The below sarcastic cartoon on the Economist has reflected some thoughts that during recession firms’ suffering has bolstered the public-relations business. The article illustrated by the cartoon argues that the recession has increased corporate demand for PR and enhanced the industry’s status.
Is it the same case for public relations working for the third sector?
According to The Times, charities have felt the financial squeeze.
Economists predicted in 2009 that organizations that rely on corporate funding will need to ‘brace themselves’ for a drop in donation over the next two years at least.
Birdsong’s Charity Pulse 2010 Sector-wide Staff Survey Report also revealed a fall in charity staff satisfaction. Responses to 58% of the questions have dropped since 2009. 42% are on a par with last year. No areas have improved.
Although the scenario seems grave at the moment for the whole sector, for the sector that’ breathes PR, eats PR, sleeps PR’, I am quietly optimistic for the role and status of PR in this sector during a tough time.
In the time that resources are becoming more limited, effective public relations is even more vital to make the organization’s voice heard and carefully manage relationship with stakeholders to seek support, in aspects from finance to government policy. Compared with advertising and marketing, public relations is relatively cheaper when the influence can be enormous via right channels to reach audience such as media outlets and key opinion leaders. The rise of the Internet and social media has also given n third PR a big boost, a platform with easy access to reach and interact with targeted audience in an engaging way.
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