Defining International and Global PR

Public relations practice and public programmes will always reflect the needs and strategic imperatives of the organisation they serve. Szondi (2009: 121) defines globalisation as ‘the growth of worldwide networks of interdependence’ and argues that the main issue is ‘how organisations or countries respond to it’. This is true for public relations practice in the multinational enterprises and to a lesser extent to use of web based and digital technologies by practitioners worldwide.

In contrast, internationalisation – investing and operating in another country and shaping the enterprise or organisation to meet national needs – is reflected in Wilcox et al.’s (2003: 283) definition of International public relations as the planned and organised effort of a company, institution or government to establish mutually beneficial relations with the publics of other nations. Wakefield (2003: 180) adds that international public relations is a multinational programme that coordinates activities between a company’s headquarters and various countries, with potential consequences or results in more than one country. Szondi (2009) also suggests that international public relations can also be preparative (cultivating the environment), situational (dealing with a single issue or situation) or promotional (supporting global marketing).

Any review of global and international public relations in the twenty-first century is incomplete without reference to ‘public diplomacy’. The phrase was coined in 1965 by Edmund Gullion, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a distinguished retired foreign service officer.

Speaking to the Diplomatic Academy in London in 2008, Sir Malcom Rifkind defined public diplomacy as public relations for diplomats reflecting, perhaps, the intellectual and operational investment made by the US State Department under Condoleezza Rice (2005–2009). Her Under Secretary of State (2005–2007) Karen Hughes, a former Global Vice-Chair at Burson Marsteller, led the Bush administration efforts to improve the image of the US abroad, involving US business in the process of making public diplomacy strong and central to US foreign policy. Criticism of the Bush administration itself has overshadowed the profound change public diplomacy has made to public relations practice in diplomacy for nation states and for global public relations strategies and plans for many, mainly US, multinational enterprises.

The Global Public Relations Community

No consideration of the global public relations community can ignore the reshaping of the world economy, the rebalancing of global political power and the reality of the professionalisation of public relations practice in the emerging economies from Argentina to Zimbabwe and the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China).

The global public relations community is stronger, more professional and more organised than any of the international public relations research has ever recognised or identified. Jolly Kaul, former head of public relations for Indian Oxygen (part of the BOC International Group) published his Public Relations in India in the 1970s. It makes interesting reading 40 years later. Anyone thinking that CSR is a new US or European concept should ponder on Kaul’s report of the proposals from the TATA Group founder, J. R. D Tata. He suggested some voluntary machinery for independent management and social audits should be set up and business should voluntarily submit to them to tackle ‘suspicion and hostility towards private industry in our country’ (Kaul 1976).

From Australia to Zimbabwe public relations practice and public relations communities are well organised and professional, and in many countries have their position recognised and registered with national government.

Australia’s national Public Relations Institute (PRIA) is part of its government’s immigration assessment and approvals process and is consulted over immigrants claiming to be public relations professionals. In Nigeria and Ghana public relations and the role of the national membership Institute have a defined place in the postcolonial constitution of both countries. The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) was given the status of a Chartered body in 1990. With rights of direct access to a sponsoring cabinet minister and the constitutional authority to object to the appointment of non-professionals to senior government public relations posts comes the responsibility to apply a considerable rigour to professional training, development and examination processes. Until the political upheavals of recent years the Zimbabwean Institute of Public Relations (ZIPR) had an enviable professional education programme based at the University of Harare. Any examination of the training and development certification programme run for many years by the Public Relations Institute of South Africa (PRISA) would reveal a national government-recognised programme that would be the envy of most practitioners and academic bodies.

The founding priority of the Global Alliance (GA) in 1998 was to establish a proper framework for exchange and information gathering between individual associations facing similar problems. Other priorities were to benchmark certification and professional development processes across national boundaries and to compare regulations affecting the development of the profession. The underpinning objective was to move to the mutual recognition of national membership criteria as a means of driving up standards of practice and of facilitating international mobility of public relations practitioners in a fast globalising world (Farrington 2003). Initially the GA had 25 founding member bodies, including the CIPR. By 2014 this had increased to 38 embracing over 160,000 professional practitioners and academics around the world. A common ethical code for public relations practice was adopted by its member organisations in 2003 (Global Alliance 2015). Its secretariat is now housed in the Università della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, and GA has been working on global curricula for public relations and exploring the potential for establishing a common standard for credentials and membership designations.

In June 2014 the GA held its first global summit on professional credentials and obtained a mandate from its members to embark on a major research exercise, collating and benchmarking national standards and competency frameworks from over 30 countries. The result of this work is the draft Global Body of Knowledge paper. This will provide a common framework within which individual national bodies can set their own qualifications and credentials. The framework provides both a starting point for development of new credentials, and the assurance that those credentials will have parity with others around the world.

The world of international and global public relations has changed. Not, as has been suggested, because practitioners are increasingly involved in international accounts but because of the rebalancing of the world economy. It is a change made more dramatic because of the 2008 US, UK and European-led global financial crisis and the resulting refocus on standards of practice and the codification of professional standards on a global basis. At the same time the comparatively high economic growth rates of the economies of Africa, Asia, Russia and South America when the so-called developed world was in recession; the youth demographics of those emerging economies; the growth of digital and social media; and the incredible growth and penetration of mobile phones accelerated the pace of change.

The strengths and importance of well-regulated domestic stock exchanges, the growth of well-regulated banking and finance sectors not just in the BRICs and latterly South Africa, but also in the Goldman Sachs ‘next eleven’ – those economies forecast to be among the world’s top 20 economies by 2020 – have stimulated professional, national and regional public relations practice.

