Perception Management and PR

In the pressure to make profit, corporations pursue to control the public through public relations (PR) activity with using the media. One of the resources for profit is the public’s consumption. It is significant for corporations to be recognised by public positively, because “Companies are abstract entities (not people with feelings, families, etc.) audiences may feel freer to doubt and harshly criticize companies in public” (Rosenfeld et al. 2002: 198).

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Rosenfeld et al. introduce the concept, “impression management”. They define the goal of it as “to be liked by others and to be seen as normal”, and “a mutual ritual that helps smooth and control social relations and avoid embarrassment” (2002: 1, 5). For example, annual reports, letters to stock holders, and press releases are the actual actions to create the images. Impression management contributes to make and present “a positive picture”, and sometimes to control the damage at the minimum level.

Chris Komisarjevsky, a former CEO of a public relations company, Burson Marsteller, talks about the perception management in the film, ‘The Corporation’:

“Perception management is a very interesting concept. It’s basically a methodology, which helps us when we work with our clients to go through a very systematic thoughtful process in order to be able to help our clients identify what the resources are that they have, what the barriers to their success are and how we can use communications to help them accomplish their objectives”.

Burson Marsteller had worked with Philip Morris to organise the National Smokers Alliance to fight anti-smoking laws, and with Union Carbide to support its PR after gas leak which caused 20,000 dead in Bhopal. It helps to create the situation for the companies to make profit easily.

When companies use the perception management, they try to cover the truth. In the eighties, an American automobile company, Chrysler (now it is called DaimlerChrysler Corporation) was widely recognised its financial problems. The parts suppliers became reluctant to ship their parts because they were afraid of the situation not to be paid for the parts. Chrysler needed to encourage the supplier to keep its business even though it did not have enough money. What Chrysler did was to show the suppliers its future products and let them understand the future of the business as stable and usual. Chrysler’s attitude is impression management (Rosenfeld 2002: 23). It is the way for companies to shift the agenda favourably.

Another way of perception management is “pseudo event”. Boorstin introduces this concept. For example, in order to increase one hotel’s prestige, the PR suggests having the hotel’s thirtieth anniversary. The event is planned for the media coverage (1961:10).

The nature of PR is “to block unwelcome mainstream coverage” (Davis 2000: 299) so the PR deals with the perception management well. Richards discusses that the relations with the media is important because of its power to mould public opinions and perceptions. He talks about “spin doctors”, and explains it is not only for political organisations, but also for corporations. The job of spin doctors tries to manipulate the public. Richards explains “In communications, there is a gap between the facts and a person’s understanding of them, and this gap is where the spin doctor operates” (2005: 8).

Chomsky summarises this point in Bakan’s book ‘The Corporation’ as “They have to be turned into completely mindless consumers of goods that they do not want. You have to develop what are called ‘created wants’. So you have to create wants”. To create wants, companies need to make up the atmosphere to let people want to buy. Chomsky continues “We have huge industries, public relations industries, monstrous industry advertising and so on. They are designed to try to mould people from infancy into this desired pattern” (Bakan 2004: 174).

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14