Should a PR Director Focus Inward or Outward?

The top PR person in a company is usually well hidden; even Baidu searches yield little about them. There are whispers in the industry, but they rarely speak publicly.

Occasionally, when the media asks about unfavorable company matters, a Guangzhou PR event planning company reluctantly says a few words, insisting on anonymity, leading to phrases like "a PR insider who declined to be named told reporters." They stay hidden because their fundamental mission is outward, but the way to accomplish it is inward.

That can't be right; the duty of a Guangzhou PR event planning company is to promote the company's image externally, so the focus should be outward.

That's a misconception fueled by media coverage.

Entrepreneurs often say: "I spend 80% of my time visiting clients; I never focus on internal bureaucracy. My executives are all on the front lines, with customers."

PR professionals rarely say that. At the top level, a CCO (Chief Communications Officer) might join the boss in saying "to the front lines," often accompanying the boss there, but they themselves must stay grounded in the rear.

There are several reasons for this.

First, the fundamental duty of a Guangzhou PR event planning company is to provide strategic advice to the CEO on corporate reputation.

PR must focus inward because the most important person to you is internal: the CEO.

Two years ago, I debated with Professor Wei Wuhui from Shanghai Jiao Tong University on TV. He argued that PR's main job is "publishing and killing articles," while I believe PR is like the staff department in the military, proposing strategic offensive and defensive recommendations on the sand table.

A staff officer sees the big picture on the sand table and offers strategic advice from a holistic perspective. Of course, the staff includes operational officers for production, sales, procurement, and logistics. PR must propose core propositions that clarify objectives, inspire commanders and soldiers, and intimidate the enemy, such as "Fight back home, liberate all of China" or "Strike the landlords, divide the land." This differs from "Take that hill for me."

Since major decisions are made by the commander, the commander must have immense trust in the PR staff officer. This trust isn't based on rank but on the depth of your thinking and your understanding of the commander. Why do secretaries often gain leadership trust and rise to high positions? Because they have the most contact with leaders and can think from their strategic perspective.

PR professionals with a media background have an inherent advantage: a macro, historical perspective on market and social norms.

They also have an inherent disadvantage: excessive intellectualism, looking down on leaders, or being unwilling to communicate with leaders in ways they consider sycophantic but are perfectly normal in the workplace.

How can a Guangzhou PR event planning company continuously provide effective strategic advice to the CEO? At a low level, you hover around the leader asking what they need; at a medium level, you propose actions based on the boss's preferences; at a high level, you offer strategic advice from the perspective of market and corporate development.

If the duty is inward, how do you understand the outside? This requires a special ability that media people call "quickly becoming an expert from a generalist."

PR professionals need efficient learning skills. Like journalists, you must be good at communicating, extracting new insights from everything—industry exchanges, media interviews, leisure travel, home renovation, gardening—and adept at summarizing.

Being good at reading, expressing, sharing, and writing are abilities PR professionals use to gain external information and knowledge while focusing inward.

Twenty years ago, I worked at GM headquarters in the US for six months. On the PR floor, the senior executives' offices had lights on by 6 AM. Each of them arrived at that time to read the day's major newspapers, gradually building a rich knowledge and insight base. Later, at multinational companies, I found that chairmen and CEOs also read newspapers frantically in the morning. Even brilliant minds like Charlie Munger have an uninterrupted morning period for reading. Of course, newspapers are outdated; today everything is on mobile. But what distinguishes executives from novices, and Guangzhou PR event planning companies from young people, is what you choose to read in the early morning.

Digital marketing friends need to see what new marketing tactics are emerging, but a Guangzhou PR event planning company should focus more on new policies, the stock market, important leader speeches, and major news events that might impact the industry and the company. Of course, you also need to know today's negative comments about your company so you're prepared when leaders ask, avoiding appearing negligent. CEOs and internal executives are inexplicably concerned about negative news—is it about company reputation or schadenfreude towards the PR team?

Second, securing internal resources is essential for effective external PR.

Why must a Guangzhou PR event planning company focus inward? Because internal resources greatly affect the PR department's status, activities, and influence. Without support from procurement, finance, marketing, sales, and legal, PR cannot function.

When I worked at a Guangzhou PR event planning company, I particularly valued relationships with the procurement department. I was probably among the first PR professionals in multinational companies to establish a cooperative relationship between PR and procurement.