Membership of the ICCO has grown to include 2,000 consultancies in 31 countries, representing over 35,000 staff (ICCO 2015). Moss and de Santo (2002: 3) counted 150 national and regional PR associations with a total of 137,000 members. In China alone, there were 100,000 practitioners, with another 450,000 students. ‘One of the key challenges for practitioners and students of PR … will be to become more conversant with how PR is understood and practised around the world’ in order to develop communication programmes that span national boundaries (ibid., 2002: 6). Falconi (2003) estimated that there were three million individuals in the global PR community, 400,000 of whom were in Europe. More recent estimates suggest that this figure was significantly overstated and, based on ICCO figures, 180,000 to 240,000 is a more realistic figure for 2015.

Public Relations Practice from a First World Perspective

In 1997 IPRA published a survey of eight countries (comprising the UK, the US, South Africa, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and Australia) that looked at the effects of globalisation on corporate communications. In it the most important task for PR in the future was thought to be the maintenance and improvement of corporate social evaluation. In order to communicate globally, companies would have to use PR professionals native to the different areas of operation. The fact that media were now reaching across national borders also had to be taken into account. The main problems for the future included the challenge of dealing with product liability issues across national borders, managing confidential information in the internet age and maintaining a global standard (IPRA 1997). Since that IPRA Gold Paper was published they have published five further Gold Papers that are only available from IPRA direct in hard copy.

The question of a European consensus as to what the PR industry represents was identified as a problem in moving forward. Reviewing a plethora of definitions, a common theme was found to be that PR ‘helps organisations to establish and maintain good relationships with all kinds of publics which are important for reaching the organisation’s goals’. The practice of PR was felt to be diverging from this, in that many practitioners were operating in circumstances where they were not allowed to consider strategic activities. Other practitioners were working in integrated marketing communications.

Setting up a European standard for PR that allowed for different regional and national cultures, as well as recognising the different stages of development of practice, was proposed (van der Laan 2000). As part of the attempt to find an agreed definition of PR, the Confédération Européenne des Relations Publiques (CERP) commissioned research in April 1999 among organisations and experts across Europe to ascertain the components of PR practice. The CERP definition of PR practice is: ‘Public relations is the conscious organisation of communication. PR is a management function. The task of PR is to achieve mutual understanding and to establish a beneficial relationship, between the organisation and its publics and environment, through two-way communication’ (www.cerp.org). Visitors to the website are still instructed to view individual members’ websites for further definitions.

The European Communication Monitor annually reviews trends (see also Chapter 21). Initiated by the European Association of Communication Directors, this is an accurate and well-researched insight into the depth and breadth of public relations practice. In 2009 it said that ‘as there is no knowledge about the population of communication departments and agencies in Europe, the findings presented here can not claim to be representative’.

While Heath (2001b) stated that the future of public relations could not escape global influence, practitioners felt that they lacked the knowledge and skills for effective practice in global situations. He recommended that they need not leave their domestic skills behind, for there were several similarities in practising public relations between different countries. Areas for study included behavioural and communication theories, the mass media, interpersonal communications, research methods, markets and public policy arenas. These cultural differences could make or break successful campaigns.

Wakefield (2001) reports the contradiction between the fact that while there are now 40,000 multinational entities, financial markets are converging and new technologies are facilitating communication, there has also been a rise in more entrenched stereotypes. He found that most PR people in the US feel unprepared to practise internationally and that global positions were often filled by employees with little experience outside their own countries. Thinking and acting at both local and global levels is necessary rather than simply extending domestic practices. International PR (IPR) is similar to domestic work in that it is strategic, dealing with media relations and promotions. PR practitioners will still communicate with targeted publics, deal with issues and crises, and develop community relations.

Defining International and Global PR

Szondi (2009) makes the distinction between global PR, which he defines as the internationalisation of the profession, and IPR, which is the ‘planning and implementation of programmes involving two or more countries’.

In 2005, the Ford Vice President of Communications declared at the ICCO summit: ‘There is no such thing as local, globalisation is a reality’ (Crush 2005: 23) – an interesting comment from a company that does not have a single global product and addresses each regional market with products designed specifically for those markets. Manufacturing has globalised with diesel engines from Wales to electronics from China, and motor manufacture is an assembly process of a globalised production as cost dictates operational priorities.

When the CEO of Weber Shandwick was equally forthright saying that: ‘All PR is local’, he was also being disingenuous as the Chief executive of BP in 2010 will attest (BP 2010). At the same conference delegates debated whether the best response would be to adopt a single brand identity, as few consumers see brands as having a country-specific origin, or whether increased connectivity did not necessarily bring more harmonisation. The fact that in several countries it is normal to charge for editorial meant that practice could not be standardised (ibid).

Judge (2005) put forward the thesis that the improvement of trade between nations could lift 128 million people out of poverty. While charity donations to the developing nations total around US$20 billion and government aid US$80 billion, exports from those countries amount to US$2.4 trillion. By reducing tariffs on raw materials and basic manufactures and reducing subsidies to Western farmers, a substantial difference could be made to the level of world poverty. He felt that marketing communications was the key to bring this about.

What Judge didn’t deal with in his lecture was the World Bank’s (2006) assessment that some 30 per cent of all aid and development projects failed to achieve their objectives because of a failure in communication and/or community engagement in money terms, which means some $60 billion per year. At the World Bank 2006 World Congress on Development Communication the term ‘public relations’ was avoided despite the fact that so many of the case studies or examples of success could have come straight from a community relations chapter of a public relations text. He did not address the potential for the development of value added and branded products and services from emerging economies and the role that public relations could and will play in the process of developing brands for export in such countries.

The Game Changers for Global Public Relations Practice

Consider this calendar:

• 2001 – Wikipedia the collaborative reference was launched, with 78 million enquiries a month by January 2010.
• 2004 – Google founded in 1998 launches its first public offering – it now handles 1 billion search requests each day.
• 2004 – Facebook incorporated – 2005 purchases its domain name – its current population makes it the third most populous country on earth.
• 2006 – Twitter founded – launched November 2008 – 190 million users – 80,000 search questions per day. As of May 2015, Twitter has more than 500 million users, of which more than 302 million are active users.
• 2010 – Instagram launched in October 2010 as a free mobile app. The service rapidly gained popularity, with over 300 million users as of December 2014. (Instagram 2015)

Social media have become the profit drivers for all the global advertising and marketing services groups. For the cost of a full-page advert in The Sun – the UK highest circulation national newspaper – an organisation can employ an executive to manage their global digital presence and messaging (see also Chapter 19).

