CSR: a new business trend (?)

These days if we look at the website of any big company we are very likely to see that they have a section called Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, Responsibility, Environment and Society, Our Mission or something that tells us what the company is doing for the environment or the community. That is what CSR is all about. 

There are many definitions of what Corporate Social Responsibility is but the main idea is that CSR is the way a company develops its activity by producing a positive impact on society and the environment.

Companies are being aware that by developing CSR activities they will have higher profits in the long-term and that is why now they are incorporating these activities as part of their strategy. CSR is, however, not solely owned by Public Relations, departments such as human resources as well as the business development department may also be involved. 

Some of the benefits of incorporating CSR to the company's business activity can be: 

- Higher appeal for job seekers and also higher engagement by employees through fundraising activities and volunteering. 

- Strong reputation and corporate image among all stakeholders.

- Brand differentiation by showing different ethical values.

- Customer loyalty

However, many people also claim that CSR:

- does not always fit with the nature of the business and that, thus, it is in-congruent to develop these activities.

- is simply a way of green-washing a company's image

Companies are increasingly becoming more social responsible because their stakeholders are more concerned about social and environmental issues. By doing so, it is very important that the company understands the issues that concern its stakeholders and see how the company could do to cooperate with that cause. 

However, just because a company's most important stakeholders believe in that cause does not mean that the company should undertake that activity with the only purpose of satisfying them and ultimately having higher profits. Just when a company behaves ethically, feels represented and represents the cause and it fits into its values and business operation; is CSR going to benefit the company and enhance its reputation. Otherwise, despite the fact of being social responsible, a company can be subject to criticisms that in the end can produce more negative effects.

On the whole, a company should just develop CSR activities that fit into the company's values and just if the whole company feels commited to the cause and has made sure that these activities will benefit society and/or the environment. What is your opinion on CSR?

I found this link to a website where there is information about many company's CSR involvement. PROs can post news about their company's CSR activities to inform its stakeholders. http://www.csrwire.com/

Spin-doctors, PR and politics

The word 'spin-doctor' seems to have originated in the United States and probably comes from baseball. However, the first definition of 'spin-doctor' as how we know it currently dates back to 1977 and appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary as "a person who provides a favourable slant to an item of news, potentially unpopular policy etcetera, especially on behalf of a political personality or party".

The term 'spin-doctor' started to be used in Britain in the 90s and was associated with the rise of public appearance of Peter Mandelson and other New Labour media experts, with Alastair Campbell as its main figure.  Alastair Campbell was the Director of Communications and Strategy for Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003 and was considered to be one of the greatest 'spin-doctors' in British politics. 

Alastair Campbell

He is said to have manipulated the press during his time working for Downing Street and to have used journalists to communicate the news he wanted to. However, he also revolutionised political communications in the UK. He managed that tabloids supported the Labour Party and also kept lobby journalists informed more than his predecesors; he established two daily briefings, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Campbell resigned after the death of civil servant Dr Kelly who appeared death after it was leaked that it was him who talked to the BBC and told them that no weapons of mass destruction were to be found in Iraq and that the government had inserted false intelligence into the dossier presented to defend the reasons for the war. Many believed that it was Campbell who had rewritten the dossier but it was never proved. 


On 1 March the University of Westminster held a debate around the motion: Have PR and spin undermined trust in politics? Kevin Maguire, political journalist of the Daily Mirror, and Sheila Gunn, fomer political journalist and spokesperson for John Mayor, argued that Public Relations and spin had undermined trust in politics and that they had seen it with their own eyes. On the contrary, Francis Ingham, CEO of the PRCA, and Lance Price one of the former 'spin-doctors' on Downing street, claimed that it was not PR practitioners the ones to blame but journalists and even politicians, as Ingham pointed out, the ones responsible for the lack of trust in politics.


After the debate the motion was put to the vote and finally it was agreed that Public Relations had not undermined the trust in politics in the UK with 78 votes.There were 61 people who voted for the motion. Do you agree with the result?

For further information on spin and Alastair Campbell refer to:
- Richards, P., (2005). Be your own spin doctor: a practical guide to using the media. London: Politico's
- Oborne, P. and Walters, S., (2004). Alastair Campbell. London: Aurum Press
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_SP-HMhJtc&feature=related

The use of social media for PR purposes

These days everybody is talking about social media and its effect on society. It seems that everything we do now is linked to social media and this is, in a way, true. Social media is affecting our daily life and decisions in a manner that has exceeded all predictions. 

Businesses have also become aware of the importance of social media and have now incorporated it to its communication channels and Public Relations plays an important role as far as the use of social media in a company is concerned. 

The use of social media by corporates started mainly with a marketing purpose in mind but now, they have realised that the use of social media with public relations purposes can benefit the company in an incredible way. 

Public Relations has a huge amount of social media tools at its disposal. These tools can be used to build and promote brand reputation, raise awareness, target a wider audience, interact with them and enable a two-way communication, communicate specific messages to desired stakeholders and receive suggestions from them. These are just some examples of the benefits of social media for a corporate communications use.  

With platforms such as Facebook companies can create fan pages with which they can form a community and interact with it. This way they can inform their audiences more directly as well as listen to their personal opinions. The same happens with Twitter, although it offers the advantage that the message is spread quicker to a wider audience. With YouTube, for instance, the CEO can communicate a message to the company's stakeholders or viral videos can be posted with the purpose of raising awareness; and Linkedin, for example, can help companies to find new employees. 

Letting the message outside and allowing interaction also implies the possibility of receiving criticisms. When this happens, it is essential to answer positively and quickly so that these critics do not get viral and start flooding the company's social media sites. For this reason, it is vital that Public Relations constantly monitor what is been said in social media about the organisations they are working for. 

The following webcast goes through these and oher issues concerning social media and its relation to PR. I hope you enjoy it!

This video is part of an assignment and has an educational purpose. Images have been taken from different sources on the Internet.

Welcome!

Hello everybody and welcome to my blog "Thoughts on Public Relations". 

In this blog I will be posting thoughts and information about contemporary issues in Public Relations. The blog is part of a module which explores contemporary theories and issues in PR from the MA Public Relations I am currently studying. 

I hope you enjoy your time reading other people's and my thoughts on different issues involving PR. Feel free to comment, suggest any ideas or ask any questions you may have.

Hope to see you blogging here!  

Marina