PR = Please Rephrase

If you were to ask me what I did for a living, I would say "I'm in public relations". That gets the normal of response of, "Ah, I see. That's the same thing as advertising, right?" Um. Not exactly. I thought I would take this time to explain what I do for my own sake and for the sake of every other person out there who is in PR and needs to "Please Rephrase" what those two letters actually mean, which doesn't always translate into what Samantha Jones does.

When I'm trying to explain PR to one my feminine* friends, I always use the following example:

Pick up a copy of Cosmo - you'll most likely come to a section that highlights "must have" make-up/jewelry/clothes/whatever. Most of us, myself included, read those articles, and if the price is right, will go out and buy that Lancome Juicy Tube or ask for a pair Michael Kors flats for a Christmas gift from the unsually hip Santa.

So now you're walking around town with your hot, juicy lips and super trendy feet and you can thank a Lancome and Michael Kors PR person for that. Because all the articles you read that mention a product, were most likely touched by someone in PR. PR is advertising you don't pay for. By me mentioning the brand name of lipgloss and a pair of flats on my unheard of blog is an amateur verison of doing PR for those companies. (To Lancome and Michael Kors: please send cash, I do not accept checks.)

So why PR and not advertising? While ads are valuable and sometimes even provoke a cult following like those Geico Cavemen, it's editorial content that today's consumer really listens to. Let me go back to my Cosmo example - chances are you've seen a glamourous, big lipped ad for a Lancome Juicy Tube. Great - another gorgeous model with pouty lips that you'll never have. Now you read an article by a Cosmo reporter who has "done the research" and determined that a Juicy Tube is a "must have" for fall and by the way, Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Aniston carry it in their Gucci handbags. What appeals to you more? The glossy ad that you know what paid for? Or the hip, cool reporter who knows her stuff and is sharing her insight with you?

Don't get me wrong, ads are a vital part of any campaign and its an entirely different beast. Its just that as society becomes more critical and cynical, companies need to get smarter and reach out to the people their consumers are listening to and trusting because we often don't trust corporations on their own.

And if you're wondering, no, I don't do any work with Cosmo or get to play with lipgloss and cute shoes. I spend my PR days pitching stories on technology companies and the only freebies I get are trial versions of CAD software - aren't you jealous?

*Please note that I've seen quite a few males pick up copies of Cosmo in hopes to see naked chicks and I also know that certain males who do not find naked chicks appealing, consider Cosmo the Holy Grail, so I want to be PC and say " my feminine friends" to avoid those gentlemen out there who like lipgloss and respect that this season is all about flats.