About the future of PR

I remember the very first class of this course when Kaja compared blogging and communicating to audiences to relationship building overall. You just need to find the ways to get someone interested. With great PR future can be filled with understanding and fulfilling relationships.

For this essay I was going through many websites of PR consultants, pros and companies to see what they find important today and in the future. The magic words might be adaptation, participation, collaboration and proactive actions. Many of the instructions could be placed to some relationship site and vice versa. Almost in every site the attributes were connected to social media.

Social media technology

Social media is for sure the most spoken trend at the moment. Even though it makes me sometimes exhausted to handle it over and over again, the social media technology seems to be here to stay.

During only some years of existence the social media has gained enormous amount of participants. According to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) social media is not an easy task for organizations and requires new kind of thinking, but the potential gains make all work worth it. I believe that Finnish PR has still a lot to do to use the social media effectively in the future. Even the platforms of today must be managed better and technology develops further all the time.

Tekes list of 15 megatrends in Finland underlines the development of the wireless technology still reducing dependence of place and time (Tekes 2009). Globally upcoming trend is the mobile social media. Pew Research Center estimates that by 2020, a mobile device will be the primary Internet connection tool for majority in the world. Organizations should also be more aware that the trend of collaborative projects (e.g. wiki contents) is leading towards them becoming the main source of information for many consumers. (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010.) Personally I think that all the media boundaries will blur more and more resulting in combined platforms and devices.

Time of individuals

Technology itself sounds a bit cold and rough, but there seems to be a human, an individual in the middle. Online every individual can share even the smallest personal experiences. The global online content grapevine is truly powerful. The importance of individualism is part of our society already and I think it will just go further. People have freedom and knowledge that enables choices.

The turbulent environment of today is filled with many issue arenas and only by participating actively the organization have a chance to be involved in co-producing the outcomes (Luoma-aho & Vos 2010). I believe that monitoring and preparing the organization to change and adapt will become more and more important tasks in the field of PR. With PR the audiences can be understood to gain their trust. The organization should be eager to know what interests the audience.

To conclude I believe that in the future PR is seen more important part of the organization as a whole and will be taken more into the strategic level of organizations. The audience is respected more and PR tasks are handled by personal touch. Communication is interaction between individuals, not feeding organization's content to mass audiences. The closer PR gets to the audience the better. So, lets build the relationships and handle future together!

Sources:

Kaplan, A., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59–68.

Luoma-aho , V. & Vos, M. (2010), Towards a more dynamic stakeholder model: The role of issue arenas for corporate reputation. Corporate Communication, an International Journal, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 315-331.

Tekes. (2009), Megatrendit ja me. [referred: 10.12.2010] www.tekes.fi/fi/community/Megatrendit_ja_me/807/Megatrendit_ja_me/1759

An end has a start

This is my last actual blog post related to this course. There will still be this one additional post, but otherwise this is the end.

In the last lecture we discussed about leaders, who can’t admit mistakes. Many times it might be PR person’s job to fix the situation when wrong decisions aren’t withdrawn.

I do understand that the idea of “infallible leaders” is all about power. Leaders need to be obeyed. Giving strong image of the person might increase trust and authority. But does it really work nowadays? As discussed in the lecture, both postmodernist and network PR exist nowadays. There’s no such thing as strict end after which new era starts at once. Anyway, the networks are present and in that sense  it’s hard to see this kind of power working that well.

I hope that with internal PR/organizational communication* there will be a change in this kind of behavior pattern. If mistakes are done, it is more than fair to admit those. Hiding things can make the whole organization ill.
* or whatever seems to be the right term :)

I don’t wanna be ill, so here is my confession. My flaw with this blog has been the schedule and underestimating the task. Many times I had to push myself to write, cause the communication flow won’t wait! Keeping a blog has been harder than I first thought. How did you feel?

I ended up to be a bit late, but hopefully this end has a start for something great.

P.S. I lent the topic from the band Editors. Thanks!

To lobby or not to lobby...

That is the question. Lobbying has such a negative sound, but what it really means? Wikipedia (which now needs your money, btw) tells that it is "a form of advocacy with the intention of influencing decisions made by legislators and officials in the government by individuals, other legislators, constituents, or advocacy groups.”

If lobbying exists anyhow, do we really want to leave this tool to others? It isn't just for big corporations to execute their "evil" plans. Lobbying can also result in society's well-being. Companies, NGOs or nations can provide information and convince decision makers of important topics that will result in good changes.

In small Finland it can be quite easy to know everyone. So in a way there has been no need for professional lobbying. But obviously this is, or at least should be, changing. The boundaries are blurring. We are part of EU and globalization has effects. Someone needs to keep Finnish players in the game.

80% of Finnish answerers see the lack of transparency as the biggest problem in lobbying according to Burson-Marsteller’s survey. So far there are no specific regulations in Finland. The need for such has been in publicity for couple years*. Regulations and transparency could dispel suspicion and help the decision makers too. (* e.g. lobbyist Anders Blom in Helsingin Sanomat: ethical rules might be needed in lobbying,  authors of “Lobbauskirja” & Helsingin Sanomat research showed politicians found regulating advisable in 2007.)

