LAIZER EDWIN N

BAPRM 42691

The specialization of international public relations

Specialization, globalization and communication technology are currently the three most potent forces affecting the practice of inter- national public relations. Of these, specialization has had the longest history and the greatest impact since the 1970s. Until the mid-1960s, public relations was a calling for generalists, whether they worked in-house at companies or in consultancies or agencies. As a youthful profession or craft, it also had to draw its recruits from other fields, mostly journalism, which at that time was also much more general than it is today. It was clear this could not last. The huge horizon of PR activity, which defies easy

Why specialization?

Four factors are at work. The first is the increased recognition of the importance of public relations by different industries. This has meant the allocation of increasingly large budgets which, in turn, call for greater numbers of dedicated, qualified personnel. The second is the accelerating complexity of almost every industry, as the knowledge base of science-driven fields of endeavour increases exponentially each year. The third factor is an increasingly educated and inquisitive consumer public served by a newly aggressive and growing media, which is itself structured on specialist lines. The fourth force driving specialization has been the emergence of many industries and professions which traditionally had shunned communication. In some cases, as with law and medicine, self-imposed or common-law regulations forbade self-promotion. Many of those taboos have been torn down. A careful look at the PR league tables shows that the engines of growth in recent years have been the boutique agencies which have offered specialist PR services of some kind. Even the major international full service agencies mostly owe their successful growth to the performance of their individual specialist divisions.

Categories of specialization

What are these specialties, and how have they reshaped the public relations landscape?

There are three broad categories, and within each many specialties:

• Industry, business or organization. There are discrete PR specialties in healthcare and pharmaceutical products, consumer products and services, financial service organizations, technology, defence, professional services and many more.

• PR practice areas. No matter what industry, there are PR specialties in investor relations, public affairs, community relations, employee communication, sponsorship and event management.

 • Technical skills. Within PR structures, there are specialist roles played by dedicated experts in publications, speechwriting, video production, media relations, CD rom and website development, and a number of other functions.

The movement toward specialization began in the mid 1960s with pharmaceuticals and with the investor relations branch of financial public relations, specialties that are still the most dynamic and global within public relations. Technology began its dramatic growth two decades later.