Quick Facts:
- Public Relations firms across Canada bring in roughly $775M in revenue each year and employ over 6,000 public relations professionals.
- 36,200 new job openings are expected to become available in the PR industry by 2026 with the majority of these jobs being in Quebec and Ontario.
- Average of a PR professional in Canada is $70,000 or $35.90 per hour.
When multiple KFC locations in London, England, suddenly ran out of chicken in 2018 due to a change of suppliers, crowds of fans were quick to vent their frustrations on social media. As stunning as it was, a restaurant chain dedicated to serving up crispy fried chicken actually managed to run out of their core ingredient for nearly a week across the city. Facing a public relations nightmare, what was KFC to do to assuage its customers and protect its reputation?
Luckily someone at Mother London, KFC UK’s creative agency, knew a thing or two about PR. By rearranging the letters in its name to resemble an expletive, the fast-food chain issued a clever full-page apology in two local newspapers. Thanks to a brilliant PR move, KFC turned the situation on its head, with Founder and Group Managing Director of Frank PR, Andrew Bloch, calling it “a masterclass in PR crisis management.”
As a public relations professional, you need to be cool, calm and collected, and quick on your feet when potentially disastrous situations like this one arise. But how do you know if a career in public relations is right for you? Discover the profession and industry in this article!
What is a public relations professional?
In general, a public relations (or PR) professional is responsible for managing the relationship between an organization and its various audiences, including stakeholders, investors, the media, the government, and the general public. As these audiences have differing needs and an organization’s objectives with regards to each audience differ, PR professionals are tasked with creating and implementing communication strategies in order to:
- Provide relevant and necessary information to each audience
- Manage the organization or individual’s reputation
- Positively influence public opinion
- Swiftly and effectively respond to crises
- Comply with government enforced transparency laws (governmental + financial relations)
During their daily work, a public relations professional might be tasked with preparing press kits to publicize a product or event, writing press releases to announce new initiatives, drafting speeches for business or political leaders, holding press conferences to mitigate crises, or organizing events to solidify relationships with donors. As a critical aspect of their role includes managing an organization’s reputation, they may also be expected to pitch news articles to journalists, act as a company spokesperson, write articles or blog posts, or liaise between their client and the news media.
What is the difference between public relations and marketing?
Public relations can often be confused with marketing or advertising. While marketing and advertising typically seek to promote a brand or organization in order to attract potential clients and sell products or services, PR professionals, whether internal to an organization or working for a client as part of an agency, work to manage the public perception of their organization's actions. The efficacy of marketing and PR initiatives are also measured differently. Depending on its objectives, a marketing campaign’s success may be measured in terms of visits to a webpage, leads generated, and sales (just to name a few). When evaluating the efficacy of PR efforts, professionals will attempt to measure changes in feelings and opinions toward the brand (sentiment), as well as quantifying the generation of positive publicity as a result of specific initiatives.
What types of organizations hire PR professionals?
The demand for public relations professionals has dramatically increased in recent years as more organizations are realizing the importance of managing their reputation. For-profit and non-profit organizations in the both the private and public sectors need expert counsel on how to enhance and protect their reputation through positive publicity and skilled professionals who can successfully implement successful public relations plans. These communication initiatives can be crafted by in-house PR specialists or through hiring a PR agency. Like any other industry, PR agencies can range in size from small to large and can specialize in specific branches of public relations, such as media relations, crisis management, public affairs (governmental relations), event management, or integrated marketing and communications. If you’re just starting out in the industry, working for an agency can be beneficial as it allows you to get your feet wet by working on a wide range of projects with different companies, brands, and public figures.
When looking for work, PR professionals can expect to find opportunities in these types of organizations:
- Advertising agencies
- PR agencies
- Government agencies or departments
- Non-profit organizations
- Corporations (in nearly every industry)
- Consulting firms
What is the market like for PR professionals?
The public relations industry is experiencing major growth in job opportunities with an estimated 36,200 jobs expected to become available by 2026 ranging from small boutique firms to some of Canada’s largest agencies. While smaller firms may require their professionals to work on a wide range of brands in varying industries, larger PR agencies have separate departments that specialize in industries ranging from the health and pharmaceuticals to fashion and retail.
In addition to ample job opportunities, public relations is an exciting career path as it can lead to job opportunities abroad. While Canadian PR agencies are doing better than ever with over 6,000 employees nationwide bringing in $775M each year, the lack of regional regulations in the PR industry allows professionals the chance to work in different cities and countries. Many of Canada’s major PR firms are branch extensions of American companies, with other locations spanning the globe. PR professionals looking to expand their horizons and work internationally have the freedom to apply for jobs abroad or be transferred from Canadian firm locations.
How has the PR profession changed with the rise of digital technologies?
The job market in public relations has changed tremendously over the last 20 years, especially with the introduction of social media and the various new ways society is consuming information. To that effect, every organization has a public image and reputation it needs to manage and maintain through communication channels such as social media, digital marketing, television, print and radio.
With the major disruptions that have been occurring, PR professionals constantly need to be up-to-date on the latest technologies and social trends to know how people are consuming information and where they are voicing their opinions. Effective PR professionals must be able to identify their audiences, determine what communication channels those audiences use, and listen in on the conversation to understand those audiences. From this information, effective PR initiatives are planned and launched. This can include using traditional and non-traditional communications channels such as ads or articles in the newspaper, advertising on digital platforms like Instagram, or joining relevant Facebook groups to hear what the public is saying about a brand.
While PR professionals won’t be replaced by robots any time soon, as is happening in just about every industry, AI will leave its mark on the profession. In the not-so-distant future, AI will help PR specialists to more effectively identify, understand and reach their target audiences with relevant communications. To continue to be relevant in the field, those working in PR will need to learn how to benefit from using these new tools.
What does it take to become a PR professional?
PR professionals tend to come from diverse backgrounds, including journalism, communications, political science, and liberal arts. Since public relations centres around managing the relationship between an organization and its audiences, PR professionals need to be excellent communicators. On top of great interpersonal skills, those in PR need to be great at dealing with different types of people and managing conflict. They also need to be excellent writers, able to translate complex ideas into messaging adapted to various audiences.
Although there is no official certification required in order to become a PR professional, college and university programs in public relations are extremely helpful in teaching aspiring PR practitioners how to strategize, plan and implement PR campaigns. McGill’s Graduate Diploma in Public Relations is intended for those wishing to pursue a career in public relations and communications, those whose management responsibilities include PR/communications, or those already working in the field who would like to further their academic background. Students gain knowledge in a range of specializations that will help them build their careers in the consulting, corporate or not-for-profit sectors through focus on the strategic aspects of public relations, in-depth knowledge of the industry’s best practices and practical, hands-on experience.
To learn more about the program, visit mcgill.ca/scs-pr
