PR: The Thrill of a Good Idea

The notion that a business, non-profit or association manager can actually hold a big key to success in his or her own hands IS a thrilling idea!

And it becomes more thrilling as manager actually alters individual perceptions leading to changed behaviors of key outside audiences. Then persuades those external stakeholders to that manager’s way of thinking, helping move them to take actions that allow their department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

The thrill is real when public relations does something positive for those managers about behaviors of very outside audiences of theirs that MOST affect their operation, thus helping achieve those manager’s managerial objectives.

The trick lies in getting a manager’s public relations team members working towards same external stakeholder behaviors so that PR thrust stays focused.

Here’s one blueprint that can help create such a thrilling reality: people act on their own perception of facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action very people whose behaviors affect organization most, public relations mission is accomplished.

Properly employed, this kind of public relations approach can deliver results like enhanced activist group relations; community service and sponsorship opportunities; membership applications on rise; expanded feedback channels; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; rebounds in showroom visits, as well as capital givers or specifying sources looking your way; not to mention new thoughtleader and special event contacts.

One can also envision improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies; prospects starting to work with you; customers making repeat purchases; promotional contest overtures, and even stronger relationships with educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities.

However, one potential source of worry must be, who makes blueprint come alive? Will your worker bees be regular public relations staff? Or people sent to you by a parent entity? Or possibly a PR agency crew? Regardless of where they come from, they must be committed to you as senior project manager, to PR blueprint and its implementation, starting with key audience perception monitoring.

Something else to keep your eye on. Simply because a practitioner describes him/herself as a public relations specialist doesn’t mean they’ve bought into whole program. Assure yourself that your team members really believe deeply why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Be certain they buy reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

As awareness of human rights increased, as their definition expanded and as new, often authoritarian polities, resorted to torture and repression - human rights advocates and non-governmental organizations proliferated. It has become a business in its own right: lawyers, consultants, psychologists, therapists, law enforcement agencies, scholars and pundits tirelessly peddle books, seminars, conferences, therapy sessions for victims, court appearances and other services.

Human rights activists target mainly countries and multinationals.

In June 2001, International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit on behalf of 11 villagers against American oil behemoth, ExxonMobile, for "abetting" abuses in Aceh, Indonesia. They alleged that company provided army with equipment for digging mass graves and helped in construction of interrogation and torture centers.

This past November, law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll joined other American and South African law firms in filing a complaint that "seeks to hold businesses responsible for aiding and abetting apartheid regime in South Africa ... forced labor, genocide, extrajudicial killing, torture, sexual assault, and unlawful detention".

Among accused: "IBM and ICL which provided computers that enabled South Africa to ... control black South African population. Car manufacturers provided armored vehicles that were used to patrol townships. Arms manufacturers violated embargoes on sales to South Africa, as did oil companies. The banks provided funding that enabled South Africa to expand its police and security apparatus."

Charges were leveled against Unocal in Myanmar and dozens of other multinationals. Berger & Montague filed, last September, a class action complaint against Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport. The oil giants are charged with "purchasing ammunition and using ... helicopters and boats and providing logistical support for 'Operation Restore Order in Ogoniland'" which was designed, according to law firm, to "terrorize civilian population into ending peaceful protests against Shell's environmentally unsound oil exploration and extraction activities".

The defendants in all these court cases strongly deny any wrongdoing.

But this is merely one facet of torture business.

Torture implements are produced - mostly in West - and sold openly, frequently to nasty regimes in developing countries and even through Internet. Hi-tech devices abound: sophisticated electroconvulsive stun guns, painful restraints, truth serums, chemicals such as pepper gas. Export licensing is universally minimal and non-intrusive and completely ignores technical specifications of goods (for instance, whether they could be lethal, or merely inflict pain).

Amnesty International and UK-based Omega Foundation, found more than 150 manufacturers of stun guns in USA alone. They face tough competition from Germany (30 companies), Taiwan (19), France (14), South Korea (13), China (12), South Africa (nine), Israel (eight), Mexico (six), Poland (four), Russia (four), Brazil (three), Spain (three) and Czech Republic (two).