What do Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster, David Mellor’s Chelsea strip, The Thick of It and Edina Monsoon have in common? Well, all these and more have contributed to PR miseducation. Here is my deck for Leeds Trinity’s Journalism and Media Week 2018 in which I discuss all things fact and fiction and demonstrate what we see about public relations has little in common with what the role entails today.

1. “Come the fuck in or fuck the fuck
off”
How Malcolm Tucker and Max
Clifford committed the greatest PR
fraud of our time
Sarah Hall
@Hallmeister

2. About me

3. About #FuturePRoof
A handbook for senior practitioners
looking at the changing face of the
industry
The story of public relations as a
management discipline
www.futureproofingcomms.co.uk
@WeArePRoofed
Facebook community
Podcast on iTunes and Spotify

4. What do all the following have in
common?

10. They’ve all helped contribute to the
greatest PR fraud of our time

11. Official definition of PR
According to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations:
“Public relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say
and what others say about you.
“Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of
earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It
is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and
mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”

12. What we see shapes our perceptions of
public relations

13. Stereotypes rule ok
For example, PRs are….
Glamorous and sexy Incompetent and ridiculous
Sex and the City Twenty Twelve
Absolutely Fabulous The Thick Of It
Manipulative and immoral Honest, speak truth to power
Thank You For Smoking West Wing
Absolute Power Designated Survivor

14. Roll VT!

15. The Max Clifford effect

16. Stereotypes rule ok

17. Stereotypes rule ok

18. Stereotypes rule ok
“Carina hurried to her lunch meeting and
then on to the various evening events that
her position as a top London PR director
required her to attend.”
“I’m saying that you’re married to your job,
which is fine, but Anastasia is your child, not
your business.”
Santa Montefiore, The Temptation of Gracie

19. Stereotypes rule ok – ask the academics
“Public relations work in popular culture tends to be presented in line
with particular tropes”
Kate Fitch, Experiencing Public Relations, edited by Elizabeth Bridgen and
Dejan Verčič
“Just as public relations influences culture, it is also the case that
culture holds up a mirror and reflects an image of public relations.
And, as those who spend much time gazing into mirrors discover, the
reflected image can be distorted and is often embarrassing”
Philip Young, Experiencing Public Relations, edited by Elizabeth Bridgen and
Dejan Verčič

20. Stereotypes rule ok – PR doesn’t help itself
Prolific North – A Week in my Life

21. Stereotypes rule ok
Not rocket science/fluffy
Propaganda and spin
Publicity and promotion
Keeping things out of the media
Manipulative and deceptive
Leaks
Sexy and glamorous
PR crisis
Cringeworthy

22. Stereotypes rule ok
FICTION FACT
Not rocket science/fluffy Strategic management function
Propaganda and spin Ethical and purpose-driven
Publicity and promotion Relationships and engagement
Keeping things out of the media Accountable leadership
Manipulative and deceptive High in integrity
Leaks Open and transparent
Sexy and glamorous Predominately a desk job
PR crisis Organisational crisis (say v do)
Cringeworthy Serious business

23. Introducing the Riz Test
The Riz Test – created by Sadia Habib and named after actor Riz Ahmed
who spoke in parliament on diversity and representation - challenges how
Muslims are portrayed on screen
A programme is deemed to be Islamaphobic if a Muslim character is:
• Talking about, the victim of, or the perpetrator of terrorism
• Presented as irrationally angry
• Presented at superstitious, culturally backwards or anti-modern
• Presented as a threat to a Western way of life
• Presented as misogynistic (if male) or oppressed by her male counterparts
(if female)

24. Introducing the Hall Test
We need a PR version to improve the standing of our profession.
The Hall Test is failed if:
• Public relations is depicted as comic / fluffy / overly glamorous /
champagne and event driven
• Public relations is used a shorthand for propaganda or publicity
• The PR character is duplicitous and underhand
• A public relations professional is shown trying to keep news in the public
interest out of the media
• The sole basis of a PR job is media relations, event management or
underhand lobbying

