Publics Relations
Before you jump to emailing to say that I've spelled "Public Relations" incorrectly, let me say I've accomplish two goals. The first is to catch your attention, which MUST be done in order to deliver any type of message.
The second goal is to urge you to rethink your "Public Relations" strategies. I was reviewing some excellent materials from Frank Donaldson of the Institute for School and Parish Development (ISPD) in preparation for a project that, I believe, will be an outstanding resource for marketing Catholic schools, and found a paragraph that mentioned a "Public Relations" plan. While publication after publication has been written on the vital need for Public Relations, I believe it is "Publics Relations" that is necessary.
This may sound a bit strange at first, but consider that the meaning of the word is very important. It's even more important when you consider that, in the context of our Catholic Faith, "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Words define what something IS. If you have the opportunity to "name" something, it is a task that is not taken lightly. New businesses (and businesses that reinvent themselves) hire professional companies in order to come up with the right name for company; inventors patent the name of their creation because it directly relates to its function; and if you have children, you know how involved the process of naming your son or daughter was.
But think of what the current Public Relations person does. Most of the time, in order to publicize an event, a press release is created for the media with the hope that representatives from newspapers, television and radio come to cover it. The most important word in that sentence is "a" - singular; the second most important word is "media." That's not public relations...that's MEDIA Relations. And while media is important, they respond differently than will parents, than will pastors, than will members of the business community. Therefore, more than one "release" of information must be prepared; further, the publics relations person must ensure ALL of them "capture the attention" (see above) of their intended audiences.
And calling it Publics Relations is not foreign to our language. We have Attorneys General, as well as Mothers-in-law. It will also help supervisors to realize that effective publics relations (!) isn't as simple as a supervisor might think. Preparing an excellent press release is good journalism; making sure the message is communicated (read or heard) AND understood in its proper context (with all the follow up that BOTH of those actions require) is marketing.
© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2007
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