In 2008, ‘there was a choice between the risk of the total collapse of the global financial system or injecting government and tax payers’ funds into the financial systems and an array of companies threatening the economies of those countries themselves’ (FCIC 2011). The G8 was forced to become the G20 recognising the reality of both the economic shift in power towards what were still being called the ‘emerging economies’ and acknowledging that in the main their banks and financial regulators had protected their economies from the excesses that created the financial and economic crisis for the US and Europe in particular.

International Diversity and the Development of Diasporas

It is not just international business that raises questions of diversity. Wilson and Eng (2003) point out that the population of the UK is changing rapidly and dramatically. While 29 per cent of the population in London is referred to as minority/ethnic, it is the emerging majority of tomorrow. Diversity must be recognised in all public relations programmes and organisations must create product lines that truly speak to the needs of each market. They advise a holistic approach, integrating PR, marketing, advertising and community relations, to build trust and understanding.

Homogenous cultures are rare. Jandt (2004) states that 95 per cent of the world’s countries are ethnically heterogeneous. For example, post-communist Russia contains 148 million people from 100 nationalities, living across 11 time zones. The expectation in countries such as Australia and the US, with high levels of immigration, was that children of immigrants would simply assimilate. In the 1980 census, only 6 per cent identified themselves as American. Learning the language of the host country is normally a three-generation process. The old ‘melting pot’ idea held that people acculturated to American society by assimilating into the dominant culture and losing their old one. Now, people acculturate by integrating – learning the dominant culture and language but not losing their original one.

Billingsley (2002) refers to the diverse market in the US. In the 2000 census, there were 36 million blacks, 35 million Hispanics, 12 million Asian-Americans, and 4 million American Indians. The cultural background of targeted publics can change which media channels practitioners should use. Simmons Market Research Bureau in 2001 surveyed Hispanics and found that they paid more attention to products advertised in Spanish. On the internet, the highest usage is among Asian-Americans, as 60.4 per cent use this medium, compared to 39.8 per cent of blacks and 31.6 per cent of Hispanics. She refers to a successful health campaign to target the black community that used churches and engaged pastors to launch the African-American Diabetes programme.

Wilson and Eng (2003) also point out that while the Hispanic community is 40 per cent of the population in the US, there are many different Hispanic cultures. These publics are not insignificant in terms of economic power, either. Hispanics, Asians and blacks in the US constitute a US$1.3 trillion market. Clarke (2000) defined the differences between the religious, royalist culture of the Thais; the assertive, workaholic culture of Hong Kong; the international sophistication of Singapore; and the heavily restricted media in Japan, and warned against regarding all Asian cultures as the same.

Definitions of Culture

Sriramesh and Vercˇ icˇ (2003: 8) found no universally accepted definition of culture. They quote Tylor (1871), who defined it as ‘that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom, any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society’. In 1952, Kroeber and Kluckhohn, cited in Srirmesh and Vercˇ icˇ (2003), described a ‘set of attributes and products of human societies … transmissible by mechanisms other than biological heredity’.

Hofstede is the third most cited author in international business studies published between 1989 and 1993 (Schneider and Barsoux 2003: 90). He defined culture as ‘collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another’ (Lewis 1999: 23) and Lewis reflects that ‘comparisons of national culture often begin by highlighting differences in social behaviour’ (ibid.: 8). MacManus (2000) states that culture is one of the four central influences on modernity and that the interrelationship between culture and communications is in the form of PR.

Anthropologist Edward Hall’s Silent Language, set out in the Harvard Business Review in 1960, suggested four categories of cultural variables that may drive surface behaviour:

Hofstede (Schneider and Barsoux 2003: 87–91) built on Hall’s Silent Language. Based on an employee opinion survey of 116,000 IBM employees in the 1960s, across 40 different countries, he identified four value dimensions. Power distance is the extent to which unequal distribution of power is accepted. Uncertainty avoidance refers to society’s discomfort with uncertainty and preference for stability. Individualism/collectivism looks at the individual or group focus and masculine/feminine reveals the bias towards masculine assertiveness and competitiveness as against feminine nurturing, quality of life and relationships.

On studying Asian cultures, a fifth dimension appeared, referred to as long-term orientation, reverence for persistence, thrift and patience. While there have been critiques of Hofstede’s findings, several studies confirmed similar differences. A table of rankings was produced for each country, showing that the US ranked most highly in individualism and in the top third for masculinity, but low on uncertainty avoidance and power distance. Japan was the most masculine culture, and also seventh in uncertainty avoidance. Arab countries were halfway down the rankings in terms of individualism, ranked seventh in terms of power distance, and were surprisingly less masculine orientated than the US or Japan. Greece was ranked highest in uncertainty avoidance and Malaysia in power distance. Comparing societies with a high long-term orientation, building of relationships and market position were emphasised rather than the short-term bottom line. High power distance is reflected in more levels of hierarchy and centralised decision making. High uncertainty avoidance results in more rules and procedures and risk avoidance.

High collectivist organisations prefer group decision making. High masculinity rates task accomplishment higher than social relationships. The rankings were then translated into country clusters: Anglo, Nordic, Latin and Asian.

While actions can be copied, understanding thought processes and concepts is more difficult, as people will have different notions of the same concept, such as duty or honesty. For example, in Britain and the US, a contract is a document that should be adhered to once signed. In Japan, it is a starting document that can be modified as needed. In South America, it is regarded as an ideal that is unlikely to be achieved but which is signed to avoid argument.

