Designer PR? Doesn't it sound new and hip and happening. It does doesn't it. But would this "new" type of PR be accepted by the big bosses of the business World. Well we'll just have to wait and see.
Honestly, when i first heard that Public Relations would be moved from the Business faculty (Where we've been trying desperately to prove ourselves as business minded people and not the PR "Poppies" as we are usually stereotyped to be) to the design and Informatics faculty my first thoughts were " What are they doing?". I thought that this was the first step to destroying everything that professionals in the industry have been working towards. That is being able to be recognised in a business environment by management as an integral part of the business or management process. I really thought that this move signalled the end for Public Relations as we know it. It sounds dramatic i know, but could be very true.
After reading Marian Pike's article however my mind started opening up to the idea and it really didn't seem all that bad after all. Don't get me wrong i can still give you many reasons why it's a bad move for the industry, but i now understand that there might just be a glimmer of hope in what i thought was bad. If you take the time to really think about it The faculty of informatics and design stands for new and innovative ideas and ways of thinking. Its about originality and finding new ways to capture attention and getting information across. This is exciting as this is what professionals in the industry should be striving for in their work. This could also finally be the chance that we have to separate ourselves from advertising and marketing, which the PR function for some reason still falls under.
Although this term might seem demeaning for those fighting to be recognognised as one of the top functions on the organogram and it could pose as yet another challenge for us, it could also be a good opportunity showing off our creativity and ability to think "out of the box".
All that we can do now is hope for the best and hope that this new "Designer PR" is accepted.
