Keeping tabs on relations with the public

CAREER FOCUS/Public relations: In recent years a new breed of professional has emerged and they are everywhere. Olivia Kelly reports

In an increasingly media-aware and media-dominated society, image is everything. The way a particular image or message is conveyed can alternately secure the success or ensure the failure of an organisation, a campaign or even an individual. Getting the right message across is vital and it's what public relations is all about.

The type of job the PR officer does can vary enormously and, depending on the client or organisation they work for, so can the job title. In some cases they're called communications officers, in others press officers, information officers or public affairs officers, managers and executives. Whatever the title, their role is to protect and promote reputation.

"Any type of organisation will have a public relations requirement," says Gerry Davis, chief executive of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII). "You could be working in consumer public relations for a company manufacturing a product, in public affairs for a political party or government or in the non-profit sector."

Public relations is part of the general marketing mix, but increasingly, particularly in larger organisations, it is an independent department. It can have both internal and external functions within a company, such as promoting a product or service to the general public and informing shareholders about the financial condition of the company.

PR officers also work in public relations agencies or consultancies. Here they may have a long-standing relationship with an organisation - for example, they may be the agency used by a particular charity or college, or they may be called in to manage a one-off or short-term project. "For a project like Luas there would be a need for specialised public relations and a PR consultant would be hired for that," Davis says.

Public relations is "a very wide-ranging discipline", he says. People could be involved in a number of different activities which come under the PR umbrella. You could be writing press releases and speeches, involved in fostering corporate identity in the sponsorship area, or in event management "organising events to condition the public over a period of time to associate a product with an organisation".

There is also the area of crisis public relations. If a company is closing you could have to deal with external relations with the press and internal relations with the workers or shareholders. Other PR officers will be involved in research and evaluations, including monitoring the media for reference to the client's company. PR officers will also find themselves in regular contact with other professionals, such as those in the marketing, advertising and legal departments.

Traditionally public relations officers moved into the career from journalism. While this is still a viable route, many more students go for a business marketing or advertising course followed by postgraduate studies in public relations. Others take their PRII qualification part-time while working.

The public relations job market is not as buoyant as it has been in the past, due to economic uncertainty, says Davis.