PR Ethics

Ethics in advertising and public relations is hotly debated among professionals and for good reason. With changing technology and advancements to everyday life the consumer is essentially laid out among a buffet of everything an advertiser/PR professional needs to understand before marketing their product. No matter when the times though honesty has always proven difficult in PR. In my opinion remaining honest, whether for good or bad is necessary to keep your organization out of hot water. Manipulating the truth can help to further your company’s agenda and none will be the wiser, which is why I believe PR professionals will not become increasingly ethical but instead display a guise of ethics.

In the article “We are Professional Manipulators” – PR Pros, are we lying to ourselves? Published by PRWeek follows a report gathered at the 23rd International Public Relations Research Symposium, BledCom, in Slovenia. This report yielded results of more than 20 interviews in which 17 of the interviewees admitted to lying to the media on a regular basis. A not so surprising yet still disappointing truth found in the public relations field. However, this is where ethic can begin to be challenged, one PR professional stated "Of course I lie ­– I lie because my CEO expects it, I have to lie to cover my CEO's [butt]. If I don't lie and make it all look better, he and a lot of others will suffer. So I lie. A lot." I believe this is a direct reflection of asymmetrical communication gone wrong…or possibly right? It is a grey area. Asymmetrical communication’s intended purpose is to persuade the audience and do this through one-sided conversation. Lying to media and the consumer achieves asymmetrical conversation without interfering with laws because PR is guided more so through a code of ethics.

In the article 7 PR lies to avoid at all costs by Dorothy Crenshaw, deceptive stunts, astroturfing and social hijacking are a few of the examples cited. News hijacking is used frequently by PR people and follows an important event. The problem with social hijacking is that it is not considered a lie but instead a manipulation on what feels like a very personal level for the consumer. Social hijacking can take place on Twitter or Facebook accounts and posts and often pushes the consumer to feel a certain way they may not have before but believe they came to on their own. PR examples of this could be Starbuck’s #RaceTogether. Showing up later on their Twitter account but first originating on Starbucks cups. Barista’s were encouraged to write this message on cups being served. Missing the mark and questioning what kind of response Starbucks would receiving from their customers. Manipulating a consumer’s perspective both online and within their actual product does not allow for the consumer to come to their own decisions or understand the product properly.

I believe that PR is fighting to be portrayed as ethical when many professionals are increasingly losing their ethics, honesty and loyalty to the consumer.

           

Sources:

http://www.prweek.com/article/1359922/we-professional-manipulators-pr-pros-lying-ourselves

http://crenshawcomm.com/7-pr-lies-to-avoid-at-all-costs/

http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/may/28/brand-purpose-social-issues-starbucks-mcdonalds

Diversity in the Ad Industry

Diversity in the Ad Industry

Lack of diversity in any situation creates narrow minds. Although full of “creatives” the advertising industry is no exception to the narrow mindedness that comes when diversity is not found within a workforce. Most anyone would deny accusations of being racist or not being open to different group’s opinions and diversity. Unfortunately stereotyping falls under these categories.  Advertising as a whole often uses stereotypes to reinforce their messages.

Ad A.)

 

Ad B.

Teams that believed this was the most effective form of delivering their message created these advertisements. My question, what would advertisement A say if the picture had been a white father and son? What would advertisement B say if there had been a larger amount of women on the advertising team?

Advertisement A was created with the African American consumer as the focus during the 70’s. But the article, When Do Multicultural Ads Become Offensive? Questions how advertisers reach their intended demographics without stepping on stereotypes. This takes a diverse group to be able to have this conversation in the workroom.

These examples highlight the necessity of having diversity not only in advertising but also in the industry’s workforce. According to the American Advertising Federation Principle Eight, “advertisers and their agencies, and online and offline media, should discuss privately potential ethical concerns, and members of the team creating ads should be given permission to express internally their ethical concerns.”

Ad Age recently produced an article by Gina Grillo, The Advertising Industry Needs Diverse Leadership to Thrive, this article states As an industry that exists to communicate with consumers of all backgrounds and walks of life, the advertising industry stands to benefit more than most by cultivating a highly diverse and inclusive environment that reflects the changing demographics around us.” I believe this to be a proper reflection of the ad world.

Sources:

http://membership.aaf.org/institute-advertising-ethics

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/06/advertising-race-1970s-stereotypes-offensive/395624/

http://adage.com/article/agency-viewpoint/advertising-industry-diverse-leadership-thrive/297998/

The Obligations of a Strategic Communicator

A professor I once had told our journalism class that as a strategic communicator we held a very valuable role in society. We are, according to this professor the caretakers of the powerful pen. This idea of actually being the powerful pen has impacted me throughout my journalism career and is reflected in my views of the obligation of a strategic communicator.
According to Power and the News Media by Teun A. van Dijk controlling the minds of the consumer is effective when "the media users do not realize the nature or the implications of such control and when they change their minds of their own free will, as when they accept news reports as true or journalistic opinions as legitimate or correct." This meaning that a consumer would not be aware of their own decision making due to the heavy influence from the media. I believe that media abuses this power on a very regular basis, not necessarily with malicious intent but instead with the hopes of better ratings or creating buzz for their audience.
The Goerge Zimmerman trial was highly publicized for race related issues. Many media professionals cite this case as an example of how the media took the law into their own hands and found Zimmerman guilty for racism in the eye of the public. Editor-in-chief of IVN News Shawn M. Griffiths wrote in response to the media's grasp on societal views that "the majority of Americans still rely on television news sources to stay informed, cable news stations have a responsibility to provide citizens with information they need, not just speculative conjecture just to boost ratings." This example would reflect that strategic communicators are not fulfilling their obligation to the public. By keeping the safety and well-being of their audience in mind during this trial the media could have largely helped to limit the amount of rioting and damage caused by race being the leading issue. 
Deceptive advertising can be found in the hands of media, professional strategic communicators and as of late social media icons. Materialism has increasingly grown and creates a desire among a younger audience to follow their favorite socialite and try their best to be like them. Some of the most popular social media stars include the powerhouse Kardashian family. Keeping up with this family often includes product placement posts in which they are paid thousands of dollars to say how much they love a product and how often they use it. This selling approach is used by many stars while in reality they have frequently never used the product before that post. According to Social Media Stars: How Much Do They Really Make? through the use of these social media posts "brands can reach engaged audiences that align with interest groups by entering into partnerships with trusted subject matter experts—also known as social media stars. It’s a new way of advertising that less obvious than a television commercial, but much more focused and, in a way, personal."

Overall, I do believe strategic communicators have not held up their end of protecting the public's best interests. It is important that as a strategic communicator we work within the bounds of our ethical views and standards.

Sources:

1.) http://www.discourses.org/OldArticles/Power%20and%20the%20news%20media.pdf

 2.) http://ivn.us/2013/07/15/mainstream-media-sources-often-abuse-power-of-influence/
3.) http://www.business.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-stars-how-much-do-they-really-make/