Hofstede’s value dimensions can be redrawn to divide cultural norms into outer and inner layers (Marx 2001: 43–46). Symbols are the most obvious signs of cultural differentiation, including dress, small talk and table manners. Next, it is useful to examine which personalities are seen as heroes and how that illustrates which qualities are revered. Rituals mark the boundary between inner and outer, with a ceremony that marks particular occasions that have meaning. Lastly, values are the standards or principles considered valuable or important, expressing what people believe, and are often complex and subconscious.

Marx (2001: 47–57) sets out three dimensions of problem-solving. While the problems that are encountered may be the same in different cultures, how people deal with them will be different. Orientation refers to the emphasis on task or relationships, which also includes whether individual action is regarded more highly than collective. In an individualistic culture, performance-related pay is a meaningful motivator but not in a collectivist culture.

In the latter, it is important to see tasks as interrelated so that people can see that they are part of a group. The second dimension, the task approach, reveals whether the culture is tolerant of ambiguity or not. At one end of the spectrum is the German regard for structure, at the other the Brazilian emphasis on objectives rather than planning, so that the schedule is unimportant as long as the task is done. This also includes the approach to time. It is suggested that the English monochronic approach was learned as a result of the Industrial Revolution, as workers in factories were needed to be present at a particular time, but that it seems logical and natural now. The third dimension is communication and presentation style, including the display of emotion. In the US, regret and self-effacing behaviour are not acceptable; communication is preferred to be positive rather than neutral. In Asian cultures, showing guilt or shame is regarded as loss of face. Informal, democratic attitudes can be contrasted with formal, predicted roles based on seniority, age, class and gender. Marx suggests that there is no right or wrong, but that in order to be effective, people must adapt their methods of doing business according to the cultural context. Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars (2000: 11) proposed six dimensions of cultural diversity.

• Universalism versus particularism. Rules, codes, laws and generalisations versus exceptions, special circumstances, unique relations.
• Individualism (personal freedom, competitiveness) as against communitar-ianism (social responsibility, cooperation, harmonious relations).
• Specificity (analytic and objective), or diffusion (holistic and relational).
• Achieved status (what you have done), or ascribed status (who you are and your personal connections).
• Inner direction where convictions are located internally, or outer direction where examples and influences are located externally.
• Sequential time, where time is a race along a set course, or synchronous time where several things may happen at once.

Stevens suggested the following cultural profiles in 1991 (Schneider and Barsoux 2003: 92–93):

• Anglo/Nordic: Village market. Decentralised, entrepreneurial, flexible, delegation, informal personal communication. Output control.
• Asian: Tribe or family. Centralised, paternalistic, strong social roles, personal relationships. Social control.
• Germanic: Well-oiled machine. Decentralised decision making. Narrow span of control, compartmentalised, throughput control. Efficiency.
• Latin: Traditional bureaucracy. Centralised decision making, less delegation, pyramid of people, elitist, input control.

Selmer, in 1998 (ibid.), added a Viking form of management, with decentralised decision making, emphasis on consensus and avoiding conflict, informal channels of communication and long-range objectives. These cultural preferences affect how information circulates and is shared. In French companies, the flow of information between groups is limited, as information is a source of power and not easily given away. In Sweden, communication patterns are much more open and informal, whereas information sharing is not widely practised in Russia, especially with outsiders in case of misinterpretation. In Japanese companies, intensive and extensive discussion is encouraged at all levels (ibid.).

Different Conventions

Dealing with clients and publics in different countries and cultures requires sensitivity to different conventions. Silence in conversation in the US, Peru or Kuwait is awkward, whereas in Asia it can be a response and a part of social interaction. Lewis (1999) draws attention to listening societies such as Japan, Korea and Finland, where people think about their reply to remarks in silence. He examines the different ways of gathering information, from the data-oriented Northern European emphasis on solid information to the dialogue-oriented Latin societies that put this information in a personal context, to the more complicated listening society of Japan, where information will also be gathered from a web of relationships, memberships of clubs and schools.

The Japanese regard the underdog as inefficient, so banks don’t like to lend to struggling small businesses. Lewis recommends moving away from chauvinism and a belief that one’s own culture is the best to developing intercultural sensitivity.

Schneider and Barsoux (2003: 85) also question ‘the logic of universal “best practices”’. They suggest that theories about organisational structure are products of societal concerns at the time, such as Weber’s bureaucracy, the French administrative model of Fayol and the American scientific management of Taylor. Different approaches reflect different cultural assumptions about human nature and the importance of task and relationships. This leads to questioning the transferability of management ideas and structures, such as the US and European trends towards participative management and empowerment that have been frustrated in Russia where employees expect strong, paternalistic management.

In most agrarian economies or societies cohesion and sensitivity to society is important. ‘The nail that sticks up will be hammered’ is a Japanese saying but it carries a warning for the public relations practitioner that holds true for most emerging economy countries. The issues of acceptance in society and a high regard for protocols are conventions the public relations practitioner ignores at their peril.

Organisation Structures

Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars (2000: 50–52) differentiate between global, multinational and international companies, and identify a new form of transcultural corporation. They suggest that the normal form of global corporation is centralised, which expects offices in the ‘Rest of the World’ to be integrated with its own way of doing things, and these overseas offices are managed by nationals of the global corporation’s country, normally American, such as in AT&T (now Comcast). Economies of scale are gained from producing essentially the same product in all markets. Multinationals are decentralised, locally responsive with overseas offices that are managed by indigenous people, and may produce different products in different markets according to local needs, such as Unilever. International companies’ prime export is knowledge, mainly American or Japanese, with local variations on centrally supplied know-how, using elements of both the previous two forms. Transcultural organisations are offered as a new model, taking advantage of diverse ideas across the world with common themes to be more competitive. Here, each function would be situated where the expertise exists, for instance research and development may be in India or Japan. The communication network is vital so that learning and knowledge can be transmitted throughout the organisation. Multiple perspectives are accepted as legitimate, along with a commitment by individual units to a shared vision. They suggest that Phillips, GE, P&G and Matsushita are moving in this direction.

