By Jacob Nava, Associate
As a former business major, I was taught that PR is the general idea of the public relationship between the company and the clients/public. After joining the staff of 1910 PR, I have gained a slightly different understanding. In the business world, PR is simply the thought process of keeping public images safe and secure by righting wrongs or promoting rights. In 1910 PR, I realized that this specific form of PR relies on giving information out and promoting for clients.
My marketing class covered two big PR disasters: Tylenol and Groupon. The Tylenol disaster happened in 1982 when the product was tampered with. After seven deaths, Johnson & Johnson announced a nationwide recall and created safety seals for all future products.
Groupon’s disaster was self-inflicted. CEO Andrew Mason wanted a “spoof” to make fun of celebrity Public Service Announcements and inadvertently made jokes about the loss of Tibetan culture, the destruction of the Amazon, and the endangerment of whales. Many people found the jokes to be offensive, and Groupon lost all traction that it had. Groupon apologized but didn’t regain any Ground. The company is now going under due to poor practices and bad financial
decisions.
The business world’s sense of PR is “Don’t make mistakes, or you may risk ruining your public image.” However, from the communication perspective, public relations is much more; it involves informing, promoting people, products, events and more, and building long-term relationships with stakeholders in order to grow a business or organization or to make a change.
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