow of information on aims and achievements. Dealing with special situations such as takeovers and mergers, transferring from private to public company. Stock exchange procedures and regulations. International capital markets PR strategies related to international quotations and fund raising.
Financial public relations and the media
The financial media whether printed or broadcast, is the life blood of the financial public relations consultant. He must always be on the move with those who influence, control and make the complex world of finance go round, and this includes those in the media concerned with money, investment, and economics. Financial media normally has immediate and easy access to any client. Top financial journalists can make and break company reputations. If you work in financial public relations you are not a generalist you are a keen specialist for your work is not, as you might suppose, just about money but about investment, capital, tax, financial packages and products, stocks, shares, bonds, management and corporate reputations. There is a lot to learn about financial media. Start now by reading the Financial Times regularly.
Special interest public relations
The environment is a popular topic these days and there are many special conservation groups all around the country. These are just one kind of special interest group. Perhaps a group dedicated to the conservation of a particular kind of architecture has started in your area. This group must put across its views and gain popular support and understanding for its campaign. Putting up posters and sending out press releases is no longer really enough in the face of so much publicity effort by so many special interest groups these days. Why not join a local group of some kind in whose fight you believe and try to improve the quality and extent of their public relations?