Melewar and McCann (2004) suggest that communication for corporate brands should operate on both micro and macro levels. Company values should be delivered in a consistent message to all stakeholders, while at the local level the brand needs an interactive relationship with each stakeholder by meeting their needs and wants. It is easier to uniformly convey corporate values than communicate product differences. They note two approaches to communicating globally: a waterfall approach launches in developed countries first, with communications trickling down to the less developed; while the sprinkler targets all world markets at same time. The key to building an effective corporate brand is doing simple things well: listening and involving customers and employees, developing relationships and integrating consistent internal and external communications.

Coulson-Thomas (2004) puts forward a variety of recommendations for successful international operation. He suggests adopting different approaches and adapting behaviour. He regards being open to alternative views, welcoming cultural diversity, and developing cross-cultural awareness to avoid standard solutions as good practice.

Szondi (2009) lists the main players on the global stage as multinational organisations (MNOs), governments, intergovernmental organisations such as the EU and UN, international NGOs such as Oxfam and Greenpeace, global PR consultancies such as Burson Marstellar and Edelman, and the virtual communities of the internet.

The media have also become multinational corporations, with news gathered and distributed by a few transnational companies such as CNN and the BBC.

How Global are We?

Schneider and Barsoux (2003: 271) question whether organisations are truly international. They quote Farnham, who said, in 1994: ‘We are living in a world which is about as integrated as the world of the nineteenth century … Fewer than 10 per cent of the businesses that inquire about going global actually try it.’ Moss and de Santo (2002: 3) admit that the majority of enterprises have fewer than ten employees and operate on a small, local scale, yet they suggest that even these companies may take advantage of opportunities to trade internationally. Szondi (2009) notes that many global companies use English-language slogans even in non-English-speaking countries without translation. Lufthansa even used an English slogan – There’s no better way to fly – in Germany.

Joffe (2003) states that we know more about each other through travel, television and technology. The global citizen is mobile, well travelled, cross-culturally aware and speaks several languages, but this is a small elite group. However, the more we want to be the same the more we emphasise our differences, and it is increasingly important not to talk to masses but to individuals. She quotes the work of Holden, who suggested that culture in the workplace is an important socialisation process and that organisational culture represents a deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs shared by all employees. In this approach, the life of the project or work group is more important than the background or culture of the work team. Joffe advises: ‘Assume difference until similarity is proven.’

Whatever the extent of international interaction in most people’s everyday lives, more and more, as we have seen above, public relations practitioners are having to cope with organisations that are themselves composed of culturally different individuals, communicating with increasingly diverse publics. Public relations can adapt communications to suit the needs of this diverse population; global brands may be marketed differently in different parts of the world.

Public Relations and Globalisation

Morley (2002: 35) suggests that ‘there is not likely to be a phrase you will hear in your career in public relations as often as “think global, act local”’, a phrase coined by a Scottish civil engineer a century ago.

He claims that British public relations practitioners were at the forefront of internationalist awareness, especially those who worked in the European headquarters of major American companies, educating their foreign ‘parents’ in the customs, sociology, politics and media of the local market. The rise of the multinational corporation was seen as commercial colonisation and a threat to local communities in Europe. The benefits of ‘acting local’ were that global companies became members of the community rather than being seen as foreign invaders. Morley proposes an emphasis on thinking local, to ‘reach a level of understanding of the mindset of each group of people with whom you must communicate … [to] make your dialogue much more successful’ (2002: 39). This is much more than translating, customising and localising news releases. He uses the example of the Japanese ignorance of volunteerism and private donations, as social responsibility in Japan manifests itself in ways such as lifetime provision of employment. This led to the refusal of offers of help after the 1994 Kyoto earthquake, as they had no system for accepting contributions to the costs of medical care, which made them appear arrogant and insensitive. Alternatively, Western companies in China must pay attention to the concept of feng shui when building or refurbishing new premises. Sometimes, public relations’ boundary-spanning role must take on the task of explaining these differences to clients.

Clarke (2000) recommended local solutions with local understanding as a best practice model, although never at the expense of a global perspective. Core strategy should always come from the lead office, with local offices adapting it to local conditions. For example, it is rude to send an email release to a Japanese journalist unless there is a close working relationship. ‘Information technology enables us to manage and damage reputations at the touch of a button,’ she said. ‘Public relations is intended to resolve conflicts and misunderstandings.’ Lerbinger (2001) adds: ‘The essence of PR is cultural context.’ Communications exist in the context of intentions and interpretations of participants, so that effective communication can only happen when a relationship is established. He quotes Bank’s six primary dimensions of diversity: age; ethnicity; gender; physical abilities; race; and sexual orientation. Secondary dimensions are education; occupation; income; marital status; and military and work experience.

Wakefield (Rosborough and Wakefield 2000: 3) found that ‘larger European multinationals have more sophisticated global PR programmes than those based in the US’. In terms of structure, he confirmed that the majority have a central PR strategy and relegate tactical delivery to local units. Most had full-time PR officers in fewer than 50 per cent of international units. Conflict between central and local units could be a barrier to global success. Therefore, solid internal communication was increasingly important. He reiterated: ‘The most effective approach balances central and local needs.’

‘Domestic work will not sustain the British PR industry,’ says Gallagher (2007). He suggests developing multifaceted, multinational coordination from a global hub. Szondi (2009) lists various specialisms in the international IPR field. It may deal with tourism, and branding a country itself; culture, emphasising heritage and arts; diplomacy and military policy that may involve propaganda and supporting antidemocratic regimes. Diplomacy involves communicating with elite foreign publics to establish a positive image of a nation, but sometimes international IPR creates a positive image that does not reflect reality.

