“Disconnect” Between Execs and Communicators
The most troubling aspect of teaching public relations is explaining (and getting students to understand) that some executives do not value the communications function. The whole notion is illogical, particularly if one asks individual business execs about the importance of communications. Every single one I have ever discussed communications with said that they did. And, there are many scholarly studies that come to similar conclusions.
In practice, however, the talk is not always backed up. Anyone who has ever worked in a communications department has multiple examples, from the downsizing that occurs among communicators to execs ignoring the advice of internal staff or their outside agencies. As a result, there is a lingering inferiority complex among professionals. In the scholarly community, this notion translates into ongoing battles about PR is and is not, definitions, neverending talk about the “strategic” nature of PR, etc., rather than ways to actually bridge the gap.
In my opinion, the disconnect is twofold. First, business majors do not (and in many cases, cannot) take public relations or advertising classes as undergrads. At USF, for example, we require our PR majors to take at least one class in marketing, management, and advertising. However, a business student cannot take our PR case studies class because of the prerequisites attached to it. So, business students don’t really get any real experience in communications. The counter might be that they take Marketing, but from what I understand, that is a far cry from a communications-centric course.
Second, my sense is that communicators spend too much time worrying about whether or not they sit at the CEO’s “table” and how others view them, instead of educating execs regarding the ROI value of the field. When professionals do talk about these issues, it is usually to one another, not in a forum that execs see. We’re trying to convince ourselves, rather than educate those around us.
For example, Mark Weiner of Ketchum writes a powerful piece in the September 2007 issue of O’Dwyers about how PR “outshines” advertising in ROI. His studies show that PR returns about $6 per dollar spent on average, much higher than mass marketing advertising at $1.20 per dollar.
Weiner rightly points to the disconnect between non-PR execs who fund communications departments and practitioners who don’t know the methods available to measure returns. As a result, Weiner explains, “Most PR people continue to report clip volume and ad value even though the executives to whom they’re reporting believe that they are irrelevant.” The challenge is that few if any execs are going to see this essay. We’re pretty good at talking among ourselves…at least within the academe/professional boundary…but not so much when it comes to the outside world.
So, another gap that needs filled. How do we get the next generation of Gordon Gekkos to think about the value of communications? And, can we really educate the execs that are paying our salaries?
September 28th, 2007 at 21:01
Another issue that budding PR professionals face is finding jobs in their field. Case in point, Tech Data’s flagship campus in Clearwater has exactly one PR guy. I was amazed that one man can do all the PR for a campus with thousands of employees. He’s good!