{"id":139519,"date":"2022-05-30T10:02:48","date_gmt":"2022-05-30T09:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=139519"},"modified":"2022-05-30T10:04:53","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T09:04:53","slug":"pop-culture-lessons-for-pr-from-dunder-mifflin-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/pop-culture-lessons-for-pr-from-dunder-mifflin-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Pop culture lessons for PR: from Dunder Mifflin and beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>There is much to be learned from the PR and comms professionals portrayed in the media \u2013 mainly \u2018Wow, I do <em>not<\/em> want to be like that person\u2019. And thankfully most practitioners bear no resemblance to them. <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For our latest webinar \u2018Somehow I Manage. PR. Pop Culture Comms Lessons from Dunder Mifflin &amp; beyond\u2019, we scoured TV and film for examples of pop culture PR lessons we can all learn from.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what we can learn from Michael Scott, Siobhan Sharpe, Don Draper, Alexis Rose and Captain Raymond Holt:<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Understand your audience <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F2sJn2AR7e0\" width=\"760\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Understanding\u00a0target markets through research\u00a0\u200bis a key part of strategy and must come before your activities. Captain Holt tries to tell his audience what he wants them to hear rather than understand their perspective and what would actually help.<\/p>\n<p>You are not your target market. As soon as you work in an organisation you lose that perspective. So, you have to conduct research, which can come from as many sources and channels as your budget allows, from first-party data and focus groups to third party online research and sales information. Only once you know your audience(s) and know their perspective, should activities and campaigns be created.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Network smarter<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Mj0uVnST4PE\" width=\"760\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Networking events, conventions, award ceremonies \u2013 all fantastic opportunities for forming connections and winning new clients. Also, all places filled with the pitfalls of pleasure over business &#8211; socialising and swag.<\/p>\n<p>Heading to an event? Maximise your time by focusing on who you want to meet. Understand where your customers spend their time, adapt your networking style\u00a0and head in with a clear plan.<\/p>\n<p>And you can be like Michael Scott \u2013 it\u2019s possible to have lots of fun <em>and <\/em>see the benefits of smart networking. Make sure people estimate you.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Build the right media relationships <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MKc3yNa6eD8\" width=\"760\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Just like Leslie Knope and the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department, you need to build relationships with a variety of media contacts and maintain those relationships throughout your career. But not every contact will want to hear about everything you\u2019re doing or be spoken to in the same way. The best media outreach is always targeted and never \u2018spray and\u00a0pray\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Nurture your media relationships by keeping them in the loop with relevant content, and make yourself available if a journalist needs a story \u2013 particular if it\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.responsesource.com\/pr\/journalistenquiry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry<\/a>. \u00a0\u200b<\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Values \u2013 ensure you and your clients align<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Dc9zPUkrybE\" width=\"760\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A shout-out to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monumentalmarketing.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Monumental<\/a>\u2019s senior account executive Liam Pitts for this one on agency values. We couldn\u2019t find the exact clip from Schitt\u2019s Creek but here\u2019s brand Alexis, and one of the greatest TV moments from Schitt\u2019s Creek, as an introduction.<\/p>\n<p>Liam said: \u2018In season 6 of Schitt&#8217;s Creek, Alexis Rose starts her career as, in her words, a &#8220;freelance brand invigorator&#8221;, agreeing to represent a brand that the eventually finds out is a cult. I think the lesson we learn here is that a little research beforehand is never a bad thing &#8211; and neither is turning down a client that might not exactly align with your values and beliefs. In PR, when we sign on a client, we are agreeing to be public advocates of the brand. That means we have to understand that might include the bad elements alongside the good.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Alexis teaches us that we always have to consider our integrity and credibility when working with clients &#8211; something which she learns the hard way.\u2019<\/p>\n<h3><strong>5. Be transparent and honest <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ybthPsE4ld0\" width=\"760\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>As a wise erotic dancer once told Dwight Schrute in The Office: \u2018Secrets, secrets are no fun. Secrets, secrets hurt someone\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>In the Public Relations episode of Mad Men, two lies lead to very different outcomes with the press. While Pete and Peggy\u2019s fake fight campaign leads to great coverage and increased sales, it puts the agency\u2019s reputation at risk and costs bribe\/hush\/bail money down the line.<\/p>\n<p>For Don Draper, he doesn\u2019t open up in his interview with Advertising Age, which damages the agency\u2019s reputation, threatens client accounts and leads to his reputation as an enigma (not in a good way). In this clip he decides to reverse that, opening up to the Wall Street Journal, which is delighted to finally get the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Cover-ups and lying lead to reputational risk for you and your brand. A better story can be found in telling your brand\u2019s truth, and it is ultimately what the journalist is after. It is also possible to recover from bad press with good press, just as Don does, as long as you have your strategy aligned with your truth and your business goals.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>6. Control your narrative in a crisis<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Wpnp6-_4134\" width=\"760\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Crises happen \u2013 whether it is a supplier\u2019s disgruntled watermark or something a bit less niche. Best practice is to have a crisis comms plan already in place for every eventually, but if not, decide how you want to respond\u00a0and get ahead of the story\u200b.<\/p>\n<p>It is key that all your stakeholders are fully briefed and stick to the agreed statement, message or lines to take.<\/p>\n<p>Also, make sure your response is proportionate to the crisis and targets only the stakeholders that need to be targeted.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>7. Don\u2019t be a stereotype <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AXqvLZurm3o\" width=\"760\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>PR has a PR problem. People who don\u2019t really \u2018get\u2019 public relations may scramble for examples from TV and film in a bid to understand how it works. But as we all know, those examples often aren\u2019t good and don\u2019t reflect the PR and communications we see every single day.<\/p>\n<p>So, the last lesson is don\u2019t be a stereotype, which really means be proud of the excellent work you\u2019re doing in PR. And keep it up!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Not only does Vuelio support thousands of clients with all their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/\" rel=\"nofollow \">PR and comms software needs<\/a>, we also post heaps of PR content and welcome guest posts. For more information, get in touch with our Content Manager <a href=\"mailto:pj.boyd@vuelio.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Phoebe-Jane Boyd<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From Siobhan Sharpe to Michael Scott, and via Don Draper of course, what can pop culture teach us about PR and communications that&#8217;s actually useful?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":139520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7272,7238],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139519"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139642,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139519\/revisions\/139642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}