International Public Relations

With the growth of technology bringing the world in closer and closer contact many business fields have had to grow as well. This is especially true for the field of public relations. The Public Relations industry (also known as P.R.) is responsible for creating and maintaining relationships between clients and customers. This is done through areas such as brand management, advertising, media relations and crisis management. PR practitioners seek to foster interest, trust and belief in a product or company. While the principles of public relations remain the same it has become apparent that PR practitioners are aware of how best to carry this out when dealing within their own nations and cultures. However it has become crucial to recognize that when dealing with a foreign audience it is critical that cross cultural differences are recognized. This is where International Public Relations comes into play. International Public Relations can now make the difference between a products or companies complete success or failure within a foreign market.

Often times when a company enters an international market they find that the strategy they use to sell their product such as: "whitens" "slims" or "taste great" has no relevance in a foreign market and can often mean something entirely different. Many times these products fail because the PR Company behind the products campaign failed to analyze the cross cultural issues related to the product, when doing so could have easily avoided the failure. The bottom line is that cross cultural differences can make or break a PR campaign. It is therefore critical that PR practitioners dealing with PR campaigns that incorporate a cross cultural element analyze likely cross cultural differences. A few of these key areas are highlighted in order to help PR practitioners begin to consider how culture may affect future projects.

Language and Culture

In order for a PR campaign to be successful abroad, an appreciation of the target language and its cultural nuances is vitally necessary. The PR and advertising industries are littered with examples of poor translations and a lack of cross cultural understanding leading to complete PR failure. Companies entering a foreign market must set aside pre-existing ideas and conceptions. Many times simply examining these differences can result in a small change making a big difference in a P.R. campaign. P.R. practitioners should be prepared to go over translation of documents, slogans and literature that must be checked and double checked for meanings and cross cultural nuances. It is also important to keep in mind that this should not only take place between languages but also within languages. Because even in the English language there are cross cultural differences in meanings of certain words or phrases.

 The Spoken Word

 In any area where the spoken word is used in PR, such as press conferences or interviews, P.R. practitioners should be prepared within a cross cultural framework. It is vital to keep in mind that speaking styles and the content used differs across cultures.  Language experts state that British and American communication styles are described as "explicit", meaning messages are conveyed solely through words. In the explicit style correlating background information is deemed necessary and divulged, ambiguity is avoided and spoken words have literal meaning. In many other cultures, communication is "implicit". The message listeners are more likely to interpret the message based on factors such as who are speaking, the context and non-verbal cues. The spoken words do not fully convey the whole story as listeners are expected to read between the lines.  Speakers must be aware of the cross cultural differences with relation to content in humor, metaphors, aphorisms and anecdotes. In addition, many references to topics such as politics and/or religion can be a very sensitive issue in other cultures.  Finally anyone working in International P.R. must be aware that when the spoken word is used the cross cultural distinctions of the target culture must be incorporated in order to help the speaker appeal to and identify with the audience.

The Written Word

 Press releases, features and copywriting will all require a certain amount of cross cultural sensitivity when being applied abroad. Journalistic traditions, writing styles, news worthiness, delivery systems and whether a "free press" exists are all areas that will affect how the written word is tailored and received.  In addition, the most important point can be, from a cross cultural perspective, is how to write in a way that engages the readers in that society or culture. Many cultures may prefer colorful and inspirational writing, while others look for factual and objective. Some cultures may be motivated by language that incorporates a religious or moral tone, while others may by a money-orientated or materialistic one.  When writing any P.R. material, the first step should always be to look at and integrate the cross cultural particulars of the target audience.

Communication Channels

 Communication channels can be vastly different when trying to circulate information in an international P.R. setting. PR practitioners may employ many different communication channels when trying to give information relating to their campaign. While the main channels of communication in the UK or America are the radio, the press, TV, internet and public spaces, these channels may not always be applicable abroad.  In many foreign countries the radio, TV or newspapers may not be the primary source of information. Also P.R. practitioners must take into account that literacy rates may be poor and/or radios may be expensive. For example: In Africa, only 1.4% of the population has access to the internet. And even where such channels of communication do exist, such as TV, some methods used by PR practitioners, namely guerrilla marketing, would be interpreted differently in many foreign countries. For example, interrupting live TV in some countries would be seen as irresponsible and rebellious.  The bottom line is that the usual channels of communication in some countries would simply have no effect in terms of PR. In these countries, local alternatives need to be sought out such as religious leaders, tribal chiefs, school teachers or NGO's. Information that comes from such figures will not only reach the audience but be perceived as more credible than if it were from foreigners. 

 PR Materials

 Along with the content of P.R. materials the use of publicity materials in PR campaigns such as logos, slogans, pictures, colors and designs must all be cross culturally examined. Pictures of seemingly innocent things in one culture could mean something totally different in another. Creative pictures that are viewed as "cute" in one culture could be seen as degrading or even illegal in another.  Similarly, logos or symbols can also be culturally sensitive. A logo that is seen as perfectly fine and innocent in one country can be perceived as dramatically different in another culture.

The above cited points are only a few of those that require thorough cross cultural assessment by PR practitioners if they wish their international and cross cultural campaigns to succeed. The aim of implementing a cross cultural analysis in PR is to build campaigns that target the audience as best as possible, meaning appealing to their particular world view while working vigorously to avoid offense.  As the world continues to grow and expand the multicultural impact on public relations will certainly change the outlook of PR campaigns. Companies who learn to implement target strategies directed toward multicultural marketing will profit with the best returns.  Some experts predict that a multicultural PR campaign has the phenomenal potential to target a buying power of approximately $1 Trillion Dollars.  Researchers are strongly predicting African American and Hispanic communities as being the driving forces and are predicting African Americans entirely will spend $1 Trillion Dollars annually by 2010.

So the question remains what should companies be doing to compete and capture a piece of the multicultural market share? Should established brands dare to restructure target markets to capture multicultural audiences? The resounding answer is: yes! The buying power predicted for every multicultural audience is so strong that every company will have to address the issue of how to capture this audience.  Here are some tips and strategies to successfully launch a multicultural PR campaign:

• Work to enhance products and services features and benefits to suit multicultural audiences. By reflecting multicultural images companies will find the ultimate solution to connect and appeal.
• Conduct a multicultural research analysis and implement products and services that are in clear demand. This will help insure supply and demand is being fulfilled and help maximize profit potential.
• Consider and research target markets multicultural cultural perspectives. This will help strongly discourage and prevent stereotypes.
• Incorporate a process to use multicultural word of mouth referrals. This will immensely allow increasing brand awareness and loyalty. 
• Work to enforce multicultural bilingual promotions. This will become a resourceful opportunity to vastly target and capture multicultural audiences.
• By targeting multicultural audiences this could assist any company with increasing profit margins and brand awareness. World markets now await for the right brand of savvy International Public Relations.