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Good PR is about great relationships!

A lot of things might have changed in the PR landscape, in this country and across the globe. There has been the shrinking newsroom, which we have seen in some parts of this book, the changing way in which the newsroom operates, the increase in competition in the PR space with more and more homegrown and transnational companies coming in every region. This list by itself could be a bit endless.

But, if there is one thing that has not changed much, and will not is the relationship between the PR professionals, and the journalists and media houses. By relationship, we mean  the power of harnessing a good and ongoing relationship, which has been strengthened over a period of time by what we could call a mutually beneficial engagement. Both the PR person, and his agency, and on the other side, the media house and the editors/journalists enjoy a rewarding professional bonhomie, helping each other in what is the mainstay in both their trades - story telling. The PR person wants to share her stories in the form of client pitches, and the media house wants o take the best of stories to its readers, or call them the news consumers.

To use a relatively new media terminology, the present say successful relationships between PR and media will be all about how well both sides collaborate, to co-create the final output - which here is news consumed by the reader/viewer.

For this to be the final product or goal, it will be amply evident the a fly by night kind of engagement is not going to work. Understanding the media, and the journalist, knowing what their reporting style is, and having an idea of what their consumers expect, and how much of research and reporting efforts go in - all these are the cornerstone of a defining relationship. And such a thing takes abundant time, coupled with a lot of integrity, and mutual trust. 

The typical majority PR operations style, where the PR person or agency make half hearted efforts with half baked information, loaded with disinterest, and a mindset that looks for instant results, is all  just a waste of both PR and media time. 

It is not going to work, and there may be a one in a million exception, where there is a need for an instant wedding, as there are too many coincidences, which result in an occasional great or good story.  But, these are just exceptions, and they seldom repeat more than once or twice in the entire work-life of the PR person.

Like they say, good PR is seldom like running a 100 metres dash, and dumping your information at the media doorstep. Contrarily, it is akin to running a marathon, exchanging information and intelligence with the media all through, and spending abundant time and brain in really preparing as to how to try and break the client story. And true and long lasting relationships, which will get in desired results are possible only in running a marathon.

Any sane PR person must keep this in mind, and if you want to make a mark in both being a shining PR star, and also getting the best done and delivered to any of your clients, then run the relationship marathon. 
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