PR Matters
By Abigail L. Ho-Torres
AMONG the many buzzwords that the Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to, “pivot” appears to be one of the more popular ones used in the business world. Sure, all of us had to pivot, or change course, as our lives have undoubtedly been turned upside-down by this pandemic. Unlike our day-to-day personal lives, however, businesses have had to do more drastic shifts, given their planning horizon and a host of other dependencies.
Public relations agencies are among those experiencing major upheavals in the way they do business and engage with their clients and other stakeholders. As an industry that depends on people interaction, not being able to do just that poses a bit of a problem. But trust the creative PR minds to think of ways to make the best out of dire situations.
Last week, we shared a glimpse into how this pandemic will possibly evolve the PR practice. Today, we’re zeroing in on how some local agencies are navigating these waters: the changes in their day-to-day operations, the new ways of engaging their publics, and the strategies they have put in place to continue to be relevant to clients and to society.
Work-from-home arrangement
One of the biggest challenges that local PR agencies faced when community quarantine was first imposed in mid-March was how to continue operating. Staff members could not go to their offices because of the suspension of operations of public transport, while those living in nearby provinces like Rizal and Bulacan were not allowed to do “cross-border” travel at the height of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
The solution: shifting to a work-from-home arrangement.
“Working from home was the only major adjustment we had to make and, fortunately, we had started doing that for some of our staff even before the pandemic started. What we had to maintain and make stronger was the daily flow of communication among ourselves and with our partners and clients. It was fortunate that we had already been doing this for a time, and it also helped that most of our staff are young, flexible, and technologically savvy,” related IPRA Philippines Treasurer Joy Buensalido, who’s also President and CEO of Buensalido & Associates Public Relations.
Mikey de Quiros, External Affairs and Media Relations Head of Full Circle Communications Inc., said that they, too, started allowing their employees to work from home even before the imposition of ECQ, “to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of our people.”
This arrangement is likely to become permanent practice, said Ardent Communications President Ana Pista.
“The concept of office space as a four-wall workplace is now gone. Working from home is here to stay. Firms will have to trust their staff, and employees will have to be more self-starting and goal-driven. Both will have to learn how to co-exist in the new normal,” she related.
Redesigned systems and procedures
With a work-from-home scheme in place, changes in long-standing systems and procedures also had to be instituted.
“We have been compelled to respond to challenges quickly and creatively—this means letting go of operational procedures and business strategies that used to work fine, and embracing instead ideas and activities that are frighteningly new,” related Grupo Agatep President and Managing Director Norman Agatep.
He said working from home initially “felt like punishment operationally, [as] we like seeing each other regularly, physically following up each other’s work, collaborating on tasks, and gossiping by the water dispenser.” However, given the need to quickly adjust, all activities had to be shifted to the digital space.
PageOne Group CEO Ron Jabal shared similar experiences.
“We are affected because the team can no longer brainstorm face to face. There seems to be different dynamics when threshing out client briefs and ‘asks’ during personal discussions compared to online interactions. While we continue to maintain quality proposals and strategies, we think we could have done more if the discussions were done in person,” he related. “Given the absence of regular interactions during office hours, we requested team members to be online all the time. We supported them with additional resources for Internet facilities to enable them to immediately respond to client requirements. We also asked our designers and production crew to bring home sophisticated equipment to enable them to fulfill clients’ requests.”
Virtual engagements
For stakeholder engagement, all agencies—as with most companies in other industries—have shifted to the virtual space.
Jabal related that with their event-based business dropping to zero in the past few months, they had to strengthen their other revenue streams, and even shift some of their events to the online realm.
“Shifting from physical campaigns to digital campaigns and publicity and more ‘online’ ways of managing stakeholders and advocacy work as ways to promote brand building, executive profiling, and company reputation was wholeheartedly supported by our clients,” he related. “Regular media relations activities and publicity had to take on a more digital character: more online press briefings, phone-in interviews, and Skype/Zoom interactions between our clients and media personalities. Event stakeholder management had to be done digitally, albeit on encrypted social media platforms to assure security of discussions.”
Buensalido did the same in her firm, using available technologies and platforms to maintain relevance and ensure good engagement amid these trying times. She said: “the key strategy was to maintain communication with clients, with the various audiences, and with the media.”
