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Few PR pros know that modern public relations emerged
from the propaganda war that raged throughout World War
I. Sigmund Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays, the “father
of PR,” wondered whether the propaganda model could
be applied to the private sector to influence public opinion
during peacetime.
This is hugely important for technology producers, as their
products are all about personalization. Items such as Google
Glass, smartphones, and wearable fitness technology were
all created to extend the range of human ability, and today
tech companies have a tremendous need to educate potential
customers about the joys of using what they have to offer.
The era of conscious media manipulation was born.
A company can take three steps to create
and share better stories.
But it’s tough to manipulate (by selling uncertainty, for one)
when the truth is only a Web search away. Edward Bernays’s
flavor of PR is dying, and we’re in the process of watching a
whole new era of marketing rise from the ashes.
Leaving Fear and Uncertainty Behind
Since the early 20th century, public relations has relied on a
massively disproportionate range of access to information.
For example, around the time of the women’s suffrage
movement, Bernays was hired by the American Tobacco
Company to help it break into new markets (i.e., sell more
cigarettes). He saw potential in women, who were essentially
culturally forbidden to smoke. He saw an opening in the
suffrage movement and staged actresses smoking cigarettes
at demonstrations where women were marching to get the
vote.
His famous “Torches of Freedom” campaign positioned
smoking—falsely, by using actresses and fleets of
photographers—as a way to express solidarity with women
who wanted to vote. It was a massively successful idea, and
a whole lot of women took up smoking.
Think about how the same sort of campaign would go today.
The smart women in charge of the suffrage movement would
be taking to social media to say that women don’t need to
emulate the bad habits of men to gain independence—that
they simply need the right to vote—and blogs would explode
with posts about how men are co-opting the movement for
financial gain.
Today, the average First-World consumer has easy access
to an incredible amount of information, and the old PR
model that created fiction to influence behavior is losing its
effectiveness.
In the modern world, there are too many easily recognized
angles to a story. Someone is tweeting from the opposition,
someone else is launching a boycott over the blogosphere,
and media outlets all over the world are speculating in real
time about future developments.
Simply put, it has become much more difficult to sustain a
false mass manipulation.
More Story, Less Spin
Today, people who want to make great stories can use
technology to influence public perception, rather than shape
public perception around a lie. Think of it like this: Consumers
no longer buy out of a fear of not having something; they
buy because the product has the potential to enhance their
personal story. Progressive marketing companies such as
SHIFT Communications and TGPR talk more about how we
make and share real stories—rather than “tell” them.
1. Forget everything you know about
public relations
The general public doesn’t like the entire concept behind
“public relations” because old PR is a nasty idea. People
don’t like to think of themselves as people who follow the
herd, and now they have the information available to make
informed decisions.
2. Decide what you want people to know
Want to make the world a better place? You need to show
people how your product is making an actual impact—and
back up your claims with real evidence. Maybe you want
people to know how your innovative product will simplify
their lives. Let them try it for themselves, and they will tell the
world for you.
Suddenly, “public relations” starts to look a lot like
“education”—which old PR, as an industry, has largely
abandoned. As humans, telling stories to educate is in our
DNA. And with the right words and information, people
can be persuaded rather than inculcated. The shift from
“telling” something good to “doing” something good is the
essential core, and you should start viewing your public
communications function more as a broadcaster and your
marketing more as privately held media.
3. Think about your legend
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