Theoretical Approaches

Taylor (2001) reviews a number of ways in which research has examined IPR practice. Some studies extend Grunig’s four models, even suggesting a fifth model of personal influencer. Sriramesh found that practitioners in Slovenia had similar ideals of excellent PR but did not practise it as often as in Grunig’s studies. Chen and Culbertson suggest that PR is influenced by cultural variations. Taylor also examines differences in education and ethics, quoting Hatfield’s 1994 study, which found that PR majors did not exist in UK universities – rather a shock to the author as she was teaching on the BA in PR at Leeds Metropolitan at this time! Taylor concludes that US theoretical frameworks and practices may not hold up in other cultures and that assumptions need to be critically examined. Szondi (2009) suggests that Grunig’s excellence model is a useful benchmark.

Frameworks for Global Practice

Several writers have assembled books of case studies to examine both the diversity and the commonality of public relations practice. Moss and de Santo (2002) and Sriramesh and Vercˇ icˇ (2003) offer comprehensive collections. Both admit that there have been few international comparative studies, and that most try to test the applicability of a US model of practice in other countries rather than examining indigenous characteristics. Sriramesh and Vercˇ icˇ state that while their book is anecdotal, they consider it a first step on the road to developing a body of knowledge for students and professionals and that by describing cases in different parts of the world they hope to improve the efficacy of international PR.

Sriramesh and Vercˇ icˇ (2003: 4–5) relate the development of public relations to three elements in the infrastructure of a particular country. These are the political system, the level of economic development and the level of activism. Public relations thrives on public opinion, and so is most developed in democratic systems. The Freedom House survey of political change in the twentieth century found that there was a general shift towards pluralism (www.freedomhouse.org, Sriramesh and Vercˇ icˇ 2003). Definitions of public relations assume a democratic structure that is not always the norm. Greater economic freedom in market economies favours the development of strategic public relations. As the discipline is yet to be widely considered, on a global scale, as an essential, core managerial function, where resources are scarce they are devoted to more urgent needs. Public relations thrives in developed countries, where suppliers have to compete for public attention, approval and support but has a slower and more limited trajectory in emerging economies where only 20 or 30 per cent of consumer goods are ‘brands’ battling for shelf space. The level of economic development also affects the communication infrastructure and impacts on the wealth and literacy of the population. Activism is another element that influences the development of public relations. It is unlikely to be high if the bulk of the populace are more concerned about where their next meal is coming from, and so is present in more developed countries. It provides an opportunity in that practitioners can represent both sides of an activist movement. Increasing pressure from activist groups can force organisations to be socially responsible and require public relations practitioners to communicate changes in policy as well as provide feedback on trends in public opinion to management.

The nature of the media is also crucial in the development of public relations within society. As media relations is an integral and pivotal element of public relations, there is a need for a ‘solid working relationship based on mutual respect for each other’s work’ (Wilcox and Nolte, quoted in Sriramesh and Vercˇ icˇ 2003: 11). The media has a powerful influence on the international images of nations and organisations, as we have seen from several of the case studies presented in the text. In developing countries, the media may reach only a small, homogenous group because of illiteracy and poverty. People may not be able to read or afford television, even assuming that the infrastructure allows them access to electricity. Thus practitioners may have to adapt to using traditional and indigenous media. Access to the media will determine whether various segments of the population can approach the media to disseminate messages. In Japan, press clubs are gatekeepers between the media and other publics. In Eastern European countries, it is normal practice to pay for editorial coverage.

Sriramesh and White’s 1992 study related Hoftede’s categories to Grunig’s model of excellent PR and suggested that the latter was more likely in countries with low power distance, low individualism, low masculinity and low uncertainty avoidance – ironically, neither the US nor the UK conformed to this description (MacManus 2000).

Szondi (2009) charts a number of possible relationships between MNOs and PR practitioners in consultancies in the home country and host country, suggesting that programme objectives may be standardised but that messages should be adapted in different countries. Systematic research is needed to ensure that messages are not dominated by the MNO’s organisational or societal culture.

All PR exists to preserve corporate reputation, and the PR manager should act as a cultural integrator, controlling global PR programmes and resolving any conflicts (Wakefield 2001). PR should maintain a broad base across the organisation, ensuring a balance between global imperatives and local strategies. Wakefield recommends using local practitioners and recognising that there is ‘no one best prescription’. Szondi (2009) adds that local agencies can add more credibility to messages as they will be tailored towards the needs of the publics of the host country. He also suggests that PR can help the MNO adapt to the culture of the host country.

Examples of Practice

Sometimes adapting practice means changing the emphasis on both brand and approach. When BP relaunched its corporate identity in the US, centrally appointed consultancy Ogilvy & Mather used the vehicle of the BP Connect gas station, with internet kiosks, solar panels, fresh food and clean fuels, showing BP’s new brand values at work. In Asia, where BP’s subsidiary Castrol was more prominent, the emphasis was on oil. As Asia is not the most environmentally aware area, this aspect of the brand was not promoted (Murphy 2001).

Despite the rise in democratic societies and the shift towards market economies, Moss and de Santo (2002) found little evidence as yet of the widespread adoption of Grunig’s two-way symmetrical system of public relations.

The most sustained rapid economic growth in the past 50 years has occurred in China. PR revenues had increased to US$740 million in 2005. PR is beginning to have an important role in introducing foreign brands to China as well as helping Chinese brands raise their visibility on the global stage. The scale of the Chinese media – 8,000 magazines and journals, 2,000 newspapers, 1,250 radio and 2,100 TV channels – shows the opportunities for media relations alone. The vast majority, 70 per cent of PR revenue, originates from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. However, the government exercises strict control over media content (Gray 2006a).

Neither Chinese nor Indian consumers can be ‘squeezed into convenient demographic boxes’, and require multiple PR initiatives taking account of different languages and dialects. More important are the national behavioural drivers that underpin public relations practice in these, the two most populous economies in the world.