Pista agreed, saying events were “just one of the items in the PR toolbox—PR is about building relationships. A true PR professional looks at disruption as an open door and technology as a means to go through it. The use of technology is no longer an option but a matter of survival.”
For Agatep, social media became his agency’s weapon of choice.
“What is challenging today is delivering the brand and corporate message to a remote audience that’s working from home and preferring to isolate themselves. How do we make stakeholders experience the brand wherever they are? This means stepping up our digital capabilities: building narratives across virtual platforms, harnessing the inherent strengths of each online contact point, mounting media conferences via the web, bridging social distance through social media, demonstrating corporate social responsibility through Facebook and Twitter. The digital world is no longer virtual—it is real,” he said.
Expert PR advice
This pandemic has proven that there is always a need for expert communication advice, both from in-house teams and agencies. As Ipra President Svetlana Stavreva aptly put it: “In times of crisis, people look for experts.”
Having been in the business for more than 30 years, Buensalido shared that every major crisis and disaster in the past three decades have given rise to opportunities for PR professionals to shine by helping their clients and brands to bounce back. Today’s worst-hit industries—including tourism, travel, aviation, restaurants, leisure, and real estate—need more help in communicating with their audiences.
“This needs increased creativity, strategic thinking, and consistent and focused support so they can reach their publics as they strive to bounce back,” she said. “Some marketing experts state that this could be a more opportune time for the PR industry since there will definitely be revolutionary concepts, fresh challenges, and record-breaking changes that will have to be met, and who can better act as the initiator and conduit for these than the professional PR practitioners?”
These times also call for flexibility and empathy, she said. Agencies should continue to support clients who are struggling and may not even be able to afford their services. This is also a good time to strengthen relationships with the media.
“We should value friendships and long-term relationships with all our partners, and offer to still work out an arrangement where we can continue to help each other until, hopefully, we are all able to weather this crisis,” she said.
De Quiros noted that these times have elevated PR’s purpose, adding that “we are now more focused in driving situation-sensitive yet purpose-led growth. We are here to help our clients bounce back and the public to remain informed and engaged.”
Jabal said this was the perfect time for PR professionals to show their value in an organization.
“The pandemic has tested and continues to test the PR professional’s role in organizations. This pandemic is also testing the relevance, efficiency, and potency of PR agencies in relation to the needs of their clients. This is an excellent time to show management that PR has a distinct role in developing and recalibrating business decisions—especially dealing with employees, regulators, consumers, government, and community, among others,” he said.
His advice to PR agencies: Propose, propose, propose.
“We are experts, and we should be providing expertise. We are not just service providers, but strategic partners and advisors. While most of the time, clients see trees and the occasional forests, we always see the forests and the tributaries that support them. Be more proactive in dealing with current clients and in looking for potential clients. And please don’t just restrict your services to media relations, publicity, and social media management. Public relations is more than just writing and seeding press releases and posting memes on social media,” he said.
Agatep agreed. Amid massive budget cuts, PR and communication efforts continue to get their share of investments.
“Many brands are mounting more programs to strengthen their brand and corporate reputation. The logic: companies that do all they can to help out during the global crisis have the best chances of being remembered and patronized in the post-pandemic era. Companies that remain silent today will regret not doing anything when they could,” he explained. “Many PR professionals today and those involved in corporate communication are working tirelessly to design programs that can potentially bring out the best in us—empowering companies to show their humanity, demonstrating that, in these times, people come before profit, compassion wins over commerce. Communication can do that.”
Care for people
While catering to clients’ needs, local agencies have also stepped up efforts to take care of their employees. Agatep related that they mount web-based activities for their employees, “to keep (them) sane and to maintain the family atmosphere we’ve always enjoyed.”
Pista also placed emphasis on taking care of employees.
“Our strategy is to take care of our Ardent family. Our employees are our most precious asset. If we can get through this together, then the firm will emerge stronger at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “Take care of your people. When the pandemic is over, your staff will take care of the agency.”
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier organization for PR professionals around the world. Abigail L. Ho-Torres is AVP and Head of Advocacy and Marketing of Maynilad Water Services Inc. She spent more than a decade as a business journalist before making the leap to the corporate world.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.
Image credits: WWW.FREEPIK.COM