C 21- Rethinking Reputation: How PR Trumps Marketing and Advertising in the New Media World
“Public Relations is the most powerful force in modern society.”
The book “Rethinking Reputation”, is a Bible to anyone even slightly fascinated by the world of new media and reputation management. The book is authored by renowned PR and Corporate Communications experts, Fraser P. Seitel and John Doorley. Fraser P. Seitel is a public relations consultant, author, lecturer, columnist, and media commentator, appearing frequently on the Fox News Network and other outlets. His authored book, “The Practice of Public Relations”, is renowned in academic spaces, and has sold over a million copies in 11 editions. John Doorley is founder of the Academy for Communication Excellence and Leadership at Johnson & Johnson. Both of them have also helped in the establishment of Public Relations Department at New York University. Their rich varied backgrounds and practical expertise makes this book seem thorough and well researched. The book makes use of many cases studies to lay down the Do’s and Don’ts of reputation and crises management.
The book begins by establishing the premise that good reputation management and other PR activities are not just the icing on the business, but are now integral parts of any business practice. They emphasise on how traditional PR practices cannot be ignored in the pursuit of going digital. Word of mouth appraisals still hold an important place in brand awareness, especially of new start-ups.
“Public relations is mandatory; advertising optional.” The authors have attempted to place Public Relations even above advertising, by citing various instances of how businesses flourished even without employing any advertising tactics. They give instance of City Slips Footwear which was started by student designers, Susie Levitt and Katie Shea, who without employing any advertising tactics expanded their business on the shoulders of good PR. They established a strong presence on Facebook and Twitter networked with their family and friends. This case study exemplified the need to establish good local connections. To exemplify PR disasters, the authors used the case study of Valdez oil spill, and the faux pas made by BP’s leadership during the Deepwater Horizon disaster. They also shed light on the importance of individual’s character in branding and reputation by illustrating how Roy Vagelos developed a cure for river blindness and even ensured that it was made available to the needy free of cost. They also advised never to spin a story unnecessarily. Such real life case studies contextualised their premise and gave the readers a practical exposure.
The author also enlisted a few media lessons which were:
* Remember that research is cheaper, and more critical, than ever.
* Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good-launch your idea before someone else does.
* Don’t get so excited about social media that you forget about traditional media.
*In a crisis, you are never offstage.
* Never lie, never whine, and never try to predict the future!
Personally, I found these guiding principles very effective. In a book which has New Media in the title, I was expecting it to be loaded with social media strategies. However, this book helped me understand the balance between traditional and new-age PR strategies. I vehemently feel that this book should not only be read by communications professionals but also by CEOs or other professionals who wish to establish a favourable image in the public eye. The language and jargons used are easy to understand even by laypersons. The book is a good read if read at stretch at one time. One would not be feeling like keeping the book down after getting engrossed in the intriguing case studies. Overall, it is a book you won’t investing for one hour on.