In India, the basis of any effective public relations campaign is public benefit. If an organisation does not serve the needs of the public, the public will not support it. Contrast that with the view of TC Ajit, the former head of Public Relations for South and South East Asia for Ogilvy and Mather that public relations has been caught up in what he describes as institutionalised media corruption. If payment to journalists for favourable consideration of press releases or the unquestioning acceptance of investor relations messages and announcements was an ethical dilemma for public relations practitioners the media have made it easy. There is a published tariff for the publication of press releases or announcements in even the most illustrious of India’s media.

Payment for publication in China is an accepted practice. China, unlike India, is not a democracy. For most Chinese practitioners communication is based on managerial requirements rather than audience needs.

C@se Study

Pakistan’s Pink Ribbon Campaign

Background

For the past 15 years the Pink Ribbon has become symbol of support for breast cancer awareness worldwide or at least throughout the developed world. It has become an emblem of hope for breast cancer sufferers and for those working to fight this curable disease that still claims the lives of too many women in particular. The Pink Ribbon Campaign was brought to Pakistan in 2004 by the Pakistan Women’s Empowerment Group (WEG). It was their response to the chilling fact that Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer of any Asian population in the world. It is the commonest cancer observed in females, representing more than one third of female cancers and about one fourth of all malignancies. Approximately 35 per cent of Pakistani women are likely to suffer from breast cancer at some point in their lives. Every fifth woman in Pakistan develops breast cancer after the age of 40. About 77 per cent of invasive breast cancers occur in women over 50 years of age but the average age at diagnosis is 64.

Advanced breast cancer accounts for 43.7 per cent of cases, accounting for 40,000 deaths per year in Pakistan.¹

Cultural, religious and economic factors limit availability of public health education information on breast cancer and access to advice, early discovery, and treatment. In a first for Pakistan, and any Islamic country, the Women’s Empowerment Group addressed these issues head on launching and establishing a nationwide Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. The story of that campaign is an object lesson in the role of public relations and communication management in overcoming cultural barriers to social development

Planning and objectives

WEG had been established in 1999 by a group of young professionals from marketing, public relations, the law and medicine. With initial seed funding from USAID they had established a reputation for their programmes to take women’s health care into rural communities, establish basic business education programmes for women and took the bold step to break the age-old taboo of conservatism in respect of breast cancer. They took up the challenge to create awareness of breast cancer and in so doing, ran an enormous risk to the group’s own standing and reputation, possibly even of violence against volunteers and staff by venturing into previously forbidden territory.

Working with PIELLEVision the professional public relations firm headed by Omer Aftab, one of those behind the creation of WEG, the group established Pink Ribbon Pakistan – the National Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. This set the goal of becoming a self-funded, self-sustaining, nationwide volunteer driven organisation charged with making breast cancer a premier public health concern in Pakistan and the task or mission to become the Centre of Excellence for Breast Cancer Care Information.

Public relations and Communication management objectives for the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign were set as:

1. Make breast cancer an acceptable topic in the public domain in Pakistan.
2. Secure ‘leadership’ support at the highest level.
3. Promote understanding and the practice of self-diagnosis among women.
4. Evoke empathy in the right quarters to support the cause.
5. Motivate people to contribute funds for campaign execution.
6. Build a long-term, sustainable platform for future Pink Ribbon campaigns and similar women’s health and well-being programmes.
7. Stimulate campaign and issue awareness in the Pakistani Diaspora and the wider world of Islam.

Strategy and tactics

An overriding strategy was established and articulated clearly throughout the organisation and among all those associated with it:

[C]reate widespread awareness about breast cancer and all the key aspects for Pakistan. Its high incidence, its seriousness leading to fatality, its impact on the life of the sufferer and the whole family, Pakistan’s comparative regional and international position and leadership of breast cancer death rates, and importantly, the good news, that if detected early, breast cancer may be cured.

Essential strategies, but no easy task in a country with physical barriers, among a very large population, many out of reach of modern media and against a background of cultural and social barriers on women’s issues and health in particular. So the Pink Ribbon Campaign used multi-pronged strategies to address the needs of different stakeholders. Tactically, events and communication activities were planned to reflect the core relationships of the campaign. Figure 11.1 shows the stakeholder areas that were and are the focus for discrete but integrated programmes during the campaign:

Media relations and press publicity, the traditional anchor for any public relations-led campaign posed the greatest challenge. According to Pakistan’s Press Freedom Report 2001–2002: ‘under the present code of ethics, the difference between obscenity and education is a blur, for example a program on breast cancer is not an educational one but a vulgar programme.’

Getting media, broadcast and print to accept the Press Freedom Report’s criticism and recommendations for change was to become a secondary challenge. Establishing recognition of the high prevalence of breast cancer in Pakistan and the importance of creating awareness of the issue and the need for mass communication among editors and journalists alike was the campaign’s greatest trial. It is some measure of the value of the Pink Ribbon Campaign’s strategic approach that it made the media realise the gravity of the issue and breast cancer became an integral part of the health programmes they editorialise and broadcast.

National media coverage and interviews with leaders of the campaign gave a boost to the campaign by bringing into the limelight different events organised at the national and provincial levels. Similarly, various newspapers and magazines printed special articles on the situation of breast cancer in Pakistan and the services Pink Ribbon Pakistan is extending to curb this deadly monster. Along with these special transmissions and publications, the media also gave due coverage to various Pink Ribbon activities carried out throughout the country on an ongoing basis.

Figure 11.1 Stakeholder areas for the Pakistan Pink Ribbon Campaign

In 2006 the Press Information Department (PID) aired Public Service ads for the first time ever on Breast Cancer, from all State run TV channels. These ads were aired in support of the campaign and the wife of the Prime Minister of Pakistan delivered the message.

International media from the BBC to Voice of America, Yahoo News, Daily Mail, The Times, Khaleej Times, Oman Times and Hindustan Times also gave momentous exposure to the campaign by giving significant coverage to different events, the visit of Jagjit Singh as cultural ambassador for the Indian government through his peace concert for the campaign, and the support from former Miss World Ashwariy Rai.