Despite of the complexity of lobbying, it seems that competent Finnish lobbyists are truly needed especially when it comes to EU and Finnish interests. Approximately 15,000 lobbyists seek to influence the EU’s legislative processes in Brussels. Their distribution is roughly as follows:

But even in lobbying Finns have already ”succeeded”. In 2008 a Finnish MEP Piia-Noora Kauppi was voted to win the year’s “Worst Conflict of Interest” title in Worst EU Lobbying Awards…\o/



Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying

http://www.hs.fi/politiikka/artikkeli/Suomalaisviranomaiset+eiv%C3%A4t+luota++kansalaisj%C3%A4rjest%C3%B6jen+lobbaukseen/HS20091012SI3YO033yp

http://www.euractiv.com/en/pa/new-eu-lobbying-rules-cover-national-embassies/article-186880

+ all the article links in the text

Finland has it all?

Nation branding was listed among year’s most notable ideas in 2005 by NY Times Magazine. Even though handling national reputation isn’t revolutionary idea, a global phenomenon has existed in recent years. (Kaneva 2009.) And yes, Finns have jumped on the wagon. Let’s get the right mood for this topic with a song:



A group working with Finland’s nation brand was formed in 2008. Three main tasks were to determine Finland’s identity, examine strengths and weaknesses, and make strong points even stronger.

Michael Kunczik (2003) believes in a simple wisdom: country’s image cultivation begins at home. This part seems to be done quite properly in Finland. Human rights, democracy and free press are self-evident. In 2009 OECD reported Finland to be one of the happiest nations in the world. But is this picture delivered to international audiences?

In 2009 outsiders didn’t see the same but ranked Finland 18th out of 50 nations in Anholt-GfK Roper Nations Brands Index international survey. It seems to be quite hard for a small country to compete at least in the amount of publicity. Some countries just have a central position in the news*.  
*USA, GB, Russia, France & Germany according to Kim and Barnett (Kunczik 2003, 411)

But is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Newsweek reported Finland to be the world's best country in 2010. Early results of Country Brand Index study 2010, evaluating nations, puts Finland to 8th place.

I don't know how much to trust these studies… But isn’t it nice to sometimes forget critics and enjoy the good news? At least they tell part of the truth! :D It would be great if putting effort on national PR would show results.

P.S. I wonder if Nokia’s struggles will affect Finland’s nation brand since the connection is quite strong…

Sources:

Kaneva, N. (2009). Nations as Brands: Towards an Agenda for Research and Critique. Conference Papers - International Communication Association; 2009 Annual Meeting, p. 1-29 [referred: 14.11.2010]. In EBSCO Academic Search Elite.

Kunczik, M. (2003). Transnational public relations by foreign governments. In K. Sriramesh & D. Vercic (Editors), Handbook of global public relations (pp. 399-424). Mahwah:
Lawrence Erlbaum.

http://nation-branding.info

www.newsweek.com/content/newsweek/2010/08/15/interactive-infographic-of-the-worlds-best-countries.html

www.futurebrand.com/news/

Is weak the new strong?

Gaining competence in the global, rapid changing environment, urges organizations to innovate. Finnish organizations are not exceptions in this case. New developments cross the borders.

PR processes have to be fitted in new situations time after time. Also organizational structures face changes. For example communication networks and working in teams are seen as reasonable solutions. Gathering knowledge and cooperating may result in great success.

In innovative co-work, weak ties should be more valued according to sociologist Mark Granovetter. The people with whom you have the strongest ties think and act more likely similar to you. Weak ties instead can combine more diverse ideas, sources and knowledge. All needed in creative work!

This idea is quite obvious. But still, it hit on me. It’s easy to prefer strong ties in different tasks but should those be questioned more often? It’s quite same with even the group works we do when studying… Even though it might be easier to work with friends, co-work with new people may result in quite different outcome and expand your personal knowledge.



Sources:

Cheney, G., Christensen, L. T., Zorn, T. E., & Ganesh, S. (2004). Organizational communication in the age of globalization: Issues, reflections, practices. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press (p.156-158).

It gets better - Kaikki muuttuu paremmaksi

The video “Kaikki muuttuu paremmaksi” gathers voices to support gay teens. The video was premiered in TedX Helsinki event on 4th of November 2010.



Couple of Finnish politicians participated in the video. In the PR point of view they increase the possible media interest. For example Helsingin Sanomat headlines their article with the performance of Alexander Stubb (Minister of Foreign Affairs).

At the same time the performance can be quite good PR to them (elections coming on Spring 2011). Even though Alexander Stubb is a bit scary… Doesn’t seem that genuine to me :D

But if Obama did it, why shouldn’t Finnish politicians? The inspiration for the video is It gets better- project introduced in USA after the news of gay teens died by suicide. In USA the project involves a huge amount of celebrities and is getting wider and wider.

