This will mark my last entry for PR363 and for my internship placement with ACRES.
I would like to touch on a part of public relations that I find not 'realistic' in my placement and in class, with very much reason behind it. In class, we always have assignments which require us to come up with a perfect PR Plan for the client, which involves objectives, mission and vision statements, strategies and tactics, timeline and evaluation. We always assume everything will go according to what we plan. However, during my placement, I realized that PR can always be planned, but situation can never be. This is when I call it 'expect the unexpected'. It is also one important value I have learned during my placement period. For two major events that I was involved in, there were unexpected situation and circumstances which was not within our control and can never be planned. They were not so much of a 'crisis management' issues, but still it emphasized that what will go wrong, can go wrong.
Given the nature of the work carried and the type of organization I was at (a not-for-profit organisation), I realize it is not possible to line out a proper PR plan for a campaign that is already launched. As a not-for-profit organisation, the organisation faces lots of challenges from the lack of manpower to the short time frame and the very limited funding to support the campaign. Therefore, it is essential to always look out for new ideas and tactics along the way even when the campaign has already being launched. It may seems like it is a badly planned campaign, but I do not feel that way. As mentioned, not everything will go as planned and being able to be flexible and improvise with the situation and react fast enough to handle crisis could probably do even more than a proper plan. It also means we will be able to learn from failure and gaining that experience may even enhance your skills to handle a possible similar situation in the future.
Interesting readings: http://blog.vistage.com/
1 comment:
That saying should never be disregarded. You are absolutely right when you say ''expect the unexpected'' basically what can go wrong will go wrong (Murphy's Law) and you must certainly anticipate and prepare before hand. Basically contingency planning is one of the most key elements in the field of Public Relations.
Businesses's are vulnerable and at any moment the unexpected may very well happen. People may always plan for what makes the smooth running of everyday activities, but they often fail to antipate the shortcomings of situations that are not given any attention to.
I learn during my event management duties that we should not take for granted that whoever we contacted, or left messages for , that they will have key information relayed on to them. In the PR field you should always follow up on information sent, just remember that not all messages do get delieved to your intended party. Especially when it comes to dealing with intermediaries.
We are all humans, we can all make mistakes, but there is very little room for error when it comes to the business world, some errors have proven to cost millions and you rightly said in your post that sometimes you have to experience the wrong to be able to prepare yourself more adequately for future mishaps.
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