The History of PR Pioneers in Finland

Now I have talked about Pr Pioneers like Edward Bernays and Moss Kendrix, but I would also like to tell something about the history of pr pioneers in Finland.  Organizational Communications and especially Public Relations were totally unknown terms about hundred years ago. The very first PR press offices and associations were founded during the WWII. The first PR association was called Propagandaliitto but after the war, the association changed its name. After the war Public Relations started to evolve and it became a profession. In 1955, the first television transmissions began and public relations became media related. Also it is interesting that at that time internal communications in organizations was introduced.

After the 1960's, major expansion in the pr industry began. Laws were created defining internal and public communication and the Finnish public relations agencies created The Finnish Association of Public Relations Agencies, MTL (Lehtonen 2004)
The most famous finnish PR associations are for example Suomen Tiedottajien Liitto, which actually changed its name again in 2004 to ProCom - Viestinnän Ammattilaiset Ry. They wanted to illustrate the modern thinking of communication in organizations. ProCom today has about 1,800 individual members. It is regarded as the oldest association in its field in Europe.  (Lehtonen, 2004)


I suggest to check this website : http://www.procom.fi/procom/

HOW TO BECOME A PUBLIC RELATIONS PIONEER?

If we are going to be Public Relations pioneers in the future, how can we make sure that it is possible? :)

Here's some tips for that:

1. At first, you have to get an education. There are certain degrees that can help you to break into this field. Some of the more respected degrees in the field of Public Relations include public relations, communications, journalism, languages and literature. Sign up for courses that focus on communications strategy and writing.

2. Network. Public Relations is all about who you know. Therefore it would be helpful if you know people who can help you to get your foot in the door. Find out where your local media and PR folks socialize. Get to know people and your name will be more likely to come up when a job opening is mentioned.

3. Ask for the job. Employers will be impressed if you are not afraid to ask what you want. Dress up well and walk into the firm of your dreams. You never know, they might just have been looking for someone when you walk in.

4. Maintain your image. A professional image can help you to break into the field.

5. Be tenacious! It is important to give an positive image from yourself and do not despond, if you wouln't get a job at the first try. You will get it yet! 


-Sini-





Sources:
www.cicommunication.com
www.ehow.com

MOSS KENDRIX, An African-American PR Pioneer And COCA-COLA

Moss Kendrix was an African-American Pr specialist. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1917. As you can see, he was a black man and that was a huge thing in the PR industry of olden times. He definitely changed the way of African-American PR industry. He remedied the image of African-Americans. The impact Moss Kendrix left on the world of advertising can be seen everywhere. Billboards, magazine advertisements, television commercials and radio ads use positive images of African-American actors, models and voice over artists to sell products. In days of yore, it was generally thought that nobody couldn't even think about that African-American could have positive image in the field of PR and advertising. Moss Kendrix changed that ultimately. Moss Kendrix was a huge influence for minorities in the advertising and Public Relations field.


COCA-COLA

As outstanding product Coca-cola is, it has not always been a very popular drink for African-Americans. Coca-cola company did not regognize the value of the minority market. Moss Kendrix noticed that and decided to act on the knowledge. He went to company offices of Coca-cola, and made a proposal, how to market to the African-American community. After that he was hired by Coca-cola and worked for them on retainer. He continued the work for the company until the early 1970's.


He had an opportunity to work with celebrities from the sports and entertainment industries.  He also had the opportunity to design promotional ads.

 

Sources: 

-www.prmuseum.com

-Sini-

10 Facebook Pages Every Public Relations Professional Should Follow

'"The Public Relations field is currently one of the fastest growing professions in the United States. To have success as a PR professional, as with all professions, it is essential to keep up with the latest news and techniques in the industry." (Brian Ward, 10 facebook pages every public relations professional should follow, www.allfacebook.com)
  I found an interesting article and I would like to share it with you. I guess this would be useful for the future Pr Professionals ;)

 10 Facebook Pages Every Public Relations Professional Should Follow

 

 -Sini-

The Birth of PR & Edward L. Bernays

Today, most people know something about PR and what's it all about. Still few people outside the Public Relations profession recognize the name of Edward Louis Bernays. However, his name deserves to figure on historians' lists of the most influential figures of the 20th century!

He was the father of Spin, father of Public Relations. I'm not gonna tell his whole life story, but at least some achievements he made.

He was born 1891 in Vienna and moved to New York with his family when he was one year old. He was a nephew of Sigmund Freud!

Bernays graduated from Cornell University in 1912 and took up editing and promoting two medical journals. Then he opened the first recognized Public relations firm. He began practising PR during WWI. At the New York University, he taught the first college course in Public Relations. He pioneered a new way of addressing basic people needs via advertising and public relations using his uncle´s ideas. He was really a great out-of-the-box thinker.

Did you guys know, that women` smoking was not accepted until Edward Bernays? During the 1920's, mostly men were smoking and women were not.

In 1928, the American tobacco company asked Bernays to help expand sales of cigarettes to women. Rather than promote the qualities of the brand, Bernays sought to alter the image of smoking in women’s minds. The goal that Bernays was supposed to work on during this campaign was to get women to smoke.  He staged his own “Torches of Freedom” campaign. 

The cigarettes which were usually equated with men, represented torches of freedom for women. The event caused a national stir and stories appeared in newspapers throughout the country. Bernays's efforts had a lasting effect on women smoking.

His PR Techniques...(Wikipedia says:)

One of Bernays' favorite techniques for manipulating public opinion was the indirect use of "third party authorities" to plead his clients' causes. "If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway", he said. In order to promote sales of bacon, for example, he conducted a survey of physicians and reported their recommendation that people eat heavy breakfasts. He sent the results of the survey to 5,000 physicians, along with publicity touting bacon and eggs as a heavy breakfast.