I’m my own critic
It is hard to imagine knowing or even doing anything without technology. HOW did our parents and ancestors get by? In all seriousness though, we rely so much on research and the immediate access to information that it is hard to understand how (before the Internet) people moved forward. In PR, research is a prominent aspect to the profession and being able to whip up some information and some quantitative figures is vital. While it may sound like I’m praising the Internet, I definitely have issues with the information dissemination tool. For every accurate and unbiased study or piece of information, there are multiple “fake” or biased studies found as well. As a PR professional, you must be ready to do massive amounts of research. However, you also must be ready to question and check every piece of information you find. I’m always tempted to use Wikipedia, and while some of the background info on there is accurate, it is not a credible source by any means. The point is: Be a skeptic or you are going to find yourself in some sticky and unemployed situations!
Superbowl commercials
As I watched the Superbowl on Sunday, I found myself thinking like a PR student instead of just an entertainment seeker. The commercials, in my opinion, have been much better in the past but that is beside the point. During a lot of the commercials I wondered what research went in to these marketing approaches. What publics are they trying to attract? People watch good commercials and think that company has a great marketing team. What a lot of people don’t know is that a good commercial or a good marketing tactic usually means good, in-depth research. They understand their publics, and what messages will reel them in. Because of the strategy of using psychographics, a lot of researchers and PR professionals probably understand people’s decision-making process more than the individuals themselves. I think this is why PR is so cool. Tailoring messages to specific publics is crucial in this business.
Being a reporter
I love doing interviews. I remember when I did my first interview I was really nervous and I didn’t really understand the whole point. When I gave the interview, my attitude completely changed. I really enjoyed, and thought it was fascinating. I think interviews are one of the best ways to do research because you always get more out of it than you were hoping…well, at least in my experience thus far. One thing the book went over that I knew but never thought about before is how you adapt your communication to suit the interviewee’s way of communicating. I thought back on the interviews I have given and that has been true in each one. The more you can achieve this, the more comfortable and successful the interview will be. Being able to empathize with your interviewee and their communication will get you far.
One of my favorite Super Bowl commercials:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=g0nliPWaCvA
