Brazilian PR

(Public Relations
Show your face)

Public Relations began in Brazil just as in any developed country, through publicity in the beginning of the twentieth century, yet it did not have the same evolvement. Latin PR for many years was seen as the profession of those considered privileged and therefore full of contacts. Later, developing to Media Relations.

Today its main functions are still Media Relations, by the power that communication channels have on the Brazilian population, CSR, mainly towards the environment, and Internal Communication, which if often confused with internal journalism. PR is also widely used by politicians, especially during the campaign season.

Brazil is a country in full growth, and is now regarded as one of possible super powers for the next decade. The population is naturally accompanying the country, Brazilians want to expand their knowledge; they want to be as skilled as any other nation and consequently Public Relations in Brazil is booming. Today some of the largest PR agencies in World are presence in the country, as Edelman, Ketchum, Ogilvy and Weber Shandwick.

However Brazil is considered to have the most restrict PR law in the world. To practice PR is necessary to have a bachelor in communication and be a member of a professional body, which sometimes can hinder the profession development. Besides the law restriction, there no specification about the activities of Public Relations in Brazil and this means that many professionals from other areas are working as PROs.

Public Relations is defined by Brazilian PROs as a management function. And despite being in constant growth the profession has not yet been recognized by the population. It is hard to find someone in the street that knows how to explain what a PR practitioner does, or even what PR is. People with higher educational level know that Public Relations is an area of communication, but most still confuse PR with marketing.

Today, the main function of PROs in Brazil is to put their client or product in the media spotlight. If they can achieve this, success is guaranteed. However, as the population is not aware of these activities, and many still believe in everything which is said by the press.

The Internet has opened a new world for PR in Brazil; the online world has a tremendous power among its Brazilian users, despite not reaching the whole population. Mobile phones are another market for PROs, as is in constant change, and represent a huge activity in this country. The changes that are happening today in the PR world may not be as significant in other countries as is in Latin America. The Latin countries are under extreme development, and that means that each change has a bigger and faster effect on them.

Although Brazilian people still do not have the same power as the Europeans while speaking against the government’s decisions, unions are becoming stronger, which means that companies and governments are increasingly interested in the work of public relations. Both the private and public sectors are seeing in PR a way to 'deal' with the unionism.

For anyone wanting to work as a PRO in Latin America, it is essential to know that in this part of the world, relations are stride ahead of money. For Latinos it is important to have good relationships and know who the people they can count on are. Although people have different tastes and interests, they still have the same culture and values but it is good to be aware that different social classes required different approaches. The knowledge of the audience is essential.

The greatest difficulty encountered in Brazil is the expectation that results will be immediate. Most Brazilian organisations do not have enough information about PR as a strategy toll, to be used for long periods of time. And when they hire a professional they hope to achieve the same results as in an advertisement campaign, but for a fraction of the price.

Next August, James Grunig will be in Brazil to launch his first book published in Portuguese.