For the BBC Fiona Bruce made a documentary on the visit of Cherie Blair to Pakistan as Patron of Breast Cancer Awareness UK. This 30 minute documentary showed the warm welcome and celebrations organised in honour of the wife of the UK Prime Minister and depicted the plight of a young girl named Minahil residing in one of the villages of Punjab and the impact on the family after the death of her mother from breast cancer. It was aired on all channels of the BBC throughout the world for over a month.

Print, electronic and broadcast media were not the only communication tools used. WEG Pink Ribbon Publications, Viral marketing and merchandising – Pink Ribbon pins, badges, wrist bands, nursery rhyme books and CDs all played their part. Advertising and strategically and tactically generated publicity were most effective for creating awareness, though the role and effectiveness of different advertising media varied as the campaign moved from one state to another.

Electronic and outdoor media and newspaper articles were established as most effective in sustaining awareness and establishing comprehension about the issue among the target audience. Newspaper advertisements, brochures and mounted posters were devised and developed to match religious strictures. Posters and leaflets were produced that went beyond cultural norms for display in the waiting rooms of different clinics. They all gave detailed information, increasing knowledge about the issues and were most appropriate for disseminating detailed information and creating better understanding and comprehension. Seminars and conferences were used to effectively complement these efforts.

Celebrity endorsement was extended beyond the national and internationally recognised. It was to create a new group of celebrities, those who had actually benefited from having the disease diagnosed and treated in its initial stages, using them as everyday heroes to re-enforce the message ‘that life after cancer was not only possible but is worth living’.

Results, reviewing progress

In the four years since WEG committed itself to establishing the national Breast Cancer Awareness campaign and organisation, it has achieved its goal of a self-funded, self-sustaining, nationwide volunteer driven organisation. Arguably by any metric breast cancer is now a premier public health concern in Pakistan and the task or mission for Pink Ribbon Pakistan to be the Centre of Excellence for Breast Cancer Care Information is a work in progress.

Since October 2004 WEG has:

• distributed explanatory brochures in easy-to-understand language to millions of women across the country through various means utility bills, bank statements, handouts in girls’ colleges;
• managed a communication campaign through the media including press releases, articles and interviews in the print media and investigative news stories and interviews in the electronic media;
• established a bilingual interactive website that enables women to seek and exchange information, ideas and views with each other;
• prompted and promoted live discussion programme on FM radio and national television;
• established Volunteer Support Groups nation-wide;
• staged seminars and workshops in various cities and focused presentations to targeted audiences such as college girls or members of women’s organisations;
• advanced the campaign objectives through quantifiable incremental progress with every one of its stakeholder groups.

A subject that was taboo and very sensitive for an Islamic country such as Pakistan is now part of the national agenda for women. There is continuing active public support from the Prime Minister’s wife to the commitment of national and international business in Pakistan.

Women, including in the rural communities, have involved themselves in creating awareness, providing public education materials, and promoting women’s action to reduce the incidence of breast cancer. International Aid Agencies GTZ (Germany), USAID, UNDP and UNESCO have funded WEG campaigns run with PIELLEVision on Women’s Health and issues.

In Pink Ribbon month, October 2008, one of Pakistan’s leading newspapers – DAWN – dedicated one of its weekly magazines to breast cancer awareness. The Pakistan Pink Ribbon Campaign Group joined with Breast Cancer Care in the UK to reach out to the British Pakistani, and British South Asian communities. Speaking at the World Public Relations Festival in London, Omer Aftab was clear that overcoming cultural barriers to social change in an Islamic society required people to talk about the issue itself. Stakeholders were engaged rather than spectators. The work for the campaign for 2016 is already well advanced.

With thanks to the Women’s Empowerment Group of Pakistan and PIELLEVision London and Lahore.

C@se Study

Summer in the City – The Lessons of Gezi Park

After the Arab spring how did Turkey spend its summer? Not looking out to sea or exploring monuments. Sadly few people outside Turkey will recall the protests of Gezi Park in Istanbul. The events of that time provide a real-time window on the future of the world of communication.

Gezi Park Taksim, Istanbul was green, pleasant and a community open space, an amenity for everyone to enjoy. Property developers and their friends in Turkish government saw only a potential construction site and millions of dollars to be pocketed.

Figure 11.2 Demographic of Twitter traffic during the Gezi Park protest

Source: Perran Ersu Ozcaldiran, www.personapr.com/team.htmPersona PR, Istanbul

While the Turkish government and the owners of Turkey’s traditional media would like to think about the Gezi Park uprising as no big deal, Perran Ersu Ozcaldiran’s research points out how, when traditional media lose the trust and confidence of the majority, social media can take over and become an alternative, authoritative but not orchestrated source of information.

At the end of May 2013 a sit-in to demonstrate objections to the proposed destruction of the park had escalated into a brutal attack by police. This was matched by pressure applied to the media, which were silent about the protest and then cast the protestors as criminals and hooligans. Circulation and readership declined dramatically, commercial advertising fell away. A month after the protest, faith in many institutions had weakened significantly. Only 12 per cent of those supporting the protest trusted the media and only 22 per cent of those against the protest retained any faith in them. Alternatives were needed. Social media tactics were employed to frustrate government tracking and clamp downs. Cafés and shops displayed a list of # tags to follow.

Why did a month of sustained protest not get the foreign and international news coverage afforded to the Arab spring? During the Arab Spring and the Egyptian uprising only 20 per cent of the Twitter traffic came from inside the country itself. In the Gezi Park case, nearer 90 per cent came from inside the country, the rest came from those areas with high levels of expatriate Turks – Germany and the UK in particular. This was social media substituting for traditional media as the means of acquiring reliable and trusted news and information (see Figure 11.2).

In the UK, competing with the news coming from social media and rumours propagated by the digital and social media, manipulators are shaping the journalism agenda. But no one has yet contemplated the prospect of an unreliable and untrustworthy media being replaced by the word of the streets. Gezi Park points to what may happen to mainstream media in any democratic society if the trust of its readers, viewers and listeners is lost.