25. Hall’s bullshit bingo
Champagne
daahling!
Max Clifford
it
Anyone called
or Rupert
Nasty leakage / 24/7 Event-tastic
Lies and cover Press release #Alltheglamour

26. Why it’s important
Public relations has a reputation problem
As yet mainly unrecognised as a strategic management function which plays
a significant role in organisational success
It’s a profession increasing in importance in times of unprecedented change
as consumers seek brands aligned with their values and moving up the
corporate agenda
Businesses not living their values risk being called out publicly, with the
reputational damage and negative impact to the bottom line that results
How we are portrayed impacts our standing in society and the work we
secure

28. Official definition of PR
According to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations:
“Public relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say
and what others say about you.
“Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of
earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It
is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and
mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”

29. PR helps brands gain legitimacy
“No organisation is an island. We live in a world
where what you do and what your values are, are
coming under increased scrutiny.
“The role of communicators is to help
organisations understand the legitimate
expectations of all stakeholders and to help
senior managers make informed decisions
which demonstrate they have a social as well as a business purpose.”
Professor Anne Gregory, chair in corporate communication at the University of
Huddersfield

30. The founding of the CIPR
Seventy years ago, the rationale for founding what was then the IPR was to
achieve mutual understanding and good relations
The Institute’s fathers came from local government had accountable
leadership and social purpose at the front and centre of their work
This higher purpose may have faded in ensuing years but have no doubt that
we are returning to that original focus
Good PR today places social purpose and accountable leadership at the
heart of organisational strategies to drive company value over the long-term

32. What is PR’s role?
Public relations practitioners help organisations find their ‘why’ and agree
their ‘how’ – and most of all build long-term, sustainable relationships
between an organisation and its publics based on two-way engagement,
transparency, authenticity and trust
It’s a critical job and takes smarts and business acumen
According to the Word Economic Forum’s Survey on the Global Agenda, 86%
of respondents believe there is a leadership crisis in the world today
Edelman’s Trust Barometer 2018 reports that trust in business is down to
43%
Only a quarter of the population now trust social media as a source of news

36. What unifies these campaigns?
• Purpose-driven campaigns
• An alternate position
• Bravery and authenticity
• Political stance
• An increase in:
Customer engagement
Sales
Customer loyalty

37. Proactive stance beats defensive
• Reputation slow to build, quick to lose
• Market share hard to rebuild
• Social and environmental responsibility an integral part of good business

38. But none of this work is reflected in
popular culture

39. PR truths
• Use of public discourse and customer insight to set the organisational
agenda
• Consideration of environmental, social and governance matters as a path
to sustainable growth
• Agreement of the why and how with rationale
• Meaningful stakeholder dialogue to achieve buy in
• Positions on key issues such as extremism; fake news and cyberbullying
(one of the greatest threats to free speech)

40. PR truths
• Crisis planning
• CEO activism, capitalising on rising trust in CEOs (see Edelman Trust
Barometer)
• Wider industry partnerships with Google, Facebook, ASA, Internet
Advertising Bureau etc in the fight against fake news. The USC Annenberg
School for Communication and Journalism 2018 Global Communications
Report shows that 92% of PR executives find fake news an ethical problem
for the PR profession, followed closely by purposeful distortion of the truth

41. A summary
A crime has been committed – the biggest PR fraud of our time!
To improve PR’s standing we need it to be portrayed accurately
The Hall Test is a starting point for calling out bullshit
PR is a strategic management function which contributes to organisational
success. The PR truths more accurately illustrate the job
Until the work we do is recognised and reflected in popular culture, PR’s
reputation problem will continue to be an issue
Grab your bullshit bingo cards – the work starts now

42. Thank you – any questions?
Sarah Hall
@Hallmeister
sarah@sarahhallconsulting.co.uk
www.sarahhallconsulting.co.uk
07702 162 704