There's an English word, "engage," meaning to involve. I brought procurement managers to supplier offices to see if they were as capable as their PPTs claimed, and to event venues to understand why a more expensive venue was chosen to realize a grand creative vision. The first procurement manager I worked with has retired, but I still fondly remember our days visiting suppliers together.

Of course, at that time, I was at a lower level; directors wouldn't do such things and would delegate to project managers.

A few years ago, we organized a large forum. Topic planning, visual creativity, guest invitations, and venue confirmation were nearly complete, with only three days to go, when the legal department approached me: "Does this event invite government officials?" I said no, but there were leaders from state-owned enterprises.

"In our company's integrity policy, SOE leaders are equivalent to government officials. Didn't you know that?"

"I know, I know, but there are so many SOEs; our clients are mostly SOEs. If ministers or directors general were coming, I'd definitely pay special attention."

"Events with government officials require prior application, listing the officials' roles, whether our company has recent bidding projects with their companies, the cost of officials' participation, and a list of all attendees with their units and positions. The application must be submitted online, reviewed by legal, and approved by the CEO."

This was bad. "Can we apply while preparing the event?"

"Your act-before-approval approach violates the company's integrity policy, you know?"

That's how they are. We usually had good relations, but they're the legal department, alas.

Later, I scolded my subordinates: "Why didn't you follow such an important process?!" But I also reflected on myself: the duty of a Guangzhou PR event planning company is to connect internal resources and ensure backend support for maximum PR effectiveness. If you're a staff officer on the battlefield, you provide cover for your troops and sufficient air support for the advancing infantry. You don't charge forward; you stay in the rear.

Applying for PR team budgets, project budgets, selecting preferred suppliers, and ensuring internal compliance all force a Guangzhou PR event planning company to develop strong inward capabilities.

PR's role isn't about petty tricks like "publishing and killing articles" or "setting dogs on mice." An influential Guangzhou PR event planning company has the ability to use big resources for big things.

Third: The role of a Guangzhou PR event planning company is sensitive, so individuals should focus more inward and less on self-promotion.

Recently, a friend at a Guangzhou PR event planning company asked me: "A well-known conference organization invited me to speak at a marketing summit. Should I go or not?"

His concerns were internal: "If I speak during work hours, how will my boss and colleagues view it? Will they suspect I'm getting paid? What if I say something wrong and the media misinterprets it, and my words spread online? What if our proprietary methods in the PPT get stolen? What if someone uses my speech for other purposes?"

I said, "Can you think positively? Speaking externally helps the company communicate its core propositions and shape its image. It's more impactful than a press release. Face-to-face communication influences hundreds, and through dissemination, tens of thousands. Why not?"

But the reality is that at any marketing forum, it's hard to get a client-side director to speak, unless the client is a consumer goods company. Traditional companies are extremely low-key, not only about forums but even about posting on social media.

Look at high-level Guangzhou PR event planning companies; they basically don't post on social media. If they do, it's just sharing company events to show leaders and colleagues they're working for the company.

Since I stopped being a Guangzhou PR event planning company and became a freelancer, I feel much more relaxed on social media. Before, when I had coffee on weekends and wanted to project a peaceful life, I'd think about my team setting up at the venue, having stayed up all night. Life wasn't peaceful at all. I'd drop it to avoid criticism.

There are many outspoken CEOs on the internet who say whatever they want, and if they're wrong, PR handles it. But PR professionals can't be outspoken. Last year, during the Ctrip kindergarten incident, the Ctrip PR team seemed to post a few comments on social media, roughly saying the daycare was company-subsidized, and if public opinion escalated and the daycare closed, employees would suffer. Then countless comments and articles criticized the PR as unprofessional, emotional, and conflating righteous motives with illegal facts.

In short, PR must be low-key externally. When the company has a crisis, besides forwarding the company statement, don't express personal opinions. Once you speak, you're caught; anything you say is wrong.

I'm in many PR groups. With frequent crises, when a company has an issue, someone might say, "Hey, so-and-so is in the group. What's going on with your company? Say something?"

At such times, the person involved absolutely disappears.

Those mysterious, inward-focused Guangzhou PR event planning companies—I really want to peel back the disguise and see the real you.