This video has had ca. 16000 views, during my writing there has been over 1000 new views. With Google search you can find a lot of reactions already. Individuals do just like I do now. Spread the word in blogs etc. Imagine how many people this will reach compared to an single article in newspaper. And everyone can comment, add links or even create own support video.

P.S. Next time I try to find more scientific approach. It's not my purpose to write about videos only, but they just get my attention!

Cool energy drink monsters?

Liquid that provides energy with sugar and ingredients like caffeine, taurine and other weirdos sounds a bit scary. And for sure not healthy. Some even find energy drinks pure evil.

Picture from www.foodmall.org

Now shop owners of Finnish K-market chain have independently started to ban energy drinks from kids. Store by store the policy is going further.

In Finland the issue has been handled for couple years. Last time the age limits were required in 2008. So, energy drink companies are facing mainly negative attitudes towards their products in Finland as well as in international stage.

But, in the end, how bad PR is it among the heavy users? Or what do you think… How cool are energy drinks among tweens and teens now?

The debate is quite easy to understand in the light of today’s health oriented atmosphere. Consumers’ consciousness and ability to communicate opinions is way easier through internet. But should society control more? We tend to scream for freedom and guidance.

Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has continuously commented that there is no evidence or lawful right to set age limits. Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira admits that energy drinks are not recommended to children and warning labels are required when products have certain amount of caffeine. Still, parents should take care of the buying habits.  Click to read what they say about safety.

I am quite interested to follow the development. Will some true actions take place at some point (for example what has happened with cigarettes)? What will be the reaction if so? How much power the worried consumers have? Can this kind of dissonance decrease trust on the Ministry? How will the energy drink companies react? Will the conversation just ease down again?

Sources: 

http://www.taloussanomat.fi/kauppa/2008/06/18/energiajuomien-ikarajasta-nousi-haloo/200816470/12

http://www.evira.fi/portal/en/food/information_on_food/food_categories/energy_drinks/

http://www.taloussanomat.fi/markkinointi/2010/07/27/energiajuomat-ovat-huumetta/201010326/135

http://www.taloussanomat.fi/myynti/2010/10/22/is-energiajuomien-myynti-kielletty-alle-13-vuotiailta/201014576/135

The complexity of silly apes

Well, I just had to add this monkey-related post. This is about The Daily Ape Show. The series of short animation films introducing Finland was made for Shanghai World EXPO 2010. Is this today’s version of the film Finlandia? I don’t know should I laugh or what? Do you? Click here to check the first episode!

I saw the first episode almost two months ago in Finnish TV channel YLE1. It got my attention, something new on the screen. I took it as a nice animation, nice effort. But when end credits told it was made for the expo, I had quite mixed feelings.

International orientation is important, I get it. Some stereotypes need to be broken and fresh aspects are more than welcome. Combining animations with social media might work (the other ape uses Twitter, the show has group in Facebook and episodes in Youtube). Entertaining approach can be much more powerful than pure information. Apes are funny animals. Colorful visuals are eye-candy etc.

But apes? With silly stories? And the “jungle-meets-city” looking background? I didn’t laugh during the first time I saw the show. What I remembered afterwards was just apes and singing fishes. It is more than nothing, but is it enough to get you interested enough to for example check tweets of a Finnish animation ape?

It’s great to see different approach to Finland, but still there is some complexity. I don’t know. Have I just lost my sense of humor?

Turbulent journey starting with Finlandia

I know. It is not that surprising to pick the own country of origin to be the context of this blog. But, there is a reason. I am interested of the topic, seriously. Besides the national focus needs to be supported by worldwide frame, right?

With no idea where to start, I decided to grab a book. A quick look at the history events concluded the twentieth century as a turbulent journey for Finland. Being province of Russian Empire, industrializing process, two major wars, war-indemnity obligations and days of pipeline industry seem to be somewhere far behind. Still, all these episodes have taken Finland towards the IT-driven information society and PR processes of today. 

Finnish PR campaigning can be seen started by “Finlandia”, the first propaganda film on Finland made in 1922. It was shown all over the world. According to researcher Jari Sedergren’s blog the estimated number of viewers is 6 million, which would make the film the most watched Finnish film over the times!

One of the exotic views in the film "Finlandia".

The whole idea of introducing a country in a film was something new worldwide. The distribution was supported by advertising in newspapers, arranging separate shows for press and elite and getting overall positive publicity. Such combination was quite modern at the time and amazing effort from a country in which PR concept was unknown for the first two decades of twentieth century. 

But what is the situation with Finnish PR nowadays? How did it develop to the forms of today? In this blog I try to find answers to these questions. So, here starts my turbulent journey.


Sources:

Lehtonen, J. (2004). “Finland.” In B. Van Ruler & D. Verčič, Public relations and communication management in Europe; a nation-by-nation introduction to public relations theory and practice (p.107-119). Berlin, Germany: Mouton de Gruyter.

http://sedis.blogspot.com/2008/03/finlandia-ulkoasiainministerin.html