subject: The New York City Public Relations: Don Draper Need Not Apply [print this page] While I recognize that the hit tv show, Mad Men is about the advertising business, I cant help but think that some people may believe that those of us who labor on the New York City public relations scene live the same way You know cocktails in the morning, lunches and dinners with clients or reporters at expensive restaurants, etc. Rest assured we dont These people dont see the half-eaten takeout lunches (and dinners, I might add), memos, half-completed RFPs, etc. that can be found on chaotic desks occupied by New York City public relations pros.
Things, however, have changed thanks in large part to advances in technology resulting in considerable time savings for those of us New York City public relations pros. For example, some years ago at a New York City public relations firm where I worked, one of the younger members of the staff was tasked with the job of gathering all the press clippings for a particular client each month. She would diligently cut each one out, paste them on sheets of paper and type (yes, type) the circulation of the particular media source on each page. The client most probably didnt bother to read the results of her labors most likely, he weighed each report on a scale he had by his desk, which determined how much he would pay the agency Today, reports of this nature are generated in minutes by computerized services However, I still believe that clients place these reports on scales to determine their value
Of technology has wrought other changes for the New York City public relations practitioner The rise of social media and the 24-second (yes, I said second) news cycle have changed everything for New York City public relations executives and their counterparts throughout the world.Given the immediacy of social media, corporate managers (and their New York City public relations agency pros) have got to spend time monitoring and policing whats being said by the digerati to safeguard the reputation of their brands and corporations.
We at New York City Public Relations Firm are probably working longer and harder than ever before. We deal with more information from more sources, we juggle meetings, calls, work, e-mail, IM, social media and of course most important of all our commitments to family and friends.
Some of us in the New York City public relations ecosystem yearn for the simpler times when news cycles lasted a bit longer (at least you got to